LETTER FOR 4TH CENTENARY OF ST. JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO

VATICAN CITY, MAR 17, 2003 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from Pope John Paul to Fr. Joachim Giermek, minister general of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Conventual, on the occasion of the fourth centenary this year of the birth of St. Joseph of Cupertino. The Pope noted that this "faithful disciple of St. Francis of Assisi ... was popularly known as 'the saint of flights' because of his frequent ecstasies and the extraordinary nature of his mystical experiences."

"The patron of students," added the Pope, "St. Joseph of Cupertino encouraged the world of culture, especially schools, to base human knowledge on the wisdom of God. It is precisely thanks to his inner docility to the suggestions of divine wisdom that this singular saint can be proposed as a spiritual guide for every category of faithful, ... priests and religious, young people and adults, children and old people."

The Holy Father noted that St. Joseph was marked by his great love for the mystery of the Incarnation as well as for the Eucharist, and by his participation in the Passion of Christ. For St. Joseph, the Pope remarked, "the Crucifix was always present in his mind and heart, among the sufferings of a life that was misunderstood and often beset with obstacles. He shed copious tears at the thought of Jesus' death on the Cross because, as he liked to repeat, it was sins that pierced the immaculate body of the redeemer with the hammer of ingratitude, egoism and indifference."

"St. Joseph of Cupertino," the Pope stated, "distinguished himself by his simplicity and obedience. Detached from everything, he continuously travelled, moving from one convent to another, as his superiors ordered, abandoning himself to the hands of God. ... He nourished a deep attachment to the Successor of Peter and had a great sense of the Church, which he loved unconditionally. ... And what can we say of his filial and moving devotion to Our Lady?"

"May we all learn from him," John Paul II concluded, "how to walk on the path that leads to 'everyday' holiness, marked by the faithful fulfillment of one's own daily duty."

JPII-LETTER;JOSEPH CUPERTINO;...;GIERMEK;VIS;20030317;Word: 360;