Saint Francis of Paola

Francis was born in Paola, in Calabria, on March 27, 1416, to Giacomo Martolilla and Vienna da Fuscaldo. His parents were getting on in years and had no children: they prayed for a child through the intercession of Francis of Assisi, and when he came they gave him that name. As a small child he caught a serious eye infection. His parents turned again to the saint of Assisi, with a vow: if he got better, the little boy would wear the Franciscan habit for a whole year. He recovered with hardly a trace, and at thirteen Francis said he had seen in a vision a friar reminding him of that vow. He went to the friary of San Marco Argentano to fulfill it. When the year was over, he didn’t go back to his old life. He withdrew to a cave on the coast near Paola and stayed there as a hermit. Around that solitude, as tends to happen, people began to gather: that is how the Order of Minims was born — a name chosen on purpose, because he wanted his friars to be the least of all. To poverty, chastity and obedience he added a fourth vow, the Lenten life: no meat, no eggs, no dairy, all year round. His fame reached France. Louis XI, who was dying and terribly afraid of it, sent for him. Francis left, and never came back: he stayed at the French court for twenty-five years, adviser to three kings. He died at the château of Plessis-lez-Tours on April 2, 1507, at ninety-one. Leo X declared him a saint in 1519. He is the patron of Calabria and of seafarers. If your name is Francis or Frances, today is your name day — even though many wait for October 4.