Claude Poullart des Places was a French Catholic priest born in Rennes in 1679. Despite being the son of an aristocratic family, he abandoned a potential legal career to serve the impoverished. In 1703, at the age of 24, he established the Congregation of the Holy Spirit to support seminarians and assist the poor in rural areas and overseas missions. He died in Paris in 1709 at the age of 30, having dedicated his short life to providing resources for students pursuing the priesthood.