Thursday of the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Saint Germain of Paris, also called Germanus, was born around 496 near Autun in Gaul (modern France) to noble Gallo-Roman parents. Formed in learning and prayer at Avallon and Luzy, he was ordained at about thirty-five and became abbot of Saint Symphorian. His life of austerity was matched by such generous almsgiving that some feared he would give away the abbey’s riches—yet this charity earned him the lasting title “Father of the Poor.” In 555, after the death of Bishop Sibelius, Germain was consecrated bishop of Paris. He carried monastic simplicity into the heart of a troubled city, striving to relieve suffering amid constant wars. He attended major councils and urged rulers to suppress lingering pagan practices and curb excesses that distorted Christian feasts. With pastoral courage he even excommunicated King Charibert for immorality, and he labored—often in vain—to reconcile warring Frankish kings, warning them against bloodshed. After his death on May 28, 576, his relics were long borne in procession during plagues and crises. He is honored as patron of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rimouski. His feast day is May 28.

Ubaldesca Taccini was born in 1136 in Calcinaia, in the Republic of Pisa, to a modest family. From her earliest years she was drawn to works of mercy, caring for the poor and tending the sick with a quiet, steadfast compassion. Around the age of sixteen she left for Pisa and entered the hospitaller Order of Saint John, dedicating her life to prayer and service. For fifty-five years she lived in humility within the community and in the city’s hospital, where she patiently nursed the injured and comforted those who suffered, making charity her daily rule. Her holiness was remembered not only for her tireless care but also for miracles attributed to her intercession, especially the tradition that water from a well at the Church of the Santo Sepolcro in Pisa was changed into wine. Venerated as one of Pisa’s beloved saints, she is also honored as the patron saint of Calcinaia, where her relics are kept. Saint Ubaldesca died in Pisa in 1206. Her feast day is May 28.

Saint William of Gellone was born in northern France around the middle of the eighth century, the son of Thierry, Count of Autun, and Aldana, and a kinsman of Charlemagne. Raised near the imperial court, he became a trusted commander and, in 790, was appointed Duke of Toulouse. William defended the Christian lands of the south, subduing the Gascons and resisting Muslim invasions that reached as far as Narbonne. Though he suffered setbacks, his steadfast courage helped turn back the attackers, and in 801 he joined King Louis of Aquitaine in the campaign that captured Barcelona. Yet William’s greatest victory was his surrender of worldly honor to Christ. In 804 he founded the abbey of Gellone, endowing it generously and entrusting it to the guidance of Benedict of Aniane; among his gifts was a relic of the True Cross. In 806 he laid down his arms to become a monk there, dying at Gellone on May 28, 812 or 814. He was canonized in 1066 and is honored as patron of Castielfabib and Fascia. His feast day is May 28.