Blessed Raoul of England

Frightened by this responsibility, but reassured by the thought of God in whom he placed all his trust, Raoul departed and governed this community with rare wisdom and consummate prudence. Thus, the monastery of Vaucelles became in a short time the admiration of the entire region. The abbot began by regulating all things there for the most perfect observance of religious discipline. He instructed the brothers, formed them in virtue, and directed them in the sublime paths of perfection. His examples were even more persuasive than his words, and they contributed not a little to making the difficulties and inconveniences of a new establishment bearable with holy joy. Indeed, eight years passed before one could think of building a church. Finally, in the year 1140, the foundations were laid, and May 26, 1149, was the day fixed for the consecration of this edifice placed under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin. The ceremony, which had attracted an immense crowd of spectators, was presided over by Samson, A rchbishop of Reims, metropo Samson, archevêque de Reims Archbishop of Reims who presided over the consecration of the church. litan of the province. One also saw there the diocesan bishop, Nicolas o f Cambrai, then Gé Nicolas de Cambrai Diocesan bishop present at the consecration of Vaucelles. rard of Tournai, Milon of Thérouanne, and Josselin of Soissons.

The son of the founder of Vaucelles , Simon d'Ol Simon d'Olay Son of the founder of Vaucelles and local castellan. ay, upon his return from the crusade preached by Saint Ber croisade prêchée par saint Bernard Military expedition in which Simon of Olay participated. nard, tested the patience of the venerable abbot more than once, just as he had often done before his departure. Blessed Raoul behaved, in these difficult circumstances, with extreme reserve, without any human consideration being able to make him forget his duty. Attentive to rendering to the benefactors of his community the spiritual aid of prayer that he owed them, he feared not to refuse them what they sometimes asked of him to satisfy their unjust desires. One day, among others, when the castellan Simon, prepared to attack the inhabitants of Cambrai, had sent to the abbey of Vaucelles to ask for food for his horses: "I do not wish," Raoul courageously replied, "to make myself an accomplice to this sin," and he refused to submit to this injunction. But as much as he held onto the goods of his monastery when the powerful of the world wanted to seize them, he was just as saintly prodigal toward the poor, for whom he was filled with the most affectionate charity. During his administration, he gave striking testimonies of this. After several years of extraordinary fertility, during which the vigilant abbot had made considerable provisions of wheat, it happened that a great famine afflicted the country. Raoul, like another Joseph, hastened to open the monastery's granaries and to distribute food and clothing to all those in need. The abbey had become like the dwelling of the unfortunate. Strangers received hospitality there, and the indigent received aid of every kind; and so that no one would be deprived, the things necessary for their subsistence were carried to the infirm, to pregnant women, or to those nursing small children.

At the sight of this multitude of poor people who flocked to the abbe y of Vaucelles, the abbaye de Vaucelles Monastery founded and governed by Raoul. Bishop of Cambrai and Simon of Olay could not contain their admiration. They did not know how to explain that a single abbey could suffice for so many needs; indeed, there were up to five thousand poor people counted there, not to mention those to whom aid was brought in their homes. They felt they had to ask the charitable abbot to restrict himself to a smaller number of indigents; but he replied to them with tranquility: "God forbid that we should do that; but as long as we have wheat, we will distribute it to all who come. When we have no more, we will slaughter the sheep, the oxen, and the other animals of the monastery and distribute them as well for the nourishment of all." The blessed Raoul was not forced to resort to this extreme measure: the monastery's provisions sufficed for the poor, the strangers, and the sick until the day when a new harvest put an end to the scarcity. However, it is permissible to think that God deigned to perform a miracle in this circumstance to reward his charity, and it would be difficult to explain without this intervention of Providence how an abbey, which then possessed only ten arpents of land, could have fed thousands of indigents for a quite considerable time.

Abbot Raoul was therefore a worthy child of Saint Bernard and a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. His name, blessed by the populations, was also dear to his contemporaries. All felt for his virtue a justly deserved veneration. He fell asleep in the Lord on December 30, 1152. At that time, there were one hundred and seven religious, three novices, and one hundred and thirty lay brothers at Vaucelles.

Vies des Saints de Cambr ai et d'Arras, by A M. l'abbé Doutombos Author of the biographical source. bbé Doutombos.