Germaine was born in the remote French village of Pibrac in 1579. Unlike Joan of Arc or Therese of Lisieux, she was unknown during her lifetime outside of her own village, and was a practical outcast there.
She endured a wretched life as an unwanted child of the prosperous Laurent Cousin family. There is not even proof that she was entitled to the name of Cousin, for what true parents would allow their own child to be consigned to a stable and literally starved to death? Physical and mental abuse were part of Germaine’s daily routine.
Germaine was a frail, sickly child, afflicted with scrofula, a terrible disease which caused abscesses about the neck. Her right arm was deformed and partially paralyzed. She was a prey to every illness of the time due to the unsanitary conditions in which she lived.
Laurent Cousin’s wife beat Germaine savagely. The child’s body bore livid testimony of her cruelty. She was dressed in cast-off rags and never given a pair of shoes. Her feet were frost-bitten in winter and bloody in summer as she led the Laurent flock to pasture and back.
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Such heroism always reminds me both of the frequent weakness of my behavior and of the strengths God has given us, if we will only use them. What an amazing woman this was.
I had never heard of her. A very moving story. Thanks, Don, as always for these inspiring reminders of our elder sisters and brothers who often lived lives much, much tougher than mine / ours…