Gabriel-Marie Nicolas

Gilbert Nicolas (c. 1462 – 27 August 1532), religious name Gabriel-Maria, was a French Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Order of Friars Minor. He co-founded – alongside Saint Jeanne de Valois – the Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1501. Nicolas met with both Pope Alexander VI and Pope Leo X in relation to the congregation's foundation and rule and was noted for his humble and meek outlook amongst his peers while also being known for his intelligence and diligence in the affairs of the congregation he helped establish.

The beatification process commenced in France. He was declared a Blessed by Pope Leo XIV on February 21, 2026.

Life Gilbert Nicolas was born in 1462 in the Kingdom of France. In 1478 a sermon that a Franciscan preacher gave on the topic of the Immaculate Conception moved Gilbert to consider the prospects of becoming a priest. An apostolic process later opened a decade later on 20 May 1927 as a means of continuing the work of the informative process.

The cause then halted for several decades until 2003 when a decree was issued to resume the process; the transfer of the competent forum from Rodez was issued on 21 July 2009 and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 2010 granted the official "nihil obstat" to the continuation of the cause. A diocesan process opened on 28 February 2013 and concluded its work on 2 June 2015. The postulator assigned to this cause is Giovangiuseppe Califano. The promulgation of the decree confirming his heroic virtues and longstanding cultus, under Pope Leo XIV, was made on 21 February 2026.