Saint Paschal Baylon (1540-1592)
Image: Saint Louis Catholic
(EWTN) Born in Spain Torrehermosa, Paschal’s parents were day-laborers and very virtuous and to their example, Saint Paschal Baylon is greatly indebted for their spirit of Christian devotion.
Their financial circumstances were too narrow for them to send Paschal to school but their devout son out of an earnest desire of attaining instruction, carried a book with him into the fields as he watched the lambs and desired those that he met to teach him the letters and thus in a short time being yet very young he learned to read. This advantage he made use of only to improve his soul in devotion and zeal for books about the lives of Saints and meditation on the life of Jesus Christ were his chiefest delights.
Paschal was able to pray while Shepherding the lambs and was especially attentive to the Church bell according to Franciscan Media which rang at the during the celebration of Mass — Paschal had a very honest streak in him and once offered to pay owners of crops for any damage that his lambs may have caused.
At the age of about 20 he left his family and friends to go to a solemn convent of Franciscans which stood in solitude, joining them, he entered into service, giving himself wholeheartedly to a life of penance and sacrifice. Though Paschal was urged to study for the Priesthood, he chose instead to remain a Lay Brother–at various times he served as a Porter, Cook, Gardener and would seek charity for the Franciscans.
Paschal was careful to observe his vows of poverty, he would never waste any food or anything given for use of the Franciscans. When Paschal would work as a Porter and would take care of the poor coming to the door, he developed a reputation of great generosity–the Friars sometimes attempted to moderate his liberality to the poor.
Spending his spare moments in prayer, the Holy sacrament of the alter and the Passion of our Divine Redeemer were Paschal’s most tender devotion. At the waning days of his life, Paschal spent a considerable part of the night at the foot of the alter on his knees in prayer.
Paschal died in Spain Villareal on this date in 1592 and was Beatified in 1618 by Pope Paul V and Canonized in 1690 by Pope Alexander VIII
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