Saint Leonard of Port Maurice

Franciscan Priest (1767-1751)

His life

+ Paul Casanova was born at Porto Maurizio, on the Italian Riviera, in 1676.

+ After being disowned by his family for refusing to become a physician, he joined the Franciscans of the Strict Observance in 1697, taking the name Leonard.

+ Ordained a priest in Rome, Leonard went to Florence in 1709, and from there preached throughout Tuscany with great success. For six years he gave missions around Rome and he is remembered especially for his ardent promotion of the Stations of the Cross and to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception.

+ In 1744, Pope Benedict XIV sent Leonard to Corsica to preach and work for peace, but the friar was ultimately unsuccessful. Leonard eventually returned to Rome, where he died in 1794.

+ Honored as patron of parish missions, Saint Leonard of Port Maurice was canonized in 1867.

For prayer and reflection

“Oh Most Sacred Name, Name of peace, Balsam of life, which was the center of all the sighs of the most fervent lovers of Jesus. The sign of those who truly love Jesus is to bear Jesus imprinted in the heart and to name often and with devotion the Most Holy Name of Jesus.”—Saint Leonard of Port Maurice

Prayer

Almighty and merciful God, who made Saint Leonard an outstanding herald of the mystery of the cross, grant, by his intercession, that, acknowledging on earth the riches of the same cross, we may be worthy to attain the fruit of redemption in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from Franciscan Missal: A Supplement to the Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.