Joseph de Leonessa

Saint Joseph de Leonessa or in Italian San Giuseppe da Leonessa (Eufranio Desiderio), 1556 - 1612 was born with Leonessa, in Italy.

Youth and vocation

Any child already, it was very worried about religion, edge seam of small furnace bridges where it encouraged his companions to come to request with him, practitioner fasts and mortifications.

He was raised by his uncle, who wished to make him make a good match, but, at age the 16 years, Joseph fell sick. As soon as he was cured, without warning its family, he joined the minor Frères capuchins, and carried out his noviciate close to Assise.

He was a remarkable monk, practitioner the austerity and the abstinence. He spoke about his body as of an ass which it was not useful to nourish like a noble mounting, and which had to be fustigated as the brother ass which it was.

With Constantinople

In 1587, Joseph was sent by the superior of his kind to Constantinople in order to go to support the Christians imprisoned by the Turks. He and his/her companions were placed in a given up house bénédictine, and lived in a great poverty.

The Turks, astonished by the rigor by manners by the brothers and by their misery, transfer in great number to see these strange missionaries.

Joseph and his companions left the every day downtown, to preach, announcing the Gospel with the prisoners, with such a heat that it were found in their turn in prison, and last their release only with the emissary of Venice which pled their cause.

It pushed the zeal missionary until entering the palate of the sultan Murad III and to preach in its presence. This one made it stop and condemned it to death. During three days, it was suspended with an bracket, was retained by two hooks with the hands and the feet. The legend tells that it would have been delivered by an angel.

Return in Italy

Joseph returned in Italy taking along with him an archbishop Greek who had apostasy, and reinstated the Catholic church while arriving at Rome.

There, in his country, Joseph continued to preach, often several times per day. He had also a great concern of the poor: in 1600, whereas he preached the Lent with Otricoli, city located on the road of the pilgrimage towards Rome, he observed the misery of crowd and got busy to nourish them and to look after them. With Todi, it cultivated to him even a vegetable garden to nourish the needy ones with its harvest.

Joseph died in Amatrice in 1612.

Canonization

Joseph de Leonessa was canonized in 1737 by the Pope Benoît XIV.
Its festival is the February 4th according to the calendar franciscain.

Veneration

With Leonessa, of which he is patron saint, exists the sanctuary San Giuseppe da Leonessa where he is venerated. The main street bears also its name. In the church San Lorenzo Novo a portrait of Joseph is.

Sources

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