Luigi Versiglia

 St. Luigi Versiglia - 1873-1930

Luigi was born in Pavia, Italy in 1873. His parents sent him to school at one of the oratories that the Salesians of Don Bosco managed. His childhood dream was to become a veterinarian. About 1887, St. Don Bosco saw something in the boy and told him that he would like to meet with him and tell him something important. Unfortunately, Don Bosco died before the meeting could take place. What was it that he wanted to tell the boy? Could it be that he foresaw the saint that Luigi would eventually become?

Luigi soon entered the Salesian Order himself and was ordained to the priesthood in 1895 (by special dispensation since he was under the canonical age for ordination). He served as Novice Master for the Salesians in Rome for about 10 years. In 1906, he led the first expedition for Salesian missionaries into China. He was to fulfill a dream that Don Bosco had had about the Church in China. Bosco had dreamt of a chalice filled with sweat and another filled with blood of Salesians. 

Luigi established the Motherhouse of the order in Macau, China. He and his fellow missionaries founded a school and an orphanage. They also established aged care homes and leper colonies. When he heard that the area in which he served was going to be made a vicariate, he wrote to his superiors asking that he not be made a bishop. But he was named the bishop anyway. He refused to let his new office keep him from serving his people and spent much of his time traveling to every corner of his diocese. 

On February 25, 1930, Luigi was traveling with another priest, St. Callisto Caravario, by boat to visit a mission along the river. Communist pirates boarded the boat. When they realized that the pirates planned on abducting an enslaving three young women who were also traveling on the boat, the priests shielded the women and tried to fight the pirates off physically. The pirates knocked them unconscious and bound them. The priests came to their senses and, while watching the pirates rummaging through their luggage, they heard each other's confession. They were dragged off the boat into the thicket, and both were shot. Their bodies were found two days later and the girls who had been captured were released within a week. They never forgot how their spiritual Fathers fought and laid down their lives for them.

His feast day, shared with his brother priest St. Callisto, is February 25. St. Luigi and St. Callisto, pray for us.

For All The Saints

 Happy All Saints' Day! 

I suspect that in most Catholic churches, at least those in the U.S., the song, "For All the Saints" was sung at Mass today. My favorite verse is: 

O blest communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.

This verse speaks, in poetic language, of the communion of saints and the oneness of the Body of Christ, which cannot be separated by physical death. That is why I love to read about the Saints and get to know them. We are all one in Christ and I know that they always have my back. 

This morning at Mass, another verse struck me. This one is really about tomorrow's feast of All Soul's Day, and it brought me to tears remembering Dad who passed last year:

The golden evening brightens in the west;

Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;

Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.

But that is not the subject of this post. 

In a sermon, St. Bernard, the abbot, said, "Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven . . . " So let us make friends with those "citizens of heaven" now, in whatever limited way that we are able. 

I did not do a very good job last year in keeping up with this little project. Sometimes, it is just not as easy to come up with what to post. So, this year, I have decided to choose an over-all theme for the month of Saints. I hope that will make choosing a Saint each day a little easier. About 5 weeks ago, I had the tremendous privilege of attending the Beatification of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen. I did a post on Fulton Sheen back in 2019, when he was still s "Venerable" (Joyful Spirit: Ven. Fulton J. Sheen), but it got me to thinking. Blessed Fulton died when I was 13 years old - his life span and mine overlapped. There are still people alive today who met the new Blessed in person - and many more who remember watching him on TV. 

Too often, we Catholics think of the Saints as people who lived a long, long time ago. Their life stories seem to be a combination of legend and myth. But Sainthood is not a relic of the past. There are still Saints-in-the-making walking among us today. There may have even been someone at Mass with me this morning who will someday be raised to the altar as a Canonized Saint - and more who may never be publicly recognized as Saints but will still reach the glory of heaven. With that in mind and as an encouragement for those of us who "feebly struggle", this month I plan to feature modern Saints. These are people who lived in the 20th century; whose life stories are not pious legends but were documented and photographed. 

I would like to acknowledge Wikipedia for their help in providing me with a list of 20th century Saints and Blesseds and also Meg Hunter-Kilmer and her book "Pray for Us" which has provided much inspiration. 

