BENEDETTO GIUSEPPE LABRE, saint. — Born at Amettes (Artois) on 26 March 1748. At the age of twelve he was sent to Erin, to stay with a priest uncle, and there he formed the idea of entering the Great Trappist Monastery of Mortagne in Normandy. Opposed by his uncle and family, he asked the Carthusians of Artois to admit him on probation; but he met with nothing but refusals. Returning to his original plan, in the autumn of 1767 he went on foot to the Great Trappist Monastery in Normandy, but was not accepted there. After further refusals, he was finally admitted as a postulant to the Cistercian abbey of Sept-Fons, in Bourbonnais. He had to leave it after a few months because he was assailed by indescribable spiritual torments and afflicted by an exhaustion that caused fears for his life. Having somewhat recovered his health, in July 1770 he undertook the journey to Italy, with Rome as his destination. It was then clearly and certainly revealed to him that his vocation was to be a pilgrim to the shrines of Italy and Europe. Having entered Piedmont, he wrote from Chieri a letter to his parents, which constitutes his testament and conveys his final farewell. He was at Loreto and Assisi, and then reached Rome on 3 December of that year. After leaving Rome following the Easter celebrations, he returned to Loreto, went down to Apulia, to the Kingdom of Naples, and to Sicily. Having crossed the Alps, he passed through Germany, France, and Spain. He reappeared in Provence, then went up the Rhône as far as Nancy; he descended again and crossed Switzerland, and visited the shrine of Einsiedeln. Returning to Italy, he arrived in Rome for Easter 1774. Here he lived almost uninterruptedly for the rest of his life; after 1777 he left it only for his annual pilgrimages to Loreto at Eastertime. He was especially devoted to the Forty Hours’ Devotion: among the churches he visited in Rome, his favorite was that of Madonna dei Monti. Reduced to absolute destitution, he died on 16 April 1783. After three days of triumphant honors and extraordinary miracles, on Easter evening he was buried in his favorite church, where his remains are still venerated today.
Pius IX beatified him on 7 May 1860, and Leo XIII canonized him on 8 December 1881. His feast is celebrated on 16 April.