Saint Bernadette Soubirous
The Soubirous family lived in the far north of the little town of Lourdes, in the Lapaca district. A large stream flowed there, and on this stream there were seven mills; one of them known as the Boly Mill, and this had been the residence of the Soubirous. Francois Soubirous leased the mill from relatives of his wife,
Louise. In many ways, it was the trade of the miller that had brought the couple together. They had married on the parish church on 9th January 1843. By 1855, the family income had decreased drastically - trade was not good at the mill, and the Soubirous were not the best of business people; often filled with pity for the poor of the local people, they would tell their customers to pay when they were able to, and they never refused credit. And of course there was the family to raise, which further drained their resources. No longer being able to pay for the rent of the mill, the Soubirous were forced to quit their dwellings, give up the millers trade and take on whatever work they could find for themselves. Francois Soubirous recalled that another relative owned a building in the Rue des Petits Fossés - this building was the former Lourdes jail. The old jail was locally known as "the Cachot". The Soubirous were allowed to remain there rent-free. Each evening, the family gathered around the old fireplace for family prayers. This concluded with the recitation of the Rosary - often led by one of the Soubirous girls, Bernadette.
BERNADETTE
The marriage of Francois Soubirous and Louise Casterot produced six children.
The eldest of these was Bernadette. She was born on 7th January 1844, and was baptized the next day by Abbé Forgues in the old parish church, being given the name of Marie Bernarde. Because of her small stature, she was always referred to by the diminutive form of the name, Bernadette. Six months later, Louise was expecting a child; because of this, Bernadette was entrusted to the care of a woman in near-by Bartres, Marie Aravant, who had just lost a baby boy. She stayed there for 15 months. From her birth, Bernadette was a weak child, suffering even then from the asthma which would cause her so much suffering that later, in the convent, she would beg the nurses to tear open her chest so that she might breathe. Because of her delicate constitution, her parents would attempt to give her little bits of food not available to the other children, such as white bread instead of black.
restrictions. For instance, every worker had to live in his village (Pullman, IL) and under no circumstances was anyone allowed to leave. The people had to buy from his store, pay him rent, and attend work every day.
Conditions included horrible housing, taking women away from their husbands, and punishments including death. Several rules had to be followed. One of these rules was that the workers had to buy all supplies from one store. “In this store we were charged all sorts of high prices for goods, because every year we would come out in debt to out employer” (25). Ending the year in debt meant owing the contract holder something. Since they had no money, they were forced to pay with their hard labor.
The textile industry was, at one time, one of the largest industries in the south. Starting in the late 1800’s with small local looms, and spreading to become corporations who controled the south and whose influence stretched internationally. One of the first textile industries came to Gaston County North Carolina, and its huge success led to the opening of mills across the Carolina’s and Virginia. As these industries grew they began to control more and more of its employees lives. These huge corporations were permitted to take advantage of individuals because of their inability to fight back. The employyees of these mills lived in conditions resembling that of slaves before the civil war. They were worked greuling hours in inhospitable prisons called textile plants, yet were paid on average less than any other industrial worker in America. In the early twentieth century a sentiment of contempt began to grow between the laboring class and the all-powerful corporation. The masses began to push for union representation.
Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun was one of the most successful painters of her time. Over the course of her life, spanning from 1755-1842, she painted over 900 works. She enjoyed painting self portraits, completing almost 40 throughout her career, in the style of artists she admired such as Peter Paul Rubens (Montfort). However, the majority of her paintings were beautiful, colorful, idealized likenesses of the aristocrats of her time, the most well known of these being the Queen of France Marie Antoinette, whom she painted from 1779-1789. Not only was Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun the Queen’s portrait painter for ten years, but she also became her close, personal friend. She saw only the luxurious, carefree, colorful, and fabulous lifestyle the aristocracy lived in, rather than the poverty and suffrage much of the rest of the country was going through. Elisabeth kept the ideals of the aristocracy she saw through Marie Antoinette throughout her life, painting a picture of them that she believed to be practically perfect. Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun’s relationship with Marie Antoinette affected her social standing, politics, painting style, and career.