Jane Frances de Chantal

 I have been reading a book of St. Francis de Sales letters, primarily letters of spiritual direction. St. Francis is noted as one of the best Spiritual Directors, if not the absolute best, in the history of the Church. I had the opportunity to be in Spiritual Direction for a short while. I must say that my Spiritual Director was top notch also and I miss it and him.  I compensate by taking Spiritual Direction vicariously from St. Francis through his letters. One of the downsides is that I get jealous of the relationship that St. Francis had with his spiritual children, especially his love for his most well-known spiritual daughter, St. Jane Frances de Chantal.

Jeanne-Francoise (to give her the French form of her name) was born in Dijon, France (where the mustard comes from) in January 1572. Her father was president of the parliament. He was the primary influence on her education since her mother died when she was only 18 months old. She developed into a beautiful and refined young woman and married the Baron de Chantal when she was 20 or 21 years old. 

It seems that they were happy in their marriage. They hosted hunting parties and other entertainments for neighboring nobles and had six children together, three of whom died in infancy. The Baron was often away from home in service to the king, but Jane was an excellent manager of the estates and of the family. After seven years of marriage, the Baron was killed in a hunting accident. The broken-hearted widow took a vow of chastity. She took her children and went to live with her demanding father-in-law, at his insistence. 

In 1604, Jane's father invited her to come to Dijon to hear the Bishop of Geneva preach Lenten sermons at the Sainte Chapelle. This was her first encounter with St. Francis de Sales. They soon became friends, and he became her Spiritual Director. When she told him of her desire to become a nun, he advised her to defer that decision. He also advised her to mitigate some of the austerities she wanted to practice. 

After three years, Francis told Jane of his plans to found an order of women religious that would be a haven for women whose age, health or other considerations barred them from joining other established orders. He wanted the sisters to be free of the cloister and able to undertake spiritual and corporal works of mercy. They were to exemplify the virtues of Mary at the Visitation - hence the name the Visitation Nuns. The congregation consisting of three women began when Jane Francis was 45. The order had 13 houses by the time de Sales died and 86 before Jane Frances herself died at the age of 69. She was buried next to St. Francis de Sales in the order's convent in Annecy, France.

St. Jane Frances is the patron Saint of forgotten people (I think that is all of us at one time or another), in-law problems, and widows. Her feast day is August 12.

St. Jane Frances, pray for us.

Blessed Gonsalo of Amarante

 My apologies to my faithful readers (all 4 of you), but I seem to be struggling with lack of inspiration this month. I'm going to dive back into Butler's Lives of the Saints, although sometimes I wonder why they have included some of the Saints that they have. Many of the stories seem to be of questionable origin and authority. For instance, the listing for Bd Gonsalo of Amarante begins like this, "It must be confessed that many of the incidents recorded in the life of Bd Gonsalo (Gundisalvus), a Portuguese of high family, are not of a nature to inspire confidence in the sobriety of his biographer's judgement."

Gonsalo was born in 1187. It was said that when he was carried to the baptismal font as an infant, he fixed his eyes on the crucifix with a look of extraordinary love. He was devoted to Jesus as a child and decided to become a priest. He then gave his inheritance to his nephew and embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He was gone for many years and upon his return, his nephew set the dogs on him as a vagrant.

He was supernaturally (I can't seem to find out how) directed to enter that order in which the office began and ended with the Ave Maria. He accordingly became a Dominican but was allowed to live as a hermit. During this time, he built a bridge over the Tamega River. He did a lot of the work himself, but he did have some help. When the laborers who were assisting him ran out of wine, he prayed and then struck a rock with his stick and an abundance of the finest wine flowed forth. Another instance when food ran low, he went to the riverside, summoned the fishes who came at his call and jumped out of the river. 

Gonsalo was also known for his powerful homilies. We are told that in an attempt to make the people understand the effect of the Church's censures upon their souls, he excommunicated a basket of bread. The loaves at once became black, rotted and inedible. Then to show the effects of grace on the repentant soul, he removed the excommunication, and the loaves once again became white and fresh. 

Bd. Gonsalo died of natural causes on January 10, 1259. His feast day is January 16.

Blessed Gonsalo, pray for us.

Josaphat

 Jumping Jehoshaphat!!

This exclamation reminds me of Loony Tunes or Beverly Hillbillies. A mild oath that was popular in the twentieth century - meaning nothing but expressing surprise or consternation. Somewhat stronger than Gee Willikers. Why do I bring this up? Whenever I hear the name of today's Saint, the phrase "Jumping Jehosaphat!" always come to mind - even though it has nothing to do with him.

