ST PACIFICUS, PRIEST - 24 SEPTEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 24th of September

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST PACIFICUS, PRIEST

He was born at San Severino, in the March of Ancona, March 1, 1653; died there September 24, 1721; the son of Antonio M. Divini and Mariangela Bruni. 

His parents died when he was three years old; he suffered many hardships until in December, 1670. He then took the Franciscan habit in the Order of the Reformati, at Forano, in the March of Ancona, and was ordained on June 4, 1678, subsequently becoming Lector or Professor of Philosophy (1680-1683) for the younger members of the order, after which, for five or six years, he laboured as a missionary among the people of the surrounding country. 

He then suffered lameness, deafness, and blindness for nearly twenty-nine years. Unable to give missions, he cultivated the contemplative life. He bore his ills with angelic patience, worked several miracles, and was favoured by God with ecstasies. 

Though a constant sufferer, he held the post of guardian in the monastery of Maria delle Grazie in San Severino (1692-1693), where he died. His cause for beatification was begun in 1740; he was beatified by Pius VI, August 4, 1786, and solemnly canonised by Gregory XVI, May 26, 1839. His feast is celebrated on September 24. 

(From Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913)