Saint Gaetano Catanoso Parish Priest, Founder

Working as a parish priest is a fulfilling calling but also challenging.  The priest must balance prayer, work and rest.  He is called to be a spiritual father to the people of his parish and those he comes into contact.  He may baptize an infant, console the sorrowful, hear confessions, pray for the dead, celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, see that a broken door is fixed, attend a meeting and oversee the financial matters of the parish all in one day.   The priest is called to act in ‘persona Christi’ – in the person of Christ.  The men God calls to the priesthood carry a heavy burden but are given many, many graces as well.

Gaetano Catanoso was born to a well to do family in a small town in Italy in 1879.  He was one of eight children.  His parents were not only wealthy land owners but faith-filled Catholics.  He was ordained a priest in 1902 and was assigned to a parish in a remote village.  Father Gaetano understood that he was called to bring the sacraments to the people.  But he also traveled great distances to bring hope to others.  In his parishes he revived devotion to Mary and the Eucharist, improved religious education and encouraged the people to observe the liturgical feasts.

He wanted to imitate the life of Christ by serving the poor whenever and wherever he could.  He would walk or ride on a donkey many miles to reach isolated mountain villages.  He founded an order of nuns called the Veronican Sisters of the Holy Face to help him.  The nuns were mostly young women from poor families.  They were inspired his humility, devotion and mission to give all to Christ.

With his help, the sisters built schools and nursing homes   Father Catanoso also founded the Poor Clerics to encourage priestly vocations.  He had a great devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus and encouraged others in this devotion by establishing the “Confraternity of the Holy Face” in 1920.  He worked as a spiritual director for religious institutions, a prison, hospital and seminary.

Although Father was a man of action, he understood the importance of prayer.  He often spent hours and sometimes entire days in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.   He was always striving to deepen his union with Christ and to do God's will. 

 He died on April 4, 196. Pope John Paul II beatified him on May 4, 1997.  Pope Benedict XVI canonized him on October 23, 2005.

 

 

Saint Marianne Cope

Woman religious, Comforter of the afflicted

 

Hanson’s disease, also known as “Leprosy” has afflicted humans for thousands of years. It is even mentioned in the in the bible.  For many years it was not known what caused the disease or how it was spread and so it was feared.   Those who suffered from the disease were shunned. In the middle ages, those with leprosy had to wear special clothing, ring a bell to warn others of their presence and to live in remote, isolated places away from the rest of society.  But there were people who saw beyond the stigma of a label and strove to help the sufferers.  One such compassionate person was Saint Marianne Cope. 

Mother Marianne, name Barbara was born in Germany in 1838. She was the oldest of nine children and her father was a farmer.  One year after she was born, her father moved his family to the United States to start a new life.  The family became naturalized citizens of their new country in the 1850s. 

Barbara heard God’s call to religious life at a young age. However, her father got sick and became an invalid.  Barbara quit school after the eighth grade and got a job in a factory to support her brothers and sisters.   Her father passed away in the summer of 1862. By that time her younger siblings were able to care for themselves.  One month after the death of her father, Barbara entered the Sisters of St. Francis in Syracuse, N.Y.

After taking vows, Sister Marianne was assigned to teach and eventually served as the principal in several schools.  She also help administrative positions within her congregation.  She helped to establish two of the first hospitals in central New York. 

In 1883, Mother Marianne, now the f Superior General of the congregation, received a letter from Hawaii asking for sisters to help in caring for those with leprosy. More than 50 religious institutes had already declined his request for Sisters to do this. She responded to the letter enthusiastically. . "I am not afraid of any disease…" was her generous response.

Six sisters arrived in Honolulu on November 8, 1883, Mother Marianne among them.   There were many trials during those early years.  They established Malulani Hospital on the island of Maui.  Mother Marianne was given charge of the hospital in Oahu. In 1887 government officials decided to close the hospital in Oahu and enforce the policy of sending patients with Hanson’s disease to the settlement for exiles on the Kalaupapa peninsula on the island of Molokai.  But who help Father Damien to care for the sick on Molokai?  Father Damien had spent many years living and working on Molokia and eventually he contracted the disease. 

Mother Marianna arrived at the settlement on Molokia several months before Father Damien died. She assured him that she would provide care for the patients there.  She and two sisters of her community cared for the patients at the Boys Home at Kalawao in addition to caring for the female patients on the island.

Cope died on August 9, 1918, due to natural causes and was buried at the Bishop Home.  In 2005, Blessed Marianne's remains were moved to the mother house of the congregation in Syracuse, N.Y.  She was declared a saint by Pope Benedict the XVI in 2011.

For more information visit Sisters of St. Francis, Syracuse, New York.

Or

Visit the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker

 

 

 

 

Father Emil Kapaun received the Medal of Honor.  Thanks to all who serve both God and country - especially the chaplains.

Saint Katharine Drexel
Foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament

If you had millions of dollars to spend, what would you do with it? What would be your dream? One wealthy young American woman decided the best use of her money was to serve those most neglected in our society - the Native and African Americans.

Katharine Drexel made the change from philanthropist to saint when she dedicated herself and her fortune to God by taking vows as a religious Sister in 1891. Katharine was born on November 26, 1858 into a wealthy Philadelphia family.  She enjoyed a life of travel, an excellent education and an interesting, exciting social life.  Her father and stepmother were devout Catholics who put their beliefs into action by helping the poor.  Thus Katharine learned to care for others.

After the death of her parents, Katharine and her two sisters inherited a fortune.  Her sisters married but Katharine was undecided about her future. She and her sisters supported various worthy causes.  Katharine took a special interest in the mission work done among the Native Americans as well as African Americans.

Her spiritual advisor suggested that she found a religious order to undertake this work.  Katherine decision to give her life to God as a religious Sister was the talk of Philadelphia.  With several companions she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The order was dedicated to the spreading of the Gospel among the Native Americans and African American populations as well as providing for their material well-being.

Raised in the lifestyle of the wealthy, she lived the life of a poor religious.  She was known to use pencils until they were stubs and sewed her shoelaces together when they broke rather than buy a new pair.

Mother Katherine spoke out against racism and resisted any attempts to stopthe establishment of schools even in the midst of hostility and threats of violence. She believed that it was in and through the Eucharist that the hostility and racism that separated people would be overcome.

She died on March 3, 1955 at the age of ninety-six.  She was canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II.

For more information read:
"Heroic Catholics of the Twentieth Century" By Sister Elizabeth Ann Barkett, SJW
New Hope Publications
New Hope, KY

or
Sister of St. Joseph the Worker
Walton, Ky