Called to found a religious Order dedicated to contemplating and making reparation for the Passion of Christ, he was asked to undergo sorrow and perplexity, as the groundwork of his great work.
The Passionist religious perceived that the death of their spiritual father was at hand. Accordingly, they alerted the Pope as to the gravity of his condition and set about organizing a funeral on a par with such a great founder. However, when he learned the news, the Pontiff sent a command to the dying man: you must remain on this earth some time longer!
Despite his desire to depart for Heaven, St. Paul of the Cross, who had been bedridden for 18 months, submitted to the order of the Vicar of Christ and, against all expectations, regained his health in order to carry forward the final projects of his work.
Preparation for the future
On January 3, 1694, Paul Francis was born in the little town of Ovada, Italy, the firstborn of the Danei family. From his earliest childhood, a strong leaning toward piety blossomed in his soul, fuelled by the Catholic formation he received at home. “If I am saved, as I hope, it is due in great part to the education I received from my mother,”1 he would later comment.
His play consisted in building altars to Our Lady with his brother John Baptist. Sometimes, as a penance, he spent the night in the barn, sleeping on planks or the ground. Thus unfolded the childhood of two brothers whom God was tenderly preparing for a lofty mission.
At 19, upon hearing a sermon by the parish priest, what he called his “conversion” took place. Profoundly moved, he asked the priest to hear his general Confession and, from then on, his life became one of sacrifice and separation from the world, in an ardent desire to give himself solely to God. He wondered if God might want him to fight for Him, and so in 1715 he enlisted in the army formed by the Republic of Venice for the defence of a Europe threatened by the Ottomans. But, something within him said that this was not the divine will.
The vocation takes shape
In 1720 he had a vision, in which, he relates, “I saw myself in spirit, clothed with a black tunic which reached the ground, having a white cross on the breast, and under the cross was written the Most Holy Name of Jesus in white letters.”2 However, he was not sure if God was calling him to the hermetic life, to enter a religious order, or perhaps to found a new community. He had received some divine inspirations, but none of them had explicitly revealed his mission.
He consulted three priest friends, and at the urging of one he went to see the Bishop of Alexandria, Francisco Arborio di Gattinara, who subjected him to rigorous scrutiny, and perceiving God’s hand in his intentions, finally clothed him with the penitential tunic which he had seen himself wearing in the vision.
He began to live on charity, in prayer and recollection, in a small room beneath the stairway of the sacristy in St. Charles of Castellazzo Church. There he wrote the rule for his future congregation in just five days, “as quickly as if somebody in a professor’s chair were there to dictate to me.”3
The first missions
After journeying to Rome in an unsuccessful attempt to request the Pope’s assistance in the discernment of his calling, he went, at the behest of Bishop Gattinara, to the Hermitage of St. Stephen. This time he was accompanied by his brother John Baptist, also clothed in the black penitent’s tunic.
A few months later they settled in the Hermitage of the Annunciation in Monte Argentario, in the Tuscan Diocese of Pitigliano, which Paul had passed on his return from Rome. Isolated from all, the two brothers more diligently dedicated themselves to penance and meditation on holy things, modelling themselves on the Passion of the Saviour. They slept only a few hours a night, rising several times to pray. Living on alms, they took only one meal per day, eating herbs and roots gathered in the region.
At the same time, their missionary life began. The diocesan Bishop Fulvio Salvi judged that the vocation of the brothers was not to be strictly solitary, and sent them to instruct the faithful in the cathedral, to visit families and prepare the agonizing for death. Paul also settled disputes between enemies and many declared bandits changed their ways due to his influence.
Thus they went from city to city, carrying with them a large crucifix. “His words will be so many sparks of fire, if they proceed from a heart inflamed with love, his reproaches will be piercing darts if they are directed by a strong and ardent zeal, his threats will be thunderbolts to strike sinners, if his virtue is a bright burning light before men.”4
This fruitful missionary action stemmed from deep contemplation and piety. In fact, they spent long hours kneeling in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament; they were always the first to enter the church and the last to leave.
