St.

Joseph of
Copertino

2
 The Rev. Angelo
Pastrovicchi, O.M.C.

3
 NIHIL OBSTAT
Fr. Aloysius, O. M. Cap.
Fr. Felix M., O. M. Cap.
Censores Deputati.

IMPRIMATUR
Fr. Ignatius, O. M. Cap.
Minister Provincialis.

NIHIL OBSTAT

Sti. Ludovici, die 27 Aprilis, 1918

F. G. Holweck,
Censor Librorum.

IMPRIMATUR

Sti. Ludovici, die 29 Aprilis, 1918

Joannes J. Glennon,
Archiepiscopus,

Sti. Ludovici.

Originally published by
B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, Missouri
Copyright © 1918 by Joseph Gummersbach
Copyright © 1980 by TAN Books
Library of Congress Catalog No.: 79-91298
ISBN: 0-89555-135-7
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.

TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina
www.TANBooks.com

1980

4
 CONTENTS

PREFACE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I THE "SUPERNAL VOCATION"

Childhood and Youth; — Capuchin Lay-Brother;
Conventual Tertiary; — Novice; — Ordination.

II "AS GOLD IN A FURNACE"

Life at Grottella; — Aridity; — Mortification; Fame
of Sanctity; — Called to Naples by the Inquisition.

III "FELLOW-CITIZEN OF THE SERAPHIC FRANCIS"

Journey to Rome; — to Assisi; — Sufferings; —

5
 Second Journey to Rome; — Citizen of Assisi.

IV "CAUGHT UP INTO PARADISE"

Love of God; — Ecstasies and Flights at Copertino,
Nardo, Monopoli, Naples, Assisi.

V "GOOD ODOR OF CHRIST"

Prayer and Union with God; — Efficacy of Prayer; —
Love of Neighbor; — Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
Mary.

VI EVANGELICAL PERFECTION
Chastity; — Poverty; — Obedience.

VII "IN HIS LIFE HE DID GREAT WONDERS"

Wisdom; — Searching of Hearts; — Prophecies; —
Heavenly Apparitions; — Combats with the Devil; —
Miracles.

VIII "GLORIFIED IN THE SIGHT OF KINGS"

Veneration of People and Nobility.

IX "MY LIFE IS HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD."

Humility; — with the Capuchins at Pietrarubbia, at
Fossombrone.

X A SAINT'S "PARADISE"
Return to Conventuals at Osimo; — Life at Osimo.

XI "OBTAINING THE PRIZE"

Predictions of Death; — Last Illness and Death; —
Burial.

6
XII THE "MEMORY OF AN ADMIRABLE SAINT"
Beatification; — Canonization; — Basilica and
Sanctuary.

7
 MARIAE IMMACULATAE,
"REGINAE ORDINIS MINORUM"
(Pius X, Sept. 8, 1910)

"MATRI BONORUM STUDIORUM"

(Pius X, May 16, 1906)

8
 ECSTATIC FLIGHT OF ST. JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO
In presence of the Princess of Savoy. The Princess wears the habit of a Tertiary
From an old print

