Catherine (Katie) Booth-Clibborn (1858-1955) (Pt II ) After just 3 months in Paris, Katie’s brother Bramwell, visited the SA work, and heard the testimonies of 70 newly saved saints from sad and sordid backgrounds. But the work did not only touch the lives of the ‘down and outs’for sons and daughters of gentry and wealthy merchants alike shunned titles and inheritances for service to their Saviour. Kate was the talk of Paris which fondly named her ‘la Maréchale’ (the Field Marshall).
On her way to and from the hall, she would often greet a Roman Catholic priest. One day he stopped and said, “Madame, la Maréchale, I want to tell you that since you began your work in this quarter of Paris, the moral atmosphere of the whole place has changed.” He went on to say how he had known these people for decades and that he never imagined that they could change.
Kate and the SA branched out into Switzerland the following year and it was here that her darkest hour became her greatest victory. Arrested and tried for being a woman and speaking in public, Kate defended with perfect reasoning that if she and her co-worker had been dancers, actresses or singers, there would be no dispute over them appearing in public. In spite of having nothing to retort, her defence was rejected. The truth was that in 6 weeks in Geneva the SA meetings had profoundly affected all Theatre attendance as hundreds had attended and many repented. The hours in a police cell had been dark, yet God met with her and she returned to Paris to find she was a household name.
At age 28, the Maréchale, married Arthur S. Clibborn from Bessbrook, near Newry. Clibborn had been sent to Paris to assist with the SA work. Together they had ten children, all of whom were saved by age 5 and nine of whom went in to full time ministry.
The ministry of Arthur and Kate Booth-Clibborn soon extended beyond France, to Holland, Belgium, the USA, UK and Ireland. Thousands heard her speak in capacity-packed meetings in Dublin in the 1920s. Significantly, their ministry took on new life when the Spirit of God was poured out upon their children at home in a real Pentecost which convinced them of the reality of this new movement. So rich and full is the fruit of their long ministry lives that a full reading thereof is highly recommended. The Maréchale, by James Strahan, or the The Maréchale’s own work, They Endured and Our Children, are to be found second hand, but most worthwhile and inspiring.
On her way to and from the hall, she would often greet a Roman Catholic priest. One day he stopped and said, “Madame, la Maréchale, I want to tell you that since you began your work in this quarter of Paris, the moral atmosphere of the whole place has changed.” He went on to say how he had known these people for decades and that he never imagined that they could change.
Kate and the SA branched out into Switzerland the following year and it was here that her darkest hour became her greatest victory. Arrested and tried for being a woman and speaking in public, Kate defended with perfect reasoning that if she and her co-worker had been dancers, actresses or singers, there would be no dispute over them appearing in public. In spite of having nothing to retort, her defence was rejected. The truth was that in 6 weeks in Geneva the SA meetings had profoundly affected all Theatre attendance as hundreds had attended and many repented. The hours in a police cell had been dark, yet God met with her and she returned to Paris to find she was a household name.
At age 28, the Maréchale, married Arthur S. Clibborn from Bessbrook, near Newry. Clibborn had been sent to Paris to assist with the SA work. Together they had ten children, all of whom were saved by age 5 and nine of whom went in to full time ministry.
The ministry of Arthur and Kate Booth-Clibborn soon extended beyond France, to Holland, Belgium, the USA, UK and Ireland. Thousands heard her speak in capacity-packed meetings in Dublin in the 1920s. Significantly, their ministry took on new life when the Spirit of God was poured out upon their children at home in a real Pentecost which convinced them of the reality of this new movement. So rich and full is the fruit of their long ministry lives that a full reading thereof is highly recommended. The Maréchale, by James Strahan, or the The Maréchale’s own work, They Endured and Our Children, are to be found second hand, but most worthwhile and inspiring.
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