The Holy Sheperdess of Pibrac [pp. 753-760]

The Holy Shepherdess of Pibrac.
THE HOLY SHEPHERDESS OF PIBRAC,
CANONIZED BY POPE PIUS IX. IN 1867.
IN the latter part of the sixteenth
century, beneath the walls of Toulouse, bloomed, almost unseen and
unknown, a little flower of the fields,
whose delicate chalice emitted a perfume scarcely perceptible to mortal
sense. It passed away, and seemed
forgotten; but its odor still lingered
where it had blossomed; and after
a few years had gone, its dust was
gatihered into the sanctuary, that the
holy place might be filled with the
celestial fragrance.
Germaine Cousin was born at Pibrac, a village of nearly two hundred
families in the environs of Toulouse,
about the year 1579. The parish
church was dependent on the great
Priory of the Knights of Malta in
that city. The chateau belonged to
the Du Faur, Lords of Pibrac. The
actual proprietor was Guy, famous at
once as an orator, a poet, and a successful courtier. Once the proudest
remembrance of the place was the
visit of Catharine de Medicis and her
daughter, Margaret of Navarre, who
were magnificently entertained by
the Lord of Pibrac. But now the
visit of the two queens, and the fame
and opulence of the great orator, are
nearly forgotten; while the memory
of our holy shepherdess has lived for
nearly three centuries in the hearts
of all the inhabitants of Pibrac. The
chateau is a forsaken ruin; but the
church has become a place of pilgrimage, because Germaine prayed
beneath its arches, and there found a
tomb.
Her father was a poor husbandman, to whom tradition gives the
name of Lawrence. Her mother's
VOL. VII.-48
name was Marie Laroche. From the
first moment of her existence, she
seemed destined to suffering and affliction. She was infirm from her birth,
being unable to use her right hand,
and afflicted with scrofula. While yet
a child, she became motherless; and,
as if these were not trials enough to
accumulate at once upon the head of
one so frail, her father did not long
delay to fill the vacant place on his.
hearth. Absorbed in her own children, this second wife, instead of
pitying the hapless orphan whom
Providence had confided to her care,
conceived an aversion for her. But
the trials to which Germaine was
subjected were proofs of the divine
favor. To them she was indebted;
for the brilliancy of her virtues, es —
pecially humility and patience.
As soon as she was old enough,
her step-mother, who could not endure her presence at home, sent her
forth to guard the flocks. This was,
her occupation the remainder of her
life. But even in the depths of her
lonely life, our shepherdess created
for herself a more profound solitude.
She was never seen in the company
of the young shepherds; their sports
never attracted her; their jeers never
disturbed her thoughtful serenity;
she only spoke sometimes to girls of
her own age, sweetly exhorting them
to be mindful of God!
We know not from whom Germaine received her first religious in,
structions-what hand, friendly to
misfortune, revealed to her the great
truths of salvation. Doubtless, it
was the cure of the parish; for holy
church despises not the meanest of'
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