John of Prado was born in to a noble family in Spain. After studies at Salamanca University he became an Observant Franciscan. Though he wished to pursue mission work in North Africa, his superiors instead gave him preaching assignments at home. He filled various offices in his order, though at one time he was removed from office on account of some unfounded accusation. After his eventual vindication, he was given a new assignment as minister of the province of San Diego.
A number of Franciscans at the time were working in Morocco, particularly among Christian slaves. When they all died during an outbreak of plague, John asked permission to take their place. After being named apostolic missionary by Pope Urban VIII, he set off with two companions, In Morocco, he managed to gain access to the Christian slaves and ministered to them, bolstering their faith and providing the sacraments. When his activities were discovered, he was imprisoned in chains and forced to turn a grindstone. Brought before the sultan, he proclaimed his faith and refused to apostatize. After being scourged, he was again returned for examination. This time, John began to preach to the audience, which included a number of Christian apostolate. This enraged the sultan, who struck him to the ground and ordered his execution. He was burned alive in the public square, all the while singing Christ’s praises.
Humiliana was born in Florence to a noble family. Against her wishes, when she was sixteen, she was compelled by her father to marry a local nobleman. She subsequently bore three children, but it was an unhappy match. Her husband, who made his fortune through usury, treated her with disdain. She exacted private satisfaction through her acts of clandestine charity. When, five years later after their marriage, her husband fell ill and died, Humiliana announced her wish to devote herself, body and soul, to Christ. Ceding her husband’s fortune to his family, she requested only that they compensate all those he had defrauded.
Though she moved back to her father’s home, she chafed against the constant pressure on her to remarry. “Why do you torture me every day for a husband?” she demanded. “Bring me the one to whom you wish to hand me over, and on the other side, allow me to build a furnace, so that in the meantime, I shall choose in which of the two places I wish to be placed.” Defiantly, she put on the habit of Franciscan tertiary – becoming the first in Florence – and retired to a tower on her family’s property. This became her cell, which she left only to go to church, to care for the sick, or to beg alms for the Poor Clares.
She died on May 19, 1246, at the age of twenty-seven.
St. Felix was born to a peasant family in Cantalice. When he was twelve, he was hired out as a shepherd and plowman. He found such work conducive to meditation. A turning point in his life came when the team of oxen he was driving suddenly bolted, knocking him down and pulling the sharp plow across his body. When he found himself completely unharmed, he determined once to present himself for admission as a lay brother at the local Capuchin monastery of Citta Ducale.
Very quickly, Felix acquired a reputation for holiness. Even members of his community referred him as “the saint.” After making his final vows, he was sent to Rome, where he lived for forty years, serving the community’s official beggar for food and alms. People call him “Brother Deo Gratias,” for his habit of constantly giving thanks to God. Among his friends was St. Philip Neri, who read aloud to the illiterate brother the proposed rule for his new order and afterward incorporated his comments and amendments.
Felix was well know for his austerity. He walked barefoot, lived on little than bread crusts and table scraps, and was later found t have worn a shirt of iron links. If anyone insulted him he would reply, “I pray God that you may become a saint!”
He died on May 18, 1587, after receiving a vision of Our Lady. He was canonized in 1712.
St. Paschal, who was born in Spain, spent his early life as a shepherd. Though he had no formal education, he taught himself to read and write, and he enjoyed the long days and nights with his flock, which afforded hours of uninterrupted prayer. At the age of twenty-one, he applied for admission to a friary of reformed Franciscans of St. Peter of Alcántara, a community known for its strict poverty and austerity. Paschal adapted happily to this environment, assigned mostly to menial tasks and joining his brothers in care for the poor and sick.
What distinguished Paschal was his extraordinary devotion to the Eucharist. He would spend hours each night or early morning on his knees before the Blessed Sacrament. Often he volunteered to serve at one Mass after another. Even while he lived he was known as “the saint of the Eucharist.” And later, long after his death, he would be named the patron of all Eucharistic congresses and confraternities of the Blessed Sacrament.
On one occasion, Paschal was sent on a mission to France carrying letters for the minister general of the Observant Franciscans. It was a dangerous undertaking to cross Huguenot territory in his Franciscan garb, and several times he was stoned and severely injured. Nevertheless, he returned safely to resume his simple life.
He died on May 17, 1592, at the age of fifty-two. He was canonized in 1690.
I was born poor and am resolved to die in poverty and penance.
