SAN FRANCESCO DI PAOLA

SAN FRANCIS OF PAOLA

Il santuario a Paola (CS)

La processione..a Tarsia (CS)

Francis of Paola was born 27 March 1416. When he was about 14 years old, he went to a pilgrimage to Assisi to thank its saint for being born. As he returned to Paola, he withdrew himself in solitude in a cave, in the heart of a thick forest, to pray and meditate. Many were his miracles. He healed the countess of Gerace from tuberculosis. Humble workers and farmers were healed from life threatening falls, bad burns and fatal accidents. Years went by and the popularity of Francis grew ever larger. The inhabitants of Milazzo exhort him to found a convent. One day, as he departed from Paola and reached the seashores of Calabria, he performed the miraculous crossing of the Strait of Messina: he laid his cape on the water. Using his long rod as a roar, he sailed and beached in Sicily. He became known all over Europe. In fact, the king of France Luis XI, being very ill, sent for him. Doctors and specialist had been unable to make him well. He feared for the life of his son, still a child and unable to defend the throne, should he have died. So, king Luis, bowing at Francis feet, begged him to prolong his life. Francis lived the last years of his life in France. He died on April 2, 1507, at 10:00 A.M. at the age of 91 years. San Francis of Paola, the saint of Europe, spoke very vehemently in defense of the poor and the oppressed. (revised and corrected by Fidelio Tarsia)

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