Venerable Matt Talbot: Difference between revisions

|SaintBirthDate=1856-05-02

|SaintDeathDate=1925-06-07

|NotableAddress1=Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Sean McDermott Street Lower, Dublin, Ireland

|NotableCoordinates1=53.349800, -6.260300

|AssociatedCountries=Ireland

|AssociatedDioceses=[[Archdiocese of Dublin]]

|Patronage=struggling with alcoholism; addicts

Declared Venerable on October 3, 1975, by Pope Paul VI after the diocesan process confirmed heroic virtue, Talbot's cause—opened in 1947—awaits an authenticated miracle for beatification as of late 2025.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Talbot |title=Matt Talbot |publisher=Wikipedia |access-date=2025-12-27}}</ref> His unofficial memorial is June 19, with June 7 marking his death. Widely invoked as patron of those struggling with alcoholism, his intercession is sought in recovery programs worldwide.

Venerable Matt Talbot was born Matthew Talbot on May 2, 1856, in Dublin, Ireland, the second of twelve children of Charles Talbot, a dock laborer, and Elizabeth Bagnall.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=430 |title=Venerable Matt Talbot |publisher=Catholic Online |access-date=2025-12-27}}</ref> The family lived in poverty in the North Strand area during a time of widespread alcoholism among Dublin's working class.

Baptized shortly after birth in the Pro-Cathedral, Matt grew up in a nominally Catholic home where his father and brothers struggled with drink. Schooling was brief; by age 12, he left to work as a messenger boy for wine merchants.

These early experiences exposed him to alcohol, leading to his own dependency by adolescence. Family life, though loving, was marked by hardship and instability.

Matt's childhood reflected Dublin's industrial poverty. He attended Christian Brothers school briefly but prioritized work to support the family. By 13, he was employed in bottling stores, tasting liquor freely.

This moment, often dated to 1884 at age 28, marked his turning point toward conversion.

Matt worked as a bricklayer's laborer and hod carrier most of his adult life, employed by building firms in Dublin.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/venerable-matt-talbot/ |title=Venerable Matt Talbot |publisher=Franciscan Media |access-date=2025-12-27}}</ref> Hard physical work suited his ascetic temperament after conversion.

By 1925, Matt's health failed from lifelong austerities and earlier excesses. On Trinity Sunday, June 7, 1925, he collapsed en route to Mass in Granby Lane, Dublin.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Talbot |title=Matt Talbot |publisher=Wikipedia |access-date=2025-12-27}}</ref> Taken to hospital, he died soon after, aged 69.