Birth: December 11, 1821 – Munstergeleen, Netherlands
Death: January 5, 1893 – Dublin, Ireland
Beatified: October 16, 1988 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized: June 3, 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast Day: January 5
Patronage: The sick, healing ministries and the people of Ireland
Although very pious, Fr. Charles was not a good preacher. He was born in Holland and served most of his life in Dublin at the Monastery of Mount Argus. He never managed to master the new language, a limitation most of us can easily imagine. And yet, a friend of Charles’ remembered, “When you spoke to him, you had the impression that you were talking to someone who was an intimate friend of God.” Here, stated simply, lay the essence of Charles’ saintliness. His connection to God spoke volumes to those who had a need to hear.