9
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

ECSTATIC FLIGHT OF ST. JOSEPH OF COPERTINO in presence of the Princess of Savoy

BASILICA OF ST. FRANCIS at Assisi. Tomb of St. Francis

INTERIOR OF THE UPPER CHURCH, Basilica of St. Francis at Assisi

THE SACRO CONVENTO at Assisi, where St. Joseph lived, 1639–1653

BODY OF ST. JOSEPH OF COPERTINO as now preserved in the Basilica at Osimo

INTERIOR OF THE BASILICA OF ST. JOSEPH OF COPERTINO AT OSIMO

10
 PREFACE

"Some persons derive most benefit from reading the Lives of the Saints in which
the supernatural and the extraordinary abound. They delight to see the wonderful display
of the power of Divine grace in so frail a creature as man. These biographies, that are
written more for our admiration than for our imitation, strengthen our faith in the
supernatural, and inspire us with a great confidence in the goodness and power of God.
And certainly in these days we need to stimulate and strengthen the life of faith and trust
in Providence."1
The rapturous flights of St. Joseph of Copertino have hardly a parallel as to
frequency and duration in the lives of the saints. What is related of Christina Mirabilis,
who lived 1150-1224, has been suspected of exaggeration,2 but our saint, "having lived
in more recent times, this his miraculous characteristic could easily be established in an
authentic manner."3
Father Pastrovicchi wrote his life of St. Joseph on the occasion of the beatification
of the saint, 1753. Pope Benedict XIV, to whom the work is dedicated, wished that for
each fact related the episcopal and apostolic processes should be cited. This was done.
Father Suyskens remarks that the caution of citing the official documents was well
employed. "Since the words of the Psalmist, 'God is wonderful in His saints' (Ps. 67, 36),
were verified in a singular manner in the life of St. Joseph, it was fitting that the
extraordinary facts of his life should be attested in such a manner that credence could not
be denied them."4
Father Gattari regards these miracles5 as wrought in support of the doctrine of the

11
Real Presence, the authority of the Pope, sacramental Confession and the veneration due
to saints, truths which in the time of the saint were impugned by the followers of Luther
and other heretics. The fame of the flights of St. Joseph spread throughout Europe and
led to conversions as in the case of the Duke of Brunswick.6 Another explanation offered
is, that these miracles counteracted the diabolical arts (witchcraft and necromancy,
especially in the kingdom of Naples) and superstition then prevalent.7
To a degree our biography is a "panegyric," with its drawbacks of "generalization"
and "superlatives," but it is by no means "a dreary inventory of virtues and miracles."
Some of the narratives, as in Chapter VI and IX, are very charming, "invested with all
that tender simplicity and charm . . . which voiced itself in the poetic narratives of the
Fioretti."
This first extensive biography of St. Joseph of Copertino in English was made from
Sintzel's German translation of Fr. Pastrovicchi's Life of the saint. Only after years was it
possible to procure the Italian original and verify the rendering. In the editions of
Pastrovicchi of 1753 and 1767 the text is not divided into chapters; these (thirty in all)
are indicated by Roman numerals at the beginning of paragraphs; the chapter titles and
the references to the Acts are printed in the margin. The division of the text and the
chapter titles in the present work are new. The original marginal titles are preserved in
part as sub-titles in the Table of Contents. The numerous references to the Acts in the
original have been omitted; likewise, in the interest of delicacy or conciseness, several
passages in the body of the work. Details of the canonization,8 sanctuary, etc., have been
added. Other small additions have been made throughout the work, dates and names
have been inserted, and obscure passages made clear. The editions used for these
changes are marked in the bibliographical list.
Many friends have aided in preparing this little book. The Conventual Fathers at
Osimo kindly donated a copy of the first edition of Pastrovicchi. During a visit to Rome
Rev. A. T. Ennis (Concordia, Kansas) procured for me several rare works. Some of the
bibliographical details I owe to Rev. Edward Jannitto, O. M. C. (Osimo), Rev. Michael
Bihl, O. F. M. (Quaracchi), Rev Fr. Maurice, O. M. Cap. (Quebec), and Rev Engelbert
Rosenmaier, O. M. Cap. (Milwaukee). All these I sincerely thank, as, too, the Franciscan
Fathers (Washington) and the Benedictine Fathers (Atchison) for the use of books, Rev.
Felix M. Kirsch, O. M. Cap. (Herman, Pa.) and other fellow-religious for suggestions
toward improving the manuscript.
F. S. L.

12
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Pages not numbered are given in (). The editions marked by * were used in
preparing the present translation.)
"The only copy in Italy of the Acta Beatificationis et Canonizationis of St. Joseph
of Copertino is that of the Congregation of Rites. The copy belonging to our Order
[Conventuals] is now in the National Library at Paris, whither it was taken by Napoleon
I. We [Conventuals at Osimo] have a copy of the Summario, published at Rome, Typis
Reverendae Camerae Apostolicae, 1688." (Rev. Edward G. M. Iannitto, Librarian and
Archivist of the Sanctuary of St. Joseph of Copertino at Osimo.)

