John Berchmans | |
|---|---|
| Jesuit Scholastic and Saint | |
| Born | (1599-03-13)13 March 1599 Diest,Seventeen Provinces (nowDiest,Belgium) |
| Died | 13 August 1621(1621-08-13) (aged 22) Rome,Papal States |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 28 May 1865 |
| Canonized | 15 January 1888 |
| Majorshrine | Sant'Ignazio |
| Feast | 26 November (after 1969) 13 August (until 1969) |
| Attributes | Often depicted with hands clasped, holding his crucifix, his book of rules, and hisrosary. |
| Patronage | |
John Berchmans, SJ (Dutch:Jan Berchmans[jɑmˈbɛr(ə)xmɑns]; 13 March 1599 – 13 August 1621) was aBelgianJesuit scholastic and is revered as asaint in theCatholic Church.
In 1615, the Jesuits opened a college atMechelen, Belgium and Berchmans was one of the first to enroll. His spiritual model was his fellow JesuitAloysius Gonzaga, and he was influenced by the example of theEnglish Jesuit martyrs. Berchmans is the patron saint ofaltar servers, Jesuitscholastics, and students.
John Berchmans was born on 13 March 1599, in the city ofDiest situated in what is now theBelgian province ofFlemish Brabant, the son of a shoemaker. His parents were John Charles and Elizabeth Berchmans. He was the oldest of five children and at baptism was named John in honor ofJohn the Baptist. He grew up in an atmosphere of political turmoil caused by a religious war between the Catholic and Protestant parts of the Low Countries.[1]
When he was age nine years old, his mother was stricken with a very long and a very serious illness. John would pass several hours each day by her bedside.[2] He studied at the Gymnasium (grammar school) at Diest and worked as a servant in the household of Canon John Froymont at Mechelen in order to continue his studies.[1] John also made pilgrimages to theMarian shrine of Scherpenheuvel, some 30 miles east ofBrussels, but only few miles fromDiest.[citation needed]
In 1615, the Jesuits opened a college atMechelen and Berchmans was one of the first to enroll. Immediately upon entering, he enrolled in theSodality of the Blessed Virgin. When Berchmans wrote his parents that he wished to join theSociety of Jesus, his father hurried to Mechelen to dissuade him and sent him to theFranciscan convent in Mechelen. At the convent, a friar who was related to Berchmans also attempted to change his mind. Finally as a last resort, Berchmans's father told him that he would end all financial support if he continued with his plan.[3]
Nevertheless, on 24 September 1616, Berchmans entered the Jesuit novitiate. He was affable, kind, and endowed with an outgoing personality that endeared him to others. He requested that after ordination as a priest he could become a chaplain in the army, hoping to be martyred on the battlefield.[1]
On 24 January 1618, he made his first vows and went toAntwerp to begin studying philosophy. After only a few weeks he was sent toRome, where he was to continue the same study. He set out on foot, with his belongings on his back, and on arrival was admitted to theRoman College to begin two years of study. He entered his third-year class in philosophy in the year 1621.[2]
Later, in August 1621, the prefect of studies selected Berchmans to participate in a discussion of philosophy at the Greek College, which at the time was administered by theDominicans. Berchmans opened the discussion with great clarity and profoundness, but after returning to his own quarters, was seized withRoman fever.[2] His lungs became inflamed and his strength diminished rapidly.[3] He succumbed todysentery and fever on 13 August 1621, at the age of 22 years and five months.[4] When he died, a large crowd gathered for several days to view his remains and to invoke his intercession. That same year,Phillip-Charles,Duke of Aarschot, sent a petition toPope Gregory XV with a view to beginning the process leading to Berchman's beatification. His remains were eventually entombed in Rome'sSant'Ignazio Church.
