^x&mj;s;mcmgs& uuggm -j {outfit 'wjt jSHgB ■Hi H| : -'- ; v :: ' V: ' : - HRH ■b«B ii|ip HBH ■' ■ ■ , ■ ,- *Oc.fiy < ty/it <=AQ. . UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE TRUE FEIEND OF YOUTH; OR, M ABRIDGMENT LIFE AND VIRTUES YENEBABLE J. B. DE LA SALLE, FOUNDER OF THE BROTHERS OP THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS. ^/o ©raitsIateU from tit last JFrttufc t&itiott. 7^/5 NEW YORK: P. O'SHEAynPUBLISHEK. ^ Jf*^ Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by JOHN P. MUKPHT, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. PEEFAOE. Since the year 1838, the period at which the first edition of the " True Friend of Youth " was given to the public, God has illustrated, by so many extraordinary works, the power which the venerable founder of the Christian schools enjoys with him in heaven, that we should con- sider ourselves acting in opposition to the designs of his providence, if we suffered them to lie any longer in oblivion. Jt is, then, for the purpose of making them known, that we publish this new edition, wherein we have devoted greater space to what concerns the life of our holy founder, besides enriching it with the account of a number of cures that were omitted in the first edition, or have been wrought since then. When the Institute began to prosecute the cause of the beatification of its venerable founder, the French Episcopate lent it the assistance of postulatory letters,* with an eagerness that proves beyond doubt that the memory of this holy man is * Postulatory letters are those which the bishops address to the Holy See, praying it to proceed to the beatification of a servant of God. 6 PKEFACE. held in veneration by the clergy of France. Per- haps, however, it would not be unprofitable to show that this opinion is shared by men of genius be- longing to all conditions of life. Witness, in the first place, what a celebrated Academician * thought on this subject :— " There are many per- sons who are ignorant of the fact that the Brothers of the Christian schools are the disciples of one of the most remarkable men that Europe has ever beheld. The Abbe de la Salle is, in my eyes, the type of a great and unassuming man. The use- fulness of the end he proposed to himself, the connexity of his ideas, the perseverance of his devotedness, all combine to make him one of the worthiest models that can be offered to mankind. Convinced that, in order to please God, it is necessary to be useful to men, the virtuous De la Salle examined in what manner he could discharge his debt here upon earth. He soon discovered that one of the greatest services he could render to society, would be to ameliorate the morals of the lower class. He judged that, to succeed in this, it would be necessary to assemble the children in schools, and prepare them by instruction for be- coming Christians, artisans, and fathers of families. Then he put before himself this problem for solu- * M. Jacques Droz, of the French Academy, in the "Journal des Connaissances Utiles," in 1832. PREFACE. 7 tion, — by what new process would it be possible to instruct a great number of children at once ? His constant reflections on the subject, and the force of his own genius, enabled him to invent the system of simultaneous teaching, which shall ever remain one of the most useful, and consequently one of the most glorious discoveries of the human mind. Teachers were needed to apply this system, to spread it, and make it lasting. The Abbe de la Salle founded for this purpose a religious society devoted to elementary teaching. One would suppose his labors now ended ; the most painful were about to begin. Had he not still to cause his benefits to be accepted ? Obstacles of every kind were thrown in the way of the establishment of his schools; they calumniated him, and instituted legal pro- ceedings against him ; the Brothers were insulted and even assaulted in the streets, and for twenty years he had to struggle against all those obsta- cles, by which interest, ignorance, and bad faith recompense the man of genius for his services to his fellow-men. Such was this friend of humanity, to whom France, out of gratitude, should raise a statue. Shall the time ever come, when men will be anxious to learn before passing judgment ? Then, perhaps, they will feel how necessary it is to set a value on all that may be useful, without suffering themselves to be prejudiced either by custom or empty delusions." 8 PREFACE. A philosopher, illustrious by more than one title,* thus exalts the merit of our venerable founder : — " There existed in France, previous to the revolution, a body of men charged with the public education of the children of the people, known by the name of the Brothers of the Christian Schools : an excellent body which, in its princi- ples, object, and form offered more than one resemblance to that of the Jesuits, and whose Institute, but little known, is a masterpiece of wisdom and knowledge of human nature. This body was organized in the last century by the Abbe de la Salle, a simple canon of Rheims, who, for so great an enterprise, possessed no other means than his own determination, but who, with this iron will, overcame insurmountable obstacles. I know not if he is a saint in the eyes of religion, but I know that, seen by the light of sound policy, he is a hero." Another author of more recent times,f and who is by no means suspected of any bias in favor of religion, exclaims : — " Never did a time appear less favorable for the formation of a new religious Institute, and yet it was in the midst of symptoms of public apathy, that the congregation of the Brothers of the Christian * M. de Bonald, Father of Mgr., the present Card. -Arch- bishop of Lyons, in his " Theorie de l'Ordre Social," Book 1st, ch. 25, p. 20 — edition of 1820. f " History of the Regency and the Minority of Louis XY.," by Lernontey, tome ii., ch. 20, p. 287. Paris, 1832. PREFACE. 9 Schools was formed. The year 1725 witnessed the bull and letters patent that sealed its estab- lishment. A canon of Rheims, Jean Baptiste de la Salle, was its founder. Struck by the neglect of the children of the poor, and all the evils that are its consequence, he conceived the idea of restoring these young savages to society by open- ing gratuitous schools in which they should receive the first elements of a civil and religious education. The masters whom he called to his aid, bore the simple title of Brothers. A humble and constant labor, a painful and poor life, were their law. The signals of an instrument con- structed of wood, which the teacher holds in his hand, cause the discipline of the class to be main- tained to the great saving both of time and words. M. de la Salle labored, above all, to effect the great- est possible good with the least possible expense, and I doubt whethei the imitators he has had in many States of the American confederation have better solved the problem than did this virtuous priest. His Institute, as modest as useful, has tri- umphed over the terrible trial of revolutions ; it sur- vives the destruction of so many proud corpora- tions, whose foundations were cemented by power, wealth, and genius." All these testimonies, and we might cite many others, are a striking proof that, like the illustrious Saint Vincent de Paul, the Venerable de la Salle is one of the glories 1* 10 PKEFACE. of France; that Ms work yields to no other in usefulness in the eyes of society, as well as in those of religion, and that posterity will one day extend to those great men the same veneration, as the church, we hope, will reverence them with the same religious honor. PROTESTATION OF THE A1ITH0K. In obedience to the decrees of the holy inqui- sition, and of Urban VIII., of happy memory, the author declares that what he publishes in the present work rests only on human faith, excepting in those matters whereon the Apostolic See has already passed judgment- THE TRUE FRIEND OF YOUTH; OR, AN ABRIDGMENT OF THE LIFE OF THE VENERABLE J. B. DE LA SALLE. Among the multitude of great men to whom the seventeenth century gave birth, posterity will doubtless regard as one of the most useful both to the church and society, Jean Baptiste de la Salle, founder of the Institute of Brothers of the Christian Schools. This man, whose merit is so remarkable, was born at Rheims, the capital of Champagne, on the 30th of April, 1651, of M. Louis de la Salle,* -counselor to the presidial «ourt of that city, and his wife, Madame Nicole Moet de Brouillet. * This family, originally from Beam, traces its source back to the most remote antiquity. Its genealogy takes its descent from one of-the name of Salla, who, while fighting on the side of Alphonsus, surnamed the chaste, king of Navarre, had his legs crushed by the blow of a stone hurled from a warlike engine (818). The prince wished, that, in memory of this event, he should bear upon his buckler three broken chevrons, thenceforward the arms of the family of La Salle. His de- scendants distinguished themselves likewise under the kings of France, particularly under Charles VIII. and Louis XII., in the expeditions into Brittany and Naples from 14=77 to 1495. 12 LIFE OF THE VEXERABLE Brought up with the greatest care by his pa- rents,, who were as distinguished by their virtues as by the lustre of their nobility, young De la Salle showed from his tenderest infancy the hap- piest dispositions for attaining knowledge, but, above all, for the practice of piety ; and, at an age when other children run eagerly after the amuse- ments suitable to their years, his greatest pleasure was found in reading books of piety and imitat- ing the ceremonies of the church. As soon as young De la Salle was old enough to apply himself to learning, he was sent to the college of Rheims, where he soon became a model of virtue to his fellow-students, and a subject of pride to his masters. The parents of the young student, who esteemed themselves happy in having such a son, founded on him their most cherished hopes, and looked to him as one day to be their consolation and the glory of their family; but God, who des- tined him for something greater, inspired in his heart very different sentiments from those whose sole end is to gain the glory and distinction of this world. Obedient to the voice of the Lord, he made known to his parents his conviction that he was One of them was governor of Soissons, in 1496; another, who was governor of Xa-varre. in 1620. received great recompenses from Louis XIII. for having powerfully assisted him in his expedition into Beam, at the time when he reduced that country to submission. The family of La Salie. while main- taining its position in the first ranks of society, has furnished, not only distinguished soldiers to the country, but magistrates as remarkable for their integrity as ability. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 13 called to the priesthood, and that his most ardent wish was to fit himself for embracing that state, and discharging worthily the duties belonging to it. M. de la Salle and his virtuous spouse were delighted to see one of their children consecrate himself to the service of God ; yet they would not have chosen the eldest, had the choice of the vic- tim rested with them ; but they had too much piety to oppose themselves long to a vocation which they so unmistakably perceived came from heaven, and accordingly they made a sacrifice to the Lord, which must have been so much the more agreeable to him, the less it was in accordance with their own choice. The young De la Salle, perceiving, that he was free to follow the call of grace, offered him- self for the tonsure on the 28th of December, 1667* and received in this ceremony an abundance of heavenly favors. He continued to advance, with- out ceasing, in the way of virtue. The piety, modesty, and innocence of his manners shone every day with greater lustre, and in the midst of priests, as well as students, his conduct was a model of the most heroic virtues. Being provided from the 9th of July of the same year with a canonry in the metropolis of Rheims, he took possession of it in the month of January, 1668. He at once applied himself to discharging the obligations of this dignity with bo much zeal, piety, and modesty, that he ittracted the eyes of all towards him, and filled 14 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE those with admiration who beheld him in the choir singing the praises of God with a fervor that closely imitated that of angelic spirits. Having completed his philosophy he was sent to Paris to study theology, and take the degree of doctor. Convinced that, in order to preserve, in a city so abounding with dissipations and occasions of danger, that lively faith, sincere piety, and love of virtue, of which he made profession, it would be necessary to live in retirement from the world and in retreat, the Abbe de la Salle chose the seminary of St. Sulpice for his abode, feeling assured that there he would find both guides and zealous rivals in the path of perfection. M. de Breton villiers, a man of rare piety and consummate prudence, was at that time superior of this sem- inary. M. Tronson, M. Leschassier, M. Bouin, were its principal directors. The young seminarist, disposed as he was, could not but make great progress in virtue under the conduct of men so filled with the spirit of God, and so zealous for the sanctification of their pupils. His piety was too enlightened to put any obstacle to his applica- tion to study, consequently he made so much progress in the knowledge proper to the ecclesi- astical state, as well as in the practice of virtue, that he edified his fellow-students, and was the delight of his superiors.* * MC. Leschassier, who was superior of the seminary of St. Sulpice, has written with his own hand, on the registers of J. B. DE LA SALLE. 15 Every thing in this young Levite pointed him out already as a subject of the greatest hopes, when heaven came to interrupt the course of his studies by the death of his mother. The wound which such a loss inflicted upon his heart was not yet closed up, when tidings were brought to him that his father, whom he tenderly loved, was no lon- ger among the living. It is easy to understand what took place then in a soul so sensitive, and what a depth of resignation he had need of, to bear up against such trials. The young canon became thenceforth the legal guardian of his brothers and sisters, and was obliged to return to Rheims, where, by the care he devoted to his family, and the ad- mirable order he established in it, he gave indica- tions of that zeal for the good education of youth, of which he was to give proof hereafter. Although no longer in the seminary of St. Sulpice, he always preserved its spirit, and, whatever liberty his new position allowed him, he did not follow with less ardor the path which he had traced out for him- self in the sanctuary. this house, the following note concerning the servant of God: — U M. de la Salle was always a faithful observer of the rule, and very punctual at all the exercises of the community; his conversation was always pleasing and becoming; he seems never to have given offense to any one, nor incurred any one's censure. When he returned to Paris to receive orders, I observed that he had made wonderful progress in all virtues. All those who have known him have seen proofs of this in his behavior, above all in the patience with which he endured the reproaches made upon his person," 16 LIFE OF THE YEXERABLE Under the guidance of M. Roland, Theologian of the Chapter of Rheims, he received the order of Sub-deacon, in 1672, and that of Deacon, in 1676 ; but out of humility he could not decide upon re- ceiving the priesthood until 1678. Clothed with this sacred character, his piety attracted to him the admiration of all those who were witnesses of his conduct. The tenderness of his heart, and the ardor of his love for God, were so sensibly re- flected from his countenance when at the altar, that great sinners were attracted to the practice of virtue by having beheld him only once offer up the holy sacrifice of Mass. Many, edified by the conduct and piety of this young priest, w r ished to have him as their director in the ways of God. The progress which they made in virtue, while justifying their choice, extended his reputation to a great distance : on every side he was spoken of, not only as a great ser- vant of God, but as a man destined for great things. This reputation caused him to be ap- pointed by his superiors, the head of a small company of priests, who had for their object the revival of faith and the practices of virtue among the inhabitants of a neighboring town, who had been abandoned for many years to a sort of heathenism, through the neglect of their former pastor. The lustre of the virtues of the young preacher, still more efficacious than his discourses, struck these sinners in such a manner that they J. B. BE LA SALLE. 17 nearly all abandoned their evil courses to embrace a life of virtue, with a fervor that seemed miracu- lous. All wished to have him as their confessor who had gained them over to God, so that the burden of the mission fell almost wholly upon him. The inhabitants of this place revered him ever after as their apostle, so convinced were they that the "parish was indebted to him for the happy change that had been wrought there. M. Roland, the spiritual director of our canon, knowing his zeal, his talents for the guidance of souls, his devotion to the instruction of youth, and his spirit of humility, recommended him to ex- change his canon ry for the parish of St. Peter. The disciple, submissive as a child to the voice of him who held the place of God towards him upon earth, did not hesitate to agree to this proposition, what- ever disproportion existed between the two bene- fices ; but the Archbishop of Rheims, who appre- ciated his merit, was unwilling to deprive his chap- ter of so distinguished a member, and the canon, on this occasion, had only the merit of his humility and submission. M. Roland perceiving the project of a change thus proved abortive, and wishing to em- ploy in another field the docility of him whose actions he always directed, requested him to take charge of the community of Sisters, called of the Child Jesus, which he had founded for the educa- tion of poor girls. The Venerable de la Salle clearly foresaw all the obstacles that he would 18 LIFE OF THE VEXERABLE have to surmount if lie assumed such a charge, but, at the same time perceiving the good that this work was destined to produce, and wishing besides to give his director a proof of his obedi- ence, he considered it a duty to submit to his wishes, and promised him on his death-bed to take a particular care of this rising community. . What the pious canon had foreseen, did not fail to happen. Scarcely was M. Roland dead, when they began to talk of suppressing his insti- tution, through fear, as they alleged, of seeing it one day become a burden upon the city. But the man of God, faithful to the promises he had made to his director, sustained this work with a courage truly heroic. He defended it with so much wisdom and energy, that the authorities of Rheims not only approved of the new community, but solicited and obtained letters patent for the purpose of assuring its existence. It is evident from this, that though the Venerable de la Salle was not the founder of the Sisters of the Child Jesus, yet it is nevertheless true to say, that it is to him alone they owe their preservation. The good that the girls' schools produced in Rheims, under the wise direction of the zealous canon, made many virtuous persons anxious to ' see similar establishments for boys. God, who called our good canon to be not only the protector but the founder of this admirable work, seemed to have prepared him for it by the attraction he J. B. DE LA SALLE. 19 gave him towards order and regularity. Already the house of this great servant of God had become by his care a species of community, in which all the exercises were performed at fixed hours, ac- cording to the rule which he had drawn up in concert with his young brothers. Silence was there exactly observed ; prayers, meditation, and pious reading were made in common, and peace and charity never suffered the least abatement. A conduct so edifying would have merited eulogiums for any other than the Venerable de la Salle ; but a man whom God called already to a life of suffering and tribulation, had early to accus- tom himself to see his actions ill interpreted, often even calumniated : and this Providence began to permit on the present occasion. Many persons conducted themselves towards him in a rude and insulting way, while the condition of his young brothers was pitied by some who chose to regard them as innocent victims to the eccentric and un- enlightened piety of their eldest brother. Indifferent to what the world said of him, the pious De la Salle made every clay new progress in the path of perfection, and disposed himself by the practice of all Christian and priestly virtues, to become the spiritual father of a numerous family of men devoted to the instruction of youth, which was then almost entirely abandoned to ignorance, and all its consequences. A providen- tial circumstance drew the Abbe de la Salle to the 20 LIFE OF THE YENEKABLE execution of the designs of God in his regard. Madame de Maillefer, his relation, and an inhab- itant of Rouen, after having passed her best years in luxury and sin, was repairing, by every kind of mortification and good works, the evils of her youth. This lady had already established at Rouen free schools for the children of both sexes, and contributed liberally for the support of the com- munity of the Sisters of the Child Jesus, of which we have already spoken. Wishing now to provide her native city with a similar school for boys, she sent thither a pious layman named M. Niel, ac- companied by a young man intended as an assist- ant, after having assigned them a small support, and given them letters of recommendation to our pious canon, as well as to the superioress of the Sisters of the Child Jesus. When M. Mel pre- sented himself in this community, he found there the Venerable de la Salle, who having learned the object of his visit, promised to assist him in the execution of this good work. Alas ! he was far from foreseeing the extent of the engagement he undertook. At first he was satisfied with taking steps to induce the cure of the parish of Saint-Maurice of Rheims to support the two teachers, and intrust his young parishioners to them ; but he was soon obliged, by the very force of circumstances, to take a more active part in the direction of teachers and pupils. Scarcely was the school of St.-Maurice actively J. B. DE LA SALLE. 21 at Work, when M. Mel, in the ardor of his zeal, addressed himself to a rich widow named Madame de Croyeres, and obtained from her liberality the means necessary for opening another school in the parish of St. James. This had only made a begin- ning, when already he was on his way to found a new school at Guise. The frequent absence of M. Niel left the teachers entirely to themselves, with- out any fixed method of instruction, and without guidance as to their individual conduct, and there resulted from this state of things inconveniences that could not escajDe the vigilant eye and pru- dence of our good canon. They seemed to him of a nature to compromise the success and per- manency of the undertaking. To remedy these, he adopted the policy of bringing the young teachers together in a house close to his own, so as to accustom them to a kind of uniform life, and to regular exercises of piety. (1680.) Soon after, he admitted them to his table that he might have the opportunity of conversing w^ith them on the duties of their state, and ended by lodging them with him, in order to have it in his power to di- rect them with still greater care. (1681.) These young men possessed a good will, and showed themselves docile to the instructions of the holy priest, but the management of the schools left much to be wished for, from the want of training on the part of the teachers, and the difficulty of instructing so great a number of scholars. Then it 22 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE was that the Venerable de la Salle conceived the idea of the simultaneous system, and introduced it into the schools ; and in this way he became, if we may say so, the creator of primary teaching in France. The work of the good abbe began meanwhile to assume the appearance, in some sort, of a com- munity, and gave promise of being about to pro- duce the happiest results; but what storms hell was soon to raise against both the master and his disciples ! His family had begun to murmur when the virtuous canon admitted the teachers to his table ; it knew no limits to its indignation when he lodged them in his own house, and resolved to deprive him of the care of his young brothers. The members of the chapter pretended that he, their fellow-member, dishonored them by assuming the office of schoolmaster ; his friends abandoned him as being a man whose piety had turned his brains ; the people of Rheims, who were the parti- cipants of his good deeds, seemed to think it a meritorious thing to insult and outrage him when he appeared in public; and his disciples, who shared in all this cruel treatment, added to his affliction by suffering themselves to yield to the temptation of discouragement. " To what will this severe life which we lead here bring us ?" said they one to another: " What will become of us, if M. de la Salle, disheartened by the obstacles in his way, abandons the undertaking ? What shall J. B. DE LA SALLE. 23 we do after his death, when we have wasted our youth in an employment so thankless P' 1 These reflections — apparently too well founded — produ- ced among them a coldness that alarmed the ven- erable founder. When he came to learn its cause, he spoke to them forcibly on the advantages of confidence in God ; but, however affecting his ex- hortations were, they remained ineffectual, and the holy man understood that he could not re- assure them against the dread of the future, unless he made himself as poor as they were whom he wished to convince. After having fully reflected on the consequences of such a step, and having detailed in a statement drawn up with his own hand, the motives which should determine him to it ; after having consulted the advice of the most en- lightened persons, particularly that of R. P. Barre, so well known by his zeal for the education of the children of the people, and himself the founder of the Communitf- of Sisters devoted to this office, the Abbe de la Salle adopted the heroic resolu- tion of resigning his canonry, and distributing all his goods to the poor. The few friends that were left faithful to him opposed this resolution with all their might, but the good canon, having taken it with a view to the glory of God and the salvation of souls, difficulties however great could prove no obstacle to him. As soon as his purpose of resigning his canonry was made known and considered irrevocable, he was pressed 24 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE to do so in favor of one of his brothers who was already in orders ; his archbishop himself urged hirn to act in this way ; but the holy priest fearing to yield any thing to flesh and blood, preferred to resign in favor of a poor and obscure priest who was full of zeal for the salvation of his neighbor. (1683.) The holy founder had still at his disposal his family property. The famine which ravaged Champagne in 1684 furnished him with a favorable opportunity for stripping himself of this, and his director, whose consent he had many times solicited, could no longer refuse him. He so regulated this distribution as to make all classes of the poor share in it, and he did not dis- pense the material bread without at the same time joining to it that of instruction, so as to nourish at once soul and body : the poor he waited upon himself, and eat with them upon his knees. Become now poor in his turn, he went about from door to door soliciting alms. Then it was that his disciples, touched by conduct so wonderful and such complete abandonment to Divine Providence, ceased to be anxious for the future, and even besought him to fix them in their state by per- petual vows. The good abbe, who, at the urgent request of his disciples, had become their confessor, saw, with pleasure, the progress of grace in their souls ; but, fearing that this fervor might not be lasting, he decided that these first vows should J. B. DE LA SALLE. 25 not extend beyond three years, and pronounced them, with twelve of their number, on Trinity Sunday, 1684. Persecutions and outrages did not cease to harass the servant of God in the bosom of his native city, and to extend even to his disciples ; but it was far worse when, by the loss of some of their number, he was obliged himself to instruct the class belonging to the parish of St. James. To all these afflictions was added the care of the schools of Rheims, Rhetel, Guise, and Laon, which fell entirely upon him in consequence of the depart- ure of M. Niel for Rouen. However, the heroic con- duct of the servant of God changed by degrees contempt into veneration, and many country priests, unable to obtain his consent to send out his disciples one by one, expressed a wish to see him occupied in training subjects capable of con- ducting schools in their parishes. To satisfy this pious wish, the Venerable de la Salle formed a seminary of teachers for the country, and instruct- ed those young persons whom the cures sent to him in the precious art of educating youth in a Christian manner.* The virtuous founder, anxious to practice obe- * It is evident from this that the Venerable de la Salle was not only the originator of primary teaching in France, but also that he has furnished the model and plan for the nor- mal schools : later on, he introduced schools of adults under the name of Sunday schools, and, last of all, the boarding- schools. 2 26 LIFE OF THE VENEKABLE dience and humility after the example of his Divine Master, bore, with regret, the burden of superiority ; he exerted himself so much with his disciples as to succeed in persuading them, that in - their own interests they should choose a superior, a layman like themselves. He caused their choice to fall upon Brother Lheureux, and no sooner had he become an inferior, than he gave the most won- derful examples of religious obedience. Obliged by his ecclesiastical superiors to resume the first . place, he put no longer any limits to his morti- fications and austerities. The Brothers wished to imitate their good father in a kind of life so terrible to human nature, but the greater number soon found themselves unable to continue their duties. One of the Brothers, sick at Guise, asked urgently to see the Venerable de la Salle before death ; the father immediately set out, reached the spot in haste, and, in the act of embracing the sick man, restored him instantly to health. The number of subjects not answering to the wants of the rising congregation, the Venerable de la Salle formed in his house a third community, composed of young persons from fourteen to fif- teen years of age, to prepare them for the religious life, and intrusted their education to one of his most fervent disciples. Such was the origin of the preparatory novitiate.* * This novitiate was transferred to Paris when our ven- erable founder fixed his abode there; but the obstacles J. B. DE LA SALLE. 27 In the mean time, Mgr. Letellier, archbishop of Rheims, a just appreciator of the immense good that the work of the Christian schools promised to the Church, proposed to the holy founder to establish his congregation, propagate it even in his diocese, always on conditiou that he would not establish it elsewhere. The Abbe de la Salle, who had already promised the cure of Saint- Sulpice, in Paris, to open a school in his parish, generously refused offers which appeared to him so advantageous, but which would have limited the spread of his Institute. He accordingly set out, accompanied by two of his disciples, and arrived at the capital, where new crosses awaited him. He was put in possession, in the year 1688, of the schools of the parish which the cure had opened many years previously, but from which, in spite of all his sacrifices, he had never obtained satisfactory results. The state of prosperity which they attained under the direction of the good abbe was so remarkable, that their for- mer director, urged on by spite and jealousy, invented all sorts of calumnies to discredit the servant of God with the cure. This latter, de- ceived by these machinations, was on the point which it encountered through the conduct of those young^ persons, obliged him, to his* great sorrow, to suppress an establishment that gave such good hopes. Other preparatory novitiates were established in 1835 ; that of Paris is always Tery flourishing ; it counted one hundred and twenty subjects- in the month of November, 1835,. 