Frustrated beginnings of the congregation
The two brothers’ reputation for sanctity reached the ears of the Bishop of Gaeta, Dom Pignatelli, who invited them to carry out their apostolate in his city. Discerning God’s call in this request, they began, in the summer of 1723, with great austerity, to live in the Hermitage of Our Lady of the Chain, close to the city, where some hermits already resided.
Subsequently, alternating between the active and contemplative life, both brothers arrived at Troia on mission, in the Holy Year of 1725, where they were received by Bishop Cavallieri. Paul revealed to him the plans for his long-desired foundation and the prelate, having read the rules attentively, affirmed: “This is a work entirely of God. You will see how it will progress, even if it be by mysterious ways.”5 With letters of presentation, Bishop Cavallieri sent them to Pope Benedict XIII.
Filled with hope, the two travelled to Rome, where their unique apparel attracted the attention of Msgr. Crescenzi, canon of St. Peter’s Basilica, who approached them on the street and inquired about it. Enchanted with the humility of these two men of God, he presented them to Cardinal Corradini, who invited them to offer their services at St. Gallican Hospital and promised to introduce them to the Pope. The opportunity for this long-awaited encounter occurred during the Supreme Pontiff’s visit to the Church of St. Mary in Navicella. There, on their knees, the two Danei brothers presented their plans to the Pontiff who listened, and authored them “‘with his own lips’ to carry out the divine inspiration they had received.”6
They returned to Gaeta to begin the congregation with their brothers of the hermitage, but the attempt was frustrated by the heterogeneity of the meagre community. Some were daunted by the austerities of the life, while others were put off by the merely verbal approval of the Pope. Consequently, Paul and John Baptist set off alone for Itri, where in solitude and penance they awaited an inspiration of grace.
Priesthood and, at last, the foundation
Without giving up on their resolution, in the middle of August of 1726, they decided to move to Rome, to take up service at the hospital and prepare themselves for the priesthood: “If God wants us to found something, as He has made clear to us, then it will be indispensable to be priests,”7 they thought.
In a few months they received Minor Orders, and on June 7, 1727 they were ordained priests by Benedict XIII himself. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the words “Deo gratias” escaped his lips, although it was not part of the ritual, “as a premonition of the good that the Church would receive from the two new priests.”8
In the following year, they obtained permission from the Pope to once again withdraw to the seclusion of Monte Argentario and, in a short time, the first companions joined them, including Anthony Danei, one of their brothers. It was the long-awaited beginning of the hermetic congregation dedicated to the contemplation of the Passion of the Saviour, the Poor of Jesus. God’s will had been made clear.
The small work grew slowly. Many came to the Hermitage of St. Anthony the Abbot where they resided, to receive the Sacraments, attracted by the odour of sanctity of the brothers.
Trials: the support of the institute
On one occasion, while Paul prayed before the Blessed Sacrament, in Orbetello, Our Lord appeared to him, declaring that the first retreat – as the houses of the Passionists would be called – in honour of the Presentation of the Virgin would be built in that city. Notwithstanding, it was only possible to begin construction two years later, Paul having drawn up the plan himself, harmonizing “holy poverty with monastic decency.”9
He was destined to undergo many trials in the progress of his work, for it was necessary that his own soul experience the abandonment of Christ on the Cross. He was the object of countless calumnies and misunderstandings, problems within the community itself and in Rome. Despite the verbal support that Benedict XIII had granted years earlier, after his death the doors closed to the approval of the institution’s rule.
Following in the footsteps of Jesus crucified, Paul experienced periods of sorrow and perplexity. “God punishes me, but with a loving hand. And the more the problems increase, the more I trust in the Lord,”10 he once said. Providence made him wait more than a decade, for only when Benedict XIV – Cardinal Lambertini, who had helped him greatly in his early days in Rome – ascended to the Pontifical Throne, were the rules and constitutions approved on May 15, 1741. After perusing them, the Pope declared: “This Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ should have been the first to appear in the Church, and yet it only comes now.”11
The order took form, and on June 11 of that year, the congregation’s first profession of simple vows was held, in which the holy founder took the name of Paul of the Cross, and his brother, John Baptist of St. Michael the Archangel.
