The Fifth Latter of St. Francis of Paola ~ 'May our blessed Lord Jesus Christ reign! Gaudeamus omnes; let us all rejoice'
Fifth Letter .[The original of the following letter is allegedly preserved in the city of Montalto in Calabria, Kingdom of Naples, and has been copied by John Baptist Francesco, a public notary:]
My Lord and Brother in Jesus Christ our Lord, — May his Divine Majesty reign in every place, namely, in heaven, upon earth, and even in hell. How spiritually blind are those persons who, having no thought about the things of God, fix their end in earthly objects! Wretched men! by far worse than the very beasts which are guided by their senses, because they cannot have reason; but when men abandon the use of their reason, they become brutalized. Hence they shall ever be in confusion. Let, therefore, the princes of this world be prepared for the greatest scourges to fall upon them. But from whom? First from heretics and infidels, then from the holy and most faithful Cruciferi elected by the Most High, who, not succeeding in converting heretics with science, shall have to make a vigorous use of their arms. Many cities and villages shall be in ruins, with the deaths of an innumerable quantity of bad and good men. The infidels also will fight against Christians and heretics, sacking, destroying, and killing the largest portion of Christians. Lastly, the army, styled of the Church, namely, the holy Cruciferi, shall move, not against Christians or Christianity, but against the infidels in pagan countries, and they shall conquer all those kingdoms with the death of a very great number of infidels. After this they shall turn their victorious arms against bad Christians, and shall destroy all the rebels against Jesus Christ. These holy Cruciferi shall reign and dominate holily over the world until the end of time. The founder of these holy men shall, my lord, be one of your posterity. But when shall this take place? When crosses with the stigmas shall be seen, and the crucifix shall be carried as the standard. May our blessed Lord Jesus Christ reign! Gaudeamus omnes; let us all rejoice who are in the service of the Most High, because the great visitation and reformation of the world is approaching when there shall be only one fold and one Shepherd.
F. Francis di Paola.
26th of March, 1490.
Image: Antonio Gaudi ~ Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
Music: Vox Templari ~ 'Ave Christus Rex (V-1)'
youtube.com/watch?v=knGZGlkgyJc