Haunted

I continue to be haunted by Ste. Tulle's story. Maybe 'haunted' is a bit too strong a word, but she is a saint after all! Why can't I find any historical reference to her? Thank goodness for the internet...how did I ever satisfy my curiosity before its invention? Sleuthing with Google, I discovered that I had the wrong year for Ste. Tulle's plague. The year was actually 1720; it was truly the Plague, la Peste, that came ashore at Marseilles that year. There would be other epidemics, notably the cholera epidemic that swept through the area in 1832, but in 1720, la Peste struck fear into the hearts of villagers. So much fear that they built a wall to keep the plague from spreading north. I discovered a document in French that lists the mortality rates for Provence from the deadly epidemic. In Cucuron, the plague lasted from 1 October to 15 December 1720. The village population was 3,500 souls; of these 730 died from the plague. 20% of the village's inhabitants died; every household must have been touched. Kind of gives these empty old shoes I photographed sitting on a worn doorstep in Cucuron a poignancy that echoes across the centuries. My curiosity about the plague somewhat assuaged, I continued to search for references to Ste. Tulle. All I can find are variations on this: Ste. Tulle is the patron saint of Cucuron celebrated for protecting the village from the plague in 1720. Nothing about the woman, her Order if she was a nun, or how she supposedly did this protecting (not very well, I think, since over 700 people died inspite of her efforts!). I'll keep searching and get back to you.

A Saintly Connection

This is Sainte Tulle, patron saint of the tiny Luberon village of Cucuron. I took this photo in April 2007 when I visited the village and its 14th century church, Eglise Notre-Dame-de-Beaulieu. When I returned home, I searched in vain on every Catholic saint website I could find, trying to learn more about Ste. Tulle. She simply doesn't exist--officially--anywhere. But to the villagers of Cucuron, she is their patron saint who saved their village from the plague that ravaged the Luberon in 1720. I remembered her this evening at church when Elizabeth spoke of forgotten saints in reference to Matthias, the man chosen as an apostle to replace Judas. In researching her once again on the Internet to write tonight's blog entry at Dona Nobis Pacem, I was startled to see that today, May 23rd, is the day of her festival in Cucuron. Ste. Tulle seems to be speaking to me across the centuries...what is the connection I'm supposed to make of this? It's a mystery...and a fun one!