|
Blessed Br. Arnold Jules-Nicolas Rèche |
 Jules-Nicolas
Rèche was born into a poor family living in Landroff in the province of
Lorraine. He left school at an early age to work as a stableboy, a
coachman, and finally as a teamster for a local construction company. Even
as a young man he was known among his fellow workers for his piety and his
self-discipline. He first met the Brothers while attending evening classes
in their school and asked to be admitted into the congregation. He taught
for fourteen years at the boarding school on the Rue de Venise in Reims.
Despite the demands of a full teaching schedule he managed by private
study to master theology, mathematics, science and agriculture which he
taught to small groups of advanced students. During the Franco-Prussian
War of 1870, he worked with other Brothers to care for the medical and
spiritual needs of the wounded soldiers on both sides, for which he was
awarded the Bronze Cross. The intensity of his prayer life and his love
for practices of penance soon led the superiors to appoint him Director of
Novices at Thillois. He won the hearts of his young charges by his evident
solicitude for their spiritual and professional development. There are
stories of little miracles and cures, as well as his uncanny ability to
discern their inmost thoughts. Brother Arnold was known for his devotion
to the Lord's passion and for his docility to the Holy Spirit who, as he
often remarked, "strengthens a person's heart." When the
novitiate was moved to the new formation center at Courlancy near Reims in
1885, Brother Arnold was instrumental in having it dedicated to the Sacred
Heart. He died at age fifty-two with a reputation for sanctity, only a few
months after his appointment as Director General of Sacré Coeur.Born at Landroff, France 2 September 1838 Entered the novitiate 23 December 1862 Died at Reims, France 23 October 1890 Beatified 1 November 1987 |