there while also preparing slaves for baptism and their First Communion. He arrived in Sainte-Marie on 14 December 1856 to continue his work. Rousseau made a brief visit to Madagascar in 1866 to open a school. He modified all his lessons to suit the natives and also started night classes. He also collaborated in his initiatives with the local priests. He died on 13 April 1867 after a long illness in Sainte-Marie and his funeral was celebrated on 14 April in which hundreds of people attended to mourn him. He was buried in Sainte-Marie but his remains were transferred in 1939 to the house of the De La Salle Brothers in Saint-Denis. Beatification The beatification process commenced in Saint-Denis-de-La Réunion in an informative process that spanned from 1902 until 1905 and was tasked with collecting all available documentation and other information on Rousseau's life and his activities as a catechist and educator. The second process was held in Marseilles from 1904 and 1905 during the time of the first. The theologians assigned to the cause collated all of his writings and evaluated them in order to ensure that his views were in line with the magisterium of the Roman Catholic faith. The writings were approved in a formal decree issued in 1912. It was not until several decades later that another process was held in 1976. These processes commenced despite the fact that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints did not issue their formal approval – or "nihil obstat" (nothing against) – to the cause until 30 March 1981 in a move that also accorded Rousseau with the posthumous title of Servant of God. One final process was dispensed due to the fact that there was enough evidence gathered in the previous processes. Formal conclusion to the processes allowed for the postulation to compile the Positio – consisting of biographical details and attesting to the positives of his cause – and submitted it to C.C.S. officials in Rome for their own personal investigation. Their consulting theologians met and approved the merits of the cause on 21 March 1984 while the C.C.S. followed suit on 5 June 1984. On 9 June 1984 he was proclaimed to be Venerable after Pope John Paul II acknowledged the fact that Rousseau had lived a model Christian life of heroic virtue. The miracle required for his beatification was under evaluation in the diocese of