Louis Bertrand (saint)
9 October | |
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Attributes | A chalice containing a snake[1] |
Patronage | Buñol; New Granada; Colombia |
Louis Bertrand, OP (
Early life
Bertrand was born in
He was grave in demeanour and apparently without any sense of humour, yet had a gentle and sweet disposition that greatly endeared him to those with whom he came in contact. While he could lay no claim to great intellectual gifts, he applied himself assiduously to study. In 1547 he was ordained to the priesthood by the archbishop of Valencia, St. Thomas of Villanova.[2]
He was appointed to the office of
When the plague had subsided, the zeal of the holy novice master sought to extend the scope of his already large ministry into the apostolate of preaching. Although it is said that "his voice was raucous, his memory treacherous, his carriage without grace", he became a fervent preacher.[4] The cathedral and the most spacious churches were placed at his disposal, but they proved wholly inadequate to accommodate the multitude that desired to hear him. Eventually it became necessary for him to resort to the public squares of the city. It was probably the fame of his preaching that brought him to the attention of St. Teresa, who at this time sought his counsel in the matter of reforming her order.
Bertrand had long cherished the desire to enter the mission fields of the New World. Receiving permission he sailed for America in 1562 and landed at Cartagena, where he immediately entered upon the career of a missionary.[5]
Missionary work in South America
The
From Tubará, Bertrand went to Cipacoa and Paluato. His success at the former place (the exact location of which is impossible to determine) was nearly equal to that at Tubará. At Paluato the results of his zealous efforts were somewhat disheartening. From this unfruitful soil Bertrand withdrew to the province of Santa Marta, where his former successes were repeated, yielding 15,000 souls. While laboring at Santa Marta, a tribe of 1,500 natives came to him from Paluato to receive baptism, which before they had rejected. The work at Santa Marta finished, the tireless missionary undertook the work of converting the warlike
Nevertheless, Bertrand used the occasion again to make manifest the protection which overshadowed his ministry. According to legend, a deadly draught was administered to him by one of the native priests. Through Divine interposition, the poison failed to accomplish its purpose.
Return to Spain
After seven years as a missionary in South America, Bertrand returned to Spain in 1569, to plead the cause of the oppressed Indians, but he was not permitted to return and labour among them.[3] He used his own growing reputation for sanctity, as well as family and other contacts, to lobby on behalf of the native peoples he had encountered, as well as serving in his native diocese of Valencia. There he also became a spiritual counselor to many, including St. Teresa of Ávila.
In 1580, Bertrand fell ill and was carried down from the pulpit of the Valencia cathedral. He died on 9 October 1581, as he is said to have foretold.[7]
Louis Bertrand is sometimes called the "Apostle of South America".
Veneration
He was
There is a statue of Louis Bertrand on the north colonnade of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.[8]
The festival known as
See also
References
- ^ Stracke, Richard (2015-10-20). "Saint Louis Bertrand". Christian Iconography.
- ^ a b c O'Connor, John Bonaventure. "St. Louis Bertrand." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 21 Jan. 2014
- ^ a b c Butler, Alban. Lives of the Saints, Benziger Bros. ed. (1894)
- ^ "St. Louis Bertrand", Dominican Friars, Province of St. Joseph
- ^ "Our Patron", St. Louis Bertrand Church, Louisville, Kentucky Archived December 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Dominican Saints of October" Archived 2014-02-08 at the Wayback Machine, Order of Preachers
- ^ Dorcy, Marie Jean. "St. Louis Bertrand", St. Dominic's Family, Tan Books and Publishers, 1983
- ^ Colonnade Statue in St Peter's Square
Sources
- Wilberforce, The Life of St. Louis Bertrand (London, 1882)
- Touron, Histoire des Hommes Illustres de l'Ordre de Saint Dominique (Paris, 1747), IV 485-526
- Roze, Les Dominicains in Amérique (Paris, 1878), 290-310
- Byrne, Sketches of illustrious Dominicans (Boston, 1884), 1-95.