Antoine Chevrier, diocesan priest from Lyon, is the founder of the Prado. Straight after his ordination, in 1850, he is sent to the "Guillotière", a popular borough of Lyon. There, he binds himself to his people and discovers the gap wich separates the church from this world of workers, born from the industrial revolution. This hurts him : "The poor are not evangelised".

On Christmas night 1856, while meditating on our Lord's poverty and humility in his Incarnation, he was granted the grace to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ, the Word of God ...

Antoine Chevrier used to say that the Prado was born that very Christmas night. To know Jesus Christ, to attach oneself to Him, and to make him know, filled all his life.

He believes that the formation and the presence of poor apostles for the poor is a need of the Church and of his time ; therefore, all his life, he seeks to share that grace and to associate himself with priests, brothers, sisters and lay people.

From the begining, a few women join Antoine Chevrier in his apostolic task. ... Among them, Marie Boisson, a silk worker, understands deeply his intuition. (Constitutions of Prado Sisters - Articles 101 and 102)

During the 1856 Christmas night, as he was praying in front of the Crib : " I was telling myself : The son of God came down on Earth to save human beings and convert sinners…. Yet, what can we see ?… So many sinners are in the world… So, I decided to follow our Lord Jesus Christ more closely In order to be better able to work efficiently for The salvation of souls."  (J.M Laffay ‘s deposition) Thus, this young priest’s life was upset : His meditation and prayer led him to be in communion with God’s initiative as He came to meet human beings : he too must be doing something.

At the City

One day, in 1857, Antony Chevrier exclaimed :
I’ve met John Baptist in the desert.
Who was this John the Baptist ? A layman called : Camille Rambaud.
Where was that desert ? In an area next to the Infant Jesus City where this layman came to the help of the floods’ victims.
For A. Chevrier, this was the prime answer to the huge needs that he had discovered when in proximity with the poor families living in the “Guillotière”.
This encounter led him to leave his parish for the City and give himself totally for the Evangelization of the poor by living among them. He went to this people to attest that God loves them. He saw the needs of families and children. Being alone, he couldn’t answer to them.

It is at the Infant Jesus city that we, Prado Sisters found our origins, Father
Chevrier sought help in order to prepare the young girls to their first Communion. He asked to a young girl called Amélie.
Amélie asked to Marie Boisson, a friend of hers, to come with her.

They went to the City in the September 1858. Marie was then 22 years old. She recounted : When we arrived at the City, the First Communion project existed already. There were 24 boys and 6 girls. I was teaching the little girls of the City and caring with Amélie for those who were preparing their First Communion. We already had the statues of “Sisters”… but with no special habit….” (Sister Marie’s deposition )
By answering a precise need , the group of sisters took shape, little by little. Marie Boisson had a plan for religious life. She became the First Prado Sister. Later on, She did say :To love our Lord was then, everything to me.

But difficulties arised : constructions at the City became the priority, and the children had not any more their place. Amelie and Marie wanted to leave with the young girls and go to a lodging on the Fourvière hill. Fr Chevrier was torned apart for he was the City Chaplain, and Camille Rambaud went to a seminary in Rome.

Marie recounted : Father Chevrier refused me permission to leave the city and go to Fourvière, adding : “Unless the Cardinal allows you.”
May be, he thought that I wouldn’t there ask this permission… However I ask for it on the very following day ! The Cardinal welcomed me and gave me every liberty to leave the City. When I came to inform Father Chevrier, he looked very surprised of this result and said simply : “ I have nothing to say, since Monsignor gave you the authorization.”

Marie and Amélie settled on the Fourviere Hill, and later went to the Guillotière. Finally, on December 10th 1860 Father Chevrier bought the Prado ball-room in Guillotière . And in March 1861, everybody settled there.

At the Prado

Marie was 24 years old. She recounted in her deposition : We were very poor but happy !

Amelie left Prado soon after, but other girls came and joined Sister Marie. Marie racounting : Since the begining of his work, Fr Chevrier, felt the necesity of having a grouping of Sisters to help him… On February the 2nd 1862 he received me in the San Francis of Assisis - Third Order.

When Father Chevrier died, on October 2nd 1879, Prado Sisters’ numbered about 25 of them . They belonged to the St Francis Third Order. Sister Marie died on November 20th 1902. The Sisters counted around 50 of them.

Nowadays Father Chevrier is our guide and we are a "Society of Apostolical life and Diocesan right".
Little by little, our activities got diversified.
Little by little, we went to other districts and dioceses as from 1939 and to other countries from 1958 onwards.

Contrary to what the photographs of that time show, Fr Chevrier was a smiling person. Sister Marie related : Everything in him was gentle and humble. His gentleness used to win peoples hearts, He had such a sweat smile !… He was a good-tempered person, Sometimes he could even joks… (Sr Marie's deposition).

At the seminary
When he was twenty, Antony Chevrier was a facetious young man.

One day, a new pupil entered the seminary ; he was more naïve than natural. Antony - whose height could easily make him be taken for a teacher – said to him : “My friend, here, it’s customary for the last arrived person should, every night, put out the directors’ lamps ; therefore, it’s your turn to fulfil that office, until new order. Listen to me carefully : at nine, precisely, you enter into Mr. Superior’s room… Do you understand ?… - Yes sir. Then, you salute saying : “ God bless you !”… - Yes sir… Not waiting for the answer, you’ll blow off Mr Superior’s lamp after what, you’ll do the same, one after the other in all these gentlemen’s rooms."
Conscientiously, at nine precisely, the new comer plunged into darkness the Superior, the Spiritual director of the House and the others.
The first moment of amazement being past, one started groping to pursue the “extinguisher” who went on with an automatic regularity, and was quite astonished to leave so much emotion, behind him.
One of the pursuers stopped him quite harshly… The ingenuous asked : "Did I not blow quickly enough ? To morrow, I ‘ll blow it better."
The enigma being resolved, everybody laughed heartedly.
The superior judged the happening too good to be punished !… (
JC Perrichon’s Copybooks)

As a young priest at St Andrew
He liked to make his fellows laugh !

He would willingly give himself to a game called : Reading the posters.
Antoine Chevrier would put on his cape, with the collar up, put his hat on, then, pretending to be short sighted, he would come near the wall that was supposed to be covered with posters ; and by lowering down, then stretching up in order to find the announcement he was interested in…
But this was higher up : so he went on his tiptoes, but it was still too low !…
So then, by lifting up cleverly and in one go the hat and cape of which continuity was insured by the rigid collar, he would lengthen progressively his arms : so, the lecturer’s head seemed to lift itself up more and more !
The effect in the dim light was quite successful and the illusion total !…
The fantastic giant was reaching seven feet high !
(François Haour's deposition)

At the Prado
He was 50 when he wrote from Rome to one of his first brethren…

Your thoughts about priesthood are quite right. So many times, I too have thought that it would be much better to scrape shoes at some street’ corners ; I’ would take you with me, we wouldn’t look too bad together, apart that I could hardly run because I perspire at once, but I should remain at the corner and keep the cash-box and you would go shopping ; instead, let’s go on with our little mission.
(Letter 145)