Berchmans took as his spiritual model his fellow JesuitAloysius Gonzaga and was also influenced by the example of the English Jesuit martyrs. It was his realistic appreciation for the value of ordinary things, a characteristic of the Flemish mystical tradition, that constituted his holiness. He had a special devotion toMary, mother of Jesus, and to him is owed the Little Rosary of the Immaculate Conception.[3]
At the time of Berchmans's death, his heart was returned to his homeland in Belgium where it is kept in a silver reliquary on a side altar in the church atLeuven (Louvain).[5] Berchmans was declaredBlessed in 1865, and canonized in 1888.[2] Statues frequently depict him with hands clasped, holding his crucifix, his book of rules, and hisrosary.
The miracle that led to his canonization occurred at theAcademy of the Sacred Heart inGrand Coteau, Louisiana. In 1866, one year after theCivil War, he appeared to novice Mary Wilson. Mary's health was poor, and her parents thought that the gentler climate of south Louisiana could be a remedy. However, her health continued to decline, to the point where for about 40 days she had only been able to take liquids. "Being unable to speak, I said in my heart: 'Lord, Thou Who seest how I suffer, if it be for your honor and glory and the salvation of my soul, I ask through the intercession of Blessed Berchmans a little relief and health. Otherwise give me patience to the end.'" She went on to describe how John Berchmans then appeared to her, and she was immediately healed.[6] When the Academy opened a boys school in 2006, the trustees named it St. John Berchmans School. It is the only shrine at the exact location of a confirmed miracle in the United States.[7]
The feast day of John Berchmans has never been inscribed in theGeneral Roman Calendar, but prior to the liturgical reforms ofPope John XXIII there was a Mass set for him among the section of Masses for Various Places (Missae pro aliquibus locis) of the Roman Missal which foresaw that it would be celebrated in different places on either 13 August or 26 November. Berchmans is currently inscribed in the 2004 official edition of the Catholic Church'sMartyrologium Romanum (p. 451) on 13 August, the date of his death. He is celebrated by the Society of Jesus on 26 November.[citation needed]
TheBelgium Post Authority issued a philatelic stamp in 1965 featuring John Berchmans pictured alongside his parental home inDiest.[4]
The St. John Berchmans Sanctuary Society is an organization for altar servers that continues to have chapters at many parishes.[3][8]
San Antonio,Texas, became home to several Belgian farmers who arrived in the late 1800s and establishedtruck farms on the southwest edge of the city and brought their crops to the city markets for sale. Other Belgians followed in the 1890s and also established farms in the area. The community founded a school in a one-room structure that also served as a chapel when the priest from Sacred Heart Parish visited. The chapel became known as St. John Berchmans and was the Belgian national parish until 1947, and was Flemish-speaking. The parish moved in 1948, and the former structure became home to the Belgian-American Club of Texas.[9]
In 1902,BishopAnthony Durier requested that the Jesuits establish a second parish in Shreveport. They named the parish in honor of the saint because of the miracle experienced by Mary Wilson in nearby Grand Coteau, Louisiana. On 16 June 1986,Pope John Paul II established theDiocese of Shreveport and St. John Berchmans Church became the Cathedral.[10]One of the famous catholic instituitions in the name of the saint isSB College Changanassery,Kerala inIndia founded byVenerable Mar Thomas Kurialacherry in 1922 on the cornerstone laid by the French Jesuit priest,Mar Charles Lavigne who had the wish to provide higher education for the commoners inTravancore region of Kerala. Mar Charles Lavigne, with the help of clergies andHoly See of Catholic Church, started reforming the primary education by building one of its first English High School, in the early 1890s in Kerala, dedicating it to the saint of students, youths and altar boys, St. John Berchmans,SB English High School Changanasserry, Kerala in India. Even though started forseminarians, very soon it opened its gates tocommoners[11] Today the college is a premier and is one of the few reputedCatholic Institutions in the country. The college is the only college in India that has produced three alumni who areCardinals in the Catholic Church, the senior most church official below the rank of Pope.
The following is a partial list of schools and churches named in honor of the saint:
