Joseph de Cupertino

Saint Joseph de Cupertino (or Giuseppe da Copertino , born Giuseppe Maria Desa ) (1603 - 1663) is a known Italian saint for his gifts of levitation.

Its life

Youth

Joseph Desa was born with Copertino, in the Pouilles. His/her father was carpenter. But he died before the birth of his son, leaving his widow, Francesca Panara, enclosure of Joseph.

Any Joseph young person did not shine by his intellectual promptness. He was nonchalant, awkward, and seemed always lost in a deep daydream, so much so that its entourage had called it bocca aperta (stops open).

To the 17 years age, to the image of two of his uncles become franciscains, it was presented in their Order, but it was refused for intellectual insufficiency. The minor Frères capuchins accepted it as a Lay brother. But there, it was so clumsy in work which was entrusted to him, that they it also congédièrent, all the more, that being in extase perpetual, it did not manage to assume its tasks.

His/her mother succeeds in bending her brother Jean Donato, itself franciscain conventual, and Joseph was accepted with the convent of Grottella, hamlet of Balsorano. There, one gave the responsability it to deal with the mule with the convent.

Joseph, always merry and merry, while remaining unable to completely learn how to read and write, showed so much of obedience, piety, and humility which its superiors decided to receive it like clerk.

Monk and sacerdotal vocation

In June 1625, in Altamura, it accepted the dress of the Order.

January 3rd 1627, the bishop Jerome de Franchis made him pass the examination of admission to the orders. It opened the Bible and the passage Heureux the center made him explain which carried you . With surprised of all the entourage, Joseph made a brilliance comment, and the bishop conferred the minor orders to him, then successively the subdiaconate, on February 27th, and the diaconate on March 20th.

In 1628, the examination of accession to priesthood occurred under the cane from the severe bishop Jean-Baptiste Deti, of Castro. In front of Joseph passed from young brilliant monks, who made a very sharp impression on the bishop, so much so that imagining that the last were as erudite as the first, he admitted all the candidates indistinctly. Thus Joseph was ordered on March 4th 1628, and became, well later, the owner of the candidates to the examinations.

Levitations and extases

The first time that Joseph made a levitation, it was with Copertino, on October 4th 1630, at the time of the procession in the honor of holy François d' Assise. The legend tells that it was attending the procession when suddenly, it rose in the sky, and remained to float above crowd. When it went down again and that it realized what had just arrived to him, it took fear and flees to hide.

From this moment, the life of Joseph was upset. Its flights continued, and their frequency developed more and more. It was enough for him to hear the names of Jesus, of Marie, to sing a psalm with the Mass, to rise above the ground, remaining there until its superior, in the name of obedience, orders to him to go down again.

All this intrigued and distracted the other monks, and displeased more and more with its superiors. But these demonstrations were independent of the will of Joseph.

The rained levitation known one of Joseph was that which occurred at the time of a papal audience in front of the Pope Urbain VIII. When Joseph knelt to kiss the feet of the Pope, it was high above the papal throne, and thus remained until its superior, who accompanied it, ordered to him to go down again on the floor. The Pope called to the higher Father: “ If Joseph brother died under our pontificate, we want to be used as witness with his lawsuit of canonization to deposit wonder of which we have just been pilot. ”.

Enquiry

However, the fame of Joseph, the phenomena which it started, the miracles of premonition and cure that one allotted to him, raised suspicions of the Enquiry.

In 1653, on order of Innocent X the inquisitor of Perugia, Vincent-Marie Pellegrini made it lock up with the convent of the capuchins of Petra-Rubea, then in that of Fossombre showing it to draw the attention to him, questioning the veracity of the phenomena lived by Joseph and the reality of his miracles. He was questioned, retained during several weeks, and finally slackened, when the judges did not find anything to reproach him.

The exile

After being itself justified in front of the Enquiry, Joseph was sent to Assise. In spite of the proximity of the tomb of holy François which he venerated, the distance made it extremely sad, and its phenomena of levitation ceased temporarily.

He was happy to receive them, but the sadness of the exile did not leave it, more especially as he was not authorized to hear the confessions, nor to take part in the processions. However, its presence attracted crowd always as much, so much so that the Pope Innocent X decided to send it in a secret place, under the jurisdiction of the Capucins, in Petrarubbia. There, Joseph was narrowly supervised, with the order not to receive nor to write letters. But it attracted crowd always as much. The Pope still moved away it while moving it to Fossombrone.

Finally, the test of Joseph finished with dead of the Pope Innocent X. The minor Frères capuchins asked for to the new Pope Alexandre VIII of put an end to its exile and to bring back it to Assise. But this one refused, and sent it to Osimo where it was to him interdict of speaking with whoever, except with the bishop, the General Vicar of the Order, his/her brothers monks, and possibly with the doctor. Joseph did not complain, even when the brother cook forgot to bring to him to eat in his cell during two days.

End of its life

August 10th 1663, Joseph had an high fever. It preserved its gaîté by saying that it was going soon to join God. It flew away last once by saying the Mass, on August 15th. At the beginning of September, his/her brothers intended it to murmur: “ the ass started to climb the mountain ”, referring to its body. It accepted the last sacraments, and died by reciting the Litany of Notre-Dame. It was on September 18th 1663.

It was buried in the vault in the presence of a large crowd the faithful ones.

Beatification - canonization

Joseph de Cupertino was béatifié the February 24th 1753 by the Pope Benoît XIV and was canonized the July 16th 1767 by the Pope Clément XIII].
In 1781 was set up a furnace bridge of marble in the church Saint François of Osimo to its memory.
In 2003, the Pope Jean Paul II presented it like a model of holiness by calling it the holy levitation .

Patronage

Because of its many flights , holy Joseph de Cupertino became the owner of the aviators, and people who travel by plane.
a town of California bears the name of Cupertino. In 1978, Franciscains of California adopted it like their patron saint.
He is the owner of the town of Osimo
He is finally owner of the students who pass from the examinations

Prayer of a student

“ Happy O Joseph, I come to beseech your assistance for this examination which I must undergo. In spite of my work and my good will I fear to let me disturb and to be able to answer suitably. You point out that you were in the same situation and that by the Obedience and the powerful protection of Our Father of the Skies you left yourselves there fortunately. Made in the same way in my connection. Grant to me the insurance of my answers, give to my intelligence promptitude and promptness. I ask it to you for the Love of Jesus, Marie and St François of which you were the child and the trusty servant. In you, I entrust and am convinced that my spirit will not be misled. O God which wanted to attract any thing with your Only son, Jesus-Christ, made that by the merits and your seraphic Joseph confessor following the example of, we deserve to arrive at That which, with You and St Spirit, live in the centuries of the centuries ”

Iconography

One represents it in levitation, in front of the crucifix or a statue of the Virgin, with the froc of the conventual minor brothers.
a table of Ludovic Mazzanti represents San Giuseppe da Copertino, in the basilica éponyme of Osimo.

Quotation

Of Joseph de Cupertino: “ It is not in paradise that the saints manufacture themselves. It is on ground. ”

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