ARMELLE NICOLAS, DETTA LA BONNE ARMELLE

ARMELLE NICOLAS, known as LA BONNE ARMELLE. - French mystic, born at Campénéc (Brittany) on 9 Sept. 1606, died as a domestic at the castle of Roguédas (Arradon, near Vannes) on 24 Oct. 1671. An illiterate peasant woman, she lived as a servant, not feeling called to convent life, which she nevertheless experienced for 4 or 5 years as a doorkeeper among the Ursulines of Vannes. Combining an active with a contemplative life, she shone forth in love of God and the Cross. Seeking contempt and sacrifice, she possessed portentous charisms and illuminations, admired by theologians and bishops, attested by two of her notable directors, the Jesuit fathers V. Huby (who wrote of A.: «c'était un séraphin») and J. Rigoleuc. She was buried, amid the acclamations of the people, in the chapel of the Ursulines at Vannes.