February 18 is the feast of Francis Regis Clet (1748-1820), a saint who only wanted a watch… and some money to follow it.
As he was fleeing persecution at age 70 he wrote… “I want none of this world’s goods, apart from a decent watch; only one of the ones you sent two years ago was any good. The others began by gaining an hour every day, and later two hours; then they all contracted a recurrent fever which led to their deaths, so if you’ve anything in the line of a decent watch I’d like you to send it along, and some money after it.”
Among the sites for further resources…
http://www.vincenter.org/res/word/cletlife.html Note that this site was the source of the above quote and has links to his life, times and words.
http://www.famvin.org/wiki/Francis_Regis_Clet
http://www.vincentian.org/newsletter/archive/0012/0012feature2.html
See also http://famvin.org/wiki/Category:Francis_Regis_Clet for images
Tags: CM, Congregation of the Mission, Francis Regis Clet, Vincentian Family