Gabriel Taborin (1799–1864) was a French religious brother and founder of the Brothers of the Holy Family of

Belley Belley (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Bèlê'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Ain Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region, France. It is the capital of the historical regi ...

, France.

History

Taborin was born in

Belleydoux Belleydoux () is a commune in the Ain Ain (, ; ) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's e ...

, France, on November 1, 1799. He began his work in the diocese of Belley and obtained its approbation from

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

in 1841. Taborin began at a very early age to work as

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...

and teacher in Belley and in the neighbouring diocese. His mission was foster a Catholic rebirth in France. The Catholic church had suffered religious persecution as a result of the French Revolution. Taborin devoted his time to small rural centers; supporting elementary schools, catechising the Catholic parishioners, and promoting the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

in the parish churches. Taborine felt himself attracted to all peoples and to all individuals, loving them as brothers. A strong believer in the value of the

consecrated life Consecrated life (also known as religious life) is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more exacting way. It includes those in institutes of consecrated life (religious and sec ...

. Taborin decided to found a lay institute to promulgate these Christian values. He was assisted by Mons. Raymond Devie, bishop of Belley, who served as a guide and helped, and

John Vianney John Vianney (born Jean-Marie Vianney and later Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney; 8 May 1786 – 4 August 1859) was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic priest often referred to as the ''Curé d'Ars'' ("the parish priest of Ars"). He is known ...

, Curé of Ars who helped him morally and financially.. During Taborin's life, the Institute spread in France and

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...

. Open to "every good work" he loved to get involved in mission territory. He would say: "I would rather have the title of catechist in the missions than all the titles of human worth". Taborin died in Belley on November 24, 1864. He was reported to have the

odour of sanctity The odour of sanctity, according to the Catholic Church, is commonly understood to mean a specific scent (often compared to flowers) that emanates from the bodies of saints, especially from the wounds of stigmata. These saints are called myroblytes ...

. In 1991, the Vatican proclaimed Taborin as

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

. In 1903, as a result of rulings by the French government that limited the functions of the Institute, many of brothers dispersed to other centers in Italy and other countries.

History

References

See also