John of St. Samson was a seventeenth-century French Carmelite lay brother and mystic. Born in 1571 in Sens-de-Bretagne, he lost his sight at age three and became an orphan by ten. Despite his blindness, he became a skilled musician and organist. He entered the Carmelite order in 1606, adopting his religious name. Often called the French John of the Cross, he played a central role in the Touraine Reform, serving as a spiritual director for various reformed friars.