Saint of the Eucharist: St. Paschal Baylon

St. Paschal Baylon was born on the feast of Pentecost in 1540 in Terre Hermosa, Spain. His parents were poor and grew up tending animals. He was endowed with great piety, and soon gained the respect of the other boys. After receiving a vision, he was inspired to become a Franciscan, and though he was offered a great fortune as an inheritance, nevertheless at 24, begged to be received by the Friars minor at Monteforte. He could always be found with a rosary and had great devotion to the Blessed Virgin. His heart glowed so much with the love of the Holy Eucharist that he received a vision of the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance, supported by angels. In de Porrentruy’s flowing prose, based upon the canonization documents, you’ll learn:

— The depths of holiness of Blessed Paschal,

—His great devotion to Our Lady

—His journeys to France to battle the Huguenots

—The flood of miracles which took place after his death.

St. Paschal is the patron of the Eucharist and Eucharistic Congresses.

“Now, in the glorious ranks of those, the ardor of whose piety towards the great Mystery of the faith was more evident and overflowing, Paschal Baylon holds a most prominent place; for, being gifted with a soul which aspired above all things to Heaven, he embraced a severer mode of life, entering the Order of Minors of the Strict Observance, and from the contemplation of the Holy Eucharist he derived that science and wisdom which placed him, though formerly an unpolished and illiterate man, in a position to solve the most difficult questions of the faith.” —Pope Leo XIII