New Dominican Saint for the Church!
On February 21st a consistory will be held to decide the dates of canonization of several blesseds including our Dominican brother Francis Coll.
Francis Coll was born at Gombreny in the Catalan Pyrenees in 1812 and, after studying at the diocesan seminary at Vich, entered the Order at the priory of Gerona in 1830. In 1835 the anticlerical government closed the house of studies at Gerona and dispersed the Dominican students. From that day until his death he maintained a heroic fidelity to his Dominican vocation without the support offered by Dominican community life.
Eventually he was ordained at the diocesan seminary at Vich in 1836. After several years of parish ministry he pursued itinerant preaching along with his friend Saint Anthony Claret. He founded the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation to teach the children of the poor in the villages where he preached. In December 1869, Blessed Francis suffered a stroke, which left him completely blind. He died in Vich on April 2, 1875.
With our brothers and sisters in Spain we give thanks to God for raising up another Dominican to the altars. May he be a model for each of us of fidelity to Dominican charism!
There are some more images and text in Spanish HERE.
>> 2 comments | link to this post | http://www.monialesop.org/2009/02/new-dominican-saint-for-church.html
Francis Coll was born at Gombreny in the Catalan Pyrenees in 1812 and, after studying at the diocesan seminary at Vich, entered the Order at the priory of Gerona in 1830. In 1835 the anticlerical government closed the house of studies at Gerona and dispersed the Dominican students. From that day until his death he maintained a heroic fidelity to his Dominican vocation without the support offered by Dominican community life.
Eventually he was ordained at the diocesan seminary at Vich in 1836. After several years of parish ministry he pursued itinerant preaching along with his friend Saint Anthony Claret. He founded the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation to teach the children of the poor in the villages where he preached. In December 1869, Blessed Francis suffered a stroke, which left him completely blind. He died in Vich on April 2, 1875.
With our brothers and sisters in Spain we give thanks to God for raising up another Dominican to the altars. May he be a model for each of us of fidelity to Dominican charism!
There are some more images and text in Spanish HERE.
>> 2 comments | link to this post | http://www.monialesop.org/2009/02/new-dominican-saint-for-church.html