St. Leopold Mandic of Castelnova, OFM Capuchin
1887-1942
July 30
Western
Christians who are working for greater dialogue with Orthodox Christians may be
reaping the fruits of Father Leopold’s prayers.
A native of Croatia, Leopold joined
the Capuchins and was ordained several years later in spite of 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 13 to
15 hours a 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.
At a time when Pope Pius XII said
that the greatest sin of our time is “to have lost all sense of sin,” Leopold
had a profound sense of sin and an even firmer sense of God’s grace awaiting
human cooperation.
Leopold, who lived most of his life
in Padua, died on July 30, 1942, and was beatified on May 2, 1976. [He was
canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1983. Because he suffered from esophageal
cancer from which he died, he is a patron against cancer.]
QUOTE: Leopold
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).”
COMMENT: St. Francis often advised his followers to “seek the spirit of the Lord and God’s holy operation” (Rule of 1223, Chp. 10)--words which Leopold lived out. 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.”
from McCloskey,
Patrick. Franciscan Saint of the Day. St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1981.
