Jérôme Lejeune: The Pediatrician Who Uncovered Trisomy 21

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Today, June 13th is Jérôme Lejeune’s birthday. I have known of him and heard his name my entire life. But I had never known what an amazing man he was. It was one of those household names growing up that I heard regularly, was familiar with but I had no idea who he actually was. And then for Christmas my children received this lovely picture book: Jérôme Lejeune: The Saintly Geneticist by Ana Braga-Henebry and illustrated by Anita Barghigiani.  It was quite a surprise to me to finally discover all about this wonderful man whose name was so familiar.

The picture book

Ana Braga-Henebry is an experienced homeschool mom and a wonderful writer. She was already an experienced homeschool mom when I was just starting to homeschool and I was very inspired by her. So when I saw who the author of this book was I knew it was going to be a new favorite and it did not disappoint! You can tell that Ana Braga-Henebry poured heart into writing this book! Even for someone who had heard the name over and over (to the point of just rolling my eyes when he was mentioned) she brought Jérôme Lejeune to life. She helped me discover that there were good reasons for me to hear his name over and over.
The very talented Anita Barghigiani’s illustrations are delightful and bring to life Jérôme Lejeune’s work and life. I can’t wait to explore more picture books with her illustrations.

Ana Braga-Henebry has very kindly offered TWO exclusive coloring pages for us! How lovely of her! Thank you Ana!

Jérôme Lejeune

Jérôme was born in 1926, just South of Paris. He was home educated by his father, alongside his two brothers, before going to medical school. He became a pediatrician and encountered many down syndrome patients in his practice. In his desire to help his little patients better he started researching the cause of down syndrome as well as how to give his patient a better life. This led him to genetic studies and the discovery of trisomy 21. Jérôme was a devout husband, father and Catholic. He loved life above all and fought for a right to life for all. He died in 1994 and was declared venerable by the late Pope Francis in 2021 due to his heroic virtues. Jérôme Lejeune was an incredible man and I am so glad that I finally found out why his name kept coming up when I was little. Here is a fantastic video summary of Jérôme Lejeune’s life and work.

Jérôme Lejeune’s cause for canonization

So what does it mean that Pope Francis declared Jérôme Lejeune “venerable”? It means that after studying Jérôme’s life he was found to have displayed heroic virtues. In its instruction for the process of evaluating an individual proposed for canonization the Vatican states that: “The cause of beatification and canonization regards a Catholic who in life, in death and after death has enjoyed a reputation of holiness by living all the Christian virtues in an heroic manner … The reputation of holiness is the opinion that has spread among the faithful about the purity and integrity of life of the Servant of God and about the virtues practiced by him to an heroic degree.” That does not mean that the person is without sin, but it means that the person has exhibited great virtue, such as Jérôme Lejeune did by defending life at the risk of career. This interview in English is a great example of it.

Exploring Jérôme Lejeune: The Saintly Geneticist by Ana Braga-Henebry and illustrated by Anita Barghigiani

His life

Jérôme Lejeune was very outspoken about the beauty and sanctity of every life! You can imitate his example by volunteering to help at a pregnancy crisis center or by reaching out to the Pro Life office of your diocese. But those are the big things. Sometimes it is easier to accomplish big things, but what about “heroic virtue”? That virtue might be to show your love for others that are close to you, rather than further removed. Sometimes it is very hard to let your family know  how much you value their life. Sometimes it is harder to love each person around you, especially that annoying sibling, just the way they are. Practice heroic virtue by loving the ones that annoy you the most, the ones that are difficult to love, but that are right there, next to you. This will help you love more abundantly and appreciate others more.

Biology

How amazing is our human body!! All of Jérôme Lejeune’s discoveries point to this incredible truth: the human body is amazing. Explore how chromosomes, DNA and Genes  function. Document your discoveries in your Notebook, it is something that you will want to revisit over and over again. Add to it from time to time when you find out something new and incredible about your body. You can also deep dive into building a replica of your DNA through the activities in the free download.

Down Syndrome

I am very saddened that my children have not grown up around anyone with down syndrome on a regular basis. We do have friends who have a down syndrome daughter and just adopted a little girl from Vietnam with down syndrome as well, but they live on the other side of the country… I grew up with down syndrome children in my class in school and they are some of the children that I remember the most. They taught all of us to love more, to be more attentive to others and be willing to help. They were wonderful teachers in virtue.

A French treat

One of my favorite desserts is Chocolate Mousse, or Mousse au Chocolat. But it has to be the real deal, not chocolate pudding or the make believe mousse stuff you will find at the grocery store. Real French Chocolate Mousse is a most delicious blend of dark chocolate, it is soft as a cloud and melts in your mouth. And it only requires a handful of ingredients. It takes only a few minutes to make and is worth waiting for while it chills in the fridge. I dare you to not like real French Chocolate Mousse. Bon appétit!

I am so glad I finally found out who Jérôme Lejeune was and what an amazing blessing he has been to so many. I look forward to following his cause for canonization and hopefully soon celebrate him as a saint. This post is dedicated to my two little down syndrome friends, Celeste and Agnes. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. 
Love,
Mattie

• Life is a Blessing: A Biography of Jérôme Lejeune―Geneticist, Doctor, Father, by Clara Lejeune-Gaymard – A beautiful and intimate biography written by Jérôme Lejeune’s daughter, Clara.
• Jérôme Lejeune: A Man of Science and Conscience, by Aude Dugast – Jérôme Lejeune’s biography written by the postulator of his cause, the person who asked the Catholic Church to look into his life for cause for canonization.
• https://www.lejeunefoundation.org/ The organization that keeps promoting and improving on Jérôme Lejeune’s work.