Saint Benoit-Joseph Labre (1748-1783)

He is known as “God’s wanderer”. After several unsuccessful attempts at monastic life, this “Fol-en-Christ”, originally from Amettes in the Pas-de-Calais, walked almost 30,000 km in 7 years, in the greatest destitution, going from church to sanctuary to pray and bear witness to what counts in this life: God.

This great pilgrim travelled across Europe, most often sleeping along roadsides or near churches. He then spent six years in Rome, notably in the ruins of the Colosseum. What he earned from begging often went to other, poorer people, earning him a reputation for holiness.

As soon as his death was announced in 1783, shortly after he was found unconscious on the steps of the church of Santa Maria dei Monti, children spread the news through the streets of Rome, shouting “the saint is dead”. Paul Verlaine called him “the only French glory of the 18th century”. Saint Benoit-Joseph Labre was canonized in 1881, and his liturgical feast day is April 16.

He is the patron saint of the homeless, beggars and outcasts. Many of them, as soon as they hear about him, and regardless of their religious beliefs or whether they are atheists, have a strong devotion to this “man of God”: Saint Benoit-Joseph Labre inspired the initiators of Christian trade union organizations, but today, he can be a powerful intercessor for the establishment of the “man of God”.