St. Leopold Mandic of Castelnova, OFM Capuchin (1887-1942)
July 30
A native of Croatia, Leopold joined
the Capuchins and was ordained a priest several years later despite several health
problems. He could not speak loudly enough to preach publicly. For many years
he suffered from severe arthritis, poor eyesight and a stomach ailment.
Leopold taught patrology, the study
of the Church Fathers, to the clerics of his province for several years, but he
is best known for his work in the confessional, where he sometimes spent long hours each day. Several bishops sought out his spiritual advice.
Leopold’s dream was to go to the Orthodox Christians and work for the reunion of Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. His health never permitted it. Leopold often renewed his vow to go to the Eastern Christians; the cause of unity was constantly in his prayers. The saint used to repeat to himself, “Remember that you have been sent for the salvation of people, not because of your own merits, since it is the Lord Jesus and not you who died for the salvation of souls…I must cooperate with the divine goodness of our Lord who has deigned to choose me so that by my ministry, the divine promise would be fulfilled: ‘There will be only one flock and one shepherd’ (John 10:16).”
Leopold, who lived most of his life in Padua, died on July 30, 1942, and was beatified on May 2, 1976. When the Capuchin minister general wrote his friars on the occasion of Leopold’s beatification, he said that this friar’s life showed “the priority of that which is essential.” He was canonized by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1983. Because he suffered from esophageal cancer from which he died, he is a patron against cancer.
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