28 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE of dismissing the holy teacher who opposed only silence and patience to the storm raised against him, and who, by his profound abnegation and heroic charity towards his enemy, gave striking proofs of his complete resignation to -Divine Providence ; but the inspection of the schools made by the Abbe de Janson, dispelled all un- favorable sentiments on the part of the cure, and determined him to keep the Venerable de la Salle, and remove his rival. M. Bauclran, suc- cessor to the Abbe de la Barmondiere in the curacy of Saint-Sulpice, was so delighted with the good order of his schools, that he was anxious to multiply them, and opened a new one in the Rue du Bac, in 1690. The remarkable success obtained by the Vener- able de la Salle, stirred up against him a tempest of a new kind. This was occasioned by the writ- ing-masters, who brought a charge against him, before the inspector of schools belonging to the cathedral, on the vain pretext that the Christian schools caused them considerable loss. The ser- vant of God felt a great repugnance to plead his cause, and was only brought to do so, out of sub- mission to his director. On the day previous to the trial, wishing to secure the most Holy Virgin in his favor, he brought the Brothers in pilgrim- age to " Notre-Dame-des-Vertus," where he offered up the holy sacrifice and gave them communion. On that day their only nourishment was dry bread, J. B. DE LA SALLK 29 and as to the holy founder, he returned fasting. On the morrow, he defended the interests of the poor children with so much energy, that he ob- tained the triumph of his cause before the tri- bunal. Soon after, the habit which he had given to his Brothers drew upon him a fresh persecution. M. Baudran, up till that time his friend and protector, disliking the reasons which determined the Vener- able de la Salle not to change the habit, punished him for his firmness by the most bitter reproaches, and by withdrawing the contribution he had hith- erto given in support of the novices. Crosses within the Institute, occasioned by the two first Brothers he had brought with him to Paris, were added to those that came to him from without ; and, to crown his afflictions, he fell sick at Rheims, in consequence of the fatigue experienced by mak- ing the journey on foot. On this occasion, he gave the most admirable examples of patience, resigna- tion, and detachment from creatures, even in re- gard to his nearest relations. Faithful to the rule he had established in reference to persons of a dif- ferent sex, he would not suffer his grandmother to be introduced to his room, but, in spite of his ex- treme weakness, caused himself to be conducted to the parlor to receive her. "No sooner was he out of danger, than he wished to return to Paris. On arriving there, he was obliged to take to his bed, and in a few days his condition became such, that 30 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE it was necessary to administer the holy viati- cum, which he received with a faith and piety that greatly edified all the assistants. God was content with the sacrifice which the holy man then made of his life; but his restoration to health was only a transition to crosses of which each one weighed more heavily than its prede- cessor. In the hope of being able to resign again his office of superior, he had induced Brother Lheureux to study a course of theology, and intended to pre- sent him for ordination on his return from the sec- ond journey he had made to Rheims ; but what was his grief when, on his return to Paris, he learned that this Brother had been two days buried. This sudden death appeared to him a proof that the members of his Institute were not called to the priesthood, and that no priest should ever belong to it. Other sufferings, more afflicting still, were preparing for the servant of God. The seminary of teachers which he had left so flourishing at Rheims, fell away, little by little, in consequence of his absence; the community of preparatory novices was no longer self-supporting ; many sub- jects left, and for four years scarcely any offered to take their place. In circumstances so critical, the holy founder seeing his work on the brink of ruin, made, on the 21st of November, 1691, a special vow, along with two of the principal Brothers, never to abandon the Institute. He J. B. DE LA SALLE. 31 rented, subsequently, a house at Vaugirard for the purpose of establishing a novitiate.* He there assembled the Brothers in retreat during the vaca- tion, and at their departure he directed them to write to him every month, to receive such advice as might keep alive their sentiments of piety. Soon this house was filled with young novices full of fervor and good will; great sinners, attracted by the reputation for sanctity which the servant of God enjoyed, came thither likewise, to put their consciences in order, being justly alarmed at their state ; and many ecclesiastics came also, to make salutary retreats under his guidance, and returned from them filled with admiration. Still, the cure" of St.-Sulpice not having given his consent to this undertaking, withdrew even his liberalities, which were almost the only resource of the holy founder. The poverty of the father reduced his. spiritual children to the severest privations ; they lived only on alms, and the badness of the times made these far from abundant : thus they often saw themselves stripped of every thing, particularly on occasion of the famine which raged with so much severity in 1693 and 1694. He was then obliged to bring back his novices to Paris, that the little food sent to Vaugirard in charity'might * It is probably the house to be seen in this new quarter of Paris, at the corner of the Rue Coprem.x and the Grand Rue, and which for a long time has kep the name of Maison desi Freres, although it is a hotel of some celebrity. 32 LITE OF THE VENEKABLE not become the prey of a number of poor persons whom this scourge had drawn to the capital, and who covered all the highways. Providence, how- ever, never failed to come to the relief of the ser- vant of God, and sometimes even in a manner almost miraculous. When the times had become a little better, the Venerable de la Salle took once more the road to Vaugirard, along with his novices, and established himself there anew. The Brothers in Paris came to see him on the holidays, and in this way kept up their fervor. It was at this period that, profit- ing by a brief interval of calm, he began to draw up the rules of the Institute, that is to say, to com- mit to writing the order of life which his example had already brought into practice for the last fif- teen years. He composed at the same time (in 1694) some works intended for the schools and the Brothers, namely : " Instructions on the Holy Mass," "On Good Behavior," and "Meditations for Sundays and Festivals." In the same year he assembled all the Brothers in retreat, and on the feast of the most Holy Trinity he pronounced, with twelve of their number, the first perpetual vows. A little later (in 1698) he received into the house* fifty young Irishmen, who were committed to his care by James II., king of England, to be brought up'in the Catholic religion. This prince having come in person to express satisfaction at the happy results of his labors, went away de- J. B. DE LA SALLE. 33 lighted with the good order and piety that reigned . in the establishment. M. de la Chetardie, the new cure of St.-Sulpice, highly pleased with the excellent management of the Christian schools, established several others in Paris, particularly a Sunday school, in which the Brothers received the artisans on Sunday after Mass, and gave them such instruction as had been neglected in their youth. All this produced good fruit among the youog men belonging to the working classes, but unfortunately, from the want of trained teachers, it became impossible to con- tinue it. M. de la Chetardie, who felt a particular interest in this school, attributed the failure to the Venerable de la Salle, and on that account with- drew from him both his friendship and protection. Some time after (1702) the towns of Chartres and Troyes requested the servant of God to send them some Brothers, trained under his own eye, to take charge of the education of the children of the poor. He also established in the parish of Saint-Hyppoly- tus, in the faubourg Saint-Marcel, Paris, a school and seminary of teachers for country districts, on the model of that which he had previously established at Rheims. This last establishment enjoyed a re- markable success for from five to six years, but, after the death of the cure, who defrayed its expenses, it 'was ruined through the dishonesty of the person appointed to direct it ; a circumstance that caused the most poignant grief to our holy founder, and 2* 34 LIFE OF THE YEISTERABLE drew upon him a fresh persecution. To rise su- perior to so many difficulties, he devoted himself without reserve to every kind of austerity. His fasts were almost continual; he passed the # greatest part of the night in prayer, and took the little repose he allowed himself upon the bare boards. This kind of life caused him rheumatism that deprived him of the use of his limbs. The disease soon became so intensified, that all reme- dies proved unavailing. At last they thought of making him lie upon a sort of gridiron under which were placed burning coals, but this caused him far more excruciating suffering than the disease itself. The Venerable de la Salle supported this pain with a constancy that brought to mind that of St. Laurence during his martyrdom. Still another persecution having been raised against the servant of God by the jealousy of the writing- masters, and M. de la Chetardie not having under- taken his defense, he came forth, suddenly cured of the disease of which we have spoken, and plead- ed successfully for a second time the cause of the poor, proving incontestably that none of the pu- pils admitted to his schools were in a condition to pay any fees. The Venerable de la Salle, wishing to give proofs of his profound submission to the Holy See, and of his abhorrence of Jansenism, which at that time was ravaging the Church of France, sent to Rome Brother Gabriel Drolin, one of the two who J. B. DE LA SALLE. 35 had pronounced with him the vow taken on the 21st of November, 1691. This brother obtained from Clement XI. the charge of a school which the Institute has had possession of ever since. About the same time he opened a school in the town of Avignon ; for, in spite of that series of persecutions and reverses which were shortening the life of the holy founder, his Institute was ex- tending itself every day. At the very time when the good priest was hoping to have it in his power to enjoy some repose, an imprudence committed by the brother director of novices towards one of their number, drew upon him a persecution more violent than any that had gone before. The most virtuous persons, deceived by the enemies of the holy man, attributed to him the faults of his dis- ciples ; they judged him incapable of conducting his community, and so represented him at the arch- bishop's council : it was even determined there to put another priest in his place. But, either because they wished to proceed deliberately, or from the hope of finding in the conduct of the virtuous founder some grounds to exculpate him, they re- solved to institute an inquiry in the community itself. In pursuance of this the chief vicar ap- peared there for several successive days, spoke to all the Brothers, and inquired into the most cir- cumstantial details of the behavior of their supe- rior. An emissary, less delicate than the chief 36 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE vicar, was not ashamed to speak openly against the innocent La Salle, and to promise all sorts of advantages to the Brothers who would separate themselves from him. But these artifices had no effect. Men who had abandoned every thing for heaven proved insensible to offers that were limit- ed to the things of this world. A just idea may be had of the virtue of our holy priest, and of his resignation to the will of Heaven, when it is known that he never suffered himself to put a single ques- tion to the Brothers either as to what inquiries had been made or answers given, or in any way what- ever bearing on the subject of these proceedings. He himself received these visitors with a respect and courtesy which would have been impossible were it not for his profound humility, and never expressed any desire to know the object that brought them thither. The depositions of the Brothers only served to bring into light the virtues of their holy founder, the peculiar talent for guid- ing souls with which he was gifted, and the affec- tion which his disciples entertained for him. Nevertheless he was condemned, judged incapable of conducting a congregation which he had brought into existence, and whose progress he had hither- to directed with so much prudence and wisdom ; and another superior was brought to take his place. The good De la Salle did all that lay in his power to make the new superior they had given to his congregation acceptable. Seeing that he could J. B. DE LA SALLE. 37 not in this influence the minds of the Brothers, he went to ask pardon for their conduct from the archbishop, offering to bear in person all the pun- ishment that this resistance might be deserving of. The archbishop then had his eyes opened to the falsehood of the accusations urged so strongly against the Venerable de la Salle ; but the enemies of the holy man were too powerful and too deep- ly prepossessed to leave it in his power to bring them back to juster sentiments : the innocent one was sacrificed. In the mean time, the new superior, perceiving the resistance of the Brothers and the resolution they had formed to withdraw from the Institute if this good father was removed, confined himself to a nominal superiority, appearing but seldom among them, and by degrees calm was restored to the community. As a consequence of the fresh persecutions which had been raised against him by the schoolmasters, and of the abandonment of his cause by M. de la Chetardie, who had suffered himself to be drawn into the prevailing prejudice against him, the Venerable de la Salle was obliged to remove to the faubourg Saint- Ant oine. His community lived entirely on the alms received from, the convent of the liuns of the Holy Cross, where our holy priest went to say Mass, both because of its proximity and from the want of a domestic chapel. The Venerable de la Salle, who had been accus- 38 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE tomed to see his enterprises thwarted, and who loved to build up his work upon the cross, had every reason to be satisfied at Rouen, to which place he had been called by Mgr. Colbert, its archbishop. The original object in coming thither was to open a school in the town of Darnetal, in which place a second school w^as afterward opened. It had been agreed that the Brothers should be maintained and lodged at the hospital, and conse- quently, that they should receive a very trilling sal- ary, to meet their other wants ; but they soon saw themselves obliged to remove to another residence, without succeeding in obtaining any addition to the small allowance made them. The holy founder, taking counsel only from the goodness of his heart and his love for the children of the poor, could not decide upon removing the Brothers from a town in which they were doing so much good. He even established his novitiate there, having brought the novices thither from Paris, and settled them in the faubourg Saint-Sever, in a house which had belonged to the Marquis de Louvois, and which was afterwards celebrated among the Brothers, and even throughout France, under the name of Saint- Yon.* However, the w^ant of sufficient means of supporting his novices compelled him to bring them back to Paris, and leave them in that city, * This house, which was long the chief house of the Insti- tute, and the residence of a great number of pupil-boarders, has been converted into a hospital for the insane. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 39 until more favorable times should arise. The community of Saint-Sulpice, considerably aug- mented by the return of the novices, in a short time exhausted their scanty resources, and the scarcity of food, and, above all, cold of the winter of 1709, reduced them to the most frightful suffer- ings. The Brothers saw themselves again without provisions, without money, and almost without clothing to protect them against the inclemency of the season. Mattresses were a luxury unknown in the house of the servant of God ; beds of straw, laid upon the floor, with a wretched covering over them, were the best beds in the establishment. These true disciples of Christian poverty would assuredly have died of cold and hunger, had not the cure of Saint-Sulpice at last brought them some relief. Notwithstanding the small number of subjects that the good priest had at his disposal, he could establish, within very short intervals of time, houses at Marseilles, Mende, Alais, Grenoble, Saint-Denis, Versailles, Moulins, and Boulogne, being urgently solicited in each instance to do so. Soon after the famine had passed away, the question arose of raising a school for the use of teachers destined for country parishes. A young abbe offered some aid for this purpose, and pur- chased, in the name of another ecclesiastic named M. Roger, a house situated in Saint-Denis, into which those young men might be received. How- 40 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE ever, the father of the young abbe having been informed of the purchase made, accused the ser- vant of God of having wrongfully influenced a minor, and was not ashamed to enter criminal proceedings against him, although he had done nothing beyond promising the Brothers to assist in the good work, and contributing, as far as his poverty would permit, towards the expense. The venerable founder, perceiving himself forever made a butt to the shafts of his enemies, and dreading lest his presence in Paris should furnish a pretext for some fresh persecution against the Brothers, formed the resolution of leaving that city. He directed his steps towards the south of France, that he might there visit the houses estab- lished at Avignon, Alais, Vans, and Marseilles. It was in this last city that, for the first time in his life, he saw himself honored and respected, and the good work which he had undertaken patron- ized in a way that seemed to leave nothing to be desired. But he was not slow in perceiving that all this attention had for its object to draw him into a party that had been condemned by the Holy See. Too faithful to the decisions of the Church to be caught in such a snare, however skillfully laid, he lost no time in getting rid of Buch dangerous patrons ; but he soon paid the penalty of his want of courtesy to such innova- tors and of his attachment to orthodox doctrine. The novitiate which he had established was closed, J. B. DE LA SALLE. 41 and his reputation injured by a defamatory libel; but if he obtained neither gold nor patronage from those who had promised so much, he still had the happiness of preserving his faith, a treasure he would not have exchanged for all the riches of the world. It would, however, have been but little for this servant of Jesus Christ to be afflicted by strangers only ; like his divine Model, he must see his own turn against him, and go so far as to re- fuse him hospitality, as did the Brothers of Mende in the year 1713. It was about this same time that he went to Grenoble, where he was received with as much respect as affection. The remembrance of Saint Bruno, who had been, like him, a canon of Rheims, induced him to visit the Grande-Chartreuse ; but his profound humility not suffering him to receive the honors which are there paid to all canons of his illustrious metropolis, he left them in igno- rance of his having ever been invested with that dignity. He lived for some time in a solitude in the mountain of Parmenie, to give himself up more uninterruptedly to the exercises of contem- plation, and to beseech our Lord to sustain his In- stitute, if it might be fruitful in blessings to the Church.* This long absence of the holy founder * This house of retreat is situated about seven miles from Grenoble, on a mountain called Parmenie. Having- fallen into ruins, in- consequence of the revolution of 1789, it was rebuilt in 1850, and again made use of for its original purpose. 42 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE was a terrible trial for the congregation, which found itself thus without support, without means, and, above all, without a head. It suffered from this considerably, and appeared to be on the very- eve of destruction. Still, the Brothers in Paris did not lose the hope of seeing again their father. They knew his profound humility so well, that they presumed to write to him and command him, in virtue of the holy obedience which he had vowed, to come and resume the direction of the congre- gation (1714). As soon as the holy founder re- ceived this remarkable letter, he did not hesitate to sacrifice his own love for solitude, feeling that God required of him to give his disciples this new proof of heroic obedience. The day of his arrival at Paris. was one of rejoicing to the Brothers, and believing that he was about to resume the general direction of the Institute, they were impatient to give him an account of all that had happened since his departure ; but what was their surprise at hearing him thus address them, " Can you not do as you have done during my absence ? Suppose me dead, and act in the same manner now as if you believed me so in reality." And immediately he repeated what he had so often urged upon them be- fore, that it was necessary that they should put one of their own number in his place before his death. The Brothers could not bring themselves to do so, and yet the line of conduct designedly adopted by the servant of God, obliged them at JT. B. DE LA SALLE. 43 last to yield to his wishes, as we shall soon see. His return into the midst of his disciples raised up almost immediately fresh persecutions on the part of his enemies. They addressed captious questions to him, in the hope of extorting from his answers fresh matter for new accusations against him ; but his patience and prudence at last lulled the storm, and the perseverance of his refusal to assume any superiority gradually prepared the Brothers for selecting one among themselves as their head. The holy founder visited, in 1715, the estab- lishments of Calais and Boulogne, and retired at last to Saint-Yon, where he confined himself to hearing the confessions of the Brothers, preaching to them on Sundays and holydays, and directing the novices ; the training of whom was, in his eyes, a point of the first importance. He was persuaded that for a person who consecrates himself to God, all the rest of his life depends on the manner in which he makes his novitiate, and that he will ac- quire with difficulty the virtues suitable to his state, in a sufficient degree, if the time set apart for preparation has been ill employed. For a long time, the servant of God governed the Institute, by directions transmitted through Brother Barthe- lemi, one of his most faithful disciples ; and it was " this Brother whom he selected to intimate to the others that his advanced age and increasing fee- bleness foreboded that his end was near, and that the time was come when they should at last choose 44 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE a superior. The brother set out to make this com- munication to all the members of the Institute, and to invite them either to take part in the approach- ing assembly, or give in, in advance, their assent to whatever should be determined on. This assem- bly, which was the first general chapter of the Institute, met at Saint- Yon on the Feast of Pente- cost, 1717. Brother Barthelemi was chosen Su- perior-General, and they named two assistants to help him in governing. Soon after the election of Brother Barthelemi, the Venerable de la Salle was obliged to return to Paris to receive, in the shape of a legacy, restitution made to him by M. Roger, in repara- tion of the injury done to him on occasion of the purchase of the house at Saint-Denis. We have seen above that this purchase, whose object was the establishment of a school for teachers, had been made in part out of the money of the holy founder. The servant of God had been engaged in this good work by the pressing solici- tations of a young ecclesiastic, whose parents, influenced by sordid avarice, and still more by the secret insinuations of the enemies of t he holy man, had dared to accuse him of suborning a mi- nor. In vain did the servant of God present a justi- ficatory memorial, supported by thirteen letters of the young abbe, which showed incontestably that his only fault, if any, was that he had con- tributed out of his own funds to this ffood. work. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 45 after repeated solicitations to do so for more than a year. The young abbe, accompanied by his tutor, as well as M. Roger, had admitted all these facts. Before just judges the innocence of the Venerable de la Salle would have been openly recognized ; but by the permission of Divine Providence, which wished to give him this trait of resemblance to Jesus Christ, our holy founder, who, at that time, was followed by the bitter ha- tred of him who wished to deprive him of the title of superior, was ignominiously condemned, and even obliged to withdraw himself by flight from the fury of his enemies. The legacy of M. Roger was, then, but a feeble reparation for the wrong inflicted by this iniquitous procedure. But as the testamentary document styled our holy founder, by the title of Superior of the Brothers, he abso- lutely refused to sign his name with the addition of a title which, since the election of Brother Bar- thelemi, no longer belonged to him, and which, moreover, was repugnant to his profound humili- ty. The notary, however, maintained that he could not deliver the sum bequeathed but on this condition ; and the holy founder was resolved to make a sacrifice of it, rather than attribute to him- self a dignity which he had surrendered with so much joy. This heroic act of abnegation and hu- mility edified greatly those who were acquainted with it, and above all the superiors of the seminary of Saint Nicholas du Chardonnet where the holy 46 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE man was living in retreat ever since his return to Paris. There giving himself up to his attraction for penance and prayer, he thought of nothing but his own sanctification, and gave every day fresh proofs of humility, obedience, and the strictest exacti- tude in observing the rules of the house. Three months passed in this manner. At last the notary, wishing to terminate the matter of the legacy of M. Roger, and thinking that the signature of the title might not be indispensably necessary, con- tented himself with the simple signature of De la Salle, and handed over to him the legacy, of which he had been made the depositary. In the mean while, Brother Barthelemi kept ur- ging the holy founder to return into the midst of his children. He yielded to his entreaties, but on his return to Saint- Yon shut himself up more than ever in retirement. He only confessed those whom he could not persuade to go elsewhere. He dis- coursed with the Brothers on edifying subjects, and by ennobling reflections inflamed them with zeal for the education of children. To such sub- jects all his communications with the Brothers were now limited, that he might not cause them any sadness of heart. For himself, he was solely devoted to prayer and meditation, and lived in the practice of constant austerities. Wholly occupied with the things of heaven, his desires tended thither without ceasing, for there he had centred all his hopes and affections. The only relaxation J. B. DE LA SALLE. 47 that he allowed himself was to converse with the novices on the manner of praying well, and help to smooth away the difficulties that the entering upon this holy exercise offers, by pointing out their principal causes. He frequently said to them that the weariness many persons experience in prayer had no other source than their own want of prep- aration ; that they did not keep themselves re- spectfully in the presence of God ; that they were in some sort afraid to set in earnest about the busi- ness of their salvation, and that they refused to make God those little sacrifices that their con- sciences required of them. He exhorted them to use more generosity to their divine Master, who was jealous of the entire possession of their hearts. It is almost incredible how much these young persons felt themselves incited to advance in the ways of salvation, after these edifying discourses. "It was at this time," says the first author of his life, " that he composed his ' Explanation of the Method of Prayer,' and revised some others of his spiritual works." In casting off the burden of superiority, the ser- vant of God had not been relieved from that of the cross. From the hour when he first con- ceived the idea of establishing the Christian schools, his life had not ceased to be one of suffer- ing, and so it continued to be till the end. Never, however, had he been subjected to so severe a trial as that which he had to endure during the 48 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE last days of his painful career. For some years the Brothers had opened a boarding-school at Saint- Yon. The good conduct of the pupils on their return home having spread far and wide the reputation of their teachers as skillful directors of youth, many parents, afflicted by the misconduct of their children, thought that they might return to virtue if admitted to Saint- Yon, and gladly placed them in that establishment. The lessons of the Brothers, the paternal exhortations, and, above all, the example of their venerable founder, made a profound impression on these young per- sons, and a great number of them were converted. Soon after, the Brothers found themselves com- pelled by superior orders to admit subjects by so much the greater enemies to good discipline that they had passed several years in prison, from which they came out more depraved and cor- rupted than when they entered. It is easy to understand how such boarders must have been difficult subjects to manage, and what attention was needed to watch them so as to prevent their escape. The cure of the parish in which the house of Saint-Yon was situated, insisted that the Brothers should conduct these young persons to the offices of his church, although he was told of the evils that would inevitably result from doing so. The Brothers tried, however, to satisfy him, but seeing that many of their young prisoners profited by the opportunity to escape, J. B. DE LA SALLE. 