Beatificationis et canonizationis Josephi a Cupertino Ord. Min. nova positio super dubio
an, et de quibus miraculis constet in casu et ad effectum de quo agitur, Romae,
1751, 125 pp. fol°.
Summarium additionale novae respons. super eodem dubio, Romae, 1751, 74 pp. fol°. *
Positio super dubio an et de quibus miraculis constet in casu. . . . Romae, Typ.
Cam. Apost., 1764. 37, 160, 17, 63, 48 pp. fol°.
Positio noviss. super dubio an et de quibus miraculis constet in casu, et ad effectum de
quo agitur, Romae, 1766, fol°.
Relazione della solenne Canonizzazione dei Beati Giovanni Canzio, G. Calasanzio,
GIUSEPPE da COPERTINO, G. Emiliani, Serafino da Monte Granaro detto
d'Ascoli, Giovanna Francesca Fremiot de Chantal, celebrata . . . dalla Santita di N.
S. Clemente XIII . . . il di 16 Luglio, 1767 . . . Romae, 1767, 4°.

13
Mariotti, Josephus Andreas, Acta Canonizationis sanctorum Johannis Cantii, Josephi
Calasanctii. . . . JOSEPHI a CUPERTINO, Hieronymi Aemiliani, Seraphini ab
Asculo et Johannae Franciscae Fremiot una cum apostolicis litteris. . . . Clementis
XIII. Collecta ac Notationibus illustrata a J. A. Mariotti, fidei subpromotore,
Romae, 1769, fol°.
Nuti, Roberto, O. M. C., Vita del servo di Dio P. Giuseppe da Copertino, Palermo,
1678; Vienna, Viviani, 1682. "This book was translated into Latin and Bohemian,
Vita servi Dei Josephi de Copertino . . . in latinum translata per P. Marianum
Unczovsky, Pragae. From this is taken (with omissions) Lebensbeschreibung des
grossen Dieners Gottes Joseph von Copertino . . . Brünn, 1695." (Daumer, p. 37,
note.)
Bernino, Domenico, Vita del Padre Fr. Giuseppe da Copertino de' Minori Conventuali
. . . dedicata al . . . Innocenzo XIII, * Roma, Tinassi & Mainardi, 1722, (XVIII),
544, (XII). pp. 4°; Venezia, 1724, 4°; Venezia, 1739, 4°; Venezia, 1753, 4°; Roma,
1767; Venezia, 1768, 8°.
——, Vie de St. Joseph de Cupertino de l'Ordre des Frères Mineurs Conventuels, Paris,
Poussielgue, 1856; Paris-Auteuil, Oeuvre de la première communion et des
Orphelins apprentis, 1899. Parts of the original, e. g., ch. VIII and XXX, are
omitted, other parts are abbreviated in this translation. Bernino is followed by Léon
de Clary, O. F. M., L'aureole seraphique, vie des Saints et des Bienheureux des
trois Ordres de St. Francois, vol. III (Paris, 1882), pp. 439–460; — Italian
translation by Marino Marcucci, O.F.M., L'Aureola Serafica, vol. III (Quaracchi,
1899), pp. 455–477; — English translation, Lives of the Saints and Blessed of the
Three Orders of St. Francis, vol. III (Taunton, 1885), pp. 205–221.
Agelli, Paolo Antonio, O. M. C., Vita del Beato Giuseppe di Copertino dell' Ordine de'
Minori Conventuali di S. Francesco dedicata all' Altezza Serenissima di Giuseppe
Arciduca D'Austria, Venezia, Recurti, 1753.
Pastrovicchi, Angelo, O. M. C., Compendio della vita, virtù e miracoli del B. Giuseppe
di Copertino . . . dedicata al . . . Benedetto XIV., * Roma, Zempel, 1753 (XII), 108,
pp. 4°; * Roma, Zempel, 1767, XX, 119, pp. 4° (Dedicated to Clement XIII by Fr.
Dominic Rossi; Pastrovicchi's name does not appear on the title-page); Osimo,
1804, 8°.
*, Latin translation by Constantine Suyskens, S. J., in Acta Sanctorum, September, tom.
V, Paris, Palme, 1868, pp. 1015–1047.
——, Saint Joseph de Copertino . . . Abrégé de sa vie. . . . Traduction de M. Denis,
revue par M. Viguier. Avec des additions considerables, Paris, 1820, XLVIII, 280
pp. 12°.
*, Leben des hl. Joseph von Copertino . . . übersetzt von Michael Sintzel und einem
seiner Freunde, Augsburg, Rieger, 1843 (VIII), 100 pp. 8°.
Pastrovicchi, Angelo, O. M. C., Das tugend- und wundervolle Leben des hl. Joseph von
Copertino, von einem katholischen Priester, Aachen, Cramer, 228 pp. 18°. This
reproduces the earliest German translation of Pastrovicchi's work, published at

