July 2 -- Saint Jacques Fermin

Monument on Isle La Motte, VT

It shouldn't be a great surprise to anyone that Vermont ranks as the least religious state in the Union, according to a 2012 Gallup poll.  If I remember correctly, that is a spot it has held for some time now.  In fact, going all the way back to the days of the reluctant republic, Ethan Allen authored a massive handbook for deists.  Of the top twelve least religious states in the Union, the six New England states are always included.  All of them, and Vermont leads the way.

So even though there is not much I can say about Father Jacques Fermin, a seventeenth century French Jesuit missionary who moved to Isle La Motte to evangelize the Mohawk, the Onodaga, and the Cayuhoga, I am glad to honor his feast today.  If the claim that he secured the conversion of 10,000 souls is true, perhaps he could lend a hand as Vermont's unofficial (except here, of course) patron.  After all, Our Lady of Grace , Vermont's only official patron, is the Queen of  the World, which is a lot to take care of.  And Vermont being what it is, it really could use the undivided attention of a patron.  Who better than a Jesuit who spent around forty years bringing the Gospel to the Green Mountains?