Walking with the Saints l Feast of St. Francis of Paola, Patron Saint of all Mariners, Boatmen and Naval Officers l April 2
Have you heard of the Order of Minims? It is a religious Order founded in 1435 in Calabria, Italy. The members live a life of prayer, penance and humility while taking care of the poor, the sick the old and the neglected. They consider humility as their primary virtue and regard
themselves as the least (minimi in Italian) of all religious. Our saint for today, St. Francis of Paola was its founder. Francis was born on March 27, 1416 in Paola, Calabria. His childless parents prayed to God through the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi to give them a child, and God
gifted them with a boy whom they named Francis. Two other children followed him. When he was small, Francis had a swelling which endangered his eyes and
again his parents prayed and had him wore the “little habit” of St. Francis, a practice common in the middle ages. They made a vow that the little boy would become a friar someday. He recovered and later he would establish a friary to fulfill the vow of his parents. Francis was educated in a Franciscan friary. When he was a teenager, together with his parents, they went on a pilgrimage to
Assisi, to Rome and to other places of devotion. On their return, Francis chose a secluded cave in his father’s farm and lived there in solitude. He later moved to a more hidden place near the seacoast of Paola where he stayed for six years, fasting, praying and ministering to the poor.
Soon, two men came to join him and Francis had
three cells built and a chapel. The following year, they started the foundation of the Hermits of Saint Francis of Assisi, which would later become the Minim Friars.
Humility was their hallmark in imitation of the life of St. Francis. Besides the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, they had a fourth vow not to eat
meat and other animal products. The rule of life created by Francis was not only very strict but also severe. They would seek to be hidden and not to be known
by other people. His followers gradually increased and in 1454, with the permission of the Bishop, Francis built a monastery and a church. The rule that Francis wrote was approved by Pope Alexander VI, who was responsible in
changing their names to MINIMS. Then Francis founded several new monasteries in Calabria and Sicily. He also established monasteries for nuns and a Third Order for those living in the world. These foundations are now working in many
When King Louis XI of France was ill, he sent an embassy to beg Francis to see him. Francis was hesitant, considering himself unworthy, but the Pope ordered
him to go. He went, assisted the king in his illness and was present when the king died. He became tutor of the king’s heir, Charles VIII. Charles treated Francis kindly. He built monasteries for the Minims. Charles’ successor, Louis
XII was also close to Francis and often consulted him. He would not permit Francis to go back to Italy, so Francis spent the rest of his life in France, near the court of the king. He never asked to be ordained as priest. At the age
of ninety-two, he spent his last three months in prayer and solitude preparing for his death. He died in Tours, France on Good Friday, April
2, 1507. He was beatified on November 1, 1518 and was canonized by Pope Leo X on May 1, 1519. He is the patron of mariners, boatmen and naval officers. His feast day is April 2.
piety, humility, charity, obedience, integrity, detachment, loyalty and generosity.
“Lord God, help us to imitate the humility and meekness of St. Francis of Paola.”
