Alain de Solminihac

Alain de Solminihac was born on 25 November 1593 in the Kingdom of France to Jean and Margaret de Solminihac.

He wanted to become a member of the Knights of Malta in order to serve God but felt a strong call to the priesthood and to the religious life so joined the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine of Chancelade in 1613 as a postulant.[1] His period of novitiate commenced in 1615 and concluded on 28 July 1618. The completion of his theological studies soon saw him ordained to the priesthood on 22 September 1618.[2] He was made the superior of his convent in 1623. Pope Urban VIII appointed him as the Bishop of Cahors on 22 September 1636 (King Louis XIII approved this after meeting him) and he received his episcopal consecration on 27 September 1637 in the French capital of Paris.

The bishop visited each of his 800 parishes at least nine times during the course of his episcopate and he held an episcopal consecration on one occasion. He also prompted adoration to the Eucharist and restored a range of local devotions. He attended the Council of Trent and followed the lead of Charles Borromeo in enforcing its decrees in his diocese.[1][2] He met Francis de Sales for the first time during Lent in 1619 and the two had more meetings following this; he also became a friend of Vincent de Paul.

He died on 31 December 1659.

The beatification process commenced under Pope Pius VI after he was titled as a Servant of God on 6 August 1783 and the confirmation of his heroic virtue allowed for Pope Pius XI to name him as Venerable on 19 June 1927. The process for a miracle attributed to his intercession saw two independent processes run with the informative one spanning from 1769 until 1775. The Congregation for Rites validated the informative miracle process on 12 April 1905 while the Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated the apostolic one on 14 April 1978.

The medical board approved the miracle on 25 June 1975 while the C.C.S. officials and their consultants also approved it on 10 April 1979; the C.C.S. themselves issued their own approval to it on 29 May 1979 and passed it to Pope John Paul II who granted the final approval needed on 13 July 1979 in which the pope also confirmed the beatification. John Paul II beatified him on 4 October 1981.

The miracle involved the cure of Marie Ledoux on 29 June 1661 in France.

• P. Petot, Alain de Solminihac (1593–1659), prélat réformateur. De l'abbaye de Chancelade à l'évêché de Cahors, Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2009, ISBN 978-2-503-53278-3

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