St. Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663)
September
18
Was
chosen as the patron of aeronautics, astronauts, pilots, and flying because he
levitated when at prayer!
QUOTE: “Clearly,
what God wants about all is our will, which we received as a free gift from God
in creation and possess as though our own. When a person trains themselves to
acts of virtue, they do this with the help of grace from God from whom all good
things come. The will is what a person has as their unique possession.” (St. Joseph
of Cupertino)
Levitating and ecstatic visions may
be extraordinary signs of holiness, but Joseph is also remembered for the
ordinary things he did: He prayed even in times of inner darkness. He lived out
the Sermon on the Mount. He used his free will as a “unique possession” to
praise Divinity. For 35 years of his adult life as a priest, he practiced
severe asceticism, usually eating solid food only twice a week. He was humble,
patient, and obedient, even though at times he was tempted greatly and felt
forsaken by God.
He began his Franciscan life as a
Capuchin, but then joined the Conventuals. Following a brief assignment caring
for the friary mule, Joseph then began his studies for the priesthood. He was a
terrible student. He struggled immensely with the required academic studies. Joseph’s
strength was in a prayerful spiritual life. He was ordained a priest in 1628.
70 incidents of levitation are documented
in the official records leading to his canonization. Joseph’s tendency to
levitate during prayer, which could occur during Mass or the praying of the
Divine Office, gained him a reputation for holiness but also piqued people’s
curiosity and amusement. Due to the disruption the levitation caused, he was sometimes
confined to a small cell and forbidden to join in any public gathering of the
community. Because the phenomenon of flying or levitation was widely believed
to be connected with witchcraft, Joseph was denounced to the Inquisition. He
was exonerated, but this led to his being transferred several times.
His
final years were spent at a Conventual community in Osimo, where he died on the
18th of September 1663, at age 60. Joseph was beatified in 1753. On July
16, 1767, he was canonized by Pope Clement XIII. The Reluctant Saint, a
1962 movie, is based on the story of Joseph of Cupertino. Although he’s a
native of Cupertino, Italy, many people recognize “Cupertino” because Apple,
Inc. is headquartered in Cupertino, California, a city near San Jose and Santa
Clara that is indeed named for St. Joseph.
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