St. Germaine Cousin (c.1579-1601) Patron saint of abused children Feast day: June 15 Devotion to St. Germaine Cousin is almost entirely limited to France, her homeland. And while she deserves to be more widely known, her story, to be honest, is not an easy one to tell. Germaine was born to a peasant family in the village of Pibrac near Toulouse. She came into the world with a withered right arm and a disfiguring skin condition; later she developed a form of tuberculosis that caused unsightly swellings on her neck. Her father, Laurent Cousin, couldn?t bear the sight of her. We don?t know much about Marie Laroche, Germaine?s mother: the poor woman died soon after her little girl was born. Not long thereafter Laurent remarried, choosing a woman who apparently did not know the meaning of the word compassion. This stepmother would not let Germaine eat with the family. She forbade Germaine to come near her stepbrothers and stepsisters lest they become infected by casual contact with her. She tossed a straw pallet under the stairs and told Germaine she could sleep there. If her stepmother were in an especially foul humor, Germaine would be driven out of the house to spend the night in the barn. While she was still a girl, Germaine?s father put her to work tending the family?s sheep. Alone in the fields she kept up a constant conversation with God. She began to go to Mass each morning, and prayed the rosary many times over in the course of the day. Germaine?s genuine piety coupled with her meekness in the face of cruelty won over the villagers of Pibrac who began to admire and show sympathy for the poor girl. But Germaine?s family remained as cold-hearted as ever. Then the people of the village began to tell strange stories about Germaine. They noticed that in order to go to Mass, Germaine had to leave her sheep unattended, yet the sheep never wandered off, nor were they ever attacked by wolves. Once, after a heavy rain, the stream that separated Germaine?s field from the church became a flood. Some villagers said Germaine arrived at Mass on time by walking across the surface of the water; others said the torrent parted for her just as the Red Sea had parted for Moses. Whether prompted by these reports of miracles or the pangs of his own conscience, Laurent Cousin finally repented of neglecting his daughter. He offered Germaine a real bed in the house and place at the family?s table. But she declined. Years of abuse may have made her suspicious of these unexpected acts of kindness, or perhaps she felt self-conscious about joining a family that had never wanted her. Whatever her reasons, Germaine kept to her routine of watching the sheep and sleeping under the stairs. One morning she did not get up at her usual time. When Laurent went to wake her he found Germaine dead on her pallet. She was 22 years old. A fervent local cult grew around her tomb. Today Pibrac welcomes an annual pilgrimage in honor of St. Germaine. Visitors line up to enter the Cousin house and pray at the crawlspace where the patron saint of abused children lived and died.
You are very welcome Jayne. I hadn't either. I like to look up various saints from time to time and i realized I should share them when I come across interesting ones.
Patron saint of scientists. ST. ALBERT the GREAT (Died 1280 A.D.) Feast: November 15 He was known as the "teacher of everything there is to know," was a scientist long before the age of science, was considered a wizard and magician in his own lifetime, and became the teacher and mentor of that other remarkable mind of his time, St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Albert the Great was born in Lauingen on the Danube, near Ulm, Germany; his father was a military lord in the army of Emperor Frederick II. As a young man Albert studied at the University of Padua and there fell under the spell of Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the Dominican who made the rounds of the universities of Europe drawing the best young men of the universities into the Dominicans. After several teaching assignments in his order, he came in 1241 to the University of Paris, where he lectured in theology. While teaching in Paris, he was assigned by his order in 1248 to set up a house of studies for the order in Cologne. In Paris, he had gathered around him a small band of budding theologians, the chief of whom was Thomas Aquinas, who accompanied him to Cologne and became his greatest pupil. In 1260, he was appointed bishop of Regensberg; when he resigned after three years, he was called to be an adviser to the pope and was sent on several diplomatic missions. In his latter years, he resided in Cologne, took part in the Council of Lyons in 1274, and in his old age traveled to Paris to defend the teaching of his student Thomas Aquinas. It was in Cologne that his reputation as a scientist grew. He carried on experiments in chemistry and physics in his makeshift laboratory and built up a collection of plants, insects, and chemical compounds that gave substance to his reputation. When Cologne decided to build a new cathedral, he was consulted about the design. He was friend and adviser to popes, bishops, kings, and statesmen and made his own unique contribution to the learning of his age. He died a very old man in Cologne on November 15,1280, and is buried in St. Andrea's Church in that city. He was canonized and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1931 by Pope Pius XI. His writings are remarkable for their exact scientific knowledge, and for that reason he has been made the patron saint of scientists. Thought for the Day: St. Albert the Great was convinced that all creation spoke of God and that the tiniest piece of scientific knowledge told us something about Him. Besides the Bible, God has given us the book of creation revealing something of His wisdom and power. In creation, Albert saw the hand of God. From "The Catholic One Year Bible": Since we have a kingdom nothing can destroy, let us please God by serving him with thankful hearts, and with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire.—Hebrews 12:28-29 Taken from "The One Year Book of Saints" by Rev. Clifford Stevens published by Our Sunday Visitor, 200 Noll Plaza, Huntington, In 46750. Provided Courtesy of: Eternal Word Television Network 5817 Old Leeds Road Irondale, AL 35210 www.ewtn.com HOME-EWTNews-FAITH-TELEVISION-RADIO-LIBRARY-GALLERY-CATALOGUE-GENERAL ESPAÑOL