Church, Loletrazina. "Tourist Attractions in New Orleans." Travel Tips. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
Banks began to foreclose on farms and people became homeless. The losses of everything they owned caused people to have no choice. The only way was to leave. They were driven from their land.
gables in New England town. The story opens with its history, beginning in the 1690's, when
Through all the hardships and blood, Joan of Arc was a fierce warrior and led the French to complete victory. Starting out in a maiden village, and more of a shock for being a woman, Joan completely transform herself and France. Advancing in a year and a month, crowned a reluctant king, rallied broken people, reversed the course of a great war, and shoved history into a new path (Richey 1); Joan made a name for herself. No one can ever suppress what she achieved at such a young age.
Jeanne d’ Arc was Joan of Arc’s original birth name (“Joan of Arc” par 3). Joan was born in Doremy, France of January 16, 1412. Her father’s name was Jacques d’ Arc and her mother’s was Isabellete Romee. While growing up, Joan was surrounded by many brothers and sisters (Bouett De Monvel 13). She never went to school in her childhood, so Joan never learned to read or write. (“Gale- Free Resource “par 3). Everything she knew about religion and life, mother taught her (“Joan of Arc” par 5).
Joan of Arc's strength and courage comes from her beliefs in God and the French people's belief in her. Without each other, Joan will not accomplish so much. Joan uses King Charles' resources as a starting point for her Divine mission. This includes crowning Charles as the rightful king of France, forcing the Burgundians out of France, and uniting all of France under one ruler. Therefore, Joan's whole mission revolves around King Charles, and as a result, she needs his encouragement in order to succeed. King Charles does provide this encouragement in the beginning of Joan's mission. However, after Joan succeeds in putting Charles on the throne, he abandons her. The reasons Charles abandons Joan are debatable and can be seen as political decisions to save face, because Joan's power and influence starts to die down. The Church also plays a vital role in Charles abandoning Joan, because the influence of the Church is so powerful in deciding the destiny of France and the King.
The effect of Joan of Arc can be best understood and explained by looking at some of the events surrounding her birth and childhood. She was born in the later half of the Hundred Years’ War. The war was between France and England, which began over the land and control of Aquitaine, located in the southern part of France. Both countries had made legitimate claims of the land, but the dispute was unresolved and war was declared. The war was mainly fought in France and by 1429, England had gained a great portion of France. Joan also entered the world at a time that there was a lot of turmoil not only in her country but also within the church. At this time the Christian theology was not catering enough to the nobility or to the needs of the townspeople. Many were upset and wanted to instill a different type of church. The people became upset with the clergy because they were unaware of or involved in their society. So in order to expel the church leaders and those that stood in their way, rumors of heresy and accusations were thrown. The church began to spiral into much upheaval. Commoners were accusing priests and clergy of heresy and thus weakening the church and their message. So when Joan was born into a town that was associated with a large group of witches and heretics, rumors began to spread about her also.
She helped Juliet get out of her house by bringing her a rope ladder to climb off her balcony with and telling her parents that she went to shrift. The Nurse kept Romeo and Juliet's marriage a secret from the family. When Juliet's parents said she should marry Paris, the Nurse agreed and said that Juliet should forget about Romeo because he was in Mantua. With the Nurse no longer on her side, she had no one to help her and back her up but the Friar. In this way, she had a large impact on the terrible ending of Romeo and Juliet.
Saint Francis of Assisi was a uniquely spiritual man who gave up a life of wealth and position to lead a life of poverty in accordance and service to God. Embracing a life according to the Gospels, Francis went on to establish a Monastic Order, known as the Franciscans. In the midst of the political climate within the religious community of Italy, Francis emerged a champion for the poor and sick, with humility and no regard for himself. Francis exhibited his love for God through his love and admiration for all of God's creation including nature. The principles of Saint Francis are as relevant today as they were in thirteenth century Italy; service and love to all of God’s creation.
Joan of Arc a young woman condemned by a church that she sworn to faithfully follow, but is ultimately put to death under their power. In “Saint Joan” Shaw is attempting to show the madness of organized religion. When religion is left to the powers of men, who are unable to put their own agendas aside will led to horrible injustices. Even though Shaw's “Saint Joan” is a story of courage and heroism, in actuality its a story of the hypocrisy of religious fanatics who use their power for their own needs.
Baptism celebrates a family 's and a community 's love for the initiate who is welcomed into the community of believers. The candidate (infant or adult) is provided with a god-parent/ sponsor to help them with their initiation as a Christian. 'Baptise first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise their parents or other relatives speak for them '.