Saint Felix of Valois
Also known as
Hugh of Valois
Profile
Son of Count Raoul de Vermandois et de Valois and Alienor de Champagne. As a child, Felix received the blessings of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and Pope Innocent II. Educated at the abbey of Clairvaux. As a young man, following his parents' extremely disruptive divorce, he renounced his wealth and took the name Felix. Cistercian monk at Clairvaux. Hermit in the Italian Alps. Priest. Hermit in the forest of Galeresse, diocese of Meaux, France. Friend and spiritual teacher of Saint John of Matha. The two of the founded the Order of the Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives (Trinitarians; Redemptionists) in order to ransom Christians held as slaves by Moors in Spain and Northern Africa. The Order received papal approval on 17 December 1198, and within 40 years there were over 600 houses worldwide. Today there are around 600 members of the Order working in prison ministries in over twenty countries continuing over 800 years of ministry.
Born
April 1127 in the province of Valois, France as Hugh
Died
• 4 November 1212 at the Cerfroi monastery, Picardy, France of natural causes
• buried in the church in Cerfroi, which became a pilgrimage destination
Canonized
• 1 May 1262 by Pope Urban IV
• confirmed on 21 October 1666 by Pope Alexander VII
• feast day fixed in 1679 by Pope Innocent XI
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