1. CHILDHOOD
John Gabriel was the second child
and the oldest son in the family. It was presum¬ed that he would follow his
father in running the farm. It so happened that from his youngest years,.he was
esp-ecially intelligent and pious. Before he was five years old, he could say
all his prayers from memory ( and the French used many many prayers in those
days and also, most of the cate¬chism. He not only prayed with the family, but
often by himself at home or in the church, kneeling very straight and
concentrating with his whole heart on the prayers.
At 6 years of age, he was given
charge of the small flock of sheep. According to the custom at that time all
children worked at home or on farms for 6 months of the year in summer. For the
other 6 colder months, they went to the parish church, where the pastor taught
them catechism and usually had a small school to teach other subjects. When
John Gabriel was 8 years old, he began
going to the parish school. He
loved to read, but he al-ways finished his work first. At school, he was often
put in charge of the class when the teacher was absent, because he was the most
popular boy with the other stu-dents and all obeyed him. After class, other
students who were not so bright, came to him for help in their lessons; he
always gave his time to train even the slow¬est students.
Meanwhile, his piety was noticed
by the pastor and all the people. He loved to visit the Blessed Sacrament and
pray. They called him the little saint and said that when he was praying
"you could walk over him and he wouldn't no-tice it". At that time,
students were permitted to make their first Confession and first Communion
between 14 and 16 years of age - and only after strict catechism exam-inations.
The pastor allowed John Gabriel to make his first Communion when he was only 10
years old. Not one other student nor parent got jealous or complained; they
knew he was special and they all liked this happy little pious fellow.
It was typical of John Gabriel
that on the night before his first Communion, when his brothers and sisters
were asleep, he came before his parents and on his knees ask¬ed them to forgive
him for all his faults and the trouble he had caused them. After his first
Communion, he immedi¬ately joined the Blessed Sacrament Society of the parish.
He loved the poor and often saved his bread from meals to give to wandering
beggars, of whom there were many because of the French Revolution. Meanwhile he
was such a good worker on the farm, that his father made him an overseer of the
hired men. These men were rough and were used to cursing and very bad language.
When John's father advised him to command them to stop, he honestly answered:
" I dare not; I'm too young." Though all his life he was short and
thin and of feeble health, he was never afraid of the hardest work. All of this
information comes from his parents, family and neighbors who were still alive
after his early death.
2. 1817 -SEMINARY AT MONTAUBAN
Louis Perboyre had always
followed his older brother's example in intelligence, study and piety. He
expressed his desire to be a priest. His parents decided to send him to
Montauban, where his uncle, Rev. Jacques Perboyre, C.M., was conducting his own
seminary. Since Louis was only 13 and quite sickly, the parents sent John
Gabriel, then 15, with him. John could look after Louis' health for a few
months and help him in his studies, for it was winter and there was little farm
work. John, too, could take a few higher classes of his own such as grammar and
mathematics.At the seminary, Fr. Jacques Perboyre, C.M., at that time was 54
years old, a very wise and holy priest. As a young priest, he had wanted to go
to China, but the French Rev-olution broke out and he had to spend years hiding
in
caves and ditches to avoid being
captured and killed. This had ruined his health. But he ran this seminary at
the invitation of the Bishop and he instilled into his nephews his same love of
the Vincentians and of the China missions.
John Gabriel's first letter was
written to his parents at this time. It was very short and loving. Like many
students away from home, he asks for money to buy clothes From this time on
until his death, John was an excellent and faithful letter writer. Most of his
letters to his family and friends were kept by them, because he was always
considered a special saint. These letters are preserved today in the Archives
of the Congregation of the Mission in France.
After a few months, John's father
went to Monauban to visit his sons and Fr. Jacques, his brother, and to bring
John back home to the farm for the spring work. Fr. Jac-ques persuaded him that
John, as well as Louis, had a vocation to the priesthood. The kind father left
the de-cision to John Gabriel, who asked to have a few days to pray and think
about it. The father returned home alone and a few days later, John wrote his
second letter home. He wrote that he thought it was God's will that he be-come
a priest, if his parents would give their permission In this case, he wrote, he
would need some more money for clothes and a seminarian's cassock. Naturally,
the parent were saddened to see their oldest and second sons both gone from
home for good, but they cheerfully made the sacrifice.
John began to study Latin. Since
he was so very intelligent and studious, he was able to help his brother Louis
and several cousins. Soon he was having daily classes for his classmates and
younger students. His devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary were
noticed by all, especi ally his love for the rosary. Again he was known to the
professors and students as "the young saint". He did not care for
sports. The other students liked him and playa tricks on him, which he took in
good nature and laughed a much as they did. After his death, the professors and
fellow students all gave testimony of his holiness and no one could find a
single fault in him. (http://jgperboyre.blogspot.com/)
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