Yesterday Charles de Foucauld was canonized by Pope Francis in the Vatican. Good day!
He is my third favorite saint. My first is St. Joseph; my second is St. John Paul II. Third is a tie: Foucauld, Solanus Casey, Mother Theresa, Elizabeth of the Trinity, and some others depending upon my mood.
Charles was a dashing, handsome Frenchmen who lost his Catholic faith, fought with the Foreign Legion, was lover and beloved of many women, and lived on the wild side. His conversion was a big one: he threw all that intensity and passion into love of Christ and the very least. He served humbly as a manual worker and buried himself with the Bedouins of the Sahara before he was murdered. He was unknown at his death...entirely anonymous...but later his writings, when discovered, greatly influenced a number of new religious orders and notably Kiko Arguello who emulated him by living among the Gypsies of Spain.
His conversion has been attributed to his cousin Marie, a holy woman who prayed for him and eventually influenced him in his movement back to God. So I have personally designated Charles, but even more his otherwise unknown cousin Marie, as patron saints for my own cousins.
I have 11 first cousins who are dear to me; two are deceased; their spouses number 11 also. Their children, my first-cousins-once-removed, number 36. I have one family of second cousins with whom we were close in our youth and for whom I retain an affection.
None of my cousins are nearly as bad as Charles was in his day. So...if the prayers of cousin Marie brought him around, the prayers of Charles and Marie in heaven with my modest contribution should do marvelous things!
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