14
 Coeln, 1753, 2nd ed. 1768, with changes in the arrangement of matter.
*——, Compendio della vita del beato Giuseppe da Copertino, estratto della vita
stampata in Roma e dedicata al . . . Benedetto XIV. [= Pastrovicchi], Verona,
Andreoni, 1753, 32 pp. 8°.
* Suyskenus, Constantinus, S. J., Acta Sanctorum, September, tom. V, pp. 992–1014.
Biography, for which Bernino, Agelli and Pastrovicchi were used. The Acta
Sanctorum were followed by Butler, Lives of the Saints, September, 18, and Donin,
Leben und Thaten der Heiligen Gottes, V.3, Graz, Styria, 1880. pp. 226–232, and
they are the chief source of Stadler, Heiligen-Lexikon, vol. III, Augsburg, Schmid,
1869, pp. 461–464.
Compendium vitae, virtutum et miraculorum necnon actorum in causa canonizationis S.
Josephi a Copertino, professi Ord. Min. S. Francisci Conventualium, Romae, 1767,
28 pp. 4°.
* Montanari, Gius. Ignazio, Vita e Miracoli di San Giuseppe da Copertino, Fermo,
Paccasassi, 1851, XVI, 587, LXXIX pp. 4°.
* Daumer, G. F., Christina Mirabilis, das Wundergeschöpf des 12. Jahrhunderts und der
hl. Joseph von Copertino, der Wundermann des 17. Jahrhunderts, Paderborn,
Junfermann, 1864, 102 pp. 32o. Follows Nuti, Palermo, 1678; pp. 29–102 are
devoted to St. Joseph.
* Gattari, Filippo, O. M. C, Vita di S. Giuseppe da Copertino, Osimo, Rossi, 1898 (VIII),
177 pp. 8°.

Nine autograph letters of St. Joseph of Copertino are preserved in the sanctuary at Osimo; others are
preserved at Assisi, Padua, Recanati, Rieti and Ferrara. The text of these (twenty-three in all) and of eleven letters
received by the saint (five of these from the Princess of Savoy and five from John Casimir of Poland) are
published by Montanari (pp. 81–90, XXIII–XLIII).
Some sayings and proverbs of the saint are collected by Bernino (chapter XXX) and Montanari (pp. IX–
XXII).
Montanari has also edited the poems and songs composed by or attributed to St. Joseph of Copertino (pp.
XLIII–LXXIX).

15
 ST. JOSEPH OF COPERTINO

CHAPTER I

THE "SUPERNAL VOCATION" (PHIL. 3, 14)

Copertino, the birthplace of our saint, is situated on the peninsula of Apulia, half-
way between the Gulf of Taranto and the Strait of Otranto. In the seventeenth century the
town belonged to the province of Otranto, Kingdom of Naples.
But few particulars are recorded regarding the parents of St. Joseph, Felix Desa and
Frances Penara. Felix was a carpenter. Kind of heart, he had given security for the debts
of others. As often happens, the debtors defaulted and the creditors seized Desa's house
and would have had him imprisoned had he not fled to a holy place which enjoyed the
right of asylum. Meanwhile the mother of our saint fled from her home and, unable to
reach the house of a friend, took refuge in a stable.1 Here, on June 17, 1603, a child was
born. He was baptized in the church of our Lady of the Snow2 and received the name of
Joseph Mary.3
As a child Joseph was a spirited lad and inclined to anger. His mother strove to
repress his exuberance of spirit and all manifestations of undue boldness by stern rebuke
and kind admonition. She was so severe that in after years the saint used to say he
needed no novitiate as a religious because he had passed a novitiate under his mother.4
These efforts of the pious mother bore abundant fruit. Joseph delighted in visiting
the churches of his native city. At home he erected a little altar, before which he spent
part of the day and the night reciting rosaries and Litanies. At the age of eight he
experienced his first ecstasies. When, at school, he would hear the organ or the songs the
teacher practised with the more advanced scholars, he would let his book fall and remain

