Blessed Delphine: life, marriage and prayer
Blessed Delphine was a woman of profound piety. She married at the age of fifteen but, with her husband, took a vow of chastity. Together, they became Franciscan tertiaries. Their lives, and their marriage, were totally dedicated to God. She is celebrated by the Church on November 26. She had been beautified by Pope Urban V, but he was not in favor of her canonization, despite the many miracles that had occurred through her intercession. Urban had canonized Delphine's husband, Elzéar.
Biography of Blessed Delphine
Blessed Delphine was born in Puimichel, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in 1283. Her parents, Guillaume de Signes and Delphine de Barras, died when she was just seven years old. At that age, she entered the abbey of Sainte-Catherine de Sorps, in Bauduen, Var. A few years later, she was taken in by a relative, the nun Sybille de Puget, to complete her education. Sybille told her nothing but the lives of saints who had taken a vow of chastity, which inspired Delphine to dedicate her life to the Lord, refusing to become a mother.
So, when in 1299, at the age of fifteen, she was married to thirteen-year-old Elzéar de Sabran, she imposed a virginal marriage on her young husband. As it happened, he was perfectly in agreement with this decision. As a result, both spent most of their time praying and studying the Holy Scriptures, and wore a cilice. They became Franciscan tertiaries.
Elzéar died at the age of 38, on September 27, 1323. Delphine was inconsolable and withdrew into solitude, living in total destitution, dividing her time between Naples and Provence. For seventeen years, she was even advisor to the Queen of Naples, who later joined the Franciscan order. In 1345, Delphine settled in Apt, where she cared for the poor and visited the sick. Gradually, a small group of virgins and widows gathered around her and shared her daily life. They wanted to live like her, dividing their day between prayer in the morning and service in the afternoon. Delphine was increasingly hard on herself, mortifying herself daily. The miracles obtained through her intercession are multiplying. Everything she owned was now considered to have thaumaturgical virtue.
Delphine gave up her soul to God on November 26, 1360, at the age of seventy-six, in Apt.
Prayer recited for the holy spouses Elzéar and Delphine
"O God, who in the virginity of the holy spouses Elzéar and Delphine renewed the virginal union of your Most Holy Mother, grant that through their merits you may be able to renew the virginal union of your Most Holy Mother.re, grant that through their merits and intercession we may preserve our purity and merit to reach you, who are purity itself.
So be it."
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