Paul of the Cross

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Saint Paul of the Cross
Saint Paul of the Cross
Confessors
birthday January 3, 1694 , Ovada
vow June 11, 1741
Date of death October 18, 1775 , Rome
Revered in Roman Catholic Church
Adorable February 18, 1821
beatification May 1, 1853
canonization June 29, 1867
Main church SS. Giovanni e Paolo , Rome
Firmly October 19th
“The service of God does not require good words and good wishes, but effective commitment, passion and courage.”
Saint Paul of the Cross
Convent of the Presentation in Monte Argentario , Tuscany
Memorial plaque in Poggio on Elba

Paul (or Paulus) of the Cross (Italian Paolo della Croce ), born as Paolo Francesco Danei (born  January 3, 1694 in Ovada , † October 18, 1775 in Rome ), was an Italian mystic and the founder of the Congregation on the Suffering of Jesus Christ . He is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church .

biography

St. Paul of the Cross is considered one of the greatest Catholic mystics of the 18th century. Paul, who came from a wealthy merchant family, had at the age of 19 an experience of conversion to a life dedicated to prayer . The early reading of the treatise on the love of God ( Theotimus ) of Francis de Sales and the spiritual direction by a priest of the order of the Capuchins taught him the primacy of love. The conviction that God could most easily be found in the Passion of Jesus Christ accompanied him throughout his life. He saw the suffering of Christ as the most overwhelming sign of God's love and at the same time as the door to union with God. He dedicated his life to spreading this message and creating a community whose members would do the same.

"I am Paul of the cross that Jesus crucified."

- St. Paul of the Cross

At the age of 26, Paul had a number of prayer experiences that convinced him that God invited him to found a community that would lead an evangelical life and proclaim the love of God revealed in Jesus' passion. In a vision he saw himself and his companions in the habit they would wear: a long, black tunic on which, under a white cross, there is a heart with the inscription "The Passion of Jesus Christ". During the vision he heard the words: "This is to show how pure a heart must be, in which the holy name of Jesus is engraved." The first name of the new community was "The poor of Jesus". She later became known as the "Congregation on the Passion of Jesus Christ" or "Passionist".

Encouraged by his bishop, who dressed him in the black habit of a hermit , Paul wrote the rule of the new community at the end of 1720 during forty days of reflection . The community should live a life of repentance, solitude, and poverty, teaching people the simplest way to contemplate the suffering of Jesus.

His first companion was his own brother, Johannes Baptist, who together with Paul on June 7, 1727 in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Pope Benedict XIII. was ordained a priest . After the ordination, they devoted themselves to preaching in parishes, especially in remote areas where there were not enough priests. Their preaching activities and the days of reflection they gave in seminaries and religious houses made their mission known, and the fellowship began to grow.

The hardships of the early Passionists did not attract large crowds, but Paul preferred slow, sometimes painful growth to spectacular. His main goal, in his own words, was to form “an exclusively God-centered, fully apostolic man”, “a man of prayer, detached from the world, from things, from himself, so that he could assume the name of a disciple of Jesus Christ wears right ”.

The first monastery was founded in 1737 on Monte Argentario ( Province of Grosseto ); the community had nine members. Paul called his monasteries "ritiro" (retreat) to emphasize the solitude and contemplative life he found necessary for those who wanted to preach the message of the cross. In addition to the common hour of prayer , the members of his community should devote at least three hours each day to contemplative prayer.

During his lifetime, Paul von Kreuz was best known as a preacher and spiritual guide. More than 2000 of his letters, most of which were devoted to spiritual accompaniment, have survived.

Paul of the Cross died on October 18, 1775 in the monastery of Saints John and Paul (at Santi Giovanni e Paolo ) in Rome. His congregation at that time comprised 180 priests and brothers who lived in twelve monasteries, mainly in the area of ​​the Papal States. There was also a monastery of contemplative sisters in Corneto (now Tarquinia ), which Paul founded a few years before his death to promote the memory of the suffering of Jesus in a life of prayer and penance and which still exists today.

Beatification and Canonization

Paul of the Cross was beatified on October 1, 1852 and on June 29, 1867 by Pope Pius IX. canonized. His feast day is celebrated on October 19th, earlier on April 28th .

Quotes

“It is an excellent and sacred practice to remember and meditate the passion of our Lords, for in this way we will attain union with God. In this exercise, the most sacred of all schools, we learn true wisdom, for here all saints have become wise. "

- From a letter of Saint Paul of the Cross

Fonts

  • Paolo della Croce: The Spiritual Diary of Saint Paul of the Cross. (Translated from: Martin Bialas) Pattloch, Aschaffenburg 1976, ISBN 3-557-91123-3
  • Paolo della Croce: There is salvation in the cross. A selection from his writings. (Translated and edited: Martin Bialas) Benziger, Zurich 1979, ISBN 3-545-20511-8

literature

Web links

Commons : Saint Paul of the Cross  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Paul of the Cross
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paul from the cross
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian Catholic mystic and founder of the Congregation for the Passion of Jesus Christ
DATE OF BIRTH January 3, 1694
PLACE OF BIRTH Ovada
DATE OF DEATH October 18, 1775
Place of death Rome