16
immovable with eyes raised to heaven and lips parted. Owing to this his companions
called him" bocca aperta," "open mouth."5
About this time6 Joseph was afflicted with painful ulcers. This trial he bore with
extraordinary patience, seeking no other relief than the consolation of Holy Mass.
Unable to walk, he entreated his mother to carry him in her arms to the church every
morning. A hermit of some repute as a healer, who lived near the church of our Lady of
Grace in Galatone, endeavored to cure the child by employing the surgical means then in
vogue,7 but to no purpose; long neglect had seemingly rendered the malady incurable.
After four years of suffering God intervened. One day when the hermit had applied to
the ulcers some oil taken from a lamp kept burning before an image of our Lady of
Grace, the boy suddenly felt relieved from all pain. With the aid of a cane he was then
able to walk from the church of our Lady of Galatone to Copertino, a distance of nine
miles. Before his cure he could visit the hermit only by lying helpless on a horse led by
his mother. It need hardly be said that the boy showed his gratitude by an increased love
of God and greater zeal in His service.
In his youth our saint was apprenticed to a cobbler.8 Cardinal Brancati has recorded
many of the pious practices of this period of Joseph's life. Such were his frequent visits
to various churches, assistance at Holy Mass and the wearing of a painful cilice. He
abstained from all fleshmeat, and contented himself with vegetables, which he seasoned
with wormwood to give them a bitter taste. His fasts were so severe that he would at
times abstain from all food for two or three consecutive days. His body was thus
weakened, but his spirit was so lifted up to God that, when asked why he had eaten
nothing, he would reply with charming grace, "I did not think of it."
With the years there grew upon Joseph a desire to leave the deceitful world and
unite himself more closely to God. Feeling a great attraction to the Order of
Conventuals, he applied for assistance to his paternal uncle, Father Francis Desa, a
religious of that Order. This priest, however, regarded his nephew as unfit for the exalted
dignity of the priesthood because of his lack of education, and was unwilling to assist
him. In spite of this refusal Joseph persevered in his resolve to enlist under the banner of
the holy patriarch St. Francis, whom to follow he felt called by a continued inspiration of
God. He therefore humbly requested Father Antony of Francavilla,9 Provincial of the
Capuchins, to receive him into the Order as a lay-brother. His request was granted and
he received the habit, taking the name of Stephen, in the monastery at Martina in
August,10 1620.
The path of the novice was beset with difficulties. He was employed in the kitchen
and refectory, but displayed a woeful lack of ability. At times he could not distinguish
wheat bread from rye bread, often he broke dishes by letting them fall, upset pots in
putting wood on the fire and committed other blunders of a similar nature. Some have
ascribed this awkwardness to a defect of sight. Another and truer explanation is that his
surroundings inflamed him with the fire of divine love to such a degree that his soul was
continually enraptured. God, whose ways are wonderful, permitted that after a trial of

