Blessed Josep Tous Soler

Josep Tous Soler (31 March 1811 - 27 February 1871) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin - a branch of the Franciscan Order. Upon becoming a friar he was called by the religious name Josep of Igualada and went on to preach across both Spain and France. Soler established the Capuchin Sisters of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd in response to his aim of educating people; the order's sole task was to provide both the civic and the religious cultivation of people who either joined the order or who placed themselves under the direction of the congregation. It has since spread across Latin America and in Western Europe. He was beatified in Barcelona on 25 April 2010; Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone – on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI – presided over the beatification celebration. Josep Tous Soler was born on 31 March 1811 in Saint Joseph Street as the ninth of twelve children of Nicolau Tous Cerreras and Francesca Soler Ferrer. He was named and baptized on 1 April with his godfather being his older brother Nicholas Tous Soler (21 August 1795 - 20 December 1870). In 1824 he entered the Order of Friars Minor in his hometown and became a postulant among them at the age of fifteen. During his novitiate he professed his vows on 18 February 1827 and went on to make his solemn vows and his profession into the order on 19 February 1928. Upon profession he got the religious name Josep of Igualada. He underwent both philosophical and theological studies in the Franciscan convents of Girona and Calella. On 24 May 1834 he was ordained to the priesthood after the successful completion of his studies. Tous embarked to the convent of Santa Madrona in Barcelona but was forced to leave in July 1835 following the secularization of the area and the spread of anti-clerical sentiment. He spent his exile in France and preached Gareccio in Italy where he preached.