Born
in Paola, a small town in Calabria, Francis’ parents were humble,
industrious people, dedicated to the service of God. Childless after
several years of marriage, the couple prayed earnestly for a son, and
when, at last a boy was born to them, the grateful parents named him
Francis after the Poverello of Assisi.
At age thirteen Francis
was placed in the Franciscan friary of S. Marco where he learned to read
and where he began to tread the austere life he was later to live.
Two
years later, after a pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome, and with his
parents’ consent, Francis retired to a remote location by the sea where
he lived in a cave. Before he was twenty, he was joined by two others
who also sought a life of prayer in solitude. With help from some
neighbors, they built for themselves three cells and a chapel where they
sang the divine praises.
Seventeen years later a church and
monastery were built on the spot for them with the approval of the
bishop of Cosenza. The hermits were so beloved of the people that the
whole countryside joined in the work.
Penance, charity, humility.
This trinity formed the foundation of Francis of Paola’s rule, which
was particularly austere. In addition to the vows of obedience, poverty
and chastity, he imposed a fourth binding them to observe a perpetual
Lent, abstaining not only from meat, but also from eggs and milk
products.
The community received Papal approval in 1474, and in
1492 from being called Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi, they became the
“Minims” from their founder’s desire to be known as the least (minim)
in the kingdom of God.
Francis of Paola became universally
renowned as a wonderworker and prophet. In 1481, King Louis XI of
France, who was slowly dying, sent a messenger to the saint begging him
to hasten to France to heal him. Francis only acquiesced at the command
of the Holy Father to whom the monarch ultimately appealed. At the
French court the king fell on his knees before the humble
hermit begging for his healing. Francis explained that the lives of
kings are in the hands of God and have their appointed limits; prayer
should be addressed to God. Ultimately, changed in heart, the king died
resignedly in the saint’s arms. In gratitude, his son, Charles VIII,
became a great sponsor of the Order.
Francis spent twenty-five
years in France and died there on Good Friday of the year 1507 at the
age of ninety-one. He was canonized in 1519.
Friday, April 2, 2021
St. Francis of Paola
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