Blessed Catherine Jarrige
Blessed Catherine Jarrige (born October 4, 1754 AD in Doumis, near Mauriac, Cantal, Auvergne, France; died July 4, 1836 AD in Mauriac, Cantal, Auvergne, France) was a French Dominican Tertiary — commonly known as "Catinon Menette" — who devoted her life to the poor of Mauriac and, during the French Revolution, secretly sheltered and fed dozens of priests at great personal risk to evade the revolutionary government's persecution of the Catholic Church. Born into a blacksmith's family in the rugged mountains of the Cantal, she became a seamstress and haberdasher, spending her income on the poor and the outlawed clergy she hid. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 4, 1996. Her feast day is July 4.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Catherine Jarrige
| Blessed Catherine Jarrige | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | July 04 |
| Profession | Dominican Tertiary; seamstress and haberdasher; lay apostle to the poor; protector of refractory clergy during the French Revolution; Auvergnate holy woman |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Dominican Third Order; French Catholic tradition; French Revolution martyrs (confessor rather than martyr); Auvergne Catholic tradition; 18th-19th century French lay apostolate |
| Patronage | Mauriac; Cantal; Auvergne; France; seamstresses; haberdashers; those who shelter persecuted clergy; the poor; women of the Third Orders; lay apostles |
| Attributes | Dominican Third Order habit (white scapular over simple dress); cross; a bundle of food (for the poor and hidden clergy); the rugged Cantal landscape; mountain paths at night (clandestine ministry); July 4 feast |
| Birthplace | Doumis, near Mauriac, Cantal, Auvergne, France |
| Death Place | Mauriac, Cantal, Auvergne, France |
| Cause of Death | Natural death; died July 4, 1836, in Mauriac; she was 81 years old; she had spent over 60 years in the service of the poor of Mauriac and surrounding villages in the Cantal, and during the French Revolution had sheltered and fed refractory priests evading the revolutionary government's persecution; she died in the same town where she had spent most of her life, surrounded by the respect of the entire region; she was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 4, 1996 |
| Primary Shrine | Mauriac, Cantal, France — her home city; July 4 feast; JPII beatification 1996; pilgrimage site in the Auvergne |
| Liturgical Class | Not in universal Roman calendar; July 4 feast in France and in the Dominican Order |
| Historic Class | Not in 1962 calendar |
Biography
Catherine Jarrige was born October 4, 1754 (the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi), in the hamlet of Doumis near Mauriac, Cantal, into a blacksmith's family. She was one of many children in a poor rural Auvergnat family.
She went to Mauriac as a young woman to work, eventually becoming a seamstress and haberdasher — a seller of small notions and dry goods. She joined the Dominican Third Order and wore the Dominican habit beneath her working dress.
During the French Revolution, when the revolutionary government outlawed refractory priests (those who refused to take the oath against the Pope), Catherine organized a secret network to shelter, feed, and supply the condemned clergy. She hid an estimated 200 priests throughout the Cantal at great personal risk, carrying food and the Blessed Sacrament through the mountains at night. She was arrested and questioned multiple times but was always released because no one would testify against her — she was universally beloved in the Cantal for her extraordinary charity to the poor.
Known affectionately as "Catinon Menette," she continued her apostolate to the poor after the Revolution until her death on July 4, 1836, at the age of 81.
She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 4, 1996 — the feast of Saint Francis and the 242nd anniversary of her birth. Her feast day is July 4.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Doumis, near Mauriac, Cantal, Auvergne, France
Death location: Mauriac, Cantal, Auvergne, France
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Parishes
No parishes dedicated to Catherine Jarrige have been added to the database yet.
Media
| Media | Length | AuthorCreator |
|---|---|---|
| This Saint was feisty and sassy which is exactly why God chose her--Bl.Catherine Jarrige | 5–15 minutes | Wholly Catholic |
Shrines
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Known shrines
- Mauriac, Cantal, France — her home city; July 4 feast; JPII beatification 1996; principal pilgrimage site.
Feast day
July 4
Veneration
Blessed Catherine Jarrige (1754–1836), known as "Catinon Menette," was a French Dominican Tertiary and seamstress of Mauriac, Cantal, who sheltered an estimated 200 priests from the anti-Catholic persecution of the French Revolution — feeding them with her own earnings, transporting the Blessed Sacrament through the Auvergne mountains at night, and never once being convicted despite repeated arrests — and who spent her entire adult life in radical service to the poor of the Cantal. Beatified John Paul II, October 4, 1996. Feast July 4.
Prayers
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