St. Francis Solano
1549-1610
July 14
Francis
came from a leading family in Andalusia, Spain. Perhaps it was his popularity
as a student that enabled Francis in his teens to stop two dualists. He entered
the Friars Minor in 1570, and after ordination enthusiastically sacrificed
himself for others. His care for the sick during an epidemic drew so much
admiration that he became embarrassed and asked to be sent to the African
missions. Instead, he was sent to South America in 1589.
While working in what is now
modern-day Argentina Bolivia and Paraguay, Francis quickly learned the native
languages and was well received by
the Indians. His visits to the sick often included playing a song on his
violin.
Around 1601 he was called to Lima,
Peru, where he tried to recall the Spanish colonists to their baptismal
integrity. Francis also worked to defend the Indians from oppression. He died
in Lima and was canonized in 1726.
QUOTE: “When
Francis Solano was about to die, one of the friars asked him, ‘Father, when God
takes you to heaven remember me when you enter the everlasting kingdom.’ With
joy Francis answered, ‘It is true, I am going to heaven but this is so because
of the merits of the passion and death of Christ; I am the greatest of sinners.
When I reach our homeland, I will be your good friend.” (contemporary biography
of St. Francis Solano).
COMMENT: Francis of Solano knew the lives of Christians sometimes greatly hinder the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Francis lived an exemplary life himself and urged his fellow Spaniards to make their lives worthy of their Baptism.
by McCloskey,
Patrick. Franciscan Saint of the Day. St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1981.