17
eight months Joseph was dismissed from the novitiate and deprived of the habit. This
pained him so much that in after years he said, "It seemed to me as if my skin was torn
off with the habit and my flesh rent from the bones."
Little care had been taken of Joseph's secular apparel since his investment. His hat
and shoes and stockings were not forthcoming, and bare of head and foot he set out for
Vetrara, where his uncle, Father Francis Desa,11 was then preaching the Lenten sermons.
By thus avoiding Copertino he meant to escape ridicule and reproach.
On the way he encountered great dangers. A number of savage shepherd-dogs set
upon him. The shepherds came to his aid but, owing to his unusual guise, suspected him
of being a spy of the banditti and were about to lay violent hands on him when,
fortunately, one of them recognized him. They then spoke kindly to him and gave him
some bread. Finally a horseman of terrific form appeared to him with a sword in his
hand, crying, "Halt, spy!" as if he were a spy of the royal government. Hardly had the
saint gone a few steps farther when, on turning about, he found the rider had disappeared
from the vast plain, and said to himself, "It was Malatasca12 [a name also used by St.
Catharine of Siena to denote the evil one], who wished to frighten me and drive me to
despair."
On his arrival at Vetrara he prostrated himself before his uncle and patiently bore
his reproaches of "good-for-nothing" and "vagabond." To his uncle's query as to his
strange attire and visit, he replied in simple humility, "The Capuchin Fathers have taken
the habit from me because I am good for nothing." Moved by compassion, his uncle kept
him till Easter (which in that year fell on April 11)13 and then secretly brought him to
Copertino. Joseph bore with invincible patience the upbraidings of his mother, who
treated him with apparent severity, but in her heart loved him dearly. With tears she
besought the civil authorities not to imprison him because of the debts of his father, who
had died. Assisted by Father Francis Desa, Father John Donatus,14 and other friars of the
convent at Grottella, she finally obtained his admission as tertiary into the Order of
Conventuals.15
To Joseph the investment as tertiary was a source of happiness, even though he was
employed in tending the mule and in other servile occupations about the monastery.
After some time he was appointed associate of his maternal uncle, Father John Donatus,
a religious of great piety and learning. His new duties served to augment in his heart the
flame of divine love. When he was sent out to gather alms for the needs of the
monastery, the people were moved by his poor habit, his modest conduct, the charm and
simplicity of his kind words, and so gave freely and generously. At the same time he
aroused in them a horror of sin, zeal for virtue, and love of God. Within the monastery,
his life was one of humble perseverance in lowly and fatiguing labor and of ready
obedience at the word, or even beck, of each religious. To mortify his body he wore not
only a cilice, but, in addition, an iron chain about his loins. He fasted strictly without
intermission and, to gain more time for prayer, slept but little and this on a bed which
consisted of three boards, a much-worn bearskin and a rough pallet of straw.

18
 God's design was that Joseph should become a priest in the Order of Conventuals.
The religious regarded the pious tertiary with favor, and at the Provincial Chapter held at
Altamura, he was received into the Order as a cleric, June 19, 1625. He retained his
baptismal name, Joseph, and joyfully began his novitiate in the monastery at Grottella.
With great earnestness he endeavored to live for God alone and to acquire the
knowledge necessary for the priesthood. He attained to a high degree of perfection by his
withdrawal from all association with men in order to commune uninterruptedly with God
in meditation. Other means which he employed, were humility, patience, and obedience.
Regarding himself as the most despicable sinner on earth, he often said he had received
the habit out of pure mercy. He patiently bore the severest reproaches for faults he had
never committed. With alacrity he executed the most difficult and seemingly impossible
tasks, which his superiors imposed on him to probe his virtue. To this obedience was
added severe mortification of the flesh, in short, the practice of all virtues, which in time
led his fellow religious to consider him as a model of holiness.
In studies Joseph made but little progress and was therefore often harshly rebuked
by his novice-master, to whom he would reply, "Have patience with me, you will thus
acquire merit." In spite of his poor progress in learning he was admitted to solemn vows
because of his great virtue and made his profession amid tears of joy.
Trusting in God and his holy Mother, whose powerful aid he had frequently
implored, he received minor orders without previous examination, January 30, 1627,
subdeaconship February 27, of the same year, and deaconship March 20. The
examination on the latter occasion he passed in a providential manner; for the passage of
the Gospel beginning with the words, "Blessed is the womb that bore thee," which the
Bishop of Nardo gave him to explain, was the only one he had learned by long study and
could well interpret.16 He was finally ordained priest March 28, 1628, by the Rt. Rev.
John Baptist Detti, Bishop of Castro. This prelate was so pleased with the learning of the
friars whom he had examined first, that he considered the others, among whom was
Joseph, to be equally well prepared, and ordained them without examination.

