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| St. Peter of Tarantaise |
History
Peter was born in France and joined the Cistercian Order
when he was 20 years old, along with his two brothers and his dad (his mom and
sister also entered the religious life). Peter had a great gift for hospitality.
When he was the abbot of Tamie in the Tarantaise Mountains, he built a hospice
for travelers. He always helped the poor, and he started a custom of providing
free bread and soup to farmers in spring, when their winter stores had been
used up but their new plants were not yet producing.
Activity
St. Peter of Tarantaise’s custom of distributing bread and
soup to farmers during their “hungry” springtime lasted for more than 600
years, until the French Revolution. And even today in France, people make “May
Bread” (pain de mai) all year round. It’s a delicious sandwich bread that
toasts beautifully. Here is a recipe with step-by-step photos (he bakes it in a
special pan, but a regular loaf pan works just as well). If you can, make an
extra loaf and some soup and take it to somebody in your parish whom you know
is having trouble making ends meet – a single mom, a disabled person, or an
elderly couple on a fixed income.
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