Benildus Romançon
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Benildus Romançon, F.S.C. (; born Pierre Romançon; 14 June 1805 – 13 August 1862) was a French schoolteacher and member of the
Brothers of the Christian Schools The De La Salle Brothers, officially named the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (; ; ) abbreviated FSC, is a Catholic lay religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in France by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (16 ...
(De La Salle Brothers) who was declared a saint by the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in 1948. His feast day is 13 August.


Life

He was born Pierre Romançon on 14 June 1805, in the town of
Thuret, Puy-de-Dôme Thuret () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. See also * Château de la Canière *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department of ...
, in France to a farming family. A small and frail-looking boy, he was not cut out physically to be a farmer, but his enrollment in a Christian Brothers school at
Riom Riom (; Auvergnat ''Riam'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the ...
led him to his calling as a teacher. He was so far ahead of his classmates in elementary school that when he was only 14 years old the Brothers often assigned him as a substitute teacher. He joined the Brothers in 1820 and served at several Brothers' schools in south-central France. In 1841 he was appointed Director of a school in Saugues, an isolated village on a barren plateau in southern France. For the next twenty years he worked quietly and effectively as teacher and principal to educate the boys in the village and some from the neighboring farms, many of whom were in their teens and had never been to school before. Small as he was, he was known as a strict but fair disciplinarian. He also looked after his students by preparing meals in the Brothers' kitchen for hungry students, converting old Brothers' robes into coats or pants for them, and spending hours tutoring students who learned more slowly than others. He referred to all students, regardless of age or background, as "Monsieur." In time the little school became the center of the social and intellectual life of the village, with evening classes for the adults and tutoring for the less gifted students. Brother Benilde's extraordinary religious sense was evident to everyone: at Mass with the students in the parish church, teaching catechism, preparing boys for first communion, visiting and praying with the sick, and rumors of near-miraculous cures. He was especially effective in attracting religious vocations. At his death, on 13 August 1862, more than 200 Brothers and an impressive number of priests had been his students at Saugues.


Veneration

Benildus was beatified on 4 April 1948 by
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
, who mentioned that his sanctification was attained by enduring "the terrible daily grind" and by "doing common things in an uncommon way". He was canonized by
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
on 29 October 1967, becoming the first Brother of the Institute to be canonized and the second saint after Jean Baptiste de La Salle. A shrine was built in the parish church of Saint-Médard in Saugues to honor his remains. The Rue Saint-Benilde in his birthplace of Thuret is named after him, as is the Place Saint-Benilde in
Riom Riom (; Auvergnat ''Riam'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the ...
. St Benildus is one of four House Patrons at La Salle Catholic College, Bankstown, New South Wales. He is a patron of teachers.


Educational institutions named after Saint Benilde

*
De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde The De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde (; ), also known as DLS-CSB or Benilde, is a private, Catholic secondary and tertiary education institution established by the De La Salle Brothers, located in the Malate district of Manila, Philippin ...
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, Philippines * St. Benilde School
Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...
, Philippines
St. Benilde School
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, United States * Benilde-St. Margaret's SchoolSt Louis Park,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, US * St Benildus College Dublin, IrelandSt Benildus College, Dublin
/ref> * Saint Benilde International School * Colegio de San Benildo * School of Saint Brother Benilde * St Benild School Sliema, Malta * College of San Benildo -
Rizal Rizal most commonly refers to: * Rizal (province), a province of the Philippines * José Rizal, Filipino national hero whom the province is named after Rizal may also refer to: People * Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, Malaysian footballer * Atep Ri ...
, Philippines


References


External links


Saint Benildus at the Patron Saints Index
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romancon, Benilde 1805 births 1862 deaths People from Puy-de-Dôme French educators 19th-century French people Canonized Roman Catholic religious brothers Burials in Haute-Loire French Roman Catholic saints Lasallian saints 19th-century Christian saints Canonizations by Pope Paul VI