Benedict Joseph Labre
Encyclopedia
Saint Benedict Joseph Labré (March 25, 1748 – April 17, 1783) was a French
mendicant
, Franciscan tertiary and Roman Catholic
saint
.
, near Arras in the north of France, the eldest of fifteen children of a prosperous shopkeeper, and was religious from a very early age. He was noted for performing public acts of penance
for his sins, even minor sins. At the age of sixteen, he attempted to join the Trappists
, Carthusians, and Cistercians, but each order rejected him as unsuitable for communal life. The superiors of these orders suspected mental illness
that would make Labré unable to fulfill the demands of communal life.
Labré, according to Catholic tradition, experienced a desire, which he considered was given to him by God and inspired by the example of Saint Alexius of Rome
, to "abandon his country, his parents, and whatever is flattering in the world to lead a new sort of life, a life most painful, most penitential, not in a wilderness nor in a cloister, but in the midst of the world, devoutly visiting as a pilgrim the famous places of Christian devotion".
He joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and settled on a life of poverty and pilgrimage
. He first traveled to Rome
on foot, subsisting on what he could get by begging. He then traveled to most of the major shrines of Europe
, often several times each. He visited Loreto
, Assisi
, Naples
, and Bari
in Italy, Einsiedeln
in Switzerland
, Paray-le-Monial
in France
, and Santiago de Compostela
in Spain
. During these trips he would always travel on foot, sleeping in the open or in a corner of a room, with his clothes muddy and ragged. He lived on what little he was given, and often shared the little he did receive with others. He is reported to have talked rarely, prayed often, and accepted quietly the abuse he received.
In so doing, Labré was following in the role of the mendicant, the "Fool-for-Christ," found more often in the Eastern Church
. He would often swoon when contemplating the crown of thorns
, in particular, and, during these states, it is said he would levitate or bilocate
. He was also said to have cured some of the other homeless he met and to have multiplied bread for them. In the last years of his life (his thirties), he lived in Rome
, for a time living in the ruins of the Colosseum
and made only a yearly pilgrimage to Loreto. He was a familiar figure in the city and known as the "saint of the Forty Hours" (or Quarant' Ore) for his dedication to Eucharistic adoration. The day before he died, he collapsed in the church of Santa Maria ai Monti
, blocks from the Colosseum
, and despite his protestations was charitably taken to a house behind the church at Via dei Serpenti 2. He died there of his malnutrition on April 17, during Holy Week
, in 1783 and was buried in Santa Maria ai Monti
.
, Marconi, wrote Benedict's biography and attributed 136 separate cures to his intercession within three months of his death. Those miracles were instrumental in the conversion of the Reverend John Thayer
, the first American Protestant clergyman to convert to Catholicism, who was resident in Rome at the time of St. Benedict's death. A cult grew up around him very soon after his death, and he was declared Blessed
by Blessed Pius IX
in 1860, and later canonized by Pope Leo XIII
in 1881. His feast day is observed on April 17.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
mendicant
Mendicant
The term mendicant refers to begging or relying on charitable donations, and is most widely used for religious followers or ascetics who rely exclusively on charity to survive....
, Franciscan tertiary and Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
.
Life
He was born in AmettesAmettes
Amettes is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated some west of Béthune and southwest of Lille, at the junction of the D69 and the D341 roads and by the banks of the river Nave.-Population:-Places of interest:* The...
, near Arras in the north of France, the eldest of fifteen children of a prosperous shopkeeper, and was religious from a very early age. He was noted for performing public acts of penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
for his sins, even minor sins. At the age of sixteen, he attempted to join the Trappists
Trappists
The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance , or Trappists, is a Roman Catholic religious order of cloistered contemplative monks who follow the Rule of St. Benedict...
, Carthusians, and Cistercians, but each order rejected him as unsuitable for communal life. The superiors of these orders suspected mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
that would make Labré unable to fulfill the demands of communal life.
Labré, according to Catholic tradition, experienced a desire, which he considered was given to him by God and inspired by the example of Saint Alexius of Rome
Alexius of Rome
Saint Alexius or Alexis of Rome or Alexis von Edessa was an Eastern saint whose veneration was later transplanted to Rome, a process facilitated by the fact that, according to the earlier Syriac legend that a "Man of God" of Edessa, Mesopotamia who during the episcopate of Bishop Rabbula lived by...
