As the month goes on, it becomes more difficult to choose which Saint or Blessed to feature each day. This is not because there aren't as many to choose from - quite the opposite. I'm just not sure what my readers will find interesting and engaging. I hope this Blessed fits the bill.
He was born Ioan (John) Costiste in a village in the Principality of Moldavia (Romania) in 1556. As a child he developed the conviction that he wanted to go to Italy because that was where the best Christians were to be found. The fact that he was illiterate and knew only his own dialect and no other language did not deter him from leaving home at 19 to carry out his dream.
After serving as a physician's assistant for 5 years, he felt that he was not finding what he sought and resolved to return home. However, in 1579 he was admitted into the novitiate of the Capuchin friars where he was given the religious name Jeremiah. In 1585, he was assigned to the infirmary of the monastery of St. Ephrem the Old in Naples, where he would live out the rest of his life. He cared for the sick friars of the community as well as for the poor and sick of the city. He was noted for his compassion for the suffering seeing the people he cared for as "part of the suffering Jesus." Miraculous cures began to be associated with his nursing and prayers.
Jeremiah died of pleuropneumonia in 1625 at the age of 69. After his death he was clothed in the habit six times since the faithful snipped parts of it off as relics. The cause for his beatification was started in 1687, but remained stalled until 1905 when a biography of his life was published. He was beatified by St. John Paul II in 1983.
His feast day is May 8.
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