Cristy Li

St. Francis of Paola
Image: Holy Card Heaven

(CNA) Francis was born in the Southern Italian region of Calabria in 1416 his parents maintained a strong devotion to Saint Francis of Assisi naming their son after him. Francis’ parents had little in the way of wealth to pass onto their son except for a rich spiritual heritage with the hope that he may emulate his namesake.

Young Francis showed signs of a remarkable spiritual life following his parents lead in accepting poverty as a path to holiness. When his father placed him in the care of the Franciscans to be educated at the age of 13, Francis made a decision to live strictly according to the rules of the religious order.

After a year with the Franciscan Friars, Francis rejoined his parents as they made a pilgrimage to Rome Assisi and the historic Franciscan Church known as the Portiuncula–When Francis and his family returned home, he asked his parents their permission to live in religious seclusion and prayer, in the same manner as Saint Antony of Egypt (251-356) patriarch of Monks.

Francis’ pursuit of solitary communion with God attracted the attention of important figures, including several European Kings and other Nobility along with Pope’s and Bishops. Some of these men regarded Francis as a spiritual leader in a corrupt age, while others may have been more interested in his gifts of prophecy and miraculous healing. Francis subsequently traveled to France at the request of Pope Sixtus IV, taking along his nephew Nicholas. There the notoriously power-hungry King Louis XI was approaching the time of his death and hoped that Francis may perform a miracle and restore his good health.

When Francis met with King Louis XI he told him bluntly that he shouldn’t fear the end of his life but instead the loss of eternal life–From that time on, Francis became a close spiritual advisor to the King, discussing the reality of death and eternity with him, urging that he surrender his heart and soul to God before it was too late.

King Louis XI son and successor to the throne ‘Charles VIII’ maintained the Monk Francis as a close advisor in spiritual and even political affairs. Nonetheless, Francis persisted in following the Monastic Rule he had developed while living is seclusion and prayer outside of Paola, continuing as Superior General of the Minim Order, founding new monasteries in France.

Francis sensed his own death was approaching at the age of 91 and returned to living in complete seclusion and prayer for three months to prepare himself. When he finally emerged, Francis gathered a group of Minim Brothers and gave them final instructions for the Order–He received Holy Communion for the final time on this date (which was Good Friday) in the year of 1507

Pope Leo X, Canonized Francis just 12 years following his death. While the Minimi Order lost many of its monasteries since the French Revolution, it continues to exist with 19 convents, mainly in Italy.

More here from Franciscan Media

(EWTN) Born in France Chateauneuf, Hugh from the cradle appeared to be a child of Benediction–Hugh went through his studies with great applause and his religious devotion, always kept pace with his advancement in education.

Having chosen to serve God in ecclesiastical state, he was ordained and became a Canon in the Cathedral of Valence. In this station, the sanctity of Hugh’s life and his extraordinary talents earned him praise of the Church, his gentleness and affability won him the affection of his colleagues.

Hugh then the Bishop of Die but soon thereafter became the Archbishop of France Lyons for 52 years according to Franciscan Media and Cardinal Legate of the Holy See, he was reasonably effective in his role of a reformer. Hugh  fearlessly supported the Papacy and was an eloquent minister.

At the age of 80 Hugh Became a Carthusian Monk and lived 18 yrs in great humility and authority under Saint Bruno and his successors in the Great Chartreuse where he passed away in the year 1132 at the age of 100 and was Canonized by Pope Innocent II just two years later.