We are a few days away from the 11th anniversary of the beginning of the Cause of Simon Gabriel Brute, first Bishop of Vincennes. Preparing for that anniversary, one needs to realize that a “Cause” isn’t just started. There has to be some sort of “atmosphere” surrounding a holy person–something that gives rise to the belief that this guy really was holy and perhaps we need to look at his life.
I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions how there were some “urban legends” about Bishop Brute, such as the story that when he walked in the rain, the raindrops never touched him. Obviously this is a story that had some sort of origin from someone who saw the Bishop as being “holy” and it was perhaps the best way for that person to describe the holiness that they felt emanating from the Bishop.
Other things, such as writings from Bishop Brutés time indicate that people saw something in him that was holy. Many many writings always talked about the “Saintly” Bishop Brute, etc.
Well, here is Bishop Brutés obituary, of sorts, taken from the “Catholic Advocate”, a Catholic newspaper published by Benjamin J. Webb in Bardstown Kentucky, the forerunner of the Archdiocese of Louisville. He wrote “Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky” in 1884.
Here is an image of the story:
Continue to pray the Canonization prayer for Bishop Brute.
