Franciscan saints and blesseds – Page 8

Saint Paschal Baylon

Lord God, You adorned Saint Paschal with wondrous love for the sacred mysteries of the body and blood of Your Son. Grant that we may derive the same spiritual riches from this divine banquet that he received.

This apostle of Eucharistic life in the Church has a brief biography here.

Saint Margaret of Cortona

Has God forgotten pity? Does he in his anger withold his compassion? This is my sorrow that the right hand of the Most High is changed, alleluia.

Heavenly Father, You take no pleasure in the death of the sinner but rather in the sinner’s conversion that he may live. As You mercifully drew Your servant Margaret from the path of damnation to the path of salvation, grant that we may serve You with pure hearts.

Read the story of this 13th century Third Order Franciscan penitent, Saint Margaret of Cortona, who sought to live in communion with Jesus, her Lord.

Saint Leopold Mandic of Herceg Novi

The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to free the downtrodden, and to proclaim the Lord’s year of favor.

O God, perfect unity and highest good, You filled Saint Leopold, Your priest, with kindness and mercy for sinners, and an ardent desire for unity among all Christians; through his intercession, may we be renewed in spirit and heart and confidently work for the unity of all Christians in the bond of peace.

Read a brief biography of Saint Leopold Mandic

Saint Ignatius of Laconi

I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. And in you men shall find a blessing, Alleluia.

Lord God, You led Saint Ignatius along the way of humility, innocence, and fraternal charity to the heights of sanctity. Help us to imitate his virtues and to practice charity on earth in word and deed.

Read a brief biography on Saint Ignatius of Laconi

Saint Ivo (Ives) of Brittany

He who serves me, follows me, says the Lord; and where I am, my servant will also be.

O God, You who chose Saint Ivo, Your priest, as a distinguished servant for the welfare of souls and as an advocate for the needs of the poor. Grant that we may imitate his charity and be protected in answer to his prayers.

Saint Ivo (Ives; 1253-1303) studied civil and canon law, Scripture and was known for his prudence, rectitude and the practice of charity. He joined the Franciscan Tertiaries (today known as the Secular Franciscan Order). In time he was ordained to the minor orders and then to the priesthood. Ivo’s good and holy preaching was well known among the people of Brittany leading others to change their lives to adhere to Christ more closely. In the service of the bishop he worked to prevent the state’s encroachment on the Church and he made sure the poor’s needs were met. Tradition has Saint Ivo as a patron of lawyers but not their model as exemplied in a translation of a Latin phrase: Saint Ivo was a Breton, a lawyer and not a thief, a marvelous thing for the people.

Saint Catherine of Bologna

Here is a wise and faithful virgin, one who went with lighted lamp to meet her Lord, Alleluia.

Lord God, You endowed the virgin Catherine with gifts from heaven. By imitating her goodness here on earth may we come to share her joy in eternal life.

Blessed Jeremiah Kostist of Wallachia

The Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Merciful God, You gave Brother Jeremiah of Wallachia the grace of imitating Your Son in serving his brothers and giving himself unconditionally in service for them. Help us to follow the evangelical way of humility and love, so that we may cooperate more fully in Your universal plan of salvation.

Blessed Benedict of Urbino

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings; announcing peace, bearing good news, and telling of salvation (antiphon from Is 52:7)

Holy Father, You exalted blessed Benedict of Urbino for his ardent love for the cross and the ministry of the Word, grant that we may follow his example, by living in this world in faith, justice and peace.

Blessed Benedict of Urbino (1560-1625) was born into a family of privilege who received a fine education in law prior to professing vows as a Capuchin Franciscan in 1584. His preaching and teaching effective for the salvation of souls, he walked with Saint Lawrence of Brindisi in preaching the gospel. His conversion to live the gifts of religious profession and priesthood happened when he called to a poor pregnant woman’s house to give the sacrament of the sick who was at death’s door. Upon realizing that no was called due to the lack of funds –that is, no good medical care for a pregnant woman is not new news– he stayed with the woman, baptizing the child until their death. His helplessness stirred his emotions which propelled him to be of greater help to women, especially the poor. Pope Pius IX beatified Benedict of Urbino on February 10, 1867.

Blessed Luchesio Modestini of Poggibonzi

Lord God, You made blessed Luchesio whom You called to repentance illustrious in performing works of piety and charity. Through his prayers and example may we bring forth worthy fruits of penance and always abound in good works.

Blessed Luchesio (Luchesius; Lucius) died in 1242 was the first to accept the invitation of Saint Francis of Assisi to live the Rule of 1221; today we call the people living this Rule the Secular Franciscan Order, or sometimes the Third Order Laity. Lechesio was a husband, a businessman, a penitent who was dedicated to prayer, penance and works of charity. But Luchesio was not always the most pious, bible believing, Christian man in his neighborhood: he had a reputation for being greedy and ambitious; he was the 13th century equivalent to our financial and political scam artists today.

Grace set to work on Luchesio and then he encountered Saint Francis who took Luchesio’s conversion another step deeper into the Christian life by giving witness to the possibility of becoming a saint by living a poor, obedient and chaste life in an effort to be holy.

May Blessed Luchesio look kindly upon the Secular Franciscan Order by asking the Lord for the gifts of faith, hope and charity and a life of humility.

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that he has made me his servant and judged me faithful, alleluia.

God, our Father, You were pleased to adorn Saint Fidelis with the palm of martyrdom. He burned with love for You in propagating the faith. Through his prayers grant that we may be firmly rooted in love and merit to experience with him the power of Christ’s resurrection.

An academician by training (philosophy and law) he knew the difficulties of being faithful in passing on the truth to eager students. It seems that university life was not particularly Christian in Saint Fidelis’ time as we would claim for our own. Even before his time as a Capuchin friar, Fidelis (in history he was Mark Roy) had a habit of frequent attendance at Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and works of charity among the sick and the poor.

At the age of 35 (a late vocation) Fidelis entered religious life having always wanted to be a Capuchin friar. He’s known to have lived a life of penance and prayer. As a newly ordained priest he celebrated his first Mass on the feast of Saint Francis making a strong personal connection with the man who changed civilization.

Early in his religious and priestly life the Capuchin superiors thought of Fidelis as a key figure in the counter-reformation. Designated a guardian of a friary in Switzerland, Fidelis set out to use his learning to lead the Calvinists and Zwinglians back to the Church. In fact, the Holy See missioned Fidelis to establish a preaching band to teach the true faith and to contradict the errors of Magisterial reformers in Switzerland. Angered by his faithfulness to Christ and to the Church, the radical, heretical Protestants ambushed Fidelis, hacking him to death. Prior to death, Fidelis witnessed to the mercy of Christ by asking God to forgive his killers. It is reported that Fidelis’ body, though in pieces, was incorrupt for a long period; at the request of the ecclesial authorities Fidelis’ remains were placed in two reliquaries for the faithful to venerate. Among the Capuchin saints, Saint Fidelis has the distinction of having the fewest years of Capuchin vows (he was only 9 years a friar) than the others at the time of his canonization.