Saint Francis Caracciolo
"The zeal of Thy house hath eaten me up!" - Saint Francis Caracciolo
Saint Francis Caracciolo was born from a noble family on October 13, 1563 in Villa Santa Maria, central Italy. Miraculously healed from a serious illness, he dedicated himself to the service of God and his people. He cultivated a great spirit of prayer. Notably, adoration before the Blessed Sacrament was his life; to it he dedicated as much time as possible. He prepared for and celebrated Mass with an edifying spirit of faith and devotion. Along with Venerable Augustine Adorno of Genoa and Fabrizio Caracciolo of Naples, he founded a new religious order, the Clerics Regular Minor, to assist the needs of the Church after the Council of Trent. Besides the goal and objectives common to other religious Orders and the three vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, he wanted to add a fourth vow: to not aspire to ecclesiastical honors. His life was like a long series of outstanding episodes which are reducible to the intervention of divine grace and authentic Christian charity for which he was called Father of the Poor, Preacher of the love of God, and the Hunter of Souls. He reached the summit of holiness when he was only 44 years old and rendered his soul to God on June 1, 1608, on the eve of Corpus Christi. He was canonized by Pope Pius VII in 1807. His Feast day in 4 June.
Prayer To Saint Francis Caracciolo
O God,
You have manifested Your love in the priest St. Francis Caracciolo
by making him an adorer of the Eucharist,
a preacher of Your Divine love,
an apostle to the poor the sick and the sinners.
Grant we implore You,
that we may imitate his love for Jesus in the Eucharist,
and spare no effort to work for the salvation of our brothers and sisters,
always for the greater glory of the Risen Christ.
Through the intercession of St. Francis,
we ask you to inspire many young men and women
to follow Christ totally in the spirit of prayer,
penance and zeal for the building of Your Kingdom here on earth.
Amen.
Merciful God,
I firmly hope that with Your help
and the good deeds done with Your grace
I will enter into your eternal glory.
Even if I have committed many grave sins,
even if I have lived a life of freedom
and turned away from You.
Even if I was guilty of all the sins
from the beginning of the world till today,
You, God of love and mercy
would forgive me.
I certainly hope with the help of Your grace
to overcome all difficulties of this life
to live in the land of the living forever.
Amen.
Saint Francis Caracciolo