TALBOT, MATTHEW. - Laborer, b. in Dublin on 2 May 1856, d. there on 7 June 1925.

Raised in very straitened family circumstances and from the age of 12 obliged to earn his living by work, he was a manual laborer and a porter in the docks; little by little he gave in to the vice of drink, and, despite his family's warnings, he persevered in it for 15 years, neglecting even works of piety and the Sacraments. Converted in 1884, he devoted himself to an extremely austere life and to profound piety. He gave up intoxicating drinks; he fasted almost the whole year, taking his scanty food on his knees, he distributed almost his entire wages in good works, keeping back only the little that was needed to live, he slept on bare boards, spending a good part of the night in prayer. He was also a Franciscan tertiary. Death came upon him while he was on his way to church for Sunday Mass. His cause of beatification was introduced on 28 Feb. 1947.

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: AAS, 39 (1947), pp. 317-19; J. A. Clynn, Sotto la giubba di un facchino, Italian trans., Milan 1936.

Celestino Testore

@incollection{ec11_talbot_matthew, author = {Testore, Celestino}, title = {Talbot, matthew}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {1710}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/talbot-matthew} }

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Talbot, Matthew

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