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| Saint Charles, Pray for us ! |
⛪ Other Names :
• Charles Houban, Charles Houben, Charles of Mount Argus Houben, Charles of Saint Andrew, Joannes Andreas Houben, Karel Houben, Karel of Mount Argus, Karel of Saint Andrew, Karel van Sint Andries Houben, Karl Houben, Saint of Mount Argus
⛪ Born :
• 11 December 1821 in Munstergeleen, Limburg, Netherlands as Joannes Andreas Houben
⛪ Died :
• 5 January 1893 at Mount Argus, Ireland from an infected leg wound received in a carriage accident • Buried at Mount Argus, Dublin, Ireland
Roman Catholic Saint. The fourth of eleven children, John Andrew Houben was born in Munstergeleen and received his education in Sittard and Broeksittard, interrupting them to render military service. Learning of the Congregation of the Passion during this period, upon completing his studies following his military service, he asked to be admitted to the said congregation, being received by Blessed Dominic Barberi. Entering novitiate in the city of Ere, near Tournai, on November 5, 1845, receiving the habit and the religious name of Charles of Saint Andrew the following month, he professed his first vows on December 10, 1850. Ordained priest by Bishop Gaspard-Joseph Labis of the diocese of Tournai, he was immediately sent to England where the Passionists had founded three monasteries, serving as vice-master of novices at the monastery of Broadway. Rendering ministry in the parish of Saint Wilfred and neighboring areas, in 1856 he was transferred to the then newly established monastery of Mount Argus on the outskirts of Dublin.
There, he lived almost the remainder of his life, greatly loved by the Irish people to point that they referred to him as Father Charles of Mount Argus. A particularly pious priest, outstanding in exercising obedience, the practice of poverty, humility and simplicity, due to his poor mastery of the English language, he was never a formal preacher and thus never preached missions, but was rather very successfully in dedicating himself to spiritual direction, especially through the sacrament of reconciliation. His virtue was so known that great crowds of people would gather at the monastery to seek his blessing. With his fame extending throughout all of Great Britain as well as to America and Australia, in 1866, in order to afford him some rest, he was transferred to England where he lived for sometime in the communities at Broadway, Sutton and London. Back in Dublin in 1874, he remained at Mount Argus until his death on January 5, 1893. His funeral was attended by people from all of Ireland with a contemporary newspaper stating that: "Never before has the memory of any man sparked an explosion of religious sentiment and profound veneration as that which we observed in the presence of the mortal remains of Father Charles." The superior of the monastery wrote to his family: "The people have already declared him a saint." With the cause for his beatification introduced on November 13, 1935, on October 16, 1988 Pope John Paul II declared him blessed while his successor, Pope Benedict XVI canonized him on June 3, 2007. Originally interred in the cemetery adjoining the monastery and church of Mount Argus, in 1949 his remains were moved to a specifically constructed sarcophagus inside the church itself.
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