Development and consolidation of the Order
An illness, from which he never fully recovered, left him bedridden for six months. For 40 days he was unable to sleep even for a moment, and the prayers of his brethren afforded him no relief; they even seemed to increase his sufferings.
With this torment behind him, new disciples gradually appeared and the institution now had a novitiate. Paul always visited the new retreats which arose and “if he perceived the slightest relaxation or abuse in the community, he laid aside all human respect, and rested not until he had made the necessary correction, and entirely eradicated the evil.”12
The burden of age and weakened health did not prevent him from continuing the missions. To those who did not convert, he gave clear warning of the destiny that awaited them. “He saw the interior of souls as one sees the sun at midday.”13 Wherever he passed he brought back to the bosom of the Church those who had long drifted away; public sinners openly professed their sins after he heard their confessions. In one region, the inhabitants became so fervent that they abstained from even legitimate diversions. When war broke out, Paul became an apostle to the soldiers. A high-ranking officer, after making his confession, said to him: “Father, I have been on the field of battle; I have been under the cannon’s fire; I have never trembled; but you make me tremble from head to foot.”14
The Passionist retreats multiplied at the request of the people and the bishops. Invariably, at each foundation he urged his sons on to sanctity: “The convent should be a mirror of perfection for everyone, near and far.”15
Loss of his brother and definitive approval of the congregation
On August 30, 1765, after a prolonged illness, John Baptist died. Paul wept at the loss of his inseparable companion, especially for no longer having anyone who would correct his defects. “I was orphaned and alone, without a father. Even though I had reason to trust he would be our advocate in Heaven,”16 he wrote.
Some years later, Pope Clement XIV was elected. Paul went to Rome to request the definitive approval of the congregation, with solemn vows and other privileges. The aged saint, who 50 years earlier had been rejected in the Eternal City, was now welcomed by the Supreme Pontiff, who obliged him to remain there, preaching missions.
The evil one could not let such a work unfold in peace. After numerous attempts to harm the founder over the years, he now attacked him with an infirmity of which he himself commented: “Mine is not a medical case, for my illness is caused by devils.”17 Just when he began to improve, he worsened once again, and felt like never before at the brink of death. And he only recuperated his health due to an order from the Supreme Pontiff to remain in this world, as was seen at the outset of this narration.
Indeed, he had one more project to complete: the foundation of his Order’s female branch. It became a reality only after his overcoming many obstacles, the first convent opening with ten fervent nuns. Years later, the great St. Gemma Galgani would be counted among his most illustrious spiritual daughters.
His eyes fixed on Jesus crucified
With the work consolidated, the moment of his encounter with the Lord approached. Sensing his end was nigh, Paul visited all the retreats for the last time, to give his final instructions to his children and to exhort them to faithfully fulfil the rule.
In May of 1775 he presided over his last General Chapter of the Order, in which the holy founder asked pardon for all the shortcomings of his governance and requested the charity of dying in the congregation, being re-elected Superior General, by papal decision.
At the end of June his health deteriorated. His sufferings were terrible and he was unable to ingest any solid food. Nevertheless, he maintained complete serenity in his soul: “The more his body was weak and infirm, the more was his spirit strong and full of life, and inflamed with a desire to be perfectly united to God.”18
Upon receiving Viaticum, he once again asked pardon for what in his eyes were faults, and he gave a blessing to all the Passionists. The gravity of his condition was protracted for several weeks.
Entering into his agony, his eyes fixed on Jesus crucified and Mater Dolorosa, he saw them enter his room, accompanied by a cortège of Saints, including his brother John Baptist and other deceased Passionists, who “came to assist at his happy passage, and conduct his spirit to Heaven.”19 At 81, on October 18 of 1775, St. Paul of the Cross finished his course and his passion in this life, and entered into eternal glory. ◊
Notes