19
 CHAPTER II

"AS GOLD IN A FURNACE" (WISD. 3, 6)

After ordination Joseph returned to the monastery at Grottella and before the image,
which is venerated there, humbly thanked our Blessed Lady for the dignity of the
priesthood. He said his first Holy Mass with great fervor and lively faith, and was
favored with heavenly enlightenment. On touching the sacred body of Jesus Christ he
was seized with a holy dread and, believing himself unworthy of so sublime an office, he
prayed for purity of heart and hands. Prompted by great love of God, he resolved anew
to die entirely to the world and to lead a supernatural life.
To have left the companionship of men for a narrow and dark cell seemed to the
saint a small sacrifice, and so he likewise left the company of his brothers in religion. He
often retired to a small room above the vault of the church, or to a chapel dedicated to St.
Barbara in an olive-grove near the monastery, and there prayed unceasingly, meditated
on divine things, and experienced sweet ecstasies and rapturous flights. Not only during
the sixteen years of his stay at Grottella, but during his whole life, these ecstasies and
flights were so frequent, as attested in the acts of the process of beatification, that for
more than thirty-five years his superiors would not permit him to take part in the
exercises in the choir and the refectory or in processions, lest he disturb the community.
To avoid interruptions in the narrative, and for the sake of brevity, a later chapter
will treat of these ecstasies. Now we shall describe his virtuous life at Grottella.
With heroic fortitude Joseph deprived himself of the few utensils and objects which
religious are allowed for personal use, by giving them to his superior. All superfluous
garments he likewise disposed of and, casting himself at the foot of a crucifix, he prayed:
"Look upon me, Lord; I am divested of all things, Thou art my only good, I regard all
else as a danger and ruin to my soul."

20
 About this time he felt such sadness of heart and such privation of heavenly
consolation that he suffered agonies, and this trial continued two full years. Finally God
deigned to comfort His servant, who had remained faithful to him in so great a trial. One
day, when, feeling far removed from all help and, lying on his bed, he cried out, amid
many sobs and tears: "My Lord, why hast Thou forsaken me?" a stranger in religious
garb, whom he believed to be an angel, suddenly stood before him and gave him a new
habit. Hardly had Joseph put on this habit, when all sadness passed away and joyousness
of heart returned.
The saint severely chastised his body in order to subject it to the spirit. During his
priestly life he abstained from bread for five years, from wine for ten years, and ate only
herbs, dried fruits and beans, to which he added a powder, which several religious who
tasted it described as of unspeakable bitterness. The vegetables which he ate on Fridays
were of such repugnant savor that a friar who tasted them with the tip of his tongue, was
so sickened that for several days all food caused him nausea.
The saint's fast was practically uninterrupted; for he observed the seven fasts of
forty days each, practised by St. Francis, so strictly that for the most part he abstained
from all food except on Sundays and Thursdays. He sustained life by the "Bread of
Angels," which was his daily food. No matter how faint he felt before receiving Holy
Communion, after receiving he was strong and of healthy color. His weakened stomach
could bear no meat, and once, when he ate some out of obedience, he had to vomit. At
times his throat would close, so that he could take food only with difficulty.
He slept little, and this on a bed which was more a bed of pain than a place of rest.
He continually lacerated his body with a scourge studded with needles, pins, and star-
shaped pieces of steel, which caused him to lose so much blood that the walls of his cell
and the other places, already mentioned, to which he withdrew, were seen to be
sprinkled and, as it were, covered with blood. In addition to these scourgings he used a
cilice and chain and a large flat piece of iron, which so tightened the cilice and chain that
they penetrated into the flesh. One day his superior found him covered with wounds, and
noticing that he could hardly breathe, commanded him to relinquish these instruments of
penance. By this manner of life Joseph became a prodigy of all virtues and was made
worthy to enjoy an excess of divine favors, ecstasies and flights, frequent miracles and
other heavenly gifts.
The fame of our saint spread abroad, especially after he had been appointed
associate of the Father Provincial on all his journeys in the province of Bari. On such
occasions the people came from far and near to see him, to hear his teachings and
implore his prayers. He was usually called the apostle of the country, and all places he
visited experienced the effects of his great charity.
A Vicar-General, not knowing the saintliness of Joseph, accused him before the
Inquisition at Naples. The accusation was that he went about attracting the people to
himself as to another Messias, and at every turn performed works which the credulous
believed to be miracles.
The Inquisition accordingly directed the Father Guardian at Grottella to send Father