49 and in this way to compromise their responsibil- ity, they represented to the cure that it was im- possible for them to continue this. He, thinking that he saw therein a want of submission to his parochial authority, accused the Abbe de la Salle as the cause, and communicated his impressions to a friend of his, a passionate and intriguing man, who took upon himself to influence the arch- bishop, and bring down upon the holy founder the severest punishment that can fall upon a priest. Without any preparation it was announced to him that his faculties were suspended, and this too without any consideration made for the se- vere sickness under which he then labored, and which incapacitated him from doing any thing in his own justification. But the man of God was prepared for all sorts of humiliations ; he endured with patience this last cross, nor ceased to adore the designs of God upon him and the work to which he had inspired him, and he prudently kept this disgrace a secret, so as to prevent any mur- murs being raised in the community, preferring to drink the chalice alone to the dregs rather than en- danger the salvation of one of his children. How- ever submissive the servant of God was to all the ordinances of Divine Providence, this new perse- cution contributed in no small degree to aggra- vate his sickness. Perceiving this, he called for the last sacraments, which they hastened to ad- minister to him. He was seated, and clothed with 3 50 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE his surplice and stole, when the Blessed Sacra- ment was brought into his chamber; but his re- spect and love for Jesus Christ conquering his weakness, he threw himself on his knees upon the ground to adore and receive his divine Saviour. His children, all in tears, surrounded his bed to be the witnesses of his happy death, and to receive his last advice and blessing. This is the last will which he bequeathed to them : " I recom- mend in the first place my soul to God, and after- wards all the Brothers of the Society of the Chris- tian Schools to whom he has united me, and recommend to them, above all things, always to have an entire submission to the Church, particu- larly in these troublesome times, and, as a proof of this, never to separate themselves in any thing from our holy father the Pope and the Roman Church, always remembering that I have sent two Brothers to Rome to ask of God the grace that their society should be always entirely sub- missive to it. I recommend them to have a great devotion towards our Lord, a great love for holy communion, and a special devotion to the most holy Virgin and St. Joseph, the patron and pro- tector of their society; to acquit themselves of their duties with zeal and disinterestedness; to have intimate union among themselves, and abso- lute submission to their superiors, which is the foundation and support of all perfection in a com- munity." He had great difficulty in pronouncing J. B. DE LA SALLE. 51 these last words, his voice grew considerably- weaker, arid it was thought he was about to enter on his agony. His children cast themselves on their knees and asked his blessing, and Brother Barthelemi, who at last succeeded in overcoming his humility, prayed him to give it not only to those present, but to extend it to all the Brothers of the Institute. This loving father of a numer- ous family, like an ancient patriarch, raised his eyes and hands to heaven and said, " May the Lord bless you all." At these expressions of his love, his children burst forth into sobs ; never had they felt the necessity of his presence so much as at the moment when he was about to leave them. The thought that he was quitting earth to be their protector in heaven, could alone moderate their grief. Towards evening he lost consciousness, and they recited the prayers for those in agony. Scarcely were these ended when he returned to himself; it was a last brief period which God allowed him to instruct his disciples. And here we must remark, that these last words had for their object to inspire more and more a horror of the world. " If you wish," said he to them in this solemn moment, " to continue faith- ful to, and die in your state of life, never have intercourse with people of the world ; for by de- grees you will take pleasure in their manner of acting, and enter so much into discourse with ♦hem, that you will not be able to prevent your- 52 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE selves, through courtesy, from applauding their language although it may be very wicked. In this way you would fall into infidelity, and being no longer faithful observers of your rules, you would grow disgusted with your state of life and at last abandon it." A cold sweat which suddenly came on him prevented him from say- ing more, and again he entered upon his agony ; it lasted from midnight till half-past two in the morning. Then he appeared to recover a little strength. They suggested to him to ask the as- sistance of the Mother of God, by saying to her that prayer of the Church which he was accus- tomed to recite every evening : " Maria, mater gratiae." The Brother Superior asked him after- wards if he did not accept with joy all the suffer- ings he endured. "Yes," he answered; "I adore in all things the conduct of God in my regard." These were the last words he spoke. He fell again into his agony at three o'clock in the morn- ing, and, although it caused him some tremblings, his face remained calm and undisturbed. To- wards four o'clock he made an effort as if to rise to go to meet some one, joined his hands to- gether, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and gave up his soul into the hands of his Creator. Thus died the death of the saints, on Friday, in Holy Week, the 7th of April, 1719, at the age of sixty-eight, Jean Baptiste de la Salle, founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and the J. B. DE LA SALLE. 53 true friend of youth : a man filled with the spirit of God and apostolic zeal, who lived only for the glory of Jesus Christ, and the salvation of his neighbor ; a man so valuable to the Church by his own unwearied and useful labors, and by the new Institute with which he enriched it. * He was born with a delicate constitution ; but this strengthened, as time advanced, in spite of the fatigues and severe life he had chosen. Noth- ing imj^aired it but his excessive austerities, which made him subject to great infirmities. The news of the death of the servant of God having spread through the town of Rouen, all those who had known him were heard to cry out, with a feeling of the fullest convicti#n : " He was a saint : there is one more happy soul gone to heaven." The cure of Saint-Sever announced his death by these beautiful words — the saint is dead — wishing, doubtless, to repair as much as he could the injury he had done him in the opinion of the archbishop. Many persons wished to see on;e again one who had been the subject of such continual edification to them. Every one was anxious to have some- thing that had belonged to him. Some took his garments and distributed them in small pieces ; numbers of them cut off a portion of his hair and preserved it as they w r ould a precious relic. Af- ter every one had satisfied his devotion, the body was carried to the parish church of Saint-Sever, where it was buried. An immense crowd of peo- 54 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE pie attended the funeral ceremony ; but, because oi the services of the last days of Holy Week, it was impossible to pay the honors due to his mem- ory, till the Monday after Low Sunday. On that day, a great number of the clergy repaired to Saint-Sever, where a solemn High Mass was offer- ed up. Many of those who assisted at it, recom- mended themselves with confidence to his inter- cession ; their faith was recompensed by the special graces which they received. A great number of persons, when they learned the death of the holy founder, wrote to the Broth- ers to console them for the loss of their father, and to express the opinion they had entertained of the holiness of this great* servant of God. We shall limit ourselves to giving here the letter addressed by the Superior of the Seminary of Saint Nicho- las, to Brother Barthelemi. "My Dear Brothers, — It was with great sorrow I received your letter giving the details of the death of your much-honored father, J. B. de la Salle, of which M. de la Vertu had already apprised me. I communicated this sad news to our community, and recommended him to their prayers. You can not doubt, that every one unites with you in deploring the death of this worthy priest, whom all who knew him, and I in particular, look upon as a saint now praying for us in heaven. I do not believe that your community can ever perish, since it has such a protector near our blessed J. B. DE LA SALLE. 55 Lord. You, better than any one else, know the sanctity of his life, and the contradictions he ex- perienced in your establishment ; a sure proof that it is the work of God, which will yet, I hope, be strengthened by his prayejjs, and your correspond- ence with them. " We had the happiness of being edified by his presence during several months that he did us the honor to remain here, and, I believe, that God sent him among us to preach to our youth by his good example, and to stimulate .ourselves in our remissness. His life here was one of the most humble and mortified ; he slept little and prayed a great deal. The person whose office it is to awaken us has often told me, that, in going to call him, he always founds him up, even on the coldest mornings of winter, during which season he never approached the fire, unless I drew him thither by force ; which did not often happen, as my hours and his did not correspond. Every day regularly, he devoted at least three hours to med- itation. He submitted to the rule more implicitly than even the youngest of the seminarists, obeying, with an edifying promptitude, the first sound of the bell calling us to our exercises. During recreation, he agreed so willingly to the requests made to take a part in expeditions of charity or assist at the burial of children, that those duties appeared a source of pleasure to him. In a word, retreat, prayer, charity, humility, mortification, a poor 56 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE and austere life, were all his happiness. I hope that his death will not separate me from the affec- tion of your community, and that you will always do me the honor to regard me as one of your friends. " Fifteen years after (1734), the church which the Brothers had commenced at Saint- Yon being fin- ished, they obtained permission to remove thither the precious remains of their holy founder. The ceremony was accompanied by the most imposing solemnity. Almost all the members of the eccle- siastical and civil bodies in the neighborhood as- sisted at it, so great was the veneration in which they held the memory of the servant of God. When the body had been laid in the vault pre- pared for it, the cure of Saint-Sever addressed the Brothers in the following words : " In compliance with the orders of his Lordship the Archbishop of Rouen, primate of Normandy, peer of Fiance, and first almoner to the Queen, transmitted to me through the Abbe Bridelle, doctor of Sorbonne, canon, archdeacon of the church of Rouen, and one of his vicar generals, and out of the affection I bear for your Institute, and especially for this house, which is its mother, I have removed into your church, my very dear Brothers, the precious remains of Jean Baptiste de la Salle, priest, doctor of theol- ogy, former canon of the metropolitan church of Rheims, and your founder, who departed this life, after having been fortified by my ministry with J. B. DE LA SALLE. 7 the holy sacraments of the Church, which he re- ceived with all possible piety, in this house, on the 7th of April, 1719, and was buried on the day fol- lowing in my parochial church. And here, were I to follow the ordinary ceremonial, I should say something to you on the nobility of his descent ; but the generous contempt he himself felt for the distinctions of birth teaches me to be silent on the subject. Neither shall I call attention to the em- inent qualities of his mind and heart, and the ad- vantages of his exterior, which made his piety revered by all who beheld him ; but I can not but allude here to his charity, his zeal, and his humil- ity, — fruitful sources of all Christian and apostolic virtues, which, raising him above all visible and perishable things, made him live only to adore his God, think only that he might pray to him, speak only that he might praise him, and labor and suf- fer only that he might be found worthy to enjoy him. Such is the testimony, my dear Brothers, that I feel myself compelled to offer to the mem- ory of this holy priest, at whose last moments I have assisted, and with whom, for the last two years of his life, I maintained the closest intimacy. May Heaven grant that this precious deposit which I have removed to your church, may prove a pledge between your community and me, of union such as I earnestly wish to maintain, and such as I trust may descend to my successors." We see, from this, that if the cure of Saint-Sever indiscretely 3* 58 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE called forth the severe sentence of the Archbishop of Rouen against the Venerable cle la Salle, he had the courage, when better informed, to repair the injury he had done to his reputation. It might seem the proper place here to say some- thing in detail of the virtues of the Venerable de la Salle; but the sketch we have just given of his life, however hasty, seems sufficient to show that he carried to an heroic degree all the virtues that make up the true minister of Jesus Christ, the benefactor of human nature, and the victim of love for God and his neighbor.- We shall not, then, describe that vivid faith which, raising him above the sentiments of nature, induced him to sacrifice all the advantages of fortune, and the dignities he enjoyed, to devote himself to every kind of humil- iation and suffering, with a view to secure the sal- vation of the children of the poor. We shall not speak of the humiliations he had to submit to in establishing these schools, where, with the first elements of education, the children were taught the principles of Christianity, and initiated into the sublime and consoling practices of true reli- gion. We shall not describe that heroic abandon- ment of self to Divine Providence which inspired him to distribute his goods to the poor, without reserving any thing whatever for himself or his disciples. We shall say nothing of his penitential life, his attraction towards solitude, his hidden life, his constant prayer, his love of contempt, self- J. B. DE LA SALLE. 59 denial, obedience, and all that can humble us in the eyes of our fellow-men ; nor of that insatiable thirst for sufferings and every thing that could crucify in him the old man. What might be said of his love for God, and all that this noble motive inspired him to do, of his assiduity at prayer, to which he devoted his days and nights, of his love for his spiritual children and even for his enemies, and of his tender devotion to the most holy Vir- gin and St. Joseph ! We shall only add that, pro- foundly penetrated with the importance of the du- ties of catechist, for which he intended his disci- ples, he himself discharged that office with an unction, zeal, and patience that none could wit- ness without being moved to tears ; and that he found no greater pleasure than being in the midst of poor children, explaining to them the first prin- ciples of religion, and making them recite their daily prayers with a piety in proportion to their years. Some, however, have ventured to impute faults to him, as we have seen in the course of this sketch. It would be easy to show how unjust such reproaches were, and that in this respect he resembled many saints who, during their lives, were severely blamed, and to whom justice was done only after death. But the limits we have assigned to ourselves compel us to omit such in- teresting details, and to pass to an account of some of the favors accorded to those who have implored his intercession. While he was upon 60 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE earth, the Venerable de la Salle had already given proofs of his power with God. The following are some of the favors mentioned by the first author of his life : — A Brother of the community of Guise, very dan- gerously ill, expressed a great desire to see, before death, him whom he regarded as his father. The holy founder learned this news at Rheims about midday ; by one o'clock he was already on his road, on foot, in spite of the heats of a sultry summer. The thick habit with which he was clothed, and especially a rough hair-shirt which he almost al- ways wore, made his journey extremely painful ; still he traveled twenty-one miles on that day. The next day he reached Laon about eleven o'clock in the morning, worn out with fatigue, but instead of taking any rest he repaired to the church to say Mass, and, after having taken a little refresh- ment, resumed the road to Guise. The Brothers, on seeing him appear, could scarcely believe their eyes, so surprised were they at the promptitude with which this loving father yielded to the wish of his disciple. Immediately after his arrival the Venerable de la Salle asked to see the sick brother, and addressed him in words of consolation dictated by the most tender charity. This Brother, who was fast sinking, was moved even to tears ; he could not express his gratitude otherwise than by raising his eyes and hands to heaven to thank God for having given him the consolation he had pray- J. B. DE *LA SALLiS. 61 ed for. But what was the joy of the community when they saw the piety of the sick Brother and the charity of the superior rewarded by an instan- taneous and, as it proved, permanent cure. All united in offering up solemn thanks to God. In the year 1703, the servant of God learned that a little boy who attended the Christian schools in the parish of Saint-Sulpice, was afflict- ed with epilepsy ; he called him to him and gave him a drink of some sort which he made up on the spot, no doubt for the purpose of keeping secret the merit of his prayers and mortifications ; but he could not conceal the fact that, from that moment, the child was perfectly cured. A Brother of the society, who was reduced to extremity by an abscess in the throat, and only waited for the hour of death, was visited by the Venerable de la Salle, who encouraged him to re- sign himself to the will of God, and to bear his affliction with patience, giving him reason to hope that he would soon be delivered from it. The Brother, consoled by the presence of his good father, rallied all the strength left, and besought him to recommend his case to God. The good priest promised to do so, and left to say Mass for his intention. Mass was not ended, when the abscess broke from the outside, from which issued a great quantity of matter, and in a few days the sick man was perfectly healed. Brother Gilles, also a member of our Institute, 62 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE was afflicted one day when traveling with so violent a headache, accompanied by faintness, that he found it impossible to continue his journey. Not knowing how it would end, or what remedy to adopt, he lay down on the side of the road to wait till the Lord should dispose of him according to his will. Soon after,- he remembered that he had about him a letter of our holy founder; he took it, and full of confidence in the goodness of God, and the intercession of his venerable father, he placed it upon that part of his head where the pain was most excessive, and at once he was com- pletely cured. He continued his journey, thank- ing God a thousand times, for having restored him to health through the merits of his servant. Another Brother of the same congregation testi- fies, that he was immediately cured of a violent headache by the application of a small portion of the good priest's hair-shirt. Brother Timotheus, who was the second su- perior-general, has left in writing, that, having had a swelling of extraordinary size on the left knee, he was obliged to have it opened, not being able to reduce it by any application. After that operation the wound became so discolored that it was revolting to look at. The surgeon who dressed it did not conceal his apprehension that it might assume a more serious character. The Venerable de la Salle, who destined this Brother to be director of the house of Chartres, was J. B. DE LA SALLE. 63 very much afflicted at this, and expressed his disappointment to the patient, saying he did not know whom to put in his place over the new mission. Brother Timotheus, fall of confidence in God and the merits of his good father, begged him to bless the wound, assuring him that after that he would be able to set out on the journey. The good priest, surprised at this request, blushed, and absolutely refused, to comply with it; but, being urgently pressed by the Brother, he at last placed his hand upon the sore, made the sign of the cross over it with his thumb, and promised to go and pray for him. But this compliance with the prayer of his disciple had at once effected a cure ; the pain had disappeared, and he felt him- self in such a condition for traveling that he ab- solutely refused the conveyance they offered him. In fact, he walked then from Rouen to Cliartres without the least difficulty, and not only did his knee cause him no pain, but he perceived on his arrival there not even the least scar where the wound had been. A pupil resident at Saint- Yon in 1708, has given evidence that one day, at that period, Brother Pacomius, the refectorian, came to acquaint the Venerable de la Salle, that he had not sufficient bread for the dinner of the community. The ser- vant of God immediately assembled all the Broth- ers and pupils in the chapel, and placed himself on his knees, with his hands joined and eyes raised v>4 LIFE OF THE VEXERABLE towards heaven, for the space of a quarter of an hour; he then made all recite a prayer to the most blessed Virgin, and, after that, sent Brother Pacomius to lay the tables for dinner. When the community came to the refectory, they found on the tables fresh loaves, exceedingly white, of quite a different shape from what were ordinarily sup- plied to them, while the pantry, besides, was filled with them. All the community, he added, regard- ed this bread as miraculous ; because, in the first place, all the loaves made in the town and suburbs bore a mark which the bakers were obliged to put on them; while these loaves had none; and, in the second place, Brother Pacomius hav- ing always kept the key of the pantry in his pocket, no one had access to it to put in the bread which he found there, when told to lay the tables for dinner. After the death of the servant of God, the num- ber of miracles was greatly increased. Towards the end of November, in the year 1719, a Brother who was afflicted by a severe cold in the head, that resisted all the prescriptions of the physician, thought of praying to the Vener- able de la Salle for the favor of being able to re- sume the exercise of his duties, which this indis- position had compelled him to interrupt. On the first day of the novena he was perfectly cared. All the Brothers of the community were witnesses of the truth of this fact. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 65 Another disciple of the good priest was attack- ed by an asthma which made him suffer a great deal. Being grieved that he could not observe the fast of Lent, he thought that by addressing him- self to his good father, he might obtain his cure, and the favor of being able to do as the others during that holy season. He commenced, then, a novena for this purpose, to consist of five Paters and Aves, but scarcely had he begun the novena when he found himself perfectly cured. Neither abstinence, fasting, nor any other mortification that he practiced, prevent- ed the discharge of his duties. His health had never been so good. This is his own testimony which he left in writing, drawn up and signed with his own hand. Brother P , finding himself attacked by a fever which, day after day, became more alarming in spite of all the remedies most likely to check it, was as suddenly as completely cured by offer- ing up a prayer to the Venerable de la Salle. The joy he felt over this recovery was less for the re-establishment of his health, than for the sanc- tity of his good father, which God chose to at- test by such miracles. A lady of Rouen had an infirmity which caused her very great suffering. Her confessor, a man of rare piety, advised her to make a novena at the tomb of the Venerable de la Salle. She followed 66 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE this advice, and, during the course of the novena, found herself completely cured. A pupil of the Christian schools at Avignon, had one hand so injured, that the surgeon declared he had no further remedy he could apply, and that an amputation would be absolutely necessary. ■ On the evening of the day fixed for this sad and painful operation, the Brothers were inspired to place upon the hand of the child, a portion of the habit of the Venerable de la Salle. What was their surprise on the next day on uncovering the hand to find it healed. All the Brothers of the community, as well as the surgeon and parents of the child, could testify to the reality of this su- pernatural cure. Brother Anthony, of the community of Saint- Yon, was sick in 1723 of an acute fever which the most active remedies had not been able to re- move. Not knowing what remedy to seek, he was inspired with the thought of having recourse to his good father, by taking one of the letters and a portion of the hair of the servant of God which he had the happiness of possessing, and placing these upon his head. Scarcely had he done this, when the violent fever that consumed him instantly left, and from that time he had no more attacks of it. The facts we have just related are taken from a great many others of the same kind which we omit, in order to pass on to those which have J, B. DE LA SALLE. 67 taken place after the re-establishment of the In- stitute, when the storm of the revolution had passed by. Some of these have been inserted in the preparatory evidence as to the virtues and miracles of the Venerable de la Salle taken at Paris, Rouen, and Rheims in 1835, others have occurred since then. The knowledge of these miracles has seemed to us calculated to reanimate the confidence of the faithful towards the servant of God, and to obtain others through his inter- cession. These will be so many new evidences to be laid before the Sacred Congregation of Rites, to advance the cause of the beatification of this holy man. In 1828, Brother was attacked by rheu- matic pains, which prevented him from walking, and caused him excruciating suffering. He could neither sit down nor change his posture without great pain. For more than six months he was in this condition, which was known to all the Bro- thers of the community called of the Holy Child Jesus, in Paris, when one day he thought of pla- cing on his loins, the principal seat of the disease, a small portion of the leaf of a breviary that had belonged to the holy founder, and immediately he found himself perfectly cured. To furnish himself with convincing proofs of this, he began to walk about and move his body in every way; he knelt down and rose up with the greatest facility, he who but a few minutes previously 68 LIFE OF THE VEXEKABLE could not make any movement without experi- encing the keenest tortures. Since that cure he has been no more subject to this infirmity, though previously he never passed a year free from some attacks of it. The same Brother was afflicted some time after by a weeping fistula, which gave reason to fear that he might lose his eyesight. He was obliged to hold a cloth in his hand almost constantly, to dry the water that flowed down his cheek. The thought of his former cure caused him to hope that his good father might obtain for him still another favor. He began a no vena. After a few days the flow of water gradually diminished, and at last entirely ceased. He has experienced since then no trace of this infirmity, and his sight has been perfectly re-established. In, the month of March, 1835, Anthony S called Brother Heraclemont, attached to the community of the Christian schools in the i*ue Jean Lantier, JParis, was attacked by a pulmo- nary affection, against which all the aids of sci- ence were unavailing. As the disease made every day rapid progress, it was thought advisable to transfer him to the head place of the Institute, to breathe there a purer air, and receive more readily the constant care which his condition de- manded. All these measures were unavailing. At the end of three months, the patient was far advanced in consumption. The physician of this house, and the one attached to the first house J. B. DE LA SALLE. 69 whose affection for the community brought him thither from time to time, were both of opinion that the disease had reached its last stage, and that there was no more hope of a cure. The sick man could no longer speak ; he had fallen several times into fainting fits, and could not swallow any thing, not even a few drops of liquids. Bro- ther Anacletus, at that time Superior-General of the Institute, taking advantage of a short interval in which Brother Heraclemont had recovered his consciousness, told him that they were about to commence prayers to ask his cure through the in- tercession of the Venerable de la Salle, and that if they were heard they would send him to Rouen to return thanks at the tomb of the servant of God. From the time the Brother Superior made this engagement, the progress of the malady ceased. The intensity of the disease gradually diminished, and very soon the patient was able to perform the vow which they had made in his name. All the Brothers who were called as witnesses in the preparatory evidence taken at Paris, bore testimony to this miracle, and the physicians themselves made a very detailed report of it, testifying that such a cure could not be natural, and that it came visibly from heaven. Brother B -, afflicted with a headache which for a long time caused him cruel sufferings, felt inspired to make a novena in honor of the ser- 70 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE vant of God. He began it, and on the fourth day, having placed on his head a leaf of the holy founder's breviary, was perfectly cured, nor has he since then experienced any return of this com- plaint. Brother being attacked by a painful pulmonary catarrh, and finding it impossible to endure the fatigue of teaching, wrote to the Su- perior-General to acquaint him with his condition, and to request that some one be sent to take his place. In the answer sent to him it was men- tioned that another Brother had been cured of a rheumatic pain by applying to the place affected a leaf of the breviary of the Venerable de la Salle, and a leaf was also sent to him with the request that he would make the same use of it and ask his cure with faith and confidence through the in- tercession of the servant of God. He followed this advice, and began a no vena, and on the even- ing of the first day he applied the leaf of the bre- viary to his chest. What was his surprise next day to find himself perfectly cured ! He resumed his duties, and since that time (June, 1835) he has experienced no pain whatever in his chest. More than thirty Brothers who were witnesses of the suffering he endured, were also the witnesses of his speedy recovery. On the day after Ash- Wednesday, 1836, Bro- ther Josbert, director of our house at Castelnau- dari had the misfortune to break his les^ Two J. B. DE LA SALLE. 71 surgeons, assisted by three hospital attendants, set the fracture, and secured it by strong ban- dages. During this first dressing, and for some days subsequently, the patient suffered exceed- ingly, and could not take any repose. Three days after, on Sunday evening, Brother Josbert felt inspired to have recourse to the Venerable de la Salle, and having procured a New Testament in which were a picture of the servant of God and a small piece of the dress that had belonged to him, he applied these to the broken leg, and be- gan to invoke him with great fervor, forming the resolution of redoubling his zeal for the instruc- tion of children. The pain became intensified, giving place at last to a peaceful slumber. When he awoke in the morning, he found himself cured, and experienced no other inconvenience than that of the weight of the bandages. On the day fol- lowing, he attended his class as usual, and never after experienced any pain in that leg, though he has frequently made journeys on foot of about twenty miles a day. A boy called Louis Delmas, from thirteen to fourteen years of age, living at Aurillac, had climbed a tree in the avenue called des Graviers, for the purpose of robbing a nest. The branch on which he had rested his foot giving way, he fell from a height of over forty feet, fracturing his skull in such a manner that the brains could be seen through the opening, which was about two 72 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE inches in length. He was carried home senseless and almost lifeless. The doctor who attended the case said that the brain had been seriously injured. The child remained a long time insensible. An abundant hemorrhage took place through the wound and ears ; and the surgeon declared, on the day after, that he despaired of his life. A holy woman then advised the afflicted parents to have recourse to the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle. The director of the Brothers at Au- rillac, to whom the parents had recourse, gave them a picture and small portion of the dress of the holy priest, and recommended them to place these upon the head of the child, to get a mass of- fered up, to clothe some poor child, and to unite in the novena which the community was about to commence. That night the child was so bad that he gave all the symptoms of being near his ago- ny. When day broke, the parents went to Mass, and what was their joy and astonishment at find- ing on their return, that the child had recovered his consciousness and speech, and asked for some- thing to eat. The doctor, when he called in to dress the wound, was struck with amazement, and in the certificate which he gave, dated the 28th of May, 1841, he expresses himself in these terms : "We consider the cure of young Delmas, the ef- fect of a miracle. It is the most extraordinary case we have ever met with." In a few days the young boy was in perfect health. He has since then J. B. DE LA SALLE. 