St. Josaphat was born in 1580 in Ukraine and was baptized in the Ruthenian Uniate Church as Ivan (John) Kunchych. In 1604, he entered the monastery of the Trinity of the Order of St. Basil the Great in Vilnius. He was given the religious name Josaphat. In the monastery, he entered into a life of fasting, prayer and study. Fellow monks often found him kneeling in the chapel late at night praying, "Lord, make us one." It was also reported that he prayed the Jesus Prayer so constantly that he was heard praying it in his sleep. 

When Josaphat was ordained to the Deaconate, he had already begun to labor for the Church. His efforts resulted in an increase of novices for the order which fed a revival of Eastern Catholic monastic life. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1609. On November 12, 1617, he was consecrated as the coadjutor archeparch (equal to an Archbishop in the western church) of the Archeparchy of Polotsk. As Eparch, he inherited a divided church. The wounds of the Great Schism still bled between East and West. Some of his flock desired unity with Rome while other resisted fiercely. Josaphat refused to see enemies - only family torn apart by misunderstanding. He preached peace, upheld ancient Eastern traditions and worked for reunion under the Pope's authority. His efforts led to many conversions and a more devoted clergy, but enemies accused him of betraying his people. He was known for her fervent sermons and defending unity with Rome. He was nicknamed "thief of Souls." 

In 1623, a violent mob, inflamed by anti-Catholic sentiment, attacked the Eparch's residence. On November 12, he was beaten and dragged through the streets. His body was tied to stones and thrown in the river. His feast day is November 12. In 1867, Pope Pius IX canonized him as a martyr for Christian Unity. 

St. Josaphat, pray for us.

Anna Wang

 I have subscribed to a flocknote called Breakfast with the Saints and I have to credit them with the inspiration for the post today. This is a Saint that is entirely new to me, and I find that these are often my favorite posts. 

Anna Wang was born to a poor but devout Catholic family in Majiazhuang, Hebei, China in 1886. Her mother died when she was only five years old, but she was blessed to have the guidance of Sister Lucy Wang to continue the faith formation that her mother had started. When Anna was 11, her family tried to force her into an arranged marriage, which was common at that time. Anna resisted strongly motivated by her desire to serve God and remain faithful to her Catholic beliefs. 

Just a few years later, on July 21, 1900, the village was invaded by anti-Christian members of the Boxer Rebellion intent on destroying the church and killing Christians and foreigners. The Boxers rounded up Christians and demanded that the renounce their faith or face death. Many complied in order to safeguard their children and families. Anna spent her final hours in prayer for solace and strength. She resolutely refused to denounce her faith and encouraged others to remain strong. 

Anna was beheaded at the age of 14, on July 22, 1900. Her body was thrown into a mass grave. Over a year later, her body was exhumed for a proper burial. 

Although specific patronages have not been assigned to Anna, she is unofficially a patron of China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, youth, the innocent and the Chinese Diaspora. Her feast day is July 22.

St. Anna Wang, pray for us.

Pope St. Leo III

 I received a request to talk about St. Leo the Great today on his feast day. I did a post about Leo the Great a few years ago, and I don't like to repeat, so here is a link to the prior post - Joyful Spirit: Pope St. Leo the Great

I don't like to repeat because there are so many Saints that I have not learned about yet. So today, we will learn about one of St. Leo the Great's namesakes.

Pope St. Leo III was born in Rome to Asupius and Elizabeth. He is believed to have been of Greek origin. He was made cardinal-priest of Santa Susanna by Pope Adrian I. He was also vestiarius, or chief of the pontifical treasury. He was elected to the papacy on December 26, 795, the date of Pope Adrian's funeral, and was consecrated the next day. With the letter he sent to the Frankish King, Charlemagne, informing him of his election, St. Leo also sent the keys of the confession of St. Peter and the standard of the city. Charlemagne was recognized as protector of the Holy See and gifted Pope Leo with treasures that allowed him to be a great benefactor of churches and charitable institutions. On Christmas Day in 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Emporer.

Pope Leo III died in 816 after a reign of over 20 years. His Feast Day is June 12.

Pope Saint Leo III, pray for us.