Delphine of Glandèves
Blessed Delphine of Glandèves, T.O.S.F., (or of Sabran) was born in 1284 in region of Provence, now part of France. She died on 26 November 1358, having lived as a Franciscan tertiary for most of her life.
Left an orphan in her infancy, she was placed under the guardianship of her uncles, and was brought up under the direction of her aunt, who was the Abbess of the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sorbo. As a young girl, she took a vow of virginity which she kept to the end of her life.
Despite her vow, at the age of twenty, she was married to Elzéar, Count of Sabran. Inspired by her example, her husband also took a vow of celibacy, which both honored throughout their married life. The couple, having both received the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis, lived together in the practice of prayer, penance and charity towards the poor until the death of Elzéar in 1323.
After the death of her husband, Delphine sold all her possessions for the benefit of the poor and retired first to Naples and then to Cabrières, which was the location of the castle where her husband had born. She finally returned to Apt where her husband, had been buried. Upon her death, she was buried with him in the church of the Friars Minor there, wearing the habit of the Order.
The veneration that had begun to be given to Delphine was confirmed by Pope Urban V, godson of Elzéar, who canonized her husband at that time. Her feast day was previously celebrated by the Franciscan Third Order on the anniversary of her death. It was moved from that date to 26 September, sharing that of her husband, in the reform in the Calendar of saints of the Order in 1969.
References
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.