73 grown up ; tall in appearance, and of a robust constitution. Young Jules Boyer, a student in the college of Brassac (Tarn-et-Garonne), while returning from a walk with his fellow-students, fell into a small brook. The child, who was in a perspiration at the time of his fall, was seized, in consequence, with a fluxion of the chest, from which he was not perfectly cured when he returned home to Bor- deaux, in the holidays. His health kept gradually sinking, and he complained constantly of pains in his side. Soon after, the fluxion of the chest re- appeared in a more aggravated form than before ; and, in a few days, the child was reduced to the point of death. Then his mother, who had heard speak of the power of the Venerable de la Salle, asked the director of the community of the Chris- tian schools, called Des Chartrous, for some relic of him ; and having received a small portion of his breviary, she sewed it to the child's undershirt just over his breast, and immediately commenced a novena in honor of the servant of God. This novena was to be closed by a Mass offered up at eight o'clock in the morning, in the above- mentioned community. Still, the disease kept growing worse. On the evening preceding the last day of the novena, the boy was very ill ; and, when morning came, all the family repaired to Mass, excepting the mother and aunt who remain- ed with the poor child. About half-past eight, 4 ?4 LIFE OF THE YENERABtE supposing the Mass to have begun, the afflicted mother went and knelt down before her little ora- tory, with her back turned to the child's bed. A few moments after, she heard what seemed to her like stifled sobs. Trembling with emotion, and fearing that the last moment was come, she turned back and observed her child laughing and making signs to her, while he cried out : " I suffer no more ; I am quite well." A sudden change had taken place ; the child was saved. The rest of the family, who had left him dying, found him, on their return, without fever and amusing himself with his playthings. Next day he arose, and eight days after he went to the church of the Brothers to hear a Mass of thanksgiving. This young man, who was in 1852 in South America, received in his twenty-fourth year a fresh proof of the protection of the servant of God in a dis- tressing condition in which he found himself. By his intercession, he found the means of extricating himself from his difficulty, and never fails to pray to him every day. The Abbe le Meunier, chaplain to the state hos- pital of Seez, was afflicted by a distemper which obliged him to interrupt his duties, and to retire to Alencjon, in 1837, to put himself under medical treatment. He suffered so much, that seventeen months after he was unable to celebrate the holy mysteries. Having read in the public papers that a young woman afflicted with the same complaint J. B. DE LA SALLE. 75 had recovered her health, after being recommend- ed to the prayers of the Venerable de la Salle, M. Meunier resolved to make a novena in honor of the servant of God, to obtain by his intercession the favor of being able to offer up the holy sacri- fice. His strength immediately returned, and he was enabled to satisfy his pious wishes. In 1839, a child of the village of Envronville, near Fecamp (Seine Inferieure), was afflicted by a swelling in one of his little toes. The swelling resembled a mushroom, was livid and disagreea- ble to look at, being surmounted by a small fleshy excrescence of the size of a pen used in writing. All the remedies the doctor applied only served to increase the evil, the toe becoming at last so dis- eased, that the doctor decided upon amputating it. The Brothers of the Christian schools of Fe- camp, having exhorted the child and his parents to have recourse, by a novena, to the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, gave him a small particle of the dress of the servant of God, which was applied to the diseased toe. On the first day of the novena, the fleshy excrescence on the top disappeared, the swelling assumed a better color and diminished in size, and the child, who was considerably relieved, wished to go to Rouen, to pray at the tomb of the servant of God. His parents conducted him thither, assisting him to walk ; and as soon^as he had finished his prayer in the chapel of the community, at Saint-Lo, he f 6 LIFE OP THE VENERABLE ran down the great staircase leading to it. Since that time, the foot has become very strong, and walking does not fatigue it. The child, who for- merly had been emaciated, weak, and languid, and frequently afflicted by headaches, is now in the full vigor of life, and the enjoyment of the most perfect health. This cure has been attested in a report by the Abbe Bouvier, cure of Envronville, made on the first of December, 1840. Brother B suffered very acute pains in con- sequence of an over-exertion he made in carrying a heavy weight in his arms. The pain increased every day, so that he could no longer put on his clothes, and at last was confined to bed. Three weeks passed over in this way, with but little hope of recovery. At last, this Brother grieved to see that not only could he be of no use to the Insti- tute, but that he was even an expense to it, ad- dressed himself to the Venerable de la Salle, and besought him to obtain his recovery. His novena was hardly begun when he found himself perfectly cured. He was able at once to resume his duties and to carry, without inconvenience, burdens as heavy as the one that had occasioned the com- plaint of which we have spoken. Brother A had for three years been fre- quently attacked by a quinsy, or rather, by an ex- traordinary swelling in the throat, which caused him very great suffering. I* 1835, some time before Lent, this complaint came back more strong- J. B. DE LA SALLE. *I*I ly than ever, so much so that he could swallow nothing, not even his spittle, without experien- cing pain so acute as threw him into a kind of con- vulsion. Having tried all the aids of art to no purpose, he looked forward to no relief but death. Then he commenced a novena in honor of his venerable founder, invoking him with great con- fidence, and promising that, if he obtained his recovery, he would spare no pains in providing for the salvation of children and instructing them carefully in Christian doctrine. During the three first days of the novena, he experienced no relief, but on the fourth day, finding himself a few mo- ments alone, he crossed over to the chapel of the community, and there, humbly prostrate before the most blessed sacrament, he applied to his throat a portion of the breviary of the servant of God. At that instant he was cured, and so per- fectly, that he felt no trace whatever of his com- plaint. His pupils were so astonished at this mir- acle that, by a spontaneous impulse, they began to clap their hands with pleasure, when they saw him return to his class, and heard him speak with- out any difficulty. Although this Brother had many pupils under his care, he could fast through the whole of Lent which began immediately after, and never experienced since the least return of a complaint to which he was before very subject. The father of one of the pupils of this same Brother had varicose veins in his legs, which gave 18 LIFE OF THE VENEBABLE him much trouble. For two years they had occa- sioned great uneasiness to him as well as to his family. Their fears were not without foundation, since, in spite of all the precautions taken, these varicose veins broke through and caused sores that were alarming to look at. Being told how Brother A had been cured, this good father of a family began a novena to the Venerable de la Salle, after having placed upon his sores a small portion of the dress of the servant of God. His faith and piety were soon recompensed, for on the third day of the novena he could go to his work, and on the last day of it, having removed the linen bandages, he found every thing perfectly healed. "We shall never again," says the person who relates this fact, " see a joy like that which then found expression from every member of the fami- ly; they could not but admire the goodness of God, and the power which he has given even in this world to those who have faithfully served him." Sister G , a religious of the order of St. Charles, was afflicted by a disease in her eyes con- sidered by the physicians very dangerous. Her brother, a member of the Institute of Brothers of the Christian schools, advised her to make a novena to the Venerable de la Salle, and sent her a small piece of the dress worn by him. Some days after, this religious wrote to her brother the following letter : u My dearest Brother, — When I received J. B. DE LA SALLE. 79 your letter, I could scarcely read, my eyes were so bad, and all light was a real punishment to me. For some days a swelling had gathered over one of my eyes, which the doctor said he could not remove without performing a painful operation. When I got possession of your relic of the dress of your holy founder, I felt within me the hope of a speedy cure. I was not deceived, for before the end of the no vena I was perfectly healed. The complaint has not returned since, so I can assure you that my gratitude to this saintly man will last as long as my life, for I believe that it is to him I owe my recovery, and my being able to attend to all the duties of my state." Young A , about fifteen years of age, and a member of the preparatory novitiate, was seized for about six weeks with a sickness so violent that his death was looked for by the physician as close at hand. He had received the last sacraments, and they had said the prayers for those in agony. His lips were black ; he could neither speak nor recognize any one, and the sweat of death seemed to announce that his last moments had come. The young persons in the preparatory novitiate being told of the imminent clanger of their comrade, asked permission to oiffer a novena for him to the Venerable de la Salle. They began it with all the fervor possible. A prayer composed for this pur- pose was recited by them in turns, morning and evening, every day of the novena, in presence of 80 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE the most blessed sacrament. From the very com- mencement the sick boy grew better, in three or four days he was completely recovered, and when the period of his novitiate was ended he gave him- self up with zeal to the education of youth. In the course of the month of June, 1835, Made- moiselle C , daughter of a celebrated physician of the city of Rouen, was attacked by a brain fever, which soon caused serious apprehensions to all the family. Unwilling to trust exclusively to his own professional knowledge, her father called three other medical men into consultation, and they all declared that the disease had reached its last stage and left no grounds for hope. The father having no longer any expectation of his daugh- ter's recovery, and feeling unable to endure the sight of her dying beneath his eyes, withdrew from the room, charging the nurse not to abandon her for an instant, and to call him as soon as she had breathed her last. At that time the prepara- tory evidence for the beatification of the Vener- able de la Salle was being taken in that city, and the virtues and power of the servant of God were the subject of public discourse. The nurse thought that she would ask for the poor, girl's recovery through his intercession. She obtained some rel- ics of the bones of the servant of God and touched the patient with them, who at that instant became calm and tranquil. The father, being apprised of what had happened, was astonished to find her J. B. DE LA SALLE. 81 free from fever and out of danger, after having been considered by four physicians past all hope of recovery. The health of the young girl improved every day, and she was soon able to thank God and the Venerable de la Salle for a cure so unex- pected. Mademoiselle V , residing at Rouen, was afflicted for many years with a kind of paralysis in her left hand, so that she could make no use of it. Encouraged by what she had heard of the Venerable de la Salle, she went for nine days to his tomb to ask her cure by fervent prayers, which she finished with this invocation : " Servant of God, J. B. de la Salle, pray for me." !A.t the end of the novena she got Mass offered up, at which she communicated, and from that moment she recovered the use of her hand. Sister 2ST , a religious in the convent of the Holy Sacrament, at Rouen, had so lost the use of her limbs for about seven years, that it was neces- sary to bring her to the chapel on a chair which moved on wheels. Having heard mention made of many extraordinary cures wrought by the ser- vant of God, she conceived the idea of having recourse to his intercession. Having procured a relic of his bones, she commenced a novena, in which all the community joined her. At the end of that novena, Sister N- found herself per- fectly cured, having recovered the free use of all her limbs. Since then she walks without diffi- 4* 82 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE culty, ascends and descends the stairs without the help of any one, and works like the other sisters of the convent, who, with her, return thanks to God for this cure, and publish aloud the favor which the servant of God enjoys in heaven. Sis- ter 1ST had given up all remedies, for many years, because her recovery had been declared impossible by the physicians. Mademoiselle B , living at Sainte-Colombe, in the diocese of Rouen, was for more than seven years afflicted by a disease which kept her so con- stantly to bed that they could not lift her but once a fortnight to make the bed. Her nourish- ment consisted of the lightest food, and that in very small quantities. In September, 1836, she heard speak of the extraordinary virtues and repu- tation for sanctity of the Venerable de la Salle. At once, full of confidence in the merits of the ser- vant of God, she procured a small relic of his bones, and began a novena composed of five Paters and five Aves, which she repeated every day, adding to them these words: "Servant of God, J. B. de la Salle, pray for us." From the first day of the novena she could rise a little, but suf- fered much. On the following days she continued to rise, and with less suffering, and on the last day she was sufficiently recovered to go to the parochial church, about a quarter of a mile dis- tant, where she assisted at High Mass, and com- municated. This event caused a great excitement J. B. DE LA SALLE. 83 in the country round about, and every one ex- claimed that it was a miracle. Since that period Mademoiselle B has enjoyed good health, attends to her business as she did previously to her sickness, and takes the same food as the other inmates of the house without inconvenience from it. In the month of November following she went to Rouen to pray at the tomb of the Venerable de la Salle, and did not fail to proclaim the remark- able favor which God had done her through his intercession. We should remark, that Mademoi- selle B had been given up by the doctors for about four years before. All her family then and all who knew her are persuaded that this cure was wrought through the intercession . of the servant of God. She herself gave testimony of this before the ecclesiastical tribunal at Rouen that took pre- liminary evidence as to the life and miracles of the servant of God. A good Catholic, a joiner by trade, had burned great part of his leg, through the accidental spill- ing of a large quantity of boiling water. For six weeks every thing had been tried in vain to heal it, and the condition of his leg was such as to cause great anxiety. Stretched upon his bed of suffering, the good artisan asked for the life of the Venerable J. B. de la Salle, which happened to be in the house, and having read it for several days, he was so struck by the account of the virtues of this great servant of God, that he did not hesitate 84 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE to commence a novena to him, persuaded that it would not be without fruit. He was not deceived in his expectation. On the next day he was suffi- ciently well to be able to walk to the Brother Director of the Christian schools in that town, to announce to him the favor he had obtained. This happened about the end of the month of February, 1835. In the same town a child who frequented the Christian schools, had a tumor of extraordinary size on his leg. The surgeon, after having recourse to all the applications he thought could be of any use, ended by declaring that an amputation wonld be necessary. What sad news for the family ! The mother hastened to acquaint the Brothers of this, that she might get the bene- fit of their prayers, and those of their pupils, who were his class-fellows. The Brother Director having consoled this afflicted mother in the best way he could, gave her a picture of the Venerable de la Salle, to which was attached a small parti- cle of the dress which the servant of God had worn, and engaged her to place it over her child's sore. Next day, when the surgeon uncovered the leg, and saw neither tumor nor swelling, he neither knew how to express his wonder, nor explain such a circumstance, until they told him what had been done. No one could doubt that what had taken place was supernatural. They blessed the Lord who had given such power to his servant. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 85 Brother E , of the community of , wrote the following letter to the Superior-General: " Some days after my arrival at I was seized by so violent a headache that not only could I not attend to the exercises of the house, but I had grown a burden to myself and my companions. Sighs and groans were become my only relief. I knew not what so violent and lasting a pain would lead to. I was in that state of suffering for six weeks, when our dear Brother M recommended me to make a novena to the Venerable de la Salle, promising to join me. We began it together. For seven days I felt no relief; on the eighth day I was a little better, and I acquainted my fellow- Brothers with this, who all expressed a wish to join me, which added greatly to my confi- dence. We were heard ; for on the ninth day I was completely cured. God knows that I tell the truth, without any exaggeration. I would never have spoken of this, did I not feel that it was my duty to do so. I wish that all may prove to the glory of God, and the honor of his good and faithful servant J. B. de la Salle, our beloved founder. (11th January, 1838.)" Mine. Thau, living at Cette (Herault), was infirm for more than six months, from a loss of blood which nothing could stop, and against which all the resources of medicine had proved of no avail. Hearing of the favor which the Venerable de la Salle enjoyed with God, she invoked his aid, and 86 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE was perfectly cured in the course of a novena which she made in his honor. This cure took place in 1839. M. Dominique Galand-Arone, an inhabitant of the village of Lannemezan, in the canton of Bag- neres (Hautes Pyrenees), and about thirty years of age, was seized, in 1839, with brain fever, which was hurrying him to the grave, in spite of the skill and unremitting attention of three physi- cians of Bagneres. A holy woman of the village proposed, since all human means had proved un- availing, to make a novena in honor of the Vener- able de la Salle, and the cure of the parish offered up a Mass for the same purpose. The sick man, who was a prey to the most frightful delirium, recovered the use of his reason the moment they applied to his head a picture with a small relic of the clothes of the servant of God. In a very short time he was perfectly cured. The most sur- prising circumstance attending this cure was, that as soon as the sick man came to his senses, he seemed to know what had been done to him, for he asked to see the picture of our holy founder, saying, — " Show me this Jean Baptiste." And yet no one had spoken to him about the servant of God ; indeed it would have been useless to do so, as he had not the use of his senses. Sister Marie de St. Julien, a religious in the convent of the Good Shepherd, at Mans, had reached the last stage of consumption, and the J. B. DE LA SALLE. 87 doctor of the community had declared that he had no hope of saving her. They had engaged her to make a novena in honor of the Venera- ble de-la Salle, during which her condition be- came so alarming, that the Abbe Moreau, supe- rior of the community, assisted by some of his brethren, administered to her the last sacraments, and the indulgence in articulo mortis. They had prepared the cloth for her winding-sheet, so con- fident were they of her death. The prayers for those in agony were being recited, and they waited every moment for her last breath, when she experienced acute sufferings over all her body, and went off into a profound sleep, in which she was sometimes heard to murmur the name of the Venerable de la Salle. She slept all night, and awoke in good health, asked for something to eat, and a little after arose from her bed. ISTow this was the last day of the novena. The Abbe Moreau, who had administered to her the last sacraments on the evening previous, having heard of this cure, came, accompanied by several priests of his community, who had all known the hopelessness of her condition, and who were as- tonished beyond measure to see her in the parlor and choir, and hear her converse like any other person in good health. This cure took place in the month of January, 1841. The Abbe Macquaire, honorary canon of Blois, ^as attacked at the age of seventy-four, by a 88 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE gastric disease which had for a long time been preceded by slow and difficult digestions. All the remedies to which several physicians subjected the patient, served only to aggravate the disorder, and he was reduced to such a condition, that he could retain no nourishment, however light. Considering the advanced age of the patient, and the weakness of his condition, the physicians de- clared that he might pass away at any moment. This lasted for four months, accompanied by cruel sufferings, when the Brother Director of the community of Blois, paid a visit to the good canon, and proposed to him to have recourse by a no vena to the Venerable de la Salle. It was agreed that the Brothers, the Sisters, and the poor belonging to the general hospital, of which the Abbe Macquaire had been chaplain during forty-four years, should unite in this no vena. It began on Saturday the 4th of July, 1840. On the first day of the no vena, the pains ceased suddenly and the patient felt so much better, that he put all his remedies to one side. On the Monday and days following, he often felt a craving for food, and satisfied his inclinations without suffering any inconvenience. In the course of the novena, the stomach had recovered its natural heat, his strength returned, and the good canon felt won- derfully well, as he testified in a letter dated the 19th of January, 1841. A young Brother who had finished his novitiate J. B. DE LA SALLE. 89 at Chanbery, was sent to the community of the Brothers at Rumilly (about seven miles distant), to teach a class there. A short tinle after, he was seized with a spitting of blood, and felt such se- vere pains in the breast, that the doctor observing that his lungs were seriously affected, declared it would be very difficult to save him. In fact, the remedies prescribed added to his sufferings, and this poor Brother could remain long neither in bed nor out of it. The Brother Director, not be- ing able to give him the care which his condition required, thought of sending him to the infirmary at Chanbery, when he felt inspired before doing so to make a novena to the Venerable de la Salle. It was begun by the whole community, on the vigil of Corpus Christi, 1841. On that evening the patient was much better. The next day, the day of the Feast, he rose, went with the commu- nity to hear j\Iass and communicate, assisted after- wards at High Mass, and followed the procession of the Most Blessed Sacrament, took Ids food like the others, and from that clay enjoyed per- fect health. A young man, residing in the town of Mantes (Seine-et-Oise), and a former pupil of the Brothers, had a whitlow on one of his fingers which he had neglected to attend to, and which showed symp- toms of gangrene. His mother, in great grief be- cause the doctor had said that amputation of the finger would be absolutely necessary, went to find 90 LITE OF THE YEXEKABLE one of the priests of the parish to tell hiin the cause of her sorrow. This priest, full of confidence in the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, gave her a picture of the servant of God, with a relic of his clothes, to be applied to the affected finger, recommending her at the same to invoke his in- tercession. It was now the evening of the day fixed for the amputation. The young man, who had not slept for a long time, slept very well that night. When morning came, they went to the doctor, who, after removing the compress around the finger, was surprised to see that the gangrene had disappeared, and that the sore was almost healed up. " Your finger is doing very well," said he ; " there will be no need here for amputation." Since then, the young man has had the perfect use of his finger and hand. This fact, which took place in 1841, was attested by Abbe Journiac, the vicar of the parish. In the same town of Mantes, a woman was afflicted by a wound in the breast that defied all remedies, and the doctors declared that she could not expect to live long. Having a picture and relic of the Venerable de la Salle, she commenced a novena in his honor, which was not ended when she found herself perfectly cured. This fact was attested in 1841, by Brother Adrias, who was then director of the community of Mantes. Brother Ferdinand, of the Christian schools of Douay, being seized by a pulmonary consumption, J. B. DE LA SALLE. 91 was sent, by medical advice, to the coniniunity of Cateau (Nord) to breath his native air. He had been already doomed, in the judgment of the phy- sicians of Saint Omer and Douay who attended him, to a certain and speedy death. The physi- cian of Aire, who saw him as he passed through that town, was of the same opinion. When he arrived at Cateau, his chest was sounded by two distinguished medical men, who confirmed the previous judgment of their colleagues ; and one of them did not hesitate to say that he would bet all he was worth against five francs that the Brother would die very soon of that disease, and that all human remedies were useless. He, therefore, ap- proved very much of the resolution taken by the Brothers to have recourse to the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle. The communities of the Brothers of Saint Omer, Aire, and Paris were requested to unite in the no vena which they were going to make at Cateau for this purpose. At the very commencement of the novena the disease, which up till that time had advanced with fright- ful rapidity, was checked, and the condition of the patient so much improved, that the physician who had spoken of betting his fortune was amazed at this unexpected result, and entertained hopes of a complete recovery. Since then, Brother Ferdi- nand has regained his appetite ; his flesh and strength gradually came back, and he is now in the enjoyment of excellent health. 92 LIFE OF THE VEKERABLE An inhabitant of Alencon (Orne), a laborer by- trade, was subject to severe attacks of epilepsy, which became more frequent as he advanced in years, and at last brought on insanity. In this state his paroxysms were so violent that they were compelled to shut him up and chain him, for he was so dangerous that it was unsafe to come near him. His family, overwhelmed with sorrow to see that physicians could do nothing to cure this terrible disease, besought the Brothers of the Christian schools in Alengon to make a novena in honor of their holy founder for the cure of this poor man. While the novena lasted, the paroxysms entirely ceased and reason came back again, so that the day after it he went to his labor in the fields, as if he had never been subject to any distemper. Mme. Fourcroy, fifty-five years of age, arid an inhabitant of Boulogne-sur-Mer, was amicted with amaurosis in the beginning of the year 1831. A "needlewoman by occupation, she was compelled to work much in the evening, and even far into the night, thus forcing her eyes to labor, although they had for some time begun to fail her. " Pa- ralysis of the visual organs," says the physician from whom we h^ve these details, " when proceed- ing from such causes as these mentioned, above all, when it comes on slowly, accompanied by pains in the head and eyes, is, ordinarily speaking, in- curable." Mme. Fourcroy began to lose her sight at the age of forty-three, and ceased being able to J. B. DE LA SALLE. 93 read in the month of March, 1831. In the month of May following she consulted the physician from whom we have this account. Among other methods of treatment he prescribed to her a seton on the back of the neck, which was discontinued in the month of November, as up till then it had produced no benefit. During this interval the dis- ease had made much progress, and her sight was almost completely gone. The physician referred to, and a colleague who had been consulted, de- spaired of any cure ; still they performed an oper- ation called the sincipital cauterization, without however checking the evil. Towards the middle of this year, 1832, Mme. Fourcroy became com- pletely blind, and this state of blindness lasted for eleven long years. During all that time her health was passably good, though much subject to headaches. Having two sons in the Insti- tute of the Christian schools, she learned of the cures wrought at the intercession of their holy founder, and wished in like manner to have recourse to him. A novena was begun for her at Paris and Boulogne on the 6th of January, 1843. On the 13th of the same month, the eighth day of the novena, about three o'clock in the afternoon, she was seated in her house, and up to that mo- ment as blind as she had ever been, when she per- ceived a sudden light, like a sun, to use her own words, above her cupboard. A few moments after, she recognized, dimly and confusedly, the cup- 94 LIFE OP THE VENERABLE board, bed, shelves, and cups thereon. This state of vision was not transient ; and from that time she was delivered from those lights, flames, and phantoms which used to disturb her in the dark- ness of night when she could not sleep, and which are the chief symptoms of amaurosis. Her sight went on gradually improving, till she could distin- guish objects, go alone to church, and attend to the business of her house. The physician adds, that Mme. Fourcroy's case was one of irritative con- gestive amaurosis, produced under circumstances that made it incurable, and that it is a thing unheard of in the annals of medicine that such a disease should yield to the resources of art. Sister Saint Jean Baptiste, a religious of the In- stitute of Sisters of Charity of St. Louis, in the convent of the Eternal Father, at Auray (Morbi- han), had a sickness, in 1831, which confined her to the infirmary for six months. In 1841 there came on a loss, of voice, followed by a vomiting of blood, which very much weakened her health. Finally, on the 17th of October, 1842, after'several severe colds, followed by hoarseness extending over a considerable time, she was seized by a violent fever, accompanied by severe headaches, frequent coughing, pains in the back and breast, and so great weakness that she was compelled to keep her bed. This state of suffering lasted for three years, when the mother of this religious came to see her, and fell sick herself soon after her arrival. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 95 Sister Saint Jean Baptiste, knowing the danger that her mother ran, fell into a swoon, which lasted for more than three days. It was thought that death was imminent, and they administered extreme unc- tion to her. On the day after, the Feast of All Saints, having recovered her consciousness, they gave her holy viaticum at six o'clock in the evening. Her state of feebleness still continued, with fever, and almost unquenchable thirst, and great pain in her throat : she vomited almost immediately the little food she took. The physician, seeing his remedies of no avail, discontinued his visits. Her death was expected as certain, when one of her cousins, a director of the Christian schools at Avranches, sent her a picture and relic of the clothes of the Venerable de la Salle, and recommended her to make a novena in honor of the servant of God, with which the communities of Brothers of Av- ranches and Auray, and that of her own convent, might unite in intention. This novena began on the 29th of December, 1842, and, during its con- tinuance, her sickness became so much worse, that her life was completely despaired of. On the night preceding the last day of the novena she suffered more than usual, but she nevertheless had a presentiment of her cure, which she communi- cated to the Sister Infirmarian, who answered, " Be calm, my dear sister ; do not give way too much to these hopes." Next day, the last of the novend, while the chaplain was saying Mass for 96 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE her, she joined in spirit at this holy sacrifice, and at the moment of the elevation she felt that a change which she could not define had taken place within her. While offering up to God the sacri- fice of her life, she found herself suddenly and perfectly cured. Her voice returned, and all her pains left her. The Sister Infirmarian, on her return from the church, was so struck with hear- ing the loud and clear voice with which she spoke, that she ran to acquaint the chaplain and Mother Superioress, who at once hastened to her. The Mother Superioress ordered her to rise and walk, which she did without the aid of any one. She remained standing for three-quarters of an hour without experiencing any fatigue, and went to choir with all the community to return thanks to God, and recite the Te Deimi. She dined in the refectory, and performed all the exercises prescribed by the rule as if she had never been sick. The cure of Auray, who had thought in Ad- vent that he had heard her confession for the last time, and who was at that moment in the confes- sional of the chapel of the community, on seeing her advance walking with h firm step and without support, could not avoid an exclamation of sur- prise ; and, on the next Sunday, he invited his parishioners to go to that chapel, where all the clergy of Auray sang a Te Deum for so marvel- lous a cure. Since that time, Sister Saint Jean J. B. DE LA SALLE. 97 Baptiste attends to all the duties of her state, in the enjoyment of perfect health. The wife of M. Biron, a druggist, living at No. 87 Rue de Faubourg St. Martin, Paris, was, in the month of August, 1843, attacked by a typhus accompanied by intermittent fever. She was for nine days in so dangerous a condition, that three of the most celebrated doctors in Paris, one of them Professor to the Faculty of Medicine, and another head surgeon in the hospital de la Chartie, repeatedly declared that they had no hope of saving her. M. Biron, seeing that human aids were powerless, went to the community of the chief house of the Brothers of the Christian schools, then at No. 165 Rue du Faubourg St. Martin, and requested them to offer up a novena for the cure of his wife. They gave him a picture of the Venerable de la Salle, recommending him to invoke the servant of God. M. Biron lost no time in applying the picture he had received to his wife, who was breathing with difficulty. At that instant, she recovered the use of speech and felt herself cured. She slept calmly that night, and, since then, has enjoyed perfect health. Mile. Rose Gondergue, a sister of the third Order of St. Francis, living at Aurillac (Cantal), had been for twenty years subject to sore eyes, which got worse through the remedies used, and seemed likely to end in the total loss of sight. The doctors had declared, that, at her age (she 5 98 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE was in her sixty-second year), and considering the long standing of the complaint, she need not ex- pect a cure. The good Sister, full of resignation to the good pleasure of God, had made him the sacrifice of her sight, when she learned, while pass- ing through the public street, of the astonishing cure of young Delmas through the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle. She goes to the Brothers, and begs them to unite with her in a novena which she has resolved on making in hon- or of the servant of God. As soon as. she begins it, her infirmity lessens every day. Her eyes be- came as clear and shining as in her youth, and she could distinguish objects as well as a person of thirty years of age. This took place in the year 1843. Elphire Label, eleven years of age, a boarder in the convent of the Sisters of the congregation, at Terre Bonne (Canada), was for eight days troubled with a cold in the head accompanied by great difficulty of breathing. For three days she neither slept nor could take any food. On Sun- day morning, 21st of May. 1843, the complaint had so increased that the doctor was called, who found the patient in so serious a condition that he could not order her to be removed to her parents' without danger to her life. He prescribed some remedies, which, however, effected no improve- ment. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the doc- tor called a second time, and found his young pa- J. B. DE LA SALLE. 99 tient in the same state. After vespers, about four o'clock, she made her confession ; at that time she experienced the most acute pains, and could not breathe without very great difficulty. After her confession, one of the Sisters placed upon her breast a picture and relic of the Venerable Jean Baptiste de la Salle. Immediately after, the young patient spat out a great quantity of matter and cried out, " I am not sick now !" She ate and slept, what she had not done for some days. The next day, she went to her parents who lived in Saint e- Rose, a parish about twelve miles from Terre Bonne, and soon after returned to the con- vent enjoying the most perfect health. Mile. Victoire Ferry, 25 years of age, and em- ployed at the general hospital of the city of Or- leans, was the victim of a cruel misfortune, in February, 1832, of which the following are the details. She chanced to be one day in one of the halls of the hospital, when she was suddenly thrown backward by an insane woman, and kicked with so much violence, that she would have been left dead on the spot, had not two other insane persons come to her relief. They bore her to her own room, with the help of some servants of the hospital, who were attracted by the noise, and placed her on her bed while she was still in a state of unconsciousness. The con- sequences of this accident were so serious that blood flowed from her month, eyes, and nostrils ; 100 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE she experienced convulsive tremblings over her whole body, and every thing announced that a complete disturbance had taken place in her sys- tem. The care bestowed on her for some months proving of no avail, Doctor Vallet was called in, who found indications of a serious injury in the region of the heart, as testified by a certificate signed by his own hand. He ordered frequent leechings and bleedings, and prescribed sirups made of comfrey, diacodium, &c, and different sorts of cordials. This medical treatment lasted for about two years, but brought no relief to the condition of the patient who tried in vain to employ herself at some manual work ; every sort of labor was above her strength. She had lost her appetite : her sleep was short, broken, and restless. Her face, generally pale, sometimes be- came inflamed : acute pain and violent palpita- « tions of the heart had declared themselves on the first days of her sickness, and to these evils was soon after added inflammation of the pericardium. To meet the progress of the complaint, the sur- geon ordered for five weeks a plaster of pitch of Bourgogne, which covered all her back, another on her breast, finally blisters on the same, a cautery on each arm, six cuppings and sina- pisms : — but all these remedies proved of no bene- fit. To her alarming symptoms were added fre- quent vomitings of blood. The extreme weak- ness to which the patient was reduced, prevented J. B. DE LA SALLE. 101 her from walking or being able to stand on her feet: she was obliged to be confined to her bed, or remain seated on a chair. This sickness lasted for twelve years, and during the eight last the symptoms became more alarming. Fever seldom left her, and she had a burning thirst which she could not satisfy, because of her difficulty of swallowing any thing : besides every sort of (Jrink provoked vomiting. All her body was puffed up, and it was noticed that her left side was more so than her right. To lessen the pain and remove the palpitations, they had at first applied leeches, afterwards they had recourse to bleedings, but only drew forth a very small quantity of thick blood. We should say here, that during her sickness, Mile. Ferry had been bled two hun- dred and twelve times, besides about a hundred useless attempts to bleed her, and the application of from five to six hundred leeches. She had been given up by her first medical attendant, but, in the course of the year 1839, they had called in Doctor Charpignon, who treated her for two or three months, but gave no hopes of being able to effect a cure. He prescribed poultices on the heart and side, but acknowledged that the prin- cipal organs and especially the heart, having been injured for several years, it was impossible to ap- ply a remedy. He forbade the use of leeches, but more frequent vomitings of blood were the con- sequence : baths of ,tepid water which were also 102 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE prescribed, had no better effect, though she took about four hundred of them, and equally useless were the different medicinal draughts prescribed to her. In the first years of her sickness, the usual nourishment of Mile. Ferry consisted of milk and other light nourishment, but towards the end they gave her whatever she seemed to wish, as to a parent whose case was hopeless. She received the last sacraments of the Church several times, and 'her faintings were more and more frequent. It often happened to her to swoon away in her mother's arms, and remain as if dead for three or four hours. The disease grew always worse, and the swelling all over her body was so great, that when touched the mark of the hands would re- main imprinted on her flesh. Medical skill had not benefited her, and the poor patient had recourse to the Blessed Virgin and the saints, in whose honor she made several novenas, but that brought no relief to her sufferings. Having at last learned that the Venerable Jean Baptiste de la Salle had obtained for many persons the cure of their infirmities, she began to invoke him on the 18th of May, 1844, second day of the octave of the Ascension, and the Brothers of the Chris- tian schools of Orleans, united with her. Hold* ing in her hands a picture and relic of him, she thus prayed: — "My good father, venerable ser- vant of God, Jean Baptiste de la Salle, pray for me who have recourse to you, if it be J. B, BE LA SALLE. 103 God's will that you should obtain my cure ; but if, on the contrary, it is his will that I should die, I willingly resign myself to it for the sanetifica- tion of my soul." She continued the same prayer day and night. On the Sunday, in the octave of the Ascension, 19th of May, 1844, she felt the most excruciating pains over all her body ; in the after- noon they offered her an abridgment of the life of the Venerable de la Salle. She began to read, and when she came to the first miracle recorded there, she felt a kind of trembling, and towards half-past seven in the evening, though she saw no one, she heard a voice, clear and distinct, say to her: "JVext Sunday, at a quarter to eight, you will hear Jfass in thanksgiving for your recovery / say nothing of this" At that moment she was much frightened; nevertheless, she read on at the abridgment, even to the end. From that moment, too, her suffering increased, and, as it was late, she dragged herself towards her bed, as she could not allow any one to touch- her through the pain it caused her ; but she could not remain all the time in bed, and passed a most painful night. She felt, over all her body, a feeling of pain like that which she experienced when any one touched her. Matters continued in this state for the first two days of the novena, without her being able to eat or drink, in the midst of a general disturbance of her system. On the night of the 20th of May, having felt, as it were, something touching her feet and knees, 104 LIFE OF THE VENEKABLE she put her hand there the best way she could, but could find nothing. While making that search, she lost the picture of the Venerable de la Salle ; soon after, she found it in her hands, without be- ing able to tell how it came there. In the midst of the darkness of the night, propped up on her pillow, Mile. Ferry counted the hours as they went by, when, just as the hour of midnight had sound- ed, she felt something pressing upon her feet and knees, and immediately, a little to her right, she beheld the venerable servant of God, who said to her: " I am Jean JBaptiste de la Salle" "Oh, my venerable father " she replied, " I am not icor- thy that you should appear to me." " On Sun- day" said he, " at a quarter to eight, you will go to Mass in thanksgiving for your recovery. Say nothing of this ; you are noio cured" " My good father" she answered, " I thank you for all the favors you have bestoiced on me. I know and acknoicledge that I am imicorthy of them." She whom fever had seldom left for twelve years, whose body was so swollen that she could neither move nor lie down without pain, w T ho had almost lost the use of her voice and was subject to fre- quent vomitings of blood and acute pains, — espe- cially in the region of the heart, — who fainted almost daily and was reduced to the greatest weakness, was now, without crisis or convales- cence, freed from all her maladies. Full of health, strength, and life, she passed the remainder of that J. B. DE LA SAIXE. 105 night in a peaceful sleep. Next morning, at half- past seven, her mother having left her alone, Mile. Ferry leaves her bed, dresses, and, having looked repeatedly, sees no trace of the swelling on her body. Overjoyed and filled with gratitude, she falls on her knees to return God thanks, then be- gins to walk about in her room, and employ her- self in some manual labor. Her mother, when she returned, was astonished at the change she ob- served in the appearance of her daughter, and could not help crying out, "What is all this? how have you got up ?" " Would you wish me to be always in bed, mother ? Am I not better in my chair ? Then I feel such an appetite this morning ; if you please, bring me something to eat." There was nothing to be found for break- fast but chocolate, and that had been forbidden her. However, she took a cup of it, in which she steeped a large portion of bread and eat it, with- out feeling any inconvenience or pain. At dinner she took a rich soup, meat, bread, and cheese, with- out injury. At supper, she was satisfied with a bowl of soup and some bread. Next day, Wednes- day, the 2 2d of May, after a pleasant sleep, she dressed, said her prayers on her knees, and took a good cup of coffee for her breakfast. At dinner, she took meat, soup, bread, and red wine, which she had not -tasted since the beginning of her sick- ness. In the evening she took only a little soup, not to attract too much attention to her cure, for she 5* 106 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE remembered the directions of the Venerable de la Salle, not to speak of it. On Thursday, the 23d of May, after waking from a peaceful sleep, and having said her prayers upon her knees, she re- flected if she might not tell her mother of the secret of her cure ; then she prayed to the servant of God to enlighten her on this subject ; and hav- ing felt a favorable impression on her mind that she might speak of it to her mother, her uncle the cure of Ardon, who came to see her, and her con- fessor, she resolved to prepare her mother for the news gradually, lest otherwise her joy might over- power her. She begged her mother then to buy her a dress in which it would be fit for her to ap- pear, and then said, at last : " I have something to say to you, mother, but you must keep it a great secret. I am going to Mass next Sunday." " Oh," said her mother, delighted, "how glad I should be if you could. But you talk of going to mass, and cannot walk." " But I can walk," said her daughter, and she began to walk up and down the room without difficulty, saying that she could not explain herself any further just then. The cure of Ardon came the same day to visit his niece, and was struck with astonishment to see her rise from her chair to receive him. The priest of the parish, her confessor, came soon after, and was as much surprised at her appear- ance. She then thought it right to tell them the favors she had received ; told them she was going J. B. DE LA SALLE. 107 to Mass next Sunday, and mentioned the vision she had had, and all that had happened to her since. In the evening she supped, offered up her prayers and thanksgivings -to God, and passed a very tranquil night. She enjoyed the same state of good health on Friday and Saturday, and when Sunday came, which was the Feast of Pentecost, she put on the new dress which her mother had bought for her (the others had been given to the poor, as it was thought they would never be needed), and went to the parish church, close upon the hour appointed by the Venerable de la Salle. She was accompanied by her mother, walked with a firm step, and ascended alone and without difficulty the steps leading to the church. While taking the holy water, as she entered, the clock struck the quarter before eight. She heard Mass, communicated, and, after along thanksgiving upon her knees, returned alone to the house with- out difficulty. Many people who knew Mile. Ferry, and the deplorable condition to which she had been reduced for so many years, were so sur- prised at seeing her in church, that they could not keep from looking at her, and when she left followed her in a crowd to learn the circum- stances of her cure. When they heard how it had occurred they praised and thanked God, weeping with joy, and acknowledging that it was a miracle. For more than fifteen days Mile, Ferry was overwhelmed with visits, so that her 108 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE apartment was seldom empty, and though she spoke nearly all day to satisfy the pious curiosity of those who came to see her, still she experienced no fatigue from it. Doctor Charpignon who had attended her, attests that before her cure she was almost always seated, as lying down- brought on acute pains in the region of the heart, which then beat much faster; that her pulse was hard and full ; her voice weak, and the depression of the system very great : that her body was swollen, and digestion so bad that cooked food was insup- portable to her. She was frequently subject to swoonings of variable duration. Few weeks passed in which the oppression she suffered did not reach its maximum of intensity, to be relieved by spitting of blood, which sometimes assumed the character of dangerous hemoptysis. To these symptoms were added those furnished by direct sounding of the heart, and M. Charpignon recog- nized the presence of chronic disease in that or- gan, joined with inflammation of the pericardium. This doctor called upon Mile. Ferry some days after her cure, and could recognize in her no traces of that disease, though he himself, after ex- hausting all the resources of his skill, had de- clared her complaint incurable. Since that time, Mile. Ferry has enjoyed most excellent health, and, as a proof of this, we may mention that on the 17th, of October, 1846, five of the most dis- tinguished medical men in Paris, examined her J. B. DE LA SALLE. 109 individually, in special consultation, and stated that they could discover no sign whatever of or- ganic disease of the heart. She has appeared several times before the ecclesiastical tribunal of Orleans, appointed by the Holy See to take judi- cial information as to her cure, and the evidence, at the close of the inquiry, 6th of November,* 1846, was at once forwarded to Rome, to be sub- mitted to the judgment of the Sacred Congrega- tion of Rites. Mile. Sophie Soissons, an inhabitant of Orleans, rue des Noyers, No. 10, was attacked, when forty- six years of age, by a gouty rheumatism, which, for twelve years, caused her to suffer very acute pains, prevented her from kneeling, and made it very difficult for her to walk. Seeing that the rem- edies prescribed by the doctors in Orleans did her no good, she went to Paris, and remained there under treatment at the hospital of St. Louis. As the physicians there ended by telling her that her disease was incurable, she had go*ie back to her native place, and discontinued the use of remedies, when she learned that many people in Orleans had been cured of their infirmities by the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle. She felt inspired to have recourse to him, and commenced a novena in his honor. Its first days were marked by an increase of suffering, but, on the fifth day, when she awoke, she found herself cured. She immedi- ately rose, repaired to the chapel of the Brothers, 110 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE and communicated in thanksgiving for her recov- ery, which has proved lasting. (1844.) Mile. Rose Rousseau, an inhabitant of Orleans, rue de la Poele, No. 6, was afflicted, from her six- teenth year, with dropsy, accompanied by general swelling, dry and frequent cough, extreme diffi- culty of breathing, very acute pains in the throat (especially the left side), palpitations of the heart, daily faintings, which, toward the end of Novem- ber, 1840, recurred two or three times in the day, and, lastly, an impossibility of retaining any liquid. All other remedies proving useless, they tried mag- netism upon her, which afforded but a temporary relief. She lived in this wretched state till 1844, when she fell into a swoon which lasted so long that her friends feared she would not recover from it ; the last sacraments were administered to her, and they stood by her bedside hourly expecting her death. She had already made many different novenas, when, having heard of the cure of Mile. Ferry, which all Orleans considered miraculous, she also wished to have recourse to the Venerable de la Salle. She began then a novena to this servant of God, carried about her a small portion of his bre- viary, and, on the ninth day, found herself per- fectly cured. Mile. Marguerite Petit, an inhabitant of the village of Laffard, near Falaise (diocese of Bay- eux), had enjoyed, up till her thirty-second year, very excellent health. She was even of a robust J. B. DE LA SALLE. Ill constitution, and had, from early youth, been ac- customed to the hardest labors of a country life. Early in the year 1826, she lost her mother, whom she loved very tenderly. Towards the end of the carnival of the following year, while her mind was still occupied with the thought of her loss, and she was engaged in some domestic labor in her own house, about nine o'clock in the evening she was terribly frightened in the following way :— Two persons, with masks on, and clothed in white, had got into her house unseen by her, and stretched themselves along the floor at no great distance from her. Rising suddenly they appeared before her with long rods in their hands, their faces masked, and white trailing garments. Mile. Petit, thinking that she saw her mother come forth in her grave-clothes, fell back in a swoon, and when she returned to consciousness, she was bathed in a cold sweat and trembling all over. This fright caused her an acute intermittent fever, which lasted for sixteen months. From that time her life was a long series of sufferings and infirmi- ties. She had abscesses successively over almost all her body, but principally on her left thigh, her legs, her two sides, and her head. They applied blis- ters many times to her arms, legs, and sides at once, and three times she was cauterized for the tumor in her thigh. As a result of these abscesses, she was obliged, for three years, to walk with cratches, which she still preserves ; she had be- 112 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE come extremely deaf, and almost blind, so that she could scarcely guide herself. Her legs were very swollen, and she suffered a thirst 'that nothing could quench, not even many glasses of cold water drunk consecutively. She was subject also to fre- quent pains in the stomach and vomitings of blood, which returned three or four times a month, and did not cease but with repeated bleedings as often as four times a week. These vomitings became more frequent, and, at last, daily. Tn spite of all her sufferings, Mile. Petit acted with a courage far beyond her strength, and would rise and attempt to go through the labors of the house. But, before long, her sufferings gave her no respite. In 1835, she was violently thrown to the ground by a cow, which struck her on the breast with its head, and passed over her body. About a year after this fall, she perceived a painful swelling that had formed on her left breast, yet, for almost two years, she never spoke of it ; but, the pain having greatly increased, she resolved to show it to a Sister of Providence, belonging to the com- munity of Briouse. This religious told her that it ought to have been looked to sooner ; that the swelling was now so enlarged, that she feared there was no cure for it. Two years after (1839), a medical practitioner in the village of Saint Phil- bert, having examined it, said it was a cancerous swelling, for which there was no remedy. After- wards she saw other doctors, who prescribed J. B. DE LA SALLE. 113 different remedies, such as the application of plas- ters of hemlock — which only increased the swell- ing and irritation, more than five hundred baths, sirups, drugs, blisters, dissolvent plasters, etc. ; but all such treatment proved ineffectual. M. De- vienne, physician at Falaise, declared that she had cancer, and that no doctor could cure her ; Doctor Manourri, whom she also saw, held the same opin- ion, and added, "that her complaint, being he- reditary, made the case more hopeless ;" — for her father, aunt, and one of her sisters had, all three, died of cancer. After this declaration of the doc- tor, the patient made her will, and put her tem- poral affairs in order — thinking that she had but a short time to live. The disease, in the mean while, grew worse. The patient sometimes remained in bed for a fortnight at once, and when she attempt- ed to rise, she suffered so much that she could not bear her clothes fastened over her breast. The vomitings of blood, of which we have already spoken, became more frequent. Her food was a little thin soup or pure milk, but she could digest neither. Often she took nothing; bnt cold water, and passed many days and nights consecutively without being able to sleep. Towards the middle of August, 1845, as she was engaged at some little employment about the house, she fell'upon a table, where there was the lid of an iron pot, and hurt herself so severely on the breast that they were obliged to carry her to bed. After this, she could 114 LIFE OF THE YEOTEKABLE neither undress herself nor lie down, and whether she was sitting in bed, or on a chair, her pains were equally insupportable. It was at this period they t wice applied leeches to her breast, and three of the marks caused by these leeches remained open, which added considerably to the irritation and suffering in that part. While Mile. Petit was thus a prey to the most intense suffering, one of her nephews, who frequented the Christian schools in Falaise, brought her, in the beginning of Sep- tember, the premium he had received at the dis- tribution of prizes at the end of the preceding month : it was a small book, entitled, " The True Friend of Youth ; or, an Abridgment of the Life of the Venerable Jean Baptiste de la Salle."* She begins to read it, and finds there the account of miracles wrought by the intercession of the ser- vant of God, whose picture she stops to look at with an indefinable sentiment of devotion and confidence. She then places the book upon her breast, and and begins immediately a novena, saying, " Oh, Venerable Jean.Baptiste de la Salle, servant of God, pray for me, that I may be re- leased from my sufferings, for I have great confi- dence in you ; and, if you obtain for me this cure, may it be for the salvation of my soul." As she was commencing her prayers, the servant of a respectable lady in the neighborhood came to visit * Edition of 1838. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 115 her, and, touched with pity for her condition, promised to return again in the afternoon. The poor sufferer in the mean while continuing her prayer, felt, as it were, an interior light accom- panied by a secret joy, that transported her. It was then about nine or ten o'clock in the morning of the 4th of September, 1845. Soon after, feeling a great desire to sleep, she fell into a peaceful slumber, which lasted about two hours, and awoke full of cheerfulness, experiencing a gentle per- spiration over her body, but no pain whatever. She immediately arises, prepares something to eat^ and takes some food without suffering the usual consequences. About one o'clock in the afternoon, wishing to surprise the person who had promised to visit her that afternoon, Mile. Petit hastens to her house. This other was so astonished at seeing a person whom she had left in a dying condition, appear before her looking cheerful and well, that she cried out with amazement, "What is this? what has happened ?" She soon after asked to see her breast. Mile. Petit, in the height of her joy, had never thought of looking at it: she now removed the linen cloth (for she could not bear the dress to be fastened over it) and, to her delight, perceived that the swelling and irri- tation had totally disappeared. The lady, the ser- vant, and Mile. Petit were all filled with amaze- ment. Mile. Petit felt herself full of joy, health, and strength. On that day she ate with a good 116 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE appetite, partaking of soup, bread, and fruits; and at night slept very peacefully. The slight per- spiration she had experienced, lasted throughout the novena, and she continued to enjoy the most perfect health, joined with extraordinary content- ment of mind. After that, she made use of the same food as did other peasant women of her con- dition, and gave herself .up to her former occupa- tions, — as if she had never experienced an hour's sickness. Mile. Julia Chausard, twenty-nine years of age, and chambermaid to Mine. Gregnor of Orleans, was, in 1844, afflicted with a tumor on her left- cheek which suppurated copiously, and. extending upward to her eye, made it almost impossible for her to eat. or even speak. The doctor had extract- ed four large teeth, and made an incision on her cheek without producing any benefit. At last, he proposed as the only cure left, to cut. out the cheek-bone which was daily becoming more and more diseased. The poor girl could speak only with great difficulty, and suffered such acute pains that they brought on a fever. The wound caused by the incision spoken of, discharged a thick matter mixed with blood; her only nourishment was milk. Still, she shuddered at the idea of going to Paris to put herself under treatment, and un- dergo the operation which the doctor had recom- mended as necessary. Having heard that many persons in Orleans had, in their afflictions, invoked J. B. DE LA SALLE. 