Josep Tous Soler
Photo prior to 1871 | |
Born | (1811-03-31)31 March 1811 Igualada, Barcelona, Kingdom of Spain |
Died | 27 February 1871(1871-02-27) (aged 59) Barcelona, Kingdom of Spain |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | 25 April 2010, Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona, Spain by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone |
Feast | 27 May |
Josep Tous Soler (31 March 1811 - 27 February 1871) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin - a branch of the Franciscan Order. Upon becoming a friar he was called by the religious name Josep of Igualada and went on to preach across both Spain and France.[1]
Soler established the Capuchin Sisters of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd in response to his aim of educating people; the order's sole task was to provide both the civic and the religious cultivation of people who either joined the order or who placed themselves under the direction of the congregation. It has since spread across Latin America and in Western Europe.
He was beatified in Barcelona on 25 April 2010; Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone – on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI – presided over the beatification celebration.
Life
Josep Tous Soler was born on 31 March 1811 in Saint Joseph Street as the ninth of twelve children of Nicolau Tous Cerreras and Francesca Soler Ferrer. He was named and baptized on 1 April with his godfather being his older brother Nicholas Tous Soler (21 August 1795 - 20 December 1870).[2]
In 1824 he entered the Order of Friars Minor in his hometown and became a postulant among them at the age of fifteen. During his novitiate he professed his vows on 18 February 1827 and went on to make his solemn vows and his profession into the order on 19 February 1928.[2] Upon profession he got the religious name Josep of Igualada. He underwent both philosophical and theological studies in the Franciscan convents of Girona and Calella. On 24 May 1834 he was ordained to the priesthood after the successful completion of his studies.[1]
Soler embarked to the convent of Santa Madrona in Barcelona but was forced to leave in July 1835 following the secularization of the area and the spread of anti-clerical sentiment. He spent his exile in France and preached Gareccio in Italy where he preached. With his brother - who was also a Capuchin friar - the two moved to Toulouse where Soler served as a priest for the Benedictine nuns until 1842.[2] Soler ministered to people in France from 1828 until 1837. He went back to Barcelona in 1843 and was in the parish of Esparreguera until 1847; for reasons of health he was transferred to the parish of San Francisco de Paula. At this time he wanted to focus on the educational needs of the people and to do this sought the advice of Antonio Maria Claret who supported him in his work. Along with several women who wanted to join this new order, Soler established the Capuchin Sisters of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd on 27 May 1850. The new members established their mother house in 1858 after moving to Capellades.[1]
The religious congregation received the approval of the Bishop of Vic Llucià Casadevall i Duran on 17 March 1950. After Soler's death the order received the papal approval of Pope Leo XIII in 1897. Soler drafted the constitution of the order in 1850 and redid it in 1871; this was approved after his death in 1888.[2]
In 1871 Soler died as he said Mass at the time of the consecration of the Eucharist; at that point he leaned over and fell which led to the archpriest of the parish tending to him and ending the Mass at once to the alarm of those in attendance. His order has since expanded to France and Latin American nations such as Costa Rica and in North America in places such as Cuba.
Remembrance
Soler's figure grew across Spain after his death which in part led to the naming of a street in honor of him. In a similar fashion a large plaque remembers his baptism in the Basilica de Santa Maria.
Beatification
The beatification proceedings commenced after the declaration of "nihil obstat" (nothing against) was granted under Pope John Paul II on 18 February 1992 - this granted Soler the posthumous title Servant of God. The diocesan process into his life and works - as well as collecting his writings - spanned from 10 June 1992 until 16 July 1993 before all the work was placed in boxes and sent to Rome. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints approved the diocesan process as being valid on 20 January 1995 and commenced the so-called "Roman Phase" - the phase where Rome would commence its own line of research.
The Positio - documenting Soler's life of heroic virtue and including biographical details - was submitted to Rome in 2000 but due to the cause being deemed historical was sent to the historical commission for their approval before proceeding; that board met and approved the cause's continuation on 4 June 2002 and cleared the cause of whatever obstacles would have existed otherwise.
