John Berchmans

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John Berchmans bigraphy, stories - Catholic jesuit saint

John Berchmans : biography

13 March 1599 – 13 August 1621

Saint John Berchmans () (13 March 1599 – 13 August 1621) was a Jesuit Scholastic and is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He is the patron saint of altar servers.

Veneration

At the time of the Saint’s death at Rome in 1621, his heart was returned to his beloved province in Belgium, and it is kept in a silver reliquary on a side altar in the church at Louvain. John Berchmans was declared Blessed in 1865, and was canonized in 1888. His statues represent him with hands clasped, holding his crucifix, his book of rules, and his rosary.

The miracle that led to his canonization happened at the Academy of the Sacred Heart, Grand Coteau. In 1866, just two years after the Civil War, he appeared to novice Mary Wilson. Her health was poor, but it was thought that the gentler climate of south Louisiana could be a remedy, however her health continued to decline. She could only take in liquids for about 40 days. “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. When the Academy opened a boys division in 2006, it was named St. John Berchmans School. It is the only shrine at the exact location of a confirmed miracle in the United States.

Recognition

A philatelic stamp, featuring John Berchmans (alongside his parental home in Diest) was issued by the Belgian postal department in 1965.

The St. John Berchmans Sanctuary Society was a society for altar servers.

San Antonio, Texas felt the influence of Belgian farmers in the late 1800s. They established truck farms on the southwestern outskirts of the town and sold fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers and pecans in the markets. Other Belgians came in the 1890s and began farming. A school was established in a one-room building also used by the adults as a chapel for services when the priest from Sacred Heart Parish visited them. The chapel became known as St. John Berchmans. St. John Berchmans was the Belgian national parish until 1947, with all services were conducted in Flemish. The parish moved in 1948, but the old church building was used for meetings of the Belgian-American Club of Texas for years.

St. John Berchmans was designated the Cathedral Church in June 1986 with the establishment of the Diocese of Shreveport. It is the second oldest parish in the city of Shreveport. Established in 1902 by the Jesuit Order at the request of Bishop Anthony Durier, the Cathedral is named in honor of the saint credited with restoring health to a dying nun in Grand Coteau, Louisiana.

The following is partial list of schools and churches named in honor of the saint:

  • Saint John Berchmans College (Brussels, Belgium)
  • St. John Berchmans College (Diest, Belgium)
  • St. John Berchmans College (Westmalle, Belgium)
  • St. John Berchmans College (Genk, Belgium)
  • St John’s Beaumont (Old Windsor, Berkshire, England)
  • St. John’s High School (Purulia Road, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India)
  • St. John Berchmans High School (Tinpahar, Jharkhand, India)
  • St. John’s Jesuit High School and Academy (Toledo, Ohio)
  • St. John Berchmans School (Colegio San Juan Berchmans) (Cali, Colombia)
  • St. John’s College (Belize City, Belize)
  • St. Berchmans College (Changanacherry, Kottayam)
  • St. Berchmans Higher Secondary School, (Changanacherry, Kottayam)
  • St. John Berchmans Church, attached to the Collège St Michel (Brussels, Belgium)
  • St. John Berchmans Parish and School (Logan Square, Chicago, Illinois)
  • St. John Berchmans Church (Holland, Manitoba, Canada)
  • Berchmans Illam, Jesuit Scholastigate (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India)

Sources

  • Holweck, F. G.: A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.
  • Hippolyte Delehaye: St John Berchmans, New-York, Benzinger Brothers, 1921, 189pp.