Today, June 15, is the memorial of Saint Germaine Cousin.
Germaine was born into poverty in 1579 in Pibrac, France. Her mother died while Germaine was an infant. A sickly child, Germaine suffered from scrofula, and her right hand was deformed. Her step-mother Hortense (other accounts identified her as Armande) mistreated her while her father ignored her.
She was forced to sleep in the stable under the stairs. Scraps were fed to her. Hortense would beat her up or pour boiling water on her for real or imagined misdeeds.
Life might have been harsh to Germaine, but she never lost faith in God. Prayer was her refuge. She grew in holiness that even the neighbors considered her a living saint. She never missed Mass. It was recorded that when she was about to cross a raging Courbet River on the way to Mass, the neighbors saw the water separate to make way for Germaine.
Beginning when she was nine years old, Germaine was also forced to work as a shepherdess. When the church bells rang for Mass, Germaine would stick her shepherd’s staff on the ground, pray to her guardian angel, leave the sheep, and proceed to the church. Her sheep were never harmed by the wolves from the nearby forest.
Already so poor, Germaine found ways to help others. She taught simple catechism to the kids and share the little food and bread she had.
Once in winter, Hortense accused her of stealing bread and ran after her with a stick. When Hortense ordered Germaine to open her apron, flowers unknown to the region fell out. Witnesses Pierre Pailles and Jeanne Salaires gave sworn testimony about this miracle. Her parents and neighbors were awed by the obvious miracle, and began to treat Germaine as a holy person. Her parents invited her to rejoin the household, but Germaine chose to live as she had.
In 1601 she was found dead on her straw mattress under the stairs. Confirmed reports say that on the night of her death, two monks traveling from Toulouse were sleeping in the ruins of a nearby castle when they were awakened by angelic melodies. They saw a great beam of light from a distant house and extending into the sky. Heavenly figures were seen descending into the house and later ascending with another figure. Upon reaching Pibrac the next morning, they asked if anyone had died during the night and were told of Germaine’s death.
When her body was accidentally exhumed in 1644, it was found to be incorrupt. Many miracles were attributed to her that a cause for canonization was in order.
Germaine was beatified by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1854. The same Pope canonized her in 1867.