Michel Garicoïts (15 April 1797 – 14 May 1863) was a French

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and the founder of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Bétharram. He combated

Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

in his parish due to the threat that it posed to the faith. He served as a teacher and preacher and was known for his ardent devotion to both the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

and the Sacred Heart. The sainthood cause commenced under

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

in mid-1899 while

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

later named him as

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...

on 10 December 1916 upon the confirmation of his

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...

. Pope Pius XI beatified him in 1923 while Pope Pius XII later canonized him as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church over a decade later in 1947.

Life

Michel Garicoïts was born on 15 April 1797 in Saint-Just-Ibarre as the first of six children of the peasants Arnaud Garicoïts and Gratianne Etchéverry. His parents remained faithful and true to the spirit of the faith during the persecutions of the French Revolution while also doing their best to shelter priests. His father helped priests flee persecution and helped them cross the border into Spain. One brother was born after him in 1799. In 1801 he trespassed into his neighbour's home and hurled a stone at a woman who he believed had wronged his mother before fleeing the scene. In 1802 he stole a pack of needles from a travelling salesman – his mother reprimanded him for this – and in 1804 stole an apple from his brother to his mother's disdain. In 1806 he was sent to the village school but was taken out in 1809 to work as a servant on a farm for additional income. In his childhood he was noted for silent contemplation and for singing Psalms while guarding the cattle. In 1810 he was sent as a servant to another farm at Oneix and there made his First Communion on 9 June 1811 – it was this event that served as the trigger for his religious vocation. He decided that he wanted to become a

and so returned to his hometown and told his father: "I want to be a priest". His father said it would be impossible due to their poor financial condition (he said: "No! We are too poor") but his maternal grandmother Catherine Etchéverry knew a parish priest and convinced him to enroll him at school for studies before he became a

seminarian A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

. He attended school at Saint-Palais where he studied Latin and French in the candlelight late into the night while paid his expenses through working for priests and in the local bishop's kitchen – the cook there had a disliking for him for unknown reasons. The parish priest Jean Baptiste Borda gave him private lessons. Garicoïts commenced his studies for the priesthood in Aire-sur-Adour and later in

Dax Dax or DAX may refer to: Business and organizations * DAX, stock market index of the top 40 German companies ** DAX 100, an expanded index of 100 stocks, superseded by the HDAX ** TecDAX, stock index of the top 30 German technology firms * Dax ...

. He was asked to teach seminarians at

Larressore Larressore (; eu, Larresoro)LARRESORO

despite still being a student himself. He received his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

to the priesthood on 20 December 1823 at the

Bayonne Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Bayonne or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayonne ( French: ''Cathédrale Sainte-Marie de Bayonne'' or ''Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayonne''; Basque: ''Santa Maria katedrala'' or ''Andre Maria katedrala''), commonly kn ...

from Archbishop – future cardinal – Paul-Thérèse-David d'Astros. He was appointed as the curate to the town of Cambo not too far from where he was ordained and he was there from the beginning of 1824 until late 1825 when he was sent to Bétharram to teach philosophical studies. In 1833 the diocesan bishop ceased education for seminarians in that place for unknown reasons and he was left to care for that Marian shrine and its pilgrims. It dawned on him to begin his own religious congregation for all priests and professed brothers and dedicated it to the Sacred Heart as a means of evangelizing to people through missions. Before he founded it he attended a month retreat with the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

in 1832 for guidance and his

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divinity, divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters ...

Father Le Blanc helped to guide him along the right path. Garicoïts helped Jean Elizabeth Bichier des Ages found her religious order while later establishing his own in 1838. He died in the morning about 3:00am in mid-1863 due to an

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

. He had suffered from poor health since 1853 and in 1859 was quite ill but rallied from this until

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

in 1863 when his condition deteriorated to the point where he knew his death was near. His final words in a low murmur were: "Have pity on me, Lord, in Your great mercy".

Name

His Basque surname is the origin of the male name "Garikoitz".

Sainthood

The sainthood process commenced under

on 15 May 1899 and Garicoïts was titled as a Servant of God.

confirmed that the late priest had lived a model life of

and named him as

on 10 December 1916 as a result. Two miracles approved allowed for Pope Pius XI to preside over his beatification on 10 May 1923 while a decree resumed the cause on 23 July 1924. Two additional miracles were investigated and received the validation of the

Congregation for Rites The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by '' Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it had its functions reassigned by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 1969. The Congregation was charged with the ...

on 17 July 1929. A preparatory committee approved them both on 13 April 1943 as did a general committee on 15 February 1944 and Pope Pius XII on 27 February 1944 who confirmed his sainthood. Pius XII proclaimed Garicoïts to be a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 6 July 1947.

References

External links

Societas Sacratissimi Cordis Jesu

Catholic Online

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garicoïts, Michel 1797 births 1863 deaths 19th-century French Roman Catholic priests 19th-century venerated Christians French-Basque people Beatifications by Pope Pius XI Canonizations by Pope Pius XII French Roman Catholic saints Founders of Catholic religious communities People from Lower Navarre Venerated Catholics