, to "abandon his country, his parents, and whatever is flattering in the world to lead a new sort of life, a life most painful, most penitential, not in a wilderness nor in a cloister, but in the midst of the world, devoutly visiting as a pilgrim the famous places of Christian devotion".
He joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and settled on a life of poverty and pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
. He first traveled to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on foot, subsisting on what he could get by begging. He then traveled to most of the major shrines of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, often several times each. He visited Loreto
Loreto (AN)
Loreto is a hilltown and comune of the Italian province of Ancona, in the Marche. It is mostly famous as the seat of the Basilica della Santa Casa, a popular Catholic pilgrimage site.-Location:...
, Assisi
Assisi
- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, and Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
in Italy, Einsiedeln
Einsiedeln, Switzerland
Einsiedeln is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey. Einsiedeln is also the birthplace of Paracelsus, a Renaissance physician and alchemist who is credited with first naming zinc.-Prehistoric...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Paray-le-Monial
Paray-le-Monial
Paray-le-Monial is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Burgundy in eastern France.-History:Paray existed before the monks who gave it its surname of Le Monial, for when Count Lambert of Chalon, together with his wife Adelaide and his friend Mayeul de Cluny, founded there in...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. During these trips he would always travel on foot, sleeping in the open or in a corner of a room, with his clothes muddy and ragged. He lived on what little he was given, and often shared the little he did receive with others. He is reported to have talked rarely, prayed often, and accepted quietly the abuse he received.
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
. He would often swoon when contemplating the crown of thorns
Crown of Thorns
In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
, in particular, and, during these states, it is said he would levitate or bilocate
Bilocation
Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is a term used to describe the ability/instances in which an individual or object is said to be, or appears to be, located in two distinct places at the same instant in time...
. He was also said to have cured some of the other homeless he met and to have multiplied bread for them. In the last years of his life (his thirties), he lived in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, for a time living in the ruins of the Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
and made only a yearly pilgrimage to Loreto. He was a familiar figure in the city and known as the "saint of the Forty Hours" (or Quarant' Ore) for his dedication to Eucharistic adoration. The day before he died, he collapsed in the church of Santa Maria ai Monti
Santa Maria ai Monti
Santa Maria dei Monti is a cardinalatial titular church in Rome, Italy. The church is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.-History:...
, blocks from the Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
, and despite his protestations was charitably taken to a house behind the church at Via dei Serpenti 2. He died there of his malnutrition on April 17, during Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
, in 1783 and was buried in Santa Maria ai Monti
Santa Maria ai Monti
Santa Maria dei Monti is a cardinalatial titular church in Rome, Italy. The church is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.-History:...
.
Veneration
His confessorConfessor
-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...
, Marconi, wrote Benedict's biography and attributed 136 separate cures to his intercession within three months of his death. Those miracles were instrumental in the conversion of the Reverend John Thayer
John Thayer (priest)
The Reverend John Thayer was the first native of New England ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Thayer was educated at Yale College and was a Protestant in his early life. He was ordained as a Congregationalist minister and served as a chaplain during...
, the first American Protestant clergyman to convert to Catholicism, who was resident in Rome at the time of St. Benedict's death. A cult grew up around him very soon after his death, and he was declared Blessed
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
by Blessed Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
in 1860, and later canonized by Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
in 1881. His feast day is observed on April 17.
See also
- Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, whose first name is Joseph, and whose birthday is April 16. - Saint Malachy's Church, BelfastSaint Malachy's Church, BelfastSaint Malachy's Church is a Catholic Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is located in Alfred Street, a short distance from Belfast City Hall. The Church is the focal point of the local parish community and Saint Malachy's Parish is one of the 88 parishes in the Diocese of Down and Connor...
. - Saint Benedict Joseph Labre ParishSaint Benedict Joseph Labre ParishSaint Benedict Joseph Labre Parish is a historic Roman Catholic parish church complex at 94-40 118th Street in Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens, New York. The complex consists of the church, rectory / parsonage, school, and cloister. The church was designed in 1916 by noted architect Thomas...
, Richmond Hill, New York. - St. Labre Indian Catholic High SchoolSt. Labre Indian Catholic High SchoolSt. Labre Indian Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Ashland, Montana. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings and serves students from Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribes.-Background:...
- Eucharistic adorationEucharistic adorationEucharistic adoration is a practice in the Roman Catholic Church, and in a few Anglican and Lutheran churches, in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed to and adored by the faithful....