BERNARD, CLAUDE: Called the poor priest and "Father Bernard"; b. in Dijon Dec. 23, 1588;d. at Paris Mar. 23, 1641. He was the son of a jurist, studied law himself, and for a time led a life of pleasure, but was converted by what he believed was a vision of his departed father. He became a priest and made Paris his residence, where he spent his time preaching and visiting the poor and sick, not shrinking from the most disgusting diseases. He gave away all that he had, including an inheritance of 400,000 francs.