In the Middle Ages, the church in Paderborn was still very young. To strengthen the people’s faith, the second bishop, named Badurad, sought a saint for his diocese. He was friends with the Bishop of Le Mans in France and asked him for help. With heavy hearts but very generously, the Bishop of Le Mans and the faithful there gave the relics of Saint Liborius, the founder of their diocese, to the Diocese of Paderborn in order to help the people there. This happened in the year 836. A peacock is said to have flown ahead of the procession from Le Mans to Paderborn. However, upon arrival in Paderborn, the peacock is said to have landed dead in the cathedral square.

Today, the Archdiocese of Paderborn has a hand puppet in the shape of a peacock as its mascot. The peacock is French and his name is Hugo Edmond Francois Jean Jacques de la Croix. He calls himself the “Count of Beautiful Peacocks”. He might be a little vain at times – as peacocks tend to be – but otherwise he’s a really nice guy. I like him a lot, and that’s why I invited him and the social media team from the Archdiocese of Paderborn to bring some joy to the residents of our building.

Last year, the “Action Happiness” was launched for the first time in the Archdiocese of Paderborn during the dark winter months. The aim was to bring joy to people in various ways and thus become a “light of happiness” for others. This wonderful initiative has now started again since the end of October. In this context, the social media team visited us with the peacock and filmed a lovely video. Count Hugo the Peacock thus became a source of joy for us all.

A few days ago, I unexpectedly received a package from the General Vicariate of the Archdiocese of Paderborn. Inside was a large tin full of sweets and a card from the social media team with a greeting from Count Hugo the Peacock. I received it as a thank you for my support with the whole project, and I was very pleased about it. Because yesterday was St. Martin’s Day, I went through the whole building with the tin and handed out sweets to the employees. This allowed me to bring them some joy and, in a way, I became a source of happiness for them myself. That brought me a lot of joy, too.

May this experience remind us that joy grows when it is shared. Let us continue to bring light to one another through small acts of kindness, and in doing so, become true bearers of happiness within our communities.

Written by Sr. Anke Junker FCJM