19th century French priest beatified in Spain: Louis Antoine Ormières

19th century French priest beatified in Spain: Louis Antoine Ormières

(Vatican Radio)  The 19th century French priest Louis Antoine Ormières was beatified in the Spanish town of Oviedo on Saturday by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.

Founder of the Sisters of the Guardian Angel and 87 schools in France and Spain, Fr. Ormières (1809-1890) dedicated his life to providing education for young people.

“My principle has always been to do good and allow others to speak” was Blessed Ormières’ oft repeated phrase.

In an interview with Vatican Radio’s Giada Aquilino, Cardinal Angelo Amato called the new Blessed “an enterprising man and a born educator with a personality rich in Christian virtues, like faith, hope, and charity, and in human qualities, like goodness, gratitude, serenity, and friendship.”

As examples of Blessed Louis Antoine Ormières’ charity, Cardinal Amato said he “once defended a man unjustly accused of theft, offered hospitality to exiles from Spain, pleaded with well-off people to help a young man who had to take care of his family at the death of his father, and helped out a single mother of two young boys.”

“He was so generous in helping the sick that his bishop called him a martyr of charity,” Cardinal Amato said.

The miracle attributed to Fr. Ormières, which paved the way for his beatification, was of one of the Spanish sisters of the Guardian Angel who was suffering from a maxillofacial cancer.

Pope Francis recognized the miracle in a decree on 8 July 2016.

(Devin Sean Watkins)

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