[1] During the French Revolution his parents, devout Catholics, hid in their house a statue of the Virgin Mary that was venerated in the village as "Our Lady of Chambriac" and was said to have miraculous powers.

In 1815, Jean-Claude Courveille and Étienne Déclas decided to form a group that brought together the seminarians of the seminary of Saint-Irénée in Lyon, supporting the idea of creating a structure dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

He then requested that all members of the Group financially support his personal expenses (on the grounds that he was their superior) and fund the mariist projects he had established.

In 1824, Courveille, according to his project "Congregation of the Mariists," attempted to open a novitiate and establish a community of "missionary priests" who would aid the parish clergy.

The municipal and prefectural authorities withdrew their support due to negligence in the education and training of children as well as frequent absences.

As part of this project, Bishop François-Marie Bigex recommended that he write directly to Pope Pius VII to submit his proposal.

Based on this recommendation, the members of the Saint-Irénée Group decided to address a letter to the pope, dated January 5, 1822.

[1] Marcellin Champagnat's project was to establish teaching brothers to catechize and educate children in rural areas.

This project, which predates his entry into the seminary and his affiliation to the Saint-Irénée Group, officially began with the training of the first two brothers, Jean-Marie Granjon and Jean-Baptiste Audras, on January 2, 1817.

"[1] These actions were Jean-Claude Courveille's first attempts to claim the foundation of the Little Brothers of Mary established by Marcelin Champagnat.

In response to this situation, Jean-Claude Courveille requested a vote among the brothers (excluding the priests) for them to choose a superior between Marcellin Champagnat and himself.

[1] In 1826, Jean-Claude Courveille contacted the diocesan authorities to complain by name about Marcelin Champagnat, about the poor training he provided to the brothers, his mismanagement of financial affairs, and the widespread lack of religious discipline observance.

He also informed them that he wished to become a Trappist monk at the Aiguebelle Abbey and asked them, if they thought his departure was a good thing, to accept his resignation and transfer.

[1] On June 11, 1826, after receiving the letter informing him that his resignation and transfer were accepted, Jean-Claude Courveille left the Aiguebelle Abbey.

Faced with this refusal, Jean-Claude Courveille asked to meet with the bishop of the diocese of Lyon to request his reassignment by authority to Marcelin Champagnat and his Little Brothers of Mary.

In 1829, he returns to Cerdon to once again ask the Marist Fathers community to accept him into their midst and be integrated into the Society of Mary of Jean-Claude Colin.

In 1829, he settled in Apinac, his mother's hometown, where his sister Jeanne had been living since 1824, and where his maternal uncle, Mathieu Beynieux, was a priest of the parish.

In February 1833, based on three falsified celebrets and the lack of control by the diocesan authorities of Bourges, Jean-Claude Courveille managed to be appointed priest of the chapel of the charity hospital in Châteauroux.

[1] On October 7, 1833, the diocesan authorities of Bourges received "troubling" information about Courveille and decided he “needs to be watched” but allowed him to remain in.

On October 24, 1835, by falsifying new documents, Jean-Claude Courveille managed to have himself appointed priest in the parish of Witry-les-Reims in the diocese of Reims.

[1] According to Father Benoit Lagniet, priest in charge of collecting information on the beginnings of the Society of Mary of Jean-Claude Colin, Courveille would have “compromised himself” while serving in the parish of Witry-les-Reims, “and what put in prison”.

However, the archives of Marne department and the Reims prison having been destroyed during the First World War, there is no longer any material evidence to confirm or refute this statement.

On July 9, 1836, Jean-Claude Courveille contacts the Bishop of Le Mans to request to be assigned to the Solesmes Abbey.

Satisfied with his answers, he accepts his request and contacts the superior of the Solesmes Abbey to ask him to welcome Jean-Claude Courveille.

There, after rubbing his eyes with the oil from a lamp burning in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary, he regained complete and perfect vision.