Saint Who?
Saints Who Established Schools
Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie Cormier
Priest and religious († 1916)Feast: May 21
Louis-Stanislas-Henri Cormier was born on the feast of the Immaculate Conception in 1832. Educated first at home, then by the Christian Brothers, he entered minor seminary when he was thirteen. He was a good student and an excellent musician who played several instruments. It is said that Franz Liszt heard him play the organ and declared him a “master of the art.”
He was ordained a diocesan priest in 1856, but soon joined the Dominican order. Here he received the name Hyacinthe-Marie. Bad health prevented his full profession, but when death seemed imminent he was permitted to take his vows. A full recovery followed, and he went on to become the seventy-sixth Master of the order.
In this capacity, Cormier reestablished the College of Saint Thomas in Rome, which had been inactive for some years. The school, known today as the Angelicum, became a cornerstone of Dominican formation. Cormier also authorized the construction of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. With a deep love for the Eucharist—he was known to levitate before the tabernacle—he wished the schools to be places of Eucharistic adoration as well as devout study. Cormier died in 1916. His feast is kept by the Dominicans on May 21, the day on which Cormier became Master of the order.
God of wisdom, through the intercession of
Blessed Hyacinthe Cormier, grant us schools that are places of piety, study, and adoration of the Eucharist.