He was proclaimed to be Venerable on 22 December 2008 after Pope Benedict XVI recognized the fact that the late priest had lived a model life of heroic virtue deemed to have been exercised to a favorable degree.[citation needed]
The process of investigating a potential miracle took place from 21 June 2006 until several months later on 3 November 2006. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints deemed the process valid on 27 April 2007 and began to do their own investigation. The medical board based in Rome approved the healing as a miracle on 26 March 2009 and passed it on to the theologians who also approved it on 16 June 2009. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints itself met and approved the miracle on 27 October 2009. It received the papal approval of Benedict XVI on 19 December 2009.[citation needed]
He was beatified on 25 April 2010 in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona - Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone presided over the beatification on the behalf of the pope.[citation needed]
The current postulator of the cause is the Capuchin friar Carlo Calloni.
References
- ^ a b c "Blessed Josep Tous Soler". Saints SQPN. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Blessed Joseph of Igualada (Joseph Tous Soler)". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
External links
- Hagiography Circle
- Saints SQPN
- José Tous y Soler
- Capuchin Sisters of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd
- v
- t
- e
Stages of canonization: Servant of God → Venerable → Blessed → Saint
- Gabriel
- Michael in the Catholic Church
- Raphael
- Anatolius
- Anthony of Kiev
- Athanasius the Confessor
- Chariton the Confessor
- Dominic
- Edward the Confessor
- Francis of Assisi
- Francis Borgia
- Homobonus
- Lazarus Zographos
- Louis Bertrand
- Maximus the Confessor
- Michael of Synnada
- Paphnutius the Confessor
- Paul I of Constantinople
- Peter Claver
- Salonius
- Sergius of Radonezh
- Theophanes the Confessor
- Pio of Pietrelcina
- Gregory the Great
- Ambrose
- Augustine of Hippo
- Jerome
- John Chrysostom
- Basil of Caesarea
- Gregory of Nazianzus
- Athanasius of Alexandria
- Cyril of Alexandria
- Cyril of Jerusalem
- John of Damascus
- Bede the Venerable
- Ephrem the Syrian
- Thomas Aquinas
- Bonaventure
- Anselm of Canterbury
- Isidore of Seville
- Peter Chrysologus
- Leo the Great
- Peter Damian
- Bernard of Clairvaux
- Hilary of Poitiers
- Alphonsus Liguori
- Francis de Sales
- Peter Canisius
- John of the Cross
- Robert Bellarmine
- Albertus Magnus
- Anthony of Padua
- Lawrence of Brindisi
- Teresa of Ávila
- Catherine of Siena
- Thérèse of Lisieux
- John of Ávila
- Hildegard of Bingen
- Gregory of Narek
- Irenaeus
Fathers
- Alexander of Alexandria
- Alexander of Jerusalem
- Ambrose of Milan
- Anatolius
- Athanasius of Alexandria
- Augustine of Hippo
- Caesarius of Arles
- Caius
- Cappadocian Fathers
- Clement of Alexandria
- Clement of Rome
- Cyprian of Carthage
- Cyril of Alexandria
- Cyril of Jerusalem
- Damasus I
- Desert Fathers
- Desert Mothers
- Dionysius of Alexandria
- Dionysius of Corinth
- Dionysius
- Ephrem the Syrian
- Epiphanius of Salamis
- Fulgentius of Ruspe
- Gregory the Great
- Gregory of Nazianzus
- Gregory of Nyssa
- Hilary of Poitiers
- Hippolytus of Rome
- Ignatius of Antioch
- Irenaeus of Lyons
- Isidore of Seville
- Jerome of Stridonium
- John Chrysostom
- John of Damascus