21
Joseph to Naples. Three years before a religious had asked Joseph whether he would like
to go to Naples, and in reply the saint had predicted that in course of time he would go
thither, but at the command of the Holy Office. Shortly before his summons to Naples,
Jesus forewarned him of his impending trial by appearing to him during meditation in
the form of a child, poorly clad, and carrying a large cross on his shoulder. At another
time, when Joseph had erected several crosses on the way from Grottella to Copertino to
stimulate devotion, he heard a voice saying: "Leave alone the dead crosses and take hold
of the living ones."
On receiving the letter of the Holy Office, Joseph humbly set out for Naples,
October 21, 1638.1 The inhabitants of Copertino deplored his departure and said: "Alas,
what a loss for us." Joseph, however, left with a peaceful heart and joyful countenance
and, amid ecstasies and sufferings, arrived at Naples and took up his abode in the
monastery of Saint Lawrence. Here he found the religious, who well knew the cause of
his journey, in great consternation. They received him unwillingly, and the saint was
much distressed that he, though innocent, should cause anxiety to his fellow-religious.
Sad of heart he went next morning with his usual companion, Brother Louis, to the
building of the Inquisition, but on the way he was joined by a young religious of graceful
and comely appearance, who encouraged and comforted him. When Joseph was about to
enter the palace of the Inquisition he no longer saw the youth, and as Brother Louis
affirmed that he had not seen him, Joseph believed that St. Antony had appeared to
strengthen him. It was therefore with a cheerful spirit that he presented himself before
the sacred tribunal. He was detained several weeks and examined three times, but no
shadow of fault was discovered and his life was found to be worthy of admiration. On
seeing him dismissed so soon and with such honor, his brethren in religion rejoiced
much that his holiness had stood the test and had been found pure and free from
hypocrisy.
After this his piety became better known, so that many people of Naples, even
nobles, came to see him and make his acquaintance. Joseph alone did not share this high
opinion of his person, but styled himself a "sinner, who knew not how to live with his
brethren in religion and deserved to remain with the beasts of burden." This he said to
the nuns of St. Ligorio at Naples. At the command of the Inquisition he had said Mass in
their church, dedicated to St. Gregory of Armenia, and there was raised in ecstasy above
the altar. This occurrence so increased the fame of his holiness that it penetrated to the
royal palace, and the Viceroy with his wife and court wished him to say Mass in their
chapel. Difficulties intervened, the function was postponed, and in the meantime the
saint left the city and thus evaded the contemplated honor.

22
 CHAPTER III

"FELLOW-CITIZEN OF THE SERAPHIC FRANCIS" (ST. JOSEPH)

Upon the command of the Holy Office Joseph had left Naples for Rome with
important messages for the Father General of the Order. During this journey his spirit
was absorbed in contemplation of divine things. On seeing the holy city, the center of the
Catholic world, he desired to enter it in poverty after the example of his holy Father, St.
Francis. When, therefore, they had come to the walls of the city, he bade his companion,
Brother Louis, to lay their last piece of money, a small silver coin, on a stone for the
benefit of the first one who should pass.
When Joseph arrived at the monastery of the Twelve Apostles within the city, the
Father General, John Baptist Berardicelli,1 who had never before met him, received him
at first with great reserve and forbidding mien; for the message of the Holy Office
directed him to send Joseph to some solitary monastery. The General had the most
secluded room of the monastery assigned to him with the injunction to remain there till
further disposition were made. The General had in mind to send him to one of the
smallest and most secluded monasteries. Meanwhile it pