【慈幼通訊社
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2014
年
07
月
10
日梵蒂岡訊】
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7月8日(星期二)，教宗方濟各授權冊封聖人部，頒佈天主忠僕慈幼會士若瑟亞利拔神父英勇德行的法令。
法籍慈幼會士若瑟亞利拔神父（1879年生於Trédou ，1963年卒於Navarre），是一位孩童的慈父。他的一生是這句福音的縮影：「我不是來受服侍，而是來服侍人。」他從不拒絕任何形式的工作；的確，他所作的，是最謙卑的工作。由於他願意負責清潔工作，因此初學生都稱他為「掃帚騎士」。他在夜間照料患病者。戰事期間，他讓出房間及床，給路過的會士留宿，而自己在夜間則會坐在椅上，或在小聖堂內。藉著他的祈求，病者往往奇蹟地得到痊癒。
他曾擔任不同的職位，尤其多年來在不同會院當院長之職。亞利拔神父是眾人的楷模，他不論在操場、小聖堂、要理班或是醫院裡，總是與學生在一起。從餐室走到宿舍，從告解亭走到花園，他總要關顧每件事和每個人。他極其尊敬每一個人，以極大的敏銳接待所有人，尤其是弱小貧窮的人。他一如聖若瑟看守整所修院──他們都稱他為「避雷針」。他時常保持笑容，從不拒絕任何人。他的瘦削的苦修形象，使人們想起聖若翰維雅納，而他的溫良笑容，可匹配聖方濟各沙雷氏。
Venerable Joseph August Arribat, Salesian priest
(ANS - Vatican –Vatican City, 10 July 2014) – On Tuesday, 8 July, the Holy Father Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree on the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Joseph August Arribat, a Salesian priest.
The French Salesian,Venerable Fr Arribat (Trédou, 1879 - Navarre, 1963), was a good father to all his children. His life is the epitome of the Gospel expression: "I came not to be served but to serve." He never refused any kind of work, and indeed he himself sought the most humble services. Because of his availability for the work of cleaning, the novices used to call him "The Knight of the Broom." He attended the sick throughout the night. During the war, he would give up his room and his bed for confreres who might be passing by, and he would spend the night on a chair or in the chapel. Miraculous cures were attributed to his intercession.
He held many positions of responsibility, especially that of Rector for many years and in several different houses. In all of these Fr Arribat was exemplary, always present among the students in the playground and in the chapel, in the catechism class and in the infirmary. He would move from the dining hall to the dormitory, from the confessional to the garden, always attentive to everything and everyone. He had an extraordinary respect for every person and treated all with great sensitivity, especially the little ones and the poor. Like St Joseph he watched over the house – they used to call him “the lightning conductor”. He had an open smiling face and never turned anybody away. His gaunt ascetic figure reminded people of the Curé d'Ars, while his gentleness and his smile were worthy of St. Francis de Sales.
There is a short biographical sketch of the Venerable on the website sdb.org.