Charles of Mount Argus

Ordained in 1850, Charles of Saint Andrew was first sent to England, where the Passionists served the many Irish Catholic immigrants and worked for Christian unity. In 1857, he joined the monastery of Mount Argus, recently founded in Harold's Cross, near Dublin; he would exercise the essential part of his ministry there, despite a return of several years to England (notably in Sutton, near Saint Helens) before his definitive installation in Dublin. It was at Mount Argus that what would make him famous was revealed: a gift of comfort and healing. Many sick and afflicted people came to seek his blessing, often given with holy water by means of a relic of Saint Paul of the Cross; according to Passionist sources, up to three hundred people a day crowded around him. A tireless confessor, he distinguished himself by obedience, poverty, humility, and an intense devotion to the Passion of Christ, of which he always carried a small crucifix on his person. In the sick and the suffering, Benedict XVI would recall, "he recognized the face of the crucified Christ, to whom he had dedicated a lifelong devotion."

The reputation for holiness of Charles of St. Andrew is rooted less in spectacular works than in the constancy of a hidden and surrendered life. Testimonies describe him as a religious of great simplicity, who spoke English with difficulty, but whose prayer and compassion touched those who approached him. His spirituality is entirely Passionist: the contemplation of the Passion of Christ nourished his attention to the poor, the sick, and the sinners who came to confess. The final years of his life were themselves marked by a long illness which he accepted, according to his biographers, as a participation in the sufferings of Christ. At his death, on January 5, 1893, the popular turnout was such that, during his funeral, his superior was able to observe, according to the words reported by Benedict XVI, that "the people have already declared him a saint." This spontaneous devotion of the people of Dublin, around his tomb at Mount Argus, constitutes the first lasting sign of the reputation for holiness that would pave the way for his cause.

The cause of Charles of Saint Andrew opened in Dublin in the first half of the 20th century. He was declared venerable, then beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 16, 1988, following the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession, the healing of a Dutch woman, Octavia Spaetgens-Verheggen. His canonization was pronounced by Pope Benedict XVI on June 3, 2007, in Saint Peter's Square in Rome, during a ceremony that also canonized Giorgio Preca, Szymon of Lipnica, and Marie-Eugénie de Jésus Milleret; the miracle accepted for the canonization was the healing of another Dutchman from Munstergeleen, Dolf (Adolf) Dormans. In his homily, Benedict XVI emphasized that, "during his many years of priestly ministry in England and Ireland, people flocked to him to seek his wise counsel, his compassionate attention, and his healing touch." His liturgical memorial is set for January 5, the anniversary of his death.

Charles of St. Andrew remains popularly known as "the saint of Mount Argus." His remains are venerated in the church of the Passionist retreat of St. Paul of the Cross in Mount Argus, at Harold's Cross, in south Dublin, which remains a place of pilgrimage and prayer. His canonization in 2007 was a landmark event for Ireland, which saw the honoring of a foreign religious who became one of its most beloved spiritual figures, and for the Netherlands, and particularly Munstergeleen, his native village, which preserves his memory. As a member of the Congregation of the Passion, he follows in the spiritual lineage of Saint Paul of the Cross, centered on the remembrance of the Passion of Christ. His figure continues to be invoked by those seeking comfort in sickness and suffering, extending the ministry of healing and consolation that marked his life.