“We are not saints…” UNTIL NOW! –

May 12, 2021 – Born in 1856, Talbot started drinking at age 12, and for more than 16 years afterward was mired in addiction — even “pawning his own clothing and boots” for alcohol, said Father Braschoss.

When friends refused to buy him a drink one evening, a penniless 28-year-old Talbot took a three-month sobriety pledge, eventually extending it to a lifetime commitment through the Dublin-based Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart.

Talbot went on to lead a quiet, ascetic life that included daily Mass, prayer, Scripture reading and charitable works. Fatally collapsing on a Dublin street en route to church, he was discovered to have regularly worn chains under his garments.

The links “were not for show,” said Father Braschoss, but rather served “as a reminder that he wanted to be a chosen slave of Mary and our Lord, instead of a slave to drink.”

Pope Paul VI declared Talbot “venerable” in 1975, and the Irishman is now invoked as an intercessor by a number of ministries for those suffering from addiction, including the Calix Society, which was founded in the U.S. some 20 years after Talbot’s death. The global Catholic recovery group, based in Glenside and named after the Latin word for “cup,” ensures 12-step-based sobriety by promoting sanctification through the sacraments. Meetings generally feature Mass, eucharistic adoration, the rosary, reflection and fellowship.

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