- Maximus the Confessor
- Melito of Sardis
- Quadratus of Athens
- Papias of Hierapolis
- Peter Chrysologus
- Polycarp of Smyrna
- Theophilus of Antioch
- Victorinus of Pettau
- Vincent of Lérins
- Zephyrinus
- Abda and Abdisho
- Boris and Gleb
- Charles de Foucauld
- Canadian Martyrs
- Carthusian Martyrs
- Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala
- Christina of Persia
- Devasahayam Pillai
- Dismas the Good Thief
- Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
- Four Crowned Martyrs
- Gerard of Csanád
- Great Martyr
- The Holy Innocents
- Irish Martyrs
- John Fisher
- Korean Martyrs
- Lorenzo Ruiz
- Martyrs of Lübeck
- Luigi Versiglia
- Martyrology
- Martyrs of Albania
- Martyrs of Algeria
- Martyrs of Cajonos
- Martyrs of Drina
- Martyrs of China
- Martyrs of Gorkum
- Martyrs of Japan
- 21 Martyrs of Libya
- Martyrs of La Rioja
- Martyrs of Laos
- Martyrs of Natal
- Martyrs of Otranto
- Martyrs of Prague
- Martyrs of Sandomierz
- Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War
- Martyrs of Zenta
- Maximilian Kolbe
- Óscar Romero
- Pedro Calungsod
- Perpetua and Felicity
- Peter Chanel
- Pietro Parenzo
- Philomena
- Saints of the Cristero War
- Stephen
- Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
- Titus Brandsma
- 17 Thomasian Martyrs
- Thomas Becket
- Thomas More
- Three Martyrs of Chimbote
- Ulma Family
- Uganda Martyrs
- Vietnamese Martyrs
- Valentine of Rome
- Victor and Corona
- Zanitas and Lazarus of Persia
- Adeodatus I
- Adeodatus II
- Adrian III
- Agapetus I
- Agatho
- Alexander I
- Anacletus
- Anastasius I
- Anicetus
- Anterus
- Benedict II
- Boniface I
- Boniface IV
- Caius
- Callixtus I
- Celestine I
- Celestine V
- Clement I
- Cornelius
- Damasus I
- Dionysius
- Eleuterus
- Eugene I
- Eusebius
- Eutychian
- Evaristus
- Fabian
- Felix I
- Felix III
- Felix IV
- Gelasius I
- Gregory I
- Gregory II
- Gregory III
- Gregory VII
- Hilarius
- Hormisdas
- Hyginus
- Innocent I
- John I
- John XXIII
- John Paul II
- Julius I
- Leo I
- Leo II
- Leo III
- Leo IV
- Leo IX
- Linus
- Lucius I
- Marcellinus
- Marcellus I
- Mark
- Martin I
- Miltiades
- Nicholas I
- Paschal I
- Paul I
- Paul VI
- Peter
- Pius I
- Pius V
- Pius X
- Pontian
- Sergius I
- Silverius
- Simplicius
- Siricius
- Sixtus I
- Sixtus II
- Sixtus III
- Soter
- Stephen I
- Stephen IV
- Sylvester I
- Symmachus
- Telesphorus
- Urban I
- Victor I
- Vitalian
- Zachary
- Zephyrinus
- Zosimus
- Agabus
- Amos
- Anna
- Baruch ben Neriah
- David
- Elijah
- Ezekiel
- Habakkuk
- Haggai
- Hosea
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Job
- Joel
- John the Baptist
- Jonah
- Judas Barsabbas
- Malachi
- Melchizedek
- Micah
- Moses
- Nahum
- Obadiah
- Samuel
- Seven Maccabees and their mother
- Simeon
- Zechariah (prophet)
- Zechariah (NT)
- Zephaniah
- Agatha of Sicily
- Agnes of Rome
- Angela of the Cross
- Æthelthryth
- Bernadette Soubirous
- Catherine of Bologna
- Brigid of Kildare
- Catherine Labouré
- Catherine of Siena
- Cecilia
- Clare of Assisi
- Eulalia of Mérida
- Euphemia
- Faustina Kowalska
- Faustina and Liberata of Como
- Genevieve
- Hiltrude of Liessies
- Joan of Arc
- Kateri Tekakwitha
- Lucy of Syracuse
- Maria Goretti
- María de las Maravillas de Jesús
- Narcisa de Jesús
- Patricia of Naples
- Rosalia
- Rose of Lima
- Teresa of the Andes
- Teresa of Calcutta
- Trasilla and Emiliana
- Ubaldesca Taccini
- Josephine Bakhita
- Catholic Church portal
- Saints portal