St. Maurice of Carnoet

As a monk of the Cistercian monastery of Langonnet, France, Maurice Duault, of Croixanvec, France, exhibited great humility, simplicity, and prudence. He was soon chosen to become Langonnet's abbot. Thereafter he was sent to found a monastery in the forest of Carnoet. The surrounding woods were menaced by aggressive wolves. Upon being asked by his fellow monks to pronounce an excommunication against all the wolves, Maurice reminded them that wolves and "all beasts created by God" should exist, for "God saw all things which he had made, and they were very good." But he added, "May Jesus Christ, and his holy Mother, whom I serve, drive out those wolves who rage violently in the slaughter of men." Shortly afterward, two large wolves were discovered lying dead near the monastery, evidently felled by the abbot's appeal to Jesus and Mary (for the animals showed no signs of injury that would explain their deaths). Among the many miracles attributed to the intercession of Saint Maurice following his death, a boy who had drowned was raised to life when his body was brought to the abbot's tomb.