117 the Venerable de la Salle, and been delivered from them, she began a no vena in his honor, on the 11th of June, 1845. On the second day of the novena, the swelling broke and gradually diminished till the fourth, when it suddenly closed and healed all over. From that time she enjoyed perfect health. Mme. , the baroness of Chabannes, residing at Passy-lez-Paris, was afflicted in the month of January, with a disease of the spinal marrow, ac- companied by a fibrous tumor on the stomach. To such a state of weakness was she reduced, that she could not go out without the support of a staff and some one's arm to lean upon. Every thing that medical skill could do for her was tried, and in vain. A racking cough, to which she became subject soon after, added to the un- easiness of her friends, who were afraid that her lungs might be affected. M. de Charbonnes, her husband, persuaded her to have recourse to homoe- opathy; but, though several physicians treated her according to that system, her complaints in- creased and became more alarming. Frequently in the day, she was obliged to lie down in bed, and could not pass from her bed-chamber to the dining-room, without the support of two persons to lean upon. On the thirty-first of October, 1S45, Mme. Charbonnes wishing to go to confession, in the church of the Brothers, — which was ten or twelve paces from her house, — went thither sup- ported by another's arm and her indispensable 118 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE staff, while her bent body and trembling steps in- spired pity in all who beheld the painful efforts she made, to cross so short a distance. The Abbe Cour- tors, second chaplain to the house and her confessor ^ recommended her to make a novena to the Vener- able Jean Baptiste de la Salle ; and, as he knew that she felt a repugnance to ask any ease for her- self, or delivery from her crosses, however painful, he directed her to have for her principal end, the glory of God and the honor of -his servant. The cure of Passy and other priests of the parish, wished to join her in the novena which was be- gun that evening. On the eighth day, she pro- cured a short life of the Venerable de la Salle, with his picture and a small relic of his habit. These things she obtained on the evening of the eighth day ; and, with the fullest confidence in his intercession, she touched her diseased limbs with the relic, and retaining the picture about her person, fell asleep. Next morning, she felt so feeble, that her husband was struck by it, when he left her to go to Mass, giving up all hopes he might, have entertained of a cure. Scarcely had he gone out, when Mine. Charbonnes said to her eldest daughter, about ten years of age, — " Take your rosary, my child, and pray for me to the Ven- erable de la Salle." The little one begins her ro- sary. and the mother, — without communicating her intentions to any one, — thus prays with great con- fidence: "O God, you will not suffer me to. fall J. B. DE LA SALLE. 119 on the Way through weakness ; it is your glory and that of your servant that is in question." She then goes forth alone without any assistance what- ever, ascends, without difficulty, the stairs leading to the church, — feeling her strength increase as she advances, and filling with astonishment all who saw her walk so rapidly, — and enters the par- ish church, which was about fifty yards from her house. There, prostrate before the altar of the Blessed Virgin, she hears a Mass of thanksgiving, and then proceeds to the nave of the church to join her husband. Hearing hasty footsteps near him, M. de Charbonnes raises his head and beholds his wife, whom he had left a short time before in puch a state of weakness. He accompanies her to to the sacristy, where she falls on her knees be- fore the cure, and begs him and* his assistant priests to unite with her in thanksgiving to God, for so signal a favor. A second novena was im- mediately commenced and closed by a general communion received by this lady, her family, and the Brothers, in the chapel of their house. From that day, the eighth of November, 1845, Mine. Charbonnes continued long to enjoy perfect health ; she recovered her former strength, and had no trace of her complaints left. Mme. Fouger, forty years of age, residing at Briare, was stricken by paralysis of half the body. Seeing the inefficiency of all remedies in her case, she made a novena in honor of the Venerable de 120 LIFE OF THE VENEKABLE la Salle. Not having been heard, without being discouraged she at once began a second novena, at the end of which her paralysis had completely disappeared. M. Fouger, her husband, had been for seven years afflicted with an asthma, for which he could find no remedy. He also made a novena to the Venerable de la Salle ; and, at the ond of it, found himself perfectly cured. Mile. Coutadeur, a young girl sixteen years of age, living in Orleans in the parish of Notre- Dame-de-Recouvrance, had been under medical treatment for five years, without any benefit. She made a novena to the Venerable de la Salle, and at the end of it was restored to perfect health. Young Albert Tuillier, seven years of age, and residing at Beaugency (Loiret), had been blind for six months. The physicians after prescribing in vain, had discontinued their visits. A novena was made for him to the Venerable de la Salle, and he recovered the perfect use of his sight. This happened in the month of February, 1846. The son of a cooper named Segourne, living in Orleans, was attacked at the age of fifteen by a brain fever, which brought him to the brink of the grave. They had no hopes of preserving his life by human remedies, and made a novena for him to the Venerable de la Salle, in the course of which he was suddenly cured, in the month of July, 1846. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 121 M. Clement Gallard, a machinist living at Beaugency (Loiret), was afflicted with what is called a white swelling on the left leg.' On the surface of this swelling little pimples formed which gradually increased and then broke, leav- ing small holes where they had broken. The suf- ferings he endured contracted his leg, and caused it to shrink considerably. Not being able to w^alk, he was for the greatest part of the day con- fined to bed. All medical remedies having proved unavailing, he was recommended to offer up a novena to the Venerable de la Salle. Scarcely had he commenced it, when it was observed that no fresh pimples appeared on the tumor ; on the fifth day, five of the holes closed up at once ; by the end of the novena the shrinking of the leg had entirely disappeared, and, no sign of sore or wound being visible, he was in a condition to re- sume his orc^nary labors. This cure took place in the month of July, 1846. Mile. Camille Paquet, twelve years of age and living in Orleans, rue de la Bonne, was subject from infancy to disease of the heart, which physicians had treated in vain. Her parents united with her in offering a novena to the Venerable de la Salle, and she was suddenly cured in December, 1846. Mile. Boncon, twenty years of age, living at Rouen-sur-Loire about fifteen miles from Orleans, was subject from her seventh year to ulcers, which became so serious that for the last two years 6 122 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE she had been confined to bed. These ulcers dis- charged matter at eight different places. Four celebrated physicians, after exhausting all the re- sources of science, had given up her case as hope- less. She had recourse to the Venerable de la Salle, by a novena in which several persons joined her, and on the seventh day she was perfectly cured. (August, 1846.) Mme. Guillaume, fifty years of age, residing at the hamlet of Bomnery, near Orleans, was afflicted for nine years by a chronic gastric disease, which for the last two years had confined her to bed. Wasted by almost continual vomitings, she be- came so ill that twice she received the last sacra- ments. Being given up by the physicians who had tried in vain to afford her relief, she caused herself to be taken to Orleans in a litter, there to learn in what way it would be best for her to have recourse to the intercession of the Venera- ble de la Salle. In the month of Xovember, 18-16, she began a novena, in the course of which she prayed almost constantly to the servant of God, and on the last day of her pious exercises she was restored to perfect health. Leon Menant, an inhabitant of Orleans, was at- tacked at eleven years of age by so painful a disease of the chest, that for two months he was confined to bed. The physicians having declared that his lungs were affected, stated that there was no chance of a cure. His parents then had J. B. DE LA SALLE. 123 recourse to the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, by a novena, at the close of which the child was perfectly cured. Mile. Clara Dussol, daughter of a physician of Desvres (Pas de Calais), and twelve years of age, of a delicate constitution, and liable to colds accom- panied by spitting of blood, was seized in Feb- ruary, 1847, by so violent a fever, that her pulse rose to 120 beats in the minute. Her tongue was dry, and the abdomen painful from constipa- tion. The treatment which was promptly admin- istered did not at first remove these symptoms. The fever was greatest at night, and an excessive wasting was visible over all the body. Some months after, she had a relapse with all the same symptoms, besides an incessant and racking cough, and the pulse at times as high as 150. M. Dussol in despair, called two of his medical breth- ren into consultation, and they pronounced the case a hopeless one. The more remedies were applied, the more dangerous did the symptoms appear. The father terrified, gives over all treat- ment, and 'joins with his friends in offering up every day prayers to the Venerable cle la Salle. A visible improvement soon manifests itself, the patient becomes convalescent very rapidly, and in a short time is perfectly cured, as her father testi- fied in writing on the 12th of July following. Mme. Chenean, twenty-seven years of age, and an inhabitant of Orleans, was subject to ulcers near ]24 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE the eyes, from her twelfth year. She consulted in vain all the most distinguished oculists of the day : all their remedies could neither cure nor relieve her. Having heard of the many cures wrought through the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, she made a novena in his honor, in the course of which the disease with which she had been so long afflicted was completely cured. Mile. Bouquet, eighteen years of age, residing at Rouen-sur-Loire, had running sores in different parts of the body, which for the last four or five months confined her to her bed. The physicians having given her over, she made a novena in honor of the Venerable de la Salle, at the close of which she was perfectly cured. Mile. Terese Grandgear, twenty years of age, an inhabitant of Merci near Ferte-Saint-Aubin, ten miles from Orleans, had sores on her two arms and one of her legs. For the last four years she could not walk without the aid of crutches. One of her arms was extremely swollen. She had fre- quently sensations of stifling, which only yielded to vomitings still more painful. She remained many months under treatment at the hospital, without any relief, and returned home persuaded that her maladies were incurable. Having heard that many persons had been cured by having re- course to the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, she made a novena in his honor, at the end of which all her sores were closed, the use of her J. B. DE LA SALLE. 125 leg restored to her, while the vomitings had com- pletely ceased. (July, 1847.) Mile. Rosine Urelle, fourteen years of age, resid- ing at Checi, a village about five miles from Or- leans, was subject from her seventh year to pains in the chest. Many physicians of high reputation, to whom she had been brought, having prescribed remedies that proved of no benefit, she had re- course to the Venerable de la Salle, and was per- fectly restored to health at the end of a novena made in his honor in the beginning of 1847. Mile. Ernestine Brinon, twenty-one years of age, also an inhabitant of Checi, was afflicted by an epilepsy, which had resisted all the resources of medical skill, and whose attacks became as fre- quent as seven or eight in a day. She made, with her parents and friends, a novena in honor of the Venerable de la Salle, at the end of which all the attacks of that terrible malady ceased, and she was restored to perfect health. (January, 1848.) M. Louis-Desire Dufour, a joiner, seventeen years of age, and an inhabitant of the same village of Checi, was for eight years subject to scrofulous sores, which had broken out in different parts of the neck, legs, and arms. Matter issued from these sores, and even from near the eyes, which they were obliged to bandage. His parents hav- ing heard of the miracles wrought through the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, made, 126 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE with their son, a novena in his honor. At the end of the novena he was perfectly cured. Mile. Denau, fifty-five years of age, an inhabitant of Davaret, about seventeen miles from Orleans, was the victim for twenty-three years of an inter- nal complaint, that had reduced her to a skeleton. She had consulted a great number of physicians, who though they tried many remedies, had not only failed in curing her but even in affording her any relief. For many years she had given over the use of remedies, when she heard much of the cures that had taken place in Orleans, particularly that of Mile. Ferry. In spite of her weakness, she got herself removed to that city, where she received a medal of the Venerable de la Salle, hung it round her neck, and fixed the day on which she would be- gin a novena after she had made preparation for it by a good confession. She made a novena which occasioned an improvement in her health : encouraged by this she commenced another. On the ninth day of this second novena, she rose be- fore daybreak to thank the Venerable de la Salle, having found herself perfectly cured. Eighteen months after her cure she returned to Orleans, where they had difficulty* in recognizing her, her appearance was so much improved. M. Louis Grilgout, seventy-three years of age, an inhabitant of Vernon, had been afflicted for twelve years with gouty rheumatism, which no physician could cure. He had recourse to the in- J. B. DE LA SALLE. 127 tercession of the Venerable de la Salle in three suc- cessive novenas, after having first approached the sacraments. On the ninth day of the third novena he was suddenly cured. (February, 1848.) Mme. Deborde, forty-six years of age, an inhab- itant of the village of Ahair, seventeen miles from Orleans, was for four years paralyzed in one half of her body, and bed-ridden. Every kind of remedy had been tried on her without success. Full of confidence in the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, she made a novena in his honor, and was so thoroughly cured that those who had been most familiar with her previous wretched condi- tion, could not sufficiently express their astonish- ment at the change that had taken place. Mile. Henriette de Xouville, seventeen years of age, residing at Orleans in the parish of Xotre- Dame-de-Recouvrance, was afflicted by scrofulous sores that ended in depriving her of her eyesight. For six years she made use of all the remedies prescribed by physicians without any improve- ment. At last she prayed to the Venerable de la Salle, and on the sixth day of her novena was perfectly cured. Mme. Lamoureux, fifty years of age, residing at Ingre, near Orleans, suffered for twenty-seven years from an acute rheumatism, that deprived her of the use of her limbs, and which resisted every remedy. A novena in honor of the Vener- able de la Salle restored her to perfect health. 128 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE August Quatrome, a boy ten years of age, was for three years subject to scrofula which broke out near the eyes, and, at last, deprived him of his sight. The remedies employed seemed to in- crease the complaint. His parents made a no vena with him to the Venerable de la Salle, and he was suddenly and perfectly cured. M. Francois Boudin, residing at Beaugency, had, for nine years, an ulcerated leg which dis- charged an extraordinary quantity of matter. He had had recourse to several medical men with- out deriving any benefit. Learning that many persons had been restored to health by invoking the Venerable de la Salle, he made a novena in his honor, and was perfectly cured in the month of May, 1848. M. Francois, sixty-seven years of age, residing at Abrechin (twelve miles from Orleans), had an acute rheumatism which caused him great suf- ferings for many years. He had consulted, succes- sively, four physicians and taken many remedies, but to no purpose. A holy woman, who was his neighbor, advised him to make a novena to a saint who had wrought many cures in Orleans. He did so without knowing the name of him whom he was invoking, and his prayers produced no result. The same neighbor procured for him a picture of the Venerable de la Salle, engaging him to persevere praying till he had obtained his cure. M. Frangois followed her advice : he made three J. B. DE LA SALLE. 129 successive novenas, and was suddenly cured on the last day of the third. This was in the month of May, 1848. A farmer's wife, in the village of Feroles, near Orleans, was attacked, about the age of forty, with a cancer, which had made a cavity in the left side of her breast large enough to contain a pigeon's egg. Soon her weakness became very great and the physicians lost all hope of her recov- ery. The cure of the parish having informed the Brothers of the hopeless condition of this poor woman, they sent her a picture and relic of the Venerable de la Salle, recommending her to offer up a novena in his honor. Some time after, they were informed that she had been perfectly cured before the end of the novena. Mme. Violette, forty years of age, was afflicted by an ulcer in the throat, which almost prevent- ed respiration. She was confined to bed for many years and gradually wasted away, in spite of all that medicine could do for her relief. Having heard of the number of cures that had taken place at Orleans, she sent a messenger thither to learn what she ought to do to obtain her recov- ery. Mile. Ferry who had herself been cured by invoking the Venerable de la Salle, in 1844, sent back by the messenger a picture and relic of the servant of God, directing her to tell the patient to begin the novena, by the reception of the sacra- ments of penance and the Holy Eucharist. Mme. 6* 130 LIFE OP THE VENEEABLE Violette followed this advice, and, to the surprise of every one, she was seen, on the last day of the no- vena, going and coming, and working without any pain. (August, 1848.) Mile. Flore, twenty-six years of age, residing at Trenon (about thirteen miles from Orleans), had suffered for three years from inflammation of the stomach and chest, caused by an almost constant cough. Leeches had been applied to her several times, as well as other remedies, without any suc- cess. At last, she made a no vena to the Venerable de la Salle, in which the Brothers of Orleans join- ed, and before it was finished, she came herself to announce to them that she was perfectly cured, and ate and slept as before her sufferings. Mile. Madeleine Joubert, twenty years of age, an inhabitant of Orleans, in the parish of Saint-Dona- tien, was for a long time afflicted with acute pains about the knees. The physicians having exhaust- ed all their remedies to no purpose, gave up the case as hopeless. Having heard that many were restored to health by invoking the Venerable de la Salle, she had recourse to him, and, after two novenas, found herself perfectly cured. This was in the month of November, 1848. Mile. Victoire Aurin, forty-seven years of age, residing at Comble^ (a village about four miles from Orleans), was subject for fifteen years to a chronic gastric disease, and to continual vomitings which left her little repose. Having tried medi- J. B. DE LA SALLE. 131 cine in vain for many years, she discontinued the use of all remedies. Learning that many had been cured by the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, she made several novenas in his honor, with- out obtaining any result. A good woman of the neighborhood, to whom she was complaining of this, observed to her that she ought to have begun by making a good confession and communion. She adopted the advice ; and, on the eighth day of the novena, was perfectly cured. Theophile Pottier, a boy ten years of age, living in Orleans, had scrofulous eruptions on the face; the cheeks being so affected by this malady, that the surgeons extracted from them several small bones. After two years of attendance, and the prescription of a variety of remedies that led to nothing, they gave up visiting him. Having made, together with his family, a novena in honor of the Venerable de la Salle, he was completely cured in the month of December, 1848. Victor Giot, a child seven years of age, residing in the village of Meung, near Orleans, was afflict- ed with sores that broke out in several parts of his body. The disease lasted three years, during four months of which he was confined to bed. The physicians who called daily, stated that they had no hope of his ultimate cure. The parents, in grief, procured a picture and relic of the Vener- able de la Salle, and made successively with their friends, two novenas in his honor. At the end of 132 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE the second, the child was restored to perfect health. Mile. Cornelie Callet, an inhabitant of Orleans, was afflicted, at the age of sixteen, with an inter- .nal malady which the physicians could not account for, though they saw her gradually wasting away. At last, unable to do any good, they ceased visit- ing her, and she had recourse to the intercession of . the Venerable de la Salle, and was perfectly cured before the end of the no vena. (May, 1849.) Mme. Vildier, forty years of age, was placed in the hospital of Orleans to be treated for insanity. After eighteen months of the most assiduous care, the head physician of the establishment declared that he had no hope of effecting a cure. The fam- ily in great grief had recourse to the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, and had the happi- ness — to their own surprise and that of all their acquaintance — to see the patient recover the per- fect use of her reason, on the last day of the novena. (August, 1849.) Mile. Victoire Drapier, fifty-two years of age, an inhabitant of Orleans, parish of Sainte-Croix, suf- fered for six months from sciatica, which became so painful that she was compelled to keep her bed. The two most celebrated physicians of Orleans, after trying every remedy without success, de- clared that her complaint would be a very tedi- ous one, and that they entertained little hope of a permanent cure. This lady, whose sufferings J. B. DE LA SALLE. 133 were excessive, procured a medal of the Venerable de la Salle, and began a novena in his honor. This first novena having produced no result, she made several others without losing heart. Her perse- verance was crowned with success ; for at the end of the tenth novena she cried out suddenly, " I am cured;" and immediately she rose and repaired to the church to return thanks. She made, after that, a novena of thanksgiving, and continued to enjoy the most perfect health. M. Jules Dreux, twenty-nine years of age, an in- habitant of Orleans, had been cured, in 1846, of a gouty rheumatism, by making a novena in honor of the Venerable de la Salle. In the month of Octo- ber, 1849, he was attacked by typhus and bilious fever, which put Iris life in great danger. Re- membering then the favor he had received three years previously, by the intercession of the Ven- erable de la Salle, he had recourse to him again, and made, in union with many others, a novena in his honor. On the fifth day of the novena his malady suddenly ceased, and he recovered at once all his former vigor, thus seeing himself for a second time miraculously restored to per- fect health. An infant, four months old, named Louis Le- conite, belonging to the village of Checi, was born with a hernia. Her mother, hoping that this infirmity would be cured as the child grew up, took care to bandage it well, but without causing 134 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE thereby any visible improvement. One day she took the child with her, when visiting a neighbor in w T hose apartment there happened to be a* pic- ture of the Venerable de la Salle. On entering the room, the eyes of the little one turned to the picture and never ceased looking at it, which the mother noticing, she felt encouraged by that to invoke the servant of God in behalf of her child. After two novenas the child was so perfectly cured that no trace was left of its complaint. (October, 1849.) Mine. Marie- Vict oire Clotet, fifty-two years of age, and residing in the village of Vitry-aux- Loges, was for a long time afflicted by sciatica. Her legs and feet were swollen, and it had be- come impossible for her to leave her chamber. All that medicine could do had been tried upon her in vain, when, hearing of the many cures that had been wrought at Orleans by the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, she prayed to God, that if it was his will, she might be delivered from her sufferings. She made a novena in honor of the servant of God, and her pains were at first much increased, but on the last day of the novena she was suddenly and perfectly cured. (November, 1849.) ' Mile. Chevalier, ten years of age, residing in the same village of Vitry-aux-Loges, had been for some time afflicted with asthma, without finding any relief from medicine. Hearing of the many cures J. 3. DE LA SALLE. 135 wrought at Orleans, she besought her parents to bring her thither, and they yielded to her wishes. A holy person there gave the young girl a medal of the Venerable de la Salle, recommending her to wear it on her neck, and to join in a novena they would begin to the servant of God for her recov- ery. This was done, and the novena was not ended when the young girl found herself perfectly cured. (November, 1849.) M. Alphonse Barr, commercial traveler, whose home was at Orleans, observed, one evening about four o'clock, a small pimple on his left cheek re- sembling a thorn. By six o'clock the cheek had swollen very much, and the pimple had grown to the size of a cork, such as is used in ordinary bot- tles, while the pain in his head was excessive. His companions urged him at once to send for the doc- tor, but he, who had previously obtained favors through the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle (among others, he had been cured of a dis- ease of the chest), thought only of procuring a picture and relic of the servant of God. After having prayed a long time, and placed the picture and relic in a handkerchief which he fastened in the form of a cravat, he fell asleep. When he awoke he found his handkerchief wet, the swelling having broken and filled it with blood. He places the picture in another handkerchief and continues to invoke the intercession of the servant of God. By ten o'clock in the morning the swelling was 136 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE completely gone, and the young man was able to return to his business. (1850.) Mine. Bernardon, residing at Carpantras (Vau- cluse), was for many years afflicted with a disease of the spinal marrow, which so enfeebled her that she could not pass from one room to another with- out falling down from weakness, and being unable to rise for some time. Her husband, whose occu- pation kept him most of the day from home, was often, on his return, grieved to see his wife stretched on the floor in a state of unconsciousness. Four physicians had treated this complaint unsuccess- fully, and abandoned the case as one beyond their skill. The husband, however, pressed them to come at least to tranquillize her mind, and one of them recommended the application of cautery to the back. M. Bernardon, brother of Brother Jos- bert, whose cure we have mentioned above, had received from him a picture and relic of the Ven- erable de la Salle. Remembering his brother's cure, he thought, when returning from his day's labor, that the picture of the servant of God might prove more efficacious than the cautery. He com- municated the idea to his wife, who had had the same thought. This coincidence filled them with confidence. The husband placed the picture where the doctor had intended to apply the cautery, and lay down beside her. She was immediately seized by a burning fever, which threw her into a sort of delirium. He questioned her as to how she felt, J. B. DE LA SALLE. 137 but he could understand none of her answers. At last she went off into a quiet sleep. When she awoke she found herself so free from pain that she did not doubt that she was perfectly cured. She arose, felt all her former strength, and from that day enjoyed perfect health. It was in the month of December, 1852, that this cure took place ; the husband's letter and the certificate of the physician reached Paris in June, 1853. The physician testified that he considered the cure miraculous. Mile. Louise Lacheray, living near Rouen, was afflicted by a complaint whose principal symptoms were nausea, spasmodic vomitings, the impos- sibility of retaining any food/ and a dry cough, ac- companied by swelling. Remedies had been aban- doned, as all tried had been found useless, when the patient felt inspired to have recourse to the in- tercession of the Venerable de la Salle. In conse- quence of this, three members of her family set out in pilgrimage to Rouen, to the tomb of the servant of God. When they reached the house of the Brothers in the Rue Saint-Lo, they got a Mass offered up for the patient at seven o'clock in the morning. At that very time, the sick woman arose from her bed, and began to eat plentifully of bread and soup, — she who, for four months, had never tasted any thing but liquid. Still she remained weak, although she could do some work about the house. Seven months after, she experienced a 138 LIFE OF THE VEXERABLE fresh attack of the same complaint. Her sufferings were not so severe, but yet, as in the first case, she could take no solid food. Another journey to Rouen, and a second Mass said for her recovery, brought on another cure after seven weeks' sick- ness. (1853.) Joseph Lavigne, father of a family, and a joiner by trade, had kept for a long time in his family a picture of the Venerable de la Salle, before which he was accustomed to pray. On the 24th of Au- gust, 1852, he had a very severe attack of fever, which confined him to bed till the 28th of Novem- ber. At that period, he appeared to be conva- lescent, but he had a relapse soon after, and on the evening of the 30th found himself in a very dangerous condition. At seven o'clock on that evening he happened to be alone in his room, in bed, and a prey to sad forebodings as to his helpless family, when he felt himself, as it were, shaken. He raised his eyes, which were at once attracted to the picture of the servant of God facing his bed. He saw issue from it rays of light, which fell upon his face, and at first he was greatly terrified. How- ever, he kept his eyes fixedly upon it, and saw that these rays of light were still directed upon him. They succeeded each other with so much rapidity that they resembled what are called falling stars. He called his wife, who^vas weeping in a chamber near, and said to her : " Fear nothing ; I am well. Call the children, and let us all go on our knees J. B. DE XA SALLE. 139 to thank the saint, for I feel neither pain nor weak- ness." He passed that night in a tranquil sleep, rose in the morning well, but remained at home all day. The next day he went out to walk, and in four or five days returned to his usual occupation. On Shrove-Tuesday he went to confession, but said nothing to his confessor of what he had wit- nessed. Some days after the fever returned, and he thought to himself that it was a punishment sent to him for not having mentioned the circum- stances of his cure. Soon after, he returned to his confessor, and mentioned how he had been cured, the silence he had maintained reo-ardino- it, and his relapse. The confessor advised him to go to the Brother-Director of the Christian schools and make known the whole matter to him. He did so, and went home, — feeling as if he had been de- livered of a great burden. Since that time, the fever has not returned, and work, — which before had been slack, — came in so fast upon him that he could not meet all the applications made to him. Felicite Dumont, fifteen years of age, living with her parents in the hamlet of Fourneaux, in the parish of Chaingy (Loiret), was afflicted for more than two years with chronic and complicated hysteria, added to what is called Saint Guy's dance. Three years of previous suffering had dis- posed her for this terrible malady, and a fright she received on the 2d of July, 1851, brought it on. It presented, among others, the following symp- 140 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE toms : — For the first three months she was subject to the most acute sufferings over all her body, feeling as if she were being torn with pinchers, and, at the same time, — in danger of suffocation. Twice a day, — morning and evening, — she was subject to frightful attacks of her distemper, in which state she moved to pity all who saw or heard her. For about twenty minutes she would utter the most heart-rending cries, still retaining, throughout, the perfect use of her reason. After these attacks she felt worn out, broken, crushed; her head burning, her appetite gone, and sleep next to impossible. For fourteen months she had taken no solid food, but only some liquid. Her vomitings were very frequent, while want of food, want of sleep, pain, and suffering made the poor girl a perfect skeleton. Her cheeks were hollowed by suffering and hunger, — and yet her face had a winning simplicity and intelligence. Six physi- cians of reputation treated her, and tried all the means of cure they could think of. Medicines, salt baths, cold baths, douches, frictions, electricity, had all been tried in vain : but for the last four months all treatment had been discontinued. On the 28th of August, Stephen Baruel, who had come to look at her father's bee-hives, was touched with pity at the condition of the young girl, and recommended her to make a no vena to the Venerable de la Salle, mentioning the prayers she should say : — three times, " the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the J. B. DE LA SAU.E. 141 Glory be to the Father," with this addition : " Oh, my father, servant of God, blessed Jean Baptiste de la Salle, pray for me who have recourse to you." Felicite Dumont begins the novena at once. Soon after, six o'clock strikes, the hour at which her attack usually returned. Some minutes after, she feels a general trembling over all her body, head, feet, hands, and her very hair. A shock follows, — in which she knows some organic change is taking place within her, — and, at that very instant, she sees the blessed Jean Baptiste de la Salle in the midst of a light brilliant as the sun, surrounded by angels, and looking with gentle eyes fixedly upon her. The vision passes away rapidly, but the disease also has disappeared. Her cure was in- stantaneous and complete. She calls aloud to her mother to come to her, crying out, "Oh, mother, I am cured, by the protection of the blessed Jean Baptiste de la Salle : he has appeared to me." From that moment Felicite Dumont enjoyed perfect health. The physician who last attended her, when asked by some priests what he thought of the cure, answered, "It is a secret between the little one and the saint ; her faith has cured her." Philippe Auguste Eegnard, a boy six years of age, residing at Revin, near Fumay (Ardennes), was attacked, on the 22d of January, 1854, by a very painful sore throat, accompanied by vom- itings and intense fever. The physician having been called in on the day following, — after care- 142 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE fully examining his little patient, — pronounced the case one of croup, prescribing leeches to the throat, mustard baths, and drinks mixed with honey; but giving little hope of being able to save him. The parents had in their possession a picture of the Venerable de la Salle, with a relic of his habit, which had been sent them by a Brother of the Christian schools at Auxerre, uncle of the child. They at once had recourse to prayer,- — invoking the intercession of the Mother of God and the Ven- erable de la Salle, and touched the throat of their little Philip with the picture of the servant of God, which they made him kiss, and then placed it around his neck, recommending the child to pray to him. The disease, however, grew worse, and, — on the evening of the 24th, — the child appeared to "be on the point of death. On a sudden, he cried out with a loud voice, " Jean Baptiste de la Salle has cured me : I am well." The mother, — who had been weeping bitterly, hearing her child thus cry out, and seeing him restored to health, fainted through excess of joy. As to little Philip, he slept soundly all that night, and was so well that he was fit enough to return to school. It is not in France only that the Venerable de la Salle has displayed the eifeets of his powerful intercession ; the Isle of Bourbon has been the the- atre of one of those cures as miraculous as any we have yet recorded. Mine. Frederic de Villele, wife of one of the richest inhabitants of the island, J. B. DE LA SALLE. 143 and connected with some of the best families, was from childhood of a delicate constitution, and often subject to sickness. In the month of October, 1858, she was afflicted by rheumatism over all the right arm, and this so severely that she was completely deprived of the use of the arm. Xo thing that med- ical skill could do to relieve her was left untried; but the arm still remained powerless, and her suf- ferings were little diminished. Added to rheuma- tism came fever and a weakness of the legs that made it very fatiguing for her to ascend any steps, or even walk. The use of hot springs which had been prescribed seemed to increase her weakness, for in the month of November she was confined to her chamber. The disease spread to the loins, and later on she was struck by pa- ralysis of the right side. Her ordinary physician- called two others of distinction into consultation, and they recognized the presence of inflammation of the spinal marrow, for which the most energetic treatment must be adopted. Setons, cauteries, stimulating frictions, every thing that was thought likely to meet the nature of the case was tried; with but indifferent success. The paralysis con . tinned, and the weakness seemed even great* r# Sometimes also she experienced palpitations c f the heart, and sufferings of an intensity that c om- pletely prostrated her, and greatly alarmed . the physician who watched the case. She coul d not turn in bed without the assistance of two o r three 144 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE persons. Still animated by a lively faith and great piety, she endured all these sufferings with resignation ; — taking with docility every medicine prescribed to her, however repugnant, and sub- mitting to every treatment however painful. Many persons had suggested to her to have re- course to the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, but she always deferred doing so, through fear that it might not be the will of God. Several novenas had been offered up for her to our Lady of La Salette, and to St. Genevieve: she united in these but never consented to pray for her cure. At last, by the advice of her confessor, she decided to do so, and resolved to make a novena in honor of the Venerable de la Salle, praying God to whose will she was perfectly resigned, to do that which he foresaw would most conduce to his own glory. She procured a picture and relic of the habit of the servant of God, and began a no- vena on the 15th of February, 1860, in union with the Brothers of St. Paul and the different mem- bers of her family. On the first day of the novena, the patient experienced great difficulty of breathing : on the second day she had a feel- ing of suffocation, with violent pains of the heart. A swoon of two hours which followed was so alarming that the doctors did not venture to leave her. Spasm followed spasm, and they were on the point of administering the last sacra- ments to her, but thought this might be deferred, J. B. DE LA SALLE. 145 as she had confessed and received the Holy Viaticum on the previous evening. Her panting respiration seemed at times about to end in suffoca- tion ; her body was - contracted ; her upper lip drawn back showed her teeth closed in agony ; her eyes were fixed and half opened, and from, her body there exhaled a corpse-like smell. Her chamber- maid, who was also her attendant in sickness, per- ceived this peculiar odor, and retired to weep un- seen, saying to the other domestics, "Madame is dying." On Friday, the 1 7th, Doctor«Dussac, who feared a spasm similar to that of the previous evening left w^ith regret to g:o to Saint-PauL where pressing business called him. In fact, the- same symptoms reappeared, the danger increased,, and the suffocation became more violent. Next morning when the family physician, who had re- mained all night, went to breakfast with the fam- ily about ten o'clock, the patient, who had wished to be left alone, and who had got a picture of the- Venerable de la Salle placed in her hand, with a relic of the same, invoked him fervently, and prayed that if her cure was to be granted, it might be to the greater glory of God and his honor. Immediately after this prayer she felt that she could rise, went and placed herself upon her chair, and found that she could do so without pain, — she who for four months had been unable to turn in bed without assistance. She called Father Etchevery her confessor to acquaint him with 7 146 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE what had taken place, and to ask his advice as to what she ought to do regarding it ; he answered that she ought to acquaint her family with what had happened to console them, and reanimate their faith and confidence. The midday angelus — the time appointed for the novena — ringing soon after, the father said the prayers with a loud voice, the family and physician joining in them. After prayers, the doctor returned to see her, and was astonished at the change he witnessed. Her voice had returned to her, and her countenance was radiating with health and happiness. All the assistants were overjoyed at the cure that had taken place. The next day, notwithstanding the night was chiefly given up to the emotions of the preceding day, she arose, dressed her hair, — what she had not done for sixteen months, — and both ate and drank without suffering from it ; using her right hand to eat, and afterwards to write, and receiv- ing numerous visits in the course of the day, without experiencing fatigue. On the last day of the novena, she went to the chapel with no other support than that of her husband's arm, ris- ing without assistance to go to holy communion, and returning alone to her place. After that she heard a second Mass of thanksgiving, and attend- ed without fatigue to the Te Deum, the Magnifi- cat, and the litanies of the Blessed Virgin, etc., which were sung. On her return home, she en- tered the parlor and received the numerous con- J. B. DE LA SALLE. 147 gratulations made her on her resurrection. After that she spoke a few feeling words to her Mal- gaches* to encourage them in the service of a God so good and powerful, and spoke in a clear and distinct voice. In a word, she was perfectly cured, and enjoyed from that time better health than she had ever known before. On the second day of the following March, she repaired to the chapel of the Brothers of St. Paul, to return God thanks for her cure, and presented a ciborium with these words engraven on it, " In memory of the 23d of February, 1860." She has also con- tributed a considerable sum to defray the expense attending the beatification of our venerable foun- der. Father Etchevery, confessor to this lady; Father Neyraguet, chaplain in Saint Gilles' chap- el, attended by the family and the domestics of the establishment; Father Gorce, who was in the house in infirm health,! and Father Jouen, apos- tolic prefect of Madagascar, have all certified to the cure of Mine. Villele. Drs. Milhec de Fonta- rabie and Dussac have admitted that this cure * These are the inhabitants of one of the countries of the island of Madagascar, who come to work in Bourbon during the sugar season. M. de Villele had induced them to'assist at Mass, and that they might join in the happiness of the the family, had given them a holiday and a substantial re- past for the occasion. f The house of M. de Villele is the resort of missionaries in health and sickness. They are treated there in a manner worthy of the piety and fortune of their distinguished hosts. 148 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE was supernatural. This last in a certificate, in which he describes the nature of the complaint and the treatment adopted, ends thus: "I can- not explain scientifically this sudden cure of Mme. Villele. First, because for a long time we had been in some sort obliged to abandon all medical treatment ; second, because want of nour- ishment had reduced her to a state of the great- est debility; third, because of the serious symp- toms exhibited on the day of the 16th of February, the night following, and the morning of the 17th; and fourth, because no traces are left of the com- plaint, and Father Gorce assures me that she has resumed the duties and occupations of mistress of the house." Mile. Juliette Martinet, an inhabitant of the parish of Saint-Leu, in the same island, also experi- enced the effects of the power of the servant of God. The following deposition was written by her own hand : " For a twelvemonth I suffered from a tumor in the stomach, which, as it increased, caused serious apprehensions for my life. As the sufferings became more severe, I sought relief from two physicians ; but they answered repeat- edly that I had no relief or cure to expect, as the tumor was still increasing. At last, every move- ment made my sufferings insupportable ; I could not rest in any position nor take any food without being inconvenienced ; I had lost all my strength, and I could not walk even with the aid of two J. B. DE LA SALLE. 149 persons to lean on. On the 20th of January, af- ter a night of suffering, I received the last sacra- ments and the plenary indulgence. It was in this extremity, that — from having heard speak of the miraculous cure of Mme. Frederic de Villele, and at the invitation of those who nursed me — I resolved to make a novena to the founder of the Christian schools, and got my sister to ask the Brothers of Saint-Leu for a picture and relic of the habit of the venerable servant of •God, and the assistance of their prayers. Animated by a lively confi- dence, we began the novena on the 2 7th of February, 1860. On the very first day, I found myself a little better ; I could walk with the aid of three persons. On the fourth day of the novena, I could take a little food without being inconve- nienced by it as formerly. On the fifth day I rose without help, and could walk in my room. On the eighth day I could leave my room supported on the arm of my sister ; and, after walking a fe^r turns in the court, I regained my bed without as- sistance. On the evening of the same day — my confessor not having thought it necessary to hear my confession in my room — I went to the church without any help ; which I did also on the ninth day, early in the morning, and after that, ascended to the chapel of Our Lady of La Salette, on the hill that overlooks St. -Leu, there to offer up a commu- nion of thanksgiving. Since that day — the sixth of March — I have suffered nothing, and my strength 150 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE has all come back. My cure is real : I attribute a change so speedy and remarkable to the in- tercession of the Venerable Jean Baptiste de la Salle. "(Signed), Juliette Martinet." Here follow the signatures of her parents and friends, and that of the cure of Saint-Leu, mis- sionary apostolic. Mine. Loubeyre, residing at Murat (Cantal), was afflicted with a dangerous disease which all the resources of medical science could neither cure nor mitigate. Resolved to have recourse to the intercession of the Venerable de la Salle, she pro- cured his picture and a small portion of his habit from the Brothers in that town, and began a novena to him. At the end of it she felt considerably better ; and, with her confidence re- doubled, she began a second one. Finding her- self perfectly cured at the end of this second no- vena, she went to the church of the Brothers, to return God thanks for the favor she had received through the intercession of his servant. Mile. Xoemi Morice, twenty-two years of age, a native of the Isle of Maurice, but living in Re- union, was for four years a prey to a painful nerv- ous complaint, which at last resulted in temporary insanity, followed by fainting fits as frequently as twelve or fourteen times in the day. Her parents applied to several physicians to obtain a cure, but J. B. DE LA SALLE. 151 the remedies prescribed proved of no efficacy. In the latest stage of her complaint she was attended by three physicians, who left nothing untried in her behalf; blisters in great numbers, leeches, cold baths, and the most powerful medicines, — and still her condition grew more alarming day after day, until her parents abandoned all hope of her recov- ery. She had lost all her strength and her appetite. She could not walk unless supported by her sister, nor raise a spoon to her mouth to take her food, which at best was but little. A mouthful of bread and a little milk was all she took. A person who came to see her in this condition, persuaded her sister to address herself to the Brothers of the Christian schools and several other good people among her acquaintance, and to engage them to join in a novena, in honor of the Venerable Jean Baptiste de la Salle. In fact the whole commu- nity of Brothers there joined in this novena, which began on the 21st of February, 1863, while the patient herself offered up the following pray- er : " Venerable Jean Baptiste de la Salle, illustri- ous founder of the Christian schools, to whom God has granted so great power that* you obtain the cure of all who have recourse to your inter- cession, I prostrate myself before you to ask de- liverance from the disease and sufferings that have so long afflicted me, if it be the will of God that I should be cured for the good of my soul; but if on the other hand he wishes me to suffer for the 152 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE expiation of my sins, I resign myself to his holy will." In addition to this she said five Paters and five Aves, and the following prayer : " Ser- vant of God, Jean Baptiste de la Salle, pray for me who have recourse to you." During the whole of the novena, Mile. Koemi suffered most excruci- ating pains, but there was still hope of her recov- ery, for, when these were most violent, she would become suddenly calm, as often as her sister placed on the part that pained her most, the picture of the servant of God. They went to the community of the Christian Brothers, and requested them to join in a second novena, in the course of which the patient grew gradually better, — till on the last day of the novena she was completely cured. This cure was attested by the parents of Mile. Noemi Morice, in a certificate signed by each of them : other signatures follow, and the list is closed by Brother Hieronymo, director of the Brothers of the Christian schools of St.-Denis. By way of postscript we find the following remarks appended : — " The person named above came a few days since to Saint-Denis, to thank God for. her cure in the chapel of the head-house of the Bro- thers of the Christian schools in the Isle of Bour- bon; and, as a homage of gratitude, she presented two bouquets of artificial flowers, which she her- self had made since the recovery of her health." The following' letter is from the sister of Mile. Noemi Morice to the Brother-Superior : — J. B. DE LA SALLE. 153 " Sainte-Marie, near Ressotjrce (Isle of Bourbon), "SOth April, 1863. " May I beg your acceptance of the two bou- quets, which I send to be placed in your chapel in honor of the Venerable Jean Baptiste de la Salle, as a feeble acknowledgment of the cure he obtain- ed for my sister, who for seven months was tried by the severest sufferings. Her health was re- stored after a novena made in honor of that great servant of God, and for which you and your com- munity were so good as to grant us the assistance of your fervent prayers. Brother Mark and all the Brothers of Ressource united with you. " After seven months of attendance, the physi- cians could bring no relief to my sister in her suf- ferings ; and I had consequently given up all hope of a cure. However, with the novena her suffer- ings ended, and her appetite, which she had al- together lost, returned wonderfully. Accept, Bro- ther-Superior, in your own name, and that of the whole community, our warmest thanks, and do not forget us in your prayers. " Your very humble servant, "L. Cyrille." The following is an extract from a letter written by the Brother-Director of the Christian schools of Saint-Denis (Isle of Bourbon). 1* 154 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE "Isle op Bourbon, Saint-Denis, " 28th November, 1862. ..." On the 23d of this month, Brother Zetique, director of the Christian schools of Sainte- Anne, wrote to beg us to join in a novena in honor of the Venerable de la Salle. " About three* months ago, a woman, consider- ably advanced in years, requested us to unite with her in a novena to the Venerable de la Salle, to obtain the preservation of her sight, which she was in danger of losing. We, as well as the Sis- ters, 'Daughters of Mary,' united our prayers with hers. The novena was scarcely ended, when she hastened to come and thank us, stating that her eyes had become as clear and keen sighted as in her youth. " Having met me again, very recently, she re- newed her thanks. You see in this fact a cure that must assuredly be deemed miraculous ; for this woman cannot be under sixty years of as;e. May the Lord deign to glorify his servant still further, by restoring the health of a good youth who desires to devote himself to his service. The confidence in our venerable father is truly very great in this colony : there is not a week goes by in which we are not requested to join in novenas. " Brother Hiehony^io." J. B. DE LA SALLE. 155 CONCLUSION. We might enlarge this recital by many other favors obtained through the intercession of the Venerable cle la Salle. Some, who were on the point of death, and had not been to confession for many years, received the grace of reconciliation with God before they were called to appear before him : others, in danger of falling into the hands of justice for crimes of which they were falsely accused, have been enabled to make their in- nocence manifest : and many others have been restored to the perfect use of reason, through pray- ers offered up by their relatives to the venerable servant of God. All these favors should not aston- ish us, for it is easy to conclude, from the evidence we have given, that the servant of God, having labored zealously, during life, to advance the glory of God, and the accomplishment of his Di- vine will, God, on his part, wishes to glorify him on earth, by favors granted to all such as implore his intercession. After having read the account of so many won- derful cures obtained by invoking the Venerable de la Salle, whose life we have briefly sketched, no one will be surprised to learn that the Brothers have had recourse to the Holy See to be permitted to raise altars under his invocation. This step was taken in 1835, and it has already called forth many 156 LIFE OF THE YEXERABLE decrees in the proceedings entered on previous to beatification ; besides the decree by which His Holiness authorized the introduction of the cause before the Sacred Congregation of Rites, May 8, 1840.* These decrees are: 1, That which orders an inquiry to be instituted, by delegates appointed by the Holy See, in the dioceses of Rheims, Paris, and Rouen ; 2, that which declares the non-cultus; that is to say, that no public worship has as yet been paid to him ; 3, the two which certify the validity of the investigations made in the name of the Holy See, in the dioceses mentioned, as well as in the city of Rome ; 4, that which declares that the writings published under the name of the servant of God cannot, in the proper and rigor- ous sense, be attributed to him. The advocate, who has charge of the cause be- fore the Congregation of Rites, is now working at that part of the process which has reference to the heroism of his virtues. When a decision on this point has been given, — should it prove favor- able, — nothing but the truth of the miracles has to be established before proceeding to beatifica- tion. After beatification, two other miracles must be wrought before entering on the question of canonization ; and those miracles must be verified by the same formalities as preceded the decree of beatification. We do not doubt that our readers * It is since the issue of that decree that it becomes lawful to give the servant of G-od the title of Venerable. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 157 will be well pleased to find here a brief account of the forms made use of in the process for the beatification of a servant of God. DESCRIPTION OF THE FORMALITIES PRESCRIBED BY THE HOLY SEE, IN MATTERS PERTAINING TO THE BEATIFICATION OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD. The canonization of the saints, and the cer- emonies accompanying it, have been, like so many other good things, objects of sarcasm to the sec- tarians of the sixteenth century. In their shame- less invectives against the discipline of the Cath- olic Church, they were not likely to spare a sub- ject so deserving of attention as this. With the view of casting ridicule on practices so ancient, they endeavored to trace their origin back to pa- gan times, and to the ceremonies then made use of in deifying some fabled hero ; but a comparison so odious and false is, at the same time, so repug- nant to plain good sense, that the modern adver- saries of Catholicity but seldom venture to reproduce it. The honor paid to the martyrs by those who were eye-witnesses of their combats, was, as it were, the first cry of religion. The Church be- held with joy those transports of admiration, the source of a holy rivalry that so frequently mul- tiplied her triumphs; but always attentive to check the excesses of indiscreet zeal, she never permitted the multitude to decide who should be 158 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE held up as objects of veneration. The most con- spicuous confession of faith, and even a glori- ous death, were not by themselves sufficient to canonize the memory of one of those heroes of Christianity: the early Christians waited until the voice of their pastors proclaimed it ; for they alone had to burn the first incense over the mar- tyr's ashes, and inscribe his name in the calendar of the church. The honor given afterwards to holy confessors, not martyrs, — being less supported by incontest- able proofs of sanctity, — was more subject to error than the other, and therefore less fitted to be left to the judgment and discretion of the multitude. We consequently find a great number of ecclesias- tical laws passed for the purpose of suppressing such arbitrary devotion. A decree of Alexander III. thus speaks on the subject : " Do not in future presume to offer religious cultus to any one, even though he may have performed a number of mir- acles : it is not lawful for you to pay such honor without the consent of the Roman Church." Still there were not, up to this time, fixed rules to be observed in the process. Diocesan bishops, then as now, took the first juridical information, after- wards submitting it to the Holy See, which pro- nounced the final decision ; but since the time of Urban VIII., the form of these proceedings has been regulated in an invariable way by his decree of 1625. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 159 According to the custom that actually prevails at present on this subject, when a servant of God dies, — after having practiced the virtues of a Christian in an heroic degree, — and leaves behind him a uni- versal reputation for sanctity, he may be proposed to the imitation of the faithful, although no mira- cles have yet been wrought by his intercession : for these, as experience shows, may come afterwards. The ordinaries of the places wherein any wit- nesses may reside, have full power to receive their depositions, and take any other necessary information. The demand for the initiation of the process should be addressed to the bishop of the diocese in which the servant of God lived, at the request of a postulator furnished with the necessary au- thority, either by the civil power, or the chapter, or some person interested in the cause ; as, for in- stance, a relative of the servant of God, or the supe- rior of the congregation of which he rimy have been a member. This postulator having obtained all the information he deems necessary as to the life, virtues, holy death, and reputation for sanc- tity, existing among the people regarding the ser- vant of God since his death ; will draw up a list of questions, on which the witnesses he will pro- duce must be examined. This list should com- prise every thing relating to the servant of God, from his birth to his death ; touching upon the dif- ferent epochs of his life ; showing forth the special 160 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE traits of his character ; illustrating the heroism of his virtues, — theological as well as cardinal, — and establishing proofs that the reputation for virtue he left when dying, continues still unchanged. The bishop of the diocese, at the request of the , postulator, will appoint a tribunal over which he will himself preside, either by one of his vicar-gen- erals, or some other eminent ecclesiastic. The president of this council should be assisted by two other ecclesiastics acting as judges, by a " pro- moter " as notary, and an officer of the ecclesias- tical court. The tribunal being thus formed, each member will take an oath in presence of the bishop to discharge his duties faithfully. Another eccle- siastic performing the duty of notary, will take down the evidence in presence of two witnesses, who will sign it with him. We should remark : First, that the judges, the notary, the officer of the court, and the bishop himself, are bound by oath to preserve inviolable secrecy as to the doings of the tribunal, until the publication of the process ; second, that the same oath shall be presented to the witnesses and renewed by them at the commencement of each sitting until the publication of the process, while the promoter belonging to the diocese ought to be present at all the sittings, and, — as well as the judges and notary, — place his signature at the end of each day's proceedings. When the investigation has been completed in J. B. DE LA SAXLE. 161 accordance with the rules drawn up by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, and the obligation of secre- cy ceases ; when all the different parts of the pro- cess have been copied and compared with the ori- ginal, — which should always remain in the episco- pal archives, — the postulator will demand that these copies be sent to Rome, to be brought under the notice of the Holy See, that he may thus ob- tain the introduction of the cause in which he is interested. The packet, inclosing a full statement of the depositions, after having been sealed in presence of all the members of the tribunal, must either be sent to Rome by an express-messenger, or placed in the hands of the Apostolic Nuncio. When this authentic copy has reached Rome, an opportunity should be taken of presenting it to the Sacred Congregation of Rites, at one of its meetings. The postulator who had, in the first instance, made application to the ordinary, should still fol- low the case either personally, or by another who will intrust it to one of the advocates authorized to plead before the Sacred Congregation of Rites. This latter will present a j)etition to the Holy Fa- ther, requesting his assent to the opening of the depositions transmitted by the ordinary; and, when this request has been granted by His Holi- ness, the congregation will authorize its notary to take an authentic copy of all the depositions, which last must be placed in the archives of the 162 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE Vatican : the copy will be given to the advocate of the cause. The postulator should now pray His Holiness to nominate one of the Cardinals of the Sacred Con- gregation, as " promoter." The duties of this office are : First, to select translators and revisers of the depositions written in the vulgar tongue ; second, to appoint theologians who will examine, in quality of censors, the writings of the servant of God ; and third, to choose physicians of dis- tinction, who will give their opinions upon oath as to the miracles attributed to him. This Car- dinal should, likewise, submit to the Sacred Con- gregation all questions that may arise, and should take evidence, in concert with the " promoter of the faith," as to the regularity of all the depositions in question. In the mean time, the " advocate of the cause," will make a summary of all the depositions, di- viding it into articles : — beginning with the birth of the servant of God, his country, parents, and early education; mentioning the different places he resided in, and dwelling on his virtues in general and each of them in particular. He will, also, call attention to the evidence of witnesses as to his supernatural gifts'; his reputation for sanc- tity and miracles during his life-time ; his saintly death, and holy reputation and miracles after death. This summary will be submitted to the " assistant promoter of the faith," before and af- J. B. DE LA SALLE. 163 ter going to press ; that he may be enabled to note such portions of the depositions as might present difficulties of any consequence to the introduction of the cause. The notes of the " assistant pro- moter " will furnish the groundwork of the objec- tions of the promoter. These will be communi- cated to the advocate, that he may prepare his answers, and both the objections and answers will be printed and .distributed to the judges. The advocate will, besides this, compose a Latin me- moir, Avhich should be an extension and develop- ment of the articles of the summary. In compliance with the decree of Innocent XL, postulatory letters should at the same time be addressed to the Holy See by the bishops, arch- bishops, cardinals, etc., requesting the introduc- tion and prosecution of the cause. Besides the process instituted to gather deposi- tions of which we have spoken, the ordinary must institute a second, — conformably to the decree of Urban VIII., — to prove the non cidtus of the servant of God ; that is to say, that the prayers and nove- nas made at his tomb have been offered up by the private devotion of the faithful, not by the Church, nor in its name ; that no lighted candles burn be- fore his tomb, or ex voto .offerings are hung there; and that the pictures of the servant of God neither represent him with a halo of light, nor style him by the title of blessed. After the evidence obtained bv this second in- 164 LIFE OF THE VENEKABLE vestigation, as well as the postulatory letters spoken of, have been sent to Rome ; the further prosecution of the cause must cease for ten years — unless the postulator can obtain a dispen- sation to abridge the time. He must also obtain two other dispensations : first, that the following question may be proposed for discussion, "Are there grounds for appointing a commission to in- troduce the cause in an ordinary congregation, without the intervention and assent of the con- suitors, but with the approval of their Eminences the Cardinals ?" second, that the writings of the servant of God shall be submitted to censure before passing to the examination of his virtues. We must here observe, that since the decree of Urban VIII. a process of beatification or canoni- zation is subjected to as stringent regulations as a criminal trial : this is the general principle of the Congregation of Rites. The facts must therefore be proved, and the evidence examined and weighed with as much severity and exactitude as if it were a question of the punishment of crime. Suspected witnesses, whose testimony would not be deemed sufficient to condemn a criminal to death, are, for the same reason, judged unfit to bear evidence in a question of sanctity. This wise caution is due to the importance of the subject itself, and, more- over, averts the prejudices that might be stirred up to the injury of religion by a too hasty decision. When all things have been arranged in the J. B. DE LA SALLE. 165 order mentioned, and the statements drawn up by the advocate have been printed and dis- tributed to the Holy Father, the Cardinals, and other members of the Congregation, about ten days previous to the ordinary sitting ; after the Sacred Congregation has decided that " there are grounds to warrant the introduction of the cause, if agreeable to His Holiness" and the secretary has made his report to the Holy Father, the Pope will sign the commission with his own hand in two briefs : one to be preserved in the archives of the notary, the other to be delivered to the pos- tulator. The secretary will finally issue a decree publishing the reply of the Sacred Congregation and the assent of the Holy Father. Decrees of this nature are printed and affixed to the doors of the Basilicas and Apostolic Palace in Rome, and to the doors of the churches in the district where the servant of God lived. When the Holy Father has signed the brief authorizing the introduction of the cause, the ser- vant of God is thenceforth entitled to the appel- lation of Venerable. All future proceedings are taken under the authority of the Sovereign Pon- tiff; the cause has been transferred to the supreme tribunal, and the "ordinaries" can take no further steps in the matter unless delegated by the Holy See. As to the examination of the writings attributed to the servant of God, an inquiry is instituted in 166 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE the dioceses in which he lived ; after the postulator in Rome has obtained letters apostolic from the Sacred Congregation of Rites, and instructions from the " promoter of the faith " addressed to the ordinary, prescribing the manner of conducting the inquiry. The proceedings, with the details of evidence and such writings as have been dis- covered, are sent forthwith to the Sacred Congre- gation. The " Cardinal-promoter " then selects theological censors — who are bound by oath to preserve the secret of their appointment — to ex- amine these works and state in writing what they may find objectionable therein. The cen- sured propositions are submitted to the judgment of the ordinary Congregation composed of Cardi- nals and several prelates. If, in their opinion, the propositions are really deserving of censure, they are communicated to the advocate, that he may have an opportunity of justifying them ; but if, on the other hand, the objections are considered unimportant, the Congregation determines to ad- vance to the next stage of the inquiry. Should there be reason to fear that important evidence might be lost through the death of aged or infirm persons, or in consequence of others be- ing about to leave the country, the postulator should solicit letters apostolic from the Holy Father for a new inquiry, ne pereant probationes — " that proofs may not be lost." The letters apos- tolic sent to the ordinary by the Sacred Con- J. B. DE LA SALLE. 167 gregation of Rites, authorize him to institute this inquiry as well as to test the truth of the facts pre- viously given in evidence ; and lay down rules to be observed for this purpose. When these proceedings have been completed, transcribed (as in previous inquiries), and trans- mitted to Rome ; and when, at the instance of the postulator, the Sacred Congregation has recog- nized their validity, and the Pope has confirmed the answer of the Congregation, a decree to this effect is printed and affixed in the usual way. The postulator next proceeds to urge the Holy See in favor of the further prosecution of the cause, and consideration of the virtues of the servant of God. When the evidence on this head has been admitted; the question is discussed, "Are there grounds for declaring the heroism of his virtues conspicuous ?" This question is first debated in a preparatory congregation before the members of the Congregation of Rites, and afterwards in a gen- eral Congregation held in presence of the Holy Father and all the Cardinals. Having heard the affirmative opinion of this Congregation, the Pope orders prayers to be offered up that God may en- lighten him ; and, after some interval of time, sol- emnly issues his decree to the same effect. Should, however, the opinion of the Cardinals and consult- ors have been unfavorable, the Holy Father would never pronounce a decision on the subject, — and the cause would advance no further. I 168 LIFE OF THE VENEKABLE The last procedure is that which takes place in instituting an inquiry into the alleged miracles : but, before touching on this, we must say some- thing on the previous subject. By heroic virtue is understood the prompt, easy, and cheerful prac- tice of any virtue while looking only at the super- pernatural end, and without any mixture of human motives or self-interest. According to this prin- ciple, every virtue may be considered heroic if accompanied by the qualities we shall particular- ize, and if practiced frequently, or rather, in some sense, habitually. For instance : we may say that the faith of a servant of God is heroic, when he performs acts of it with promptitude, joy, and courage, at the risk of his fortune, health, or life ; when his prayers are fervent and almost contin- ual ; when he is full of submission to God, the Church, and the Sovereign Pontiff; and when he enters with fervor into every act of virtue and religion. The particular acts of this virtue are : 1, to feel great gratitude to God for the inestimable gift of faith, and being born in the bosom of the Catholic Church; 2, to labor zealously for the salvation of souls, either to bring them back to the true church, or preserve them from the occa- sions of sin, or deliver them from wicked habits that enslave them; 3, to feel pleasure in giv- ing Christian instruction to our neighbor, and above all to children ; so as to engrave on their J. B. DE LA SALLE. 169 young hearts the knowledge of the truths of religion. The hope of a Christian is heroic,. when, with a firm assurance of divine mercy he looks towards his last end, and, with entire confidence, makes use of the means to attain it, though God and men seem to have abandoned him ; when he supports the trials of this life with a joy and constancy not to be shaken, looking upon them with a gen- erous contempt, and submitting to sufferings the most acute with cheerfulness, as helping him on in the way to heaven ; when he practices frequently, with ease and pleasure, acts of denial of his own will and of the enjoyments of earth, that he may gain the riches of heaven; and when, from the same motive, he strictly observes the law of God and the evangelical counsels. The love of God will be heroic if he who pos- sesses it abstains carefully from the smallest sins, and seeks to please God at all times and on all occasions ; 'if his actions have for th,eir motive the love of God, and from the same motive he endures with fortitude all the afflictions that may come upon him ; if he longs with a sort of impatience to enjoy God, and feels in his heart a strong and glowing love of him as the Supreme Good ; if he strives to unite himself closely and inseparably to God, for love is a passion that tends to unite man with what he loves, and fills him with an ardent desire of enjoying the presence of the ob- 170 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE ject of his affections. Now, he who is inflamed with divine love, experiences this attraction to- wards God, loving him not only without pain, but with a heavenly sweetness. The other marks of this heroic love are : fidelity to the divine laws, even at the risk of fortune or life; the practice of the evangelical counsels and the constant exer- cise of good works, so as to edify one's neighbor and attract him to a life of virtue; finally, an ardent zeal for the honor and glory of God, at every cost and sacrifice. The love of his neighbor is heroic in him who loves him as himself for the love of God; who procures for him promptly, efficaciously, and with pleasure, every good he can, spiritual or tempo- ral, at the expense of his own repose, fortune, and even life, or ardently desires to do him these ser- vices, had he the opportunity ; who would rather sacrifice his own rights and suffer considerable loss, than break peace and harmony; and who does all these things from a supernatural motive far removed from the common influences that sway mankind. Prudence is heroic in him who makes all his actions conformable to the rules of justice and morality, who chooses readily and easily the means most suitable to advance the glory of God, the only end he proposes to himself;* and as this virtue extends to all the actions of life, he ought to be guided by it in matters even J. B. DE LA SALLE, 171 the most trifling, so as not deservedly to incur censure. Justice is heroic in him who joyfully and promptly, at the risk even of his fortune, honor, or life, renders to every one what belongs to him, from the sole motive of pleasing God, and not from hope or fear of any thing from men. The acts of this virtue that refer to God, con- stitute what is called the virtue of religion, which includes the interior and exterior worship due to the Divine Majesty. The promptitude, affection, perseverance, and purity of intention, with which a Christian acquits himself of this double duty ; 'his application to prayer, his respect for the cere- monies of the Church, his devotion to the blessed Virgin and the saints, and his earnestness and perseverance in these practices, are so many proofs of the heroism of his justice. The heroism of obedience consists in submit- ting one's will joyfully and promptly, humbly and unfalteringly, without stopping to examine the motives for the order. The particular acts of this virtue in a simple religious are, the exact ful- fillment of his rule in every particular, and ready and implicit obedience to all orders and wishes of. his superior, even in things most difficult and seemingly opposed to the ordinary rules of pru- dence. In a superior, the acts of this virtue con- sist in showing more zeal than others in the ob- servance and maintenance of regularity, in being 172 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE perfectly submissive to those above him, — such as his confessor, his bishop, and the Sovereign Pon- tiff, — and in yielding readily to his inferiors in all that regards his private conduct. Fortitude is heroic in him who courageously undertakes the most difficult. things for the glory of God ; who endures patiently the most cruel re- verses, fights cheerfully and promptly against the enemies of his salvation, and supports with con- stancy and patience all the sufferings and afflic- tions of this life. Temperance is heroic in him who for the love of God, represses promptly all the irregular mo- tions of corrupt nature ; who, from the frequency of his acts of denial and mortification, is so accus- tomed to conquer himself, that in him the flesh is perfectly submissive to the spirit, the passions to reason, and reason to God. This virtue embraces that of abstinence, which consists in rigorous mortification in eating and drinking. The heroism of chastity consists in repelling easily and promptly every thing that might lead to impurity; in avoiding with scrupulous care every thing that could gratify sensuality ; in prac- ticing corporal austerities, chastising the body with disciplines, subduing the flesh by watchings, and weakening its strength by abstinence, so that the body and senses may be perfectly submissive to reason. Finally, humility is heroic in him who takes J. B. DE LA SALLE, 173 pleasure in self-contempt, believes himself unwor- thy of being honored, submits to all men, equals or inferiors, is pained when honors and praises are showered upon him, and feels happiest when de- spised and regarded as a fool, for the love of Christ. The particular acts of this virtue in a Christian are : First, to entertain contempt for himself, believing himself useless and incapable of doing any good; second, willingly to avow his faults, feel that he is a great sinner, and confess himself such before men; third, to make con- stant denial of his own will ; fourth, to submit to all creatures for the love of Jesus Christ ; fifth, to persevere to the end in obedience; sixth, to suffer patiently trials the most difficult and repug- nant to nature ; seventh, to choose in preference what is mean and contemptible, when the choice is in his power — always, however, maintaining the propriety due to his standing in society ; eighth, to feel pain at seeing himself honored ; ninth, to do nothing from a motive of worldly glory ; tenth, to refuse honors and dignities unless obliged un- der obedience to accept them ; eleventh, to use all the faculties he is endowed with only for God's glory and his neighbor's benefit ; twelfth, not to indulge in foolish amusements; thirteenth, to speak in a low and submissive tone, and never seek to show his learning ; fourteenth, to exhibit in all his conduct sweetness and docility, both of mind and character. 174 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE As to the number of miracles necessary, certain " causes " require only two ; this happens when in the process before the ordinary, and in that pre- scribed by letters apostolic, " as to the virtues of the servant of God," eye-w T itnesses have given evi- dence. In those cases in which eye-witnesses came forward in the first process before the ordi- nary, but hearsay evidence only was furnished at the second process ordered by letters apostolic ; three miracles must be proved.. Finally, four miracles are required when the evidence at all the processes, was only hearsay. It might not be unprofitable to add here some observations on miracles, showing .in the first place what is understood by a miracle, and sec- ondly, how miracles may be distinguished ; so as to make it manifest that the Sacred Con^recration of Rites does not admit their evidence on slight grounds. A miracle is any fact or event contrary to the laws of nature, and which cannot be the effect of a natural cause; for the peculiarity of a true mir- acle is, that it must go beyond the powers of crea- ted nature. God alone can work miracles by working in a manner superior or contrary to the order and ordinary course of secondary causes. For instance, the order of nature requires that man should die within a given time ; yet God has preserved Enoch and Elias from death. The or- der of nature demands also that the soul once sep- J. B. DE LA SALLE. 175 arated from the body should not re-enter it until the Day of Judgment ; yet we know by Scripture and the " Lives of the Saints " that many dead persons have been restored to life. It is naturally impossible that a person totally deprived of an organ of sense (that of sight, for instance) should ever recover it ; and yet how many blind persons have been enabled to see, lame to walk, etc. ! God works in a manner superior to nature, by producing an effect which nature could indeed produce, but in a different manner. Thus, nature may triumph over a disease by the use of reme- dies and assiduous care ; but it can never cause an instantaneous cure, with the total recovery of strength, because it works only gradually. God alone is the efficient cause of miracles, the saints are but the moral cause ; by their interces- sion, God is induced to grant the cure, — or what- ever other favor it may be, — and it is in this sense that the saints work miracles. RULES FOR DISCERXIXG TRUE MIRACLES. 1. Miracles wrought by the saints are always directed in some way to the glory of Gocl ; while the extraordinary works that the devil sometimes performs through wicked men, tend only to their own glory and worldly esteem. 2. True miracles always bring some benefit to man, morally or physically; while the prodigies performed by the devil injure him in both ways. 176 LIFE OF THE VE^EKABLE 3. True miracles are wrought by virtuous and holy men ; while wicked men are made use of as the instruments of diabolic art. Moreover. God cannot work miracles to support error or impiety ; and if, therefore, he performs them to prove the sanctity of him who is their instrument, such sanc- tity cannot be questioned ; otherwise, God would have borne witness to a lie: an assertion that would be blasphemous. 4. Holy persons when they work miracles always begin by invoking God, making the sign of the cross, and most carefully avoiding any superstitious practice : differing in this from those who work their wonders by means of the devil. 5. Generally speaking, miracles that convert us to God and detach us from the world, come from God alone ; while those that serve to take away our hearts from God, are false. The Holy See which in this matter proceeds, as we have said with extreme rigor, is not satisfied as to the truth of a miracle by the evidence of eye-witnesses and depositions made on oath, with- out submitting the matter to several physicians, who, after examining the evidence carefully, are required to give their opinion in writing as to the serious nature of the disease, the instantaneous cure, and the total restoration of strength to the person cured. When the miracles have been approved of, an- other general Congregation assembles in presence J. B. DE LA SALLE. 177 of the Holy Father, to decide the question, "Are there grounds for proceeding to beatification?" If the decision of the Congregation is favorable, the Holy Father — after asking prayers to know the will of God — publishes the brief of beatifica- tion. Should two additional miracles be wrought after beatification, they may then proceed to the ceremony of canonization. We think our readers will not object to find here a slight sketch of this most interesting and important ceremony. AN ABRIDGMENT OP THE CEREMONIES OP CANON- IZATION. When the Sacred Cons-relation of Rites has obtained the favorable opinion of a great number of theologians and canonists ; when it has consult- ed the Sacred College and received their approval ; and when public and private prayers have been offered up to obtain divine assistance ; it then pub- lishes by order of His Holiness, the decree fix- ing the day of canonization, which generally takes place on Sunday, agreeably to the consti- tution of Benedict XIV. * The solemn decree of canonization jls given in the large and magnifi- cent church of the Vatican. The ceremony begins by a general procession of all the secular and reg- ular clergy in Rome, which procession extends from the entrance of the Vatican, along the colon- nades of the square in front of St. Peter's, to the great door of the Basilica. The same order is 178 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE observed as on the feast of Corpus Christi, but in procession they carry wax candles instead of torches. The clergy occupy the square, from one end of the procession to the other; and there, too, are seen the banners of the new saints, ac- cording to the order of hierarchy ; the founders and foundresses of orders occupying the most dis- tinguished place. It is from the communities or orders to which the new saints belonged, are cho- sen those who carry the banners and go before with tapers. The procession then opens its ranks, and arranges on the two sides of the square, so that the different bodies that compose it may be stationed according to their dignity : the most distinguished being nearest the door waiting for the arrival of the papal cortege. Dur- ing this interval, the Holy Father, invested with his pontifical robes and mitre, intones in the Six- tine chapel the hymn Ave Maris Stella, which the choir continues. He then ascends to his pon- tifical chair, and receives from the hands of one of the Cardinals, two large painted wax candles, — which he generally gi\*es to 6 two princes seated near him, — and one smaller, which he carries him- self. The officers of the papal chapel now begin the procession, bearing a wax candle in one hand and followed by the canons of the three patri- archal Basilicas, who are to officiate at the Pope's Mass, and by other dignitaries, prelates, and offi- cers of His Holiness. J. B. DE LA SALLE. 1?9 The Sovereign Pontiff at last appears borne on his pontifical chair, beneath a gorgeous canopy sup- ported by prelates, and shaded by fans of peacocks' feathers carried by two private chamberlains. The papal guard acts as escort ; the mace-bearers and Swiss guard form a second line; other officers follow behind; then come the apostolic protho- notaries, and lastly, the generals of mendicant orders. The Holy Father thus borne from the Sixtine chapel in the midst of the acclamations of an im- mense multitude, after passing through the centre of the clergy — who have been arranged on two sides of the square, as mentioned above — reaches the great door of St. Peter's, where he is received by the chapter of the Basilica. The interior of the church is richly decorated, and all sparkling with light. Around this magnificent building, in the upper part of the Confession of St. Peter, where the canonization takes place, the banners of the new saints are hung.* The Sovereign * The origin of this ceremony is due to a miracle that took place at the solemn canonization of St. Stanislaus, bishop of Cracow and martyr, by Innocent IV., in 1253. Scarcely had the Holy Father pronounced the solemn decree, when there appeared in the air a purple-colored standard, supported by two angels, in the midst of which was represented a bishop in his pontifical robes. It was understood that the purple color of the standard had reference to his death as a martyr, and since that time, say the Bollandists, the banners of the saints have always been exhibited at their canonization. 180 LIFE OF THE VENERABLE Pontiff having entered the Basilica, and reached the chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, descends from his pontifical chair, and uncover- ing his head prays for a few minutes ; he is then borne as before to the great circle prepared for the ceremony, where a magnificent throne has been erected for him. After kneeling for a short space of time, he seats himself on the throne ; when the Cardinals come up to kiss his hand, the bishops his knee, and the priests and penitentia- ries of the Basilica, his foot. The Cardinals and other officers having taken their several places, the Master of Ceremonies presents before the pontifical throne the Cardi- nal-promoter of the canonization, having on his left an advocate of the Corisistorial Court. The Cardinal makes a reverence to the Holy Father, and the advocate genuflects. This latter then prays His Holiness to issue the decree of canoni- zation, in the following words :— " Most Holy Father, the most reverend Cardinal N" , here present, urgently entreats your Holi- ness to inscribe in the calendar of saints of our Lord Jesus Christ the blessed N. N., and to de- clare that they may be honored as saints by all the faithful." The Secretary of Briefs replies in the name of His Holiness, that the action in which they are concerned being of the utmost importance, the Holy Father wishes that they should first address most J. B. DE LA SALLE. 181 fervent prayers to the Divine Majesty, and im- plore the intercession of the Mother of God, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and all the other saints, that he may be enabled worthily and holily to celebrate the rite of canonization. The Cardinal-promoter returns to his place, and the Holy Father descends from his throne and kneels upon the prie-dieu. Two singers of the pa- pal choir then intone the Litany of the Saints, to which all the clergy answer. After the last Agnus Dei, the Pope again ascends the throne, and the others take their seats. The Cardinal-promoter returns to the steps of the throne with the advo- cate, who remains upon his knees, and renews the prayer we have given above, with this addition, and more urgently. To this second request the Secretary of Briefs answers, that His Holiness, penetrated with the im- portance of the act he is about to perform, begs them to invoke the Holy Ghost from whom as the source of light and holiness, such a decision ought to proceed. The Cardinal and the advo- cate return to their place, the Sovereign Pontiff de- scends from his throne, and again kneels upon his prie-dieu ; and the Cardinal at his left invites the assembly to pray, saying Orate. All kneeling down pray for some time in silence, until the Car- dinal on the right of the Holy Father says Lev ate. All then rise, and the Holy Father intones the Yeni Creator, which the choir continues: His 182 UFE OF THE VE1CERABLE Holiness then says the prayer to the Holy Ghost, and reascends his throne. The Cardinal and the advocate return for the third time to beg His Holiness to proceed to the decree of canonization, repeating the same formula, with these words added ; urgently, more urgently, and most urgently. To this third petition the Secretary of Briefs replies, that the Holy Father, knowing that the re- quest is agreeable to God, has decided to pro- nounce the definitive sentence. Immediately all the assembly stand up, and the Sovereign Pontiff, still seated with the tiara on his head, pronounces, as head of the Church upon earth, the supreme sentence by which, in honor of the Most Holy Trinity, for the exaltation of the faith, and the in- crease of the Christian religion, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and the holy apostles Peter and Paul, he enrolls the blessed N. N. in the calendar of the saints, and declares that the whole Church should celebrate holily the day of their feast. After the Vicar of Christ has pronounced this sentence, the advocate thanks him, and humbly requests him to cause letters apostolic to be drawn out, to which His Holiness assents by the one word: " decer?iimus." The "Cardinal-pro- moter " then advances to the throne, kisses the hands and knee of the Holy Father, and returns to his place ; the advocate, turning to the protho- J. B. DE LA SALLE. 183 notaries, asks them to draw up the acts of the sol- emn canonization. The first in seniority answers in the name of the others, " conficimus" and takes the chamberlains around the throne as wit- nesses, adding, " vobis testibus" The Sovereign Pontiff then rises, lays aside his tiara, and intones the Te Deum, which is contin- ued by the choir; and, at the same moment, the sound of trumpets, the bells of the Basilica, the Capitol, and all the churches of Rome, mingled with the booming of cannon from the Castle of St. Angelo, announce that the ceremony of canon- ization is ended. The Cardinal-deacon, placed at the right hand of the Sovereign Pontiff, first pub- licly invokes the saints so recently enrolled in the calendar.' Immediately after the Te Deum, he intones the versicle, " Orate pro nobis Sancti N". J¥." and the Holy Father sings the prayer proper to the new saints. Another Cardinal-dea- con goes to the right hand of the Pope to sing the confiteor, inserting in it the names of the new saints. The Sub-deacon stands before the throne holding the cross while the Holy Father gives the absolution, adding in the prayer the names of the saints just canonized. The essential part of the solemn canonization is now ended, but this is always followed by High Mass, which is usually sung by the Pope himself. At this Mass, the prayer to the new saints is inserted, besides that proper to the Mass of the day. After 184 VENEKABLE J. B> DE LA SALLE. the Gospel — which is sung both in Greek and Lat- in — the Pope himself preaches. Finally, a plenary indulgence is announced to all present, and an in- dulgence of seven years and seven quarantines to such as shall visit from devotion the tombs of the new saints on the iay of their feast. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 021 064 269 9 mi ,'' m ill , 1 1 flni ■I