Saint Theobald of Mondovi
Shoemaker
Saint Theobald was a 12th-century Italian shoemaker and porter who chose chastity and poverty. After a pilgrimage to Compostela, he spent the end of his life as a church sweeper in Alba to atone for a moment of anger. He is today the patron saint of shoemakers in his region.
Guided reading
4 reading sections
SAINT THEOBALD OF MONDOVÌ, SHOEMAKER (1150).
Origins and profession
Thibaud was born in Vico and worked as a shoemaker before becoming a porter in Alba.
Born in Vico , il A 12th-century saint, shoemaker, and porter who became a church sweeper as an act of penance. a village nea r Mondo Mondovi City near the saint's birthplace and center of his corporate cult. vi, he first practiced the profession of shoemaker, then that of a porter i n Alba in the Mi Albe du Milanais City where the saint worked as a porter and of which he is the patron. lanese region. Thus, the shoemakers and cobblers of Mondovi and those Montferrat Region where shoemakers celebrate Saint Thibaud. of Montferrat celebrate his feast day as their patronal festival.
Vocation and pilgrimage
To preserve his chastity, he refused an arranged marriage and undertook a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
The master shoemaker with whom he had learned his trade having died, he was encouraged to marry his daughter, to take over, as they say, the business. But the pious young man, who had resolved to live in complete chastity, escaped the danger of temptation by fleeing, and made the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. It was upon his return to Al Saint-Jacques de Compostelle A major pilgrimage site visited by the saint. ba, where he had served his apprenticeship as a shoemaker, that he practiced the hard trade of a porter. He found ways to do good for those poorer than himself. It is said that, not having had the courage to refuse needy people a load of flour he had undertaken to transport, his sack was found to be full as soon as he had emptied it. Toward the end of his life, he occupied himself with sweeping the churches, and when he died, he asked to be buried in the place where he discarded the sweepings of Saint-Laure nt of Alba. It is sa Saint-Laurent d'Albe Church where the saint served as a sweeper and was buried. id that it was to atone for a moment of anger that he had become a sweeper.
Life of charity and penance
Upon returning to Alba, he multiplied acts of charity, performed the miracle of the flour, and ended his life as a church sweeper out of humility.
Blessed Thibaud i s depicted with a b bienheureux Thibaud A 12th-century saint, shoemaker, and porter who became a church sweeper as an act of penance. room or a sack. He is the patron saint of the city of Alb a, a Albe City where the saint worked as a porter and of which he is the patron. nd as we have already mentioned, of the shoemakers' guild in Mondov corporation des cordonniers Professional guild of which Saint Theobald is the patron saint. i.
Cult and iconography
Saint Theobald is the patron saint of the city of Alba and of shoemakers; he is depicted with a broom or a sack.
AA. SS. AA. SS. Hagiographic collection cited as a source. , new translation.
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Apprenticeship as a shoemaker in Alba
- Refused to marry his master's daughter to preserve his chastity
- Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
- Return to Alba as a porter
- Served as a church sweeper as an act of penance
Miracles
- Sack of flour miraculously refilling after being given to the needy