St. Joseph of Cupertino
September 18th
“Mystic... [whose mother] was obliged to give birth to her child in a stable. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker, but at the age of 17 he tried to be admitted to the Friars Minor Conventuals & was refused on account of his ignorance. He then applied to the Capuchins... where he was accepted as a lay-brother in 1620, but his continual ecstasies unfitted him for work & he was dismissed. His mother & his uncles abused him as a good-for-nothing, but Joseph did not lose hope. By his continued prayers & tears he succeeded in obtaining permission to work in the stable as lay help or oblate at [a] Franciscan convent... He now gave evidence of great virtues, humility, obedience, and love of penance... [In 1628,] on 28 March he was raised to the priesthood. Joseph was but little versed in human knowledge... he was able to read but poorly, yet infused by knowledge & supernatural light he not only surpassed all ordinary men in the learning of the …More