CHERUBINO da MAURIENNE. — Born on 24 March 1566, he entered the Capuchin friars minor in Genoa on 7 September 1583 and died in the convent of Monte in Turin on 23 October 1609. A powerful preacher in the Lyonnais region and Savoy, he was a theologian and controversialist. From 1587, together with other brethren, he became the apostle of Chablais, especially in the centres of Annemasse and Thonon. Through solemn Forty Hours’ devotions and two extraordinary jubilees at Thonon, granted in the papal years 1602 and 1607, he brought back a great number of Protestants to the Church. St Francis de Sales held him in high esteem and shared in the fruits of his labours.
As superior, he promoted Capuchin missions in Valais, the canton of Fribourg, and Savoy. He planned the foundation at Thonon of an institute (St-Maison) for missionary training of priests and as a refuge for Catholics and converts, and also envisaged the establishment of the Congregation ‘De Propaganda Fide’. His virtues won him the trust of the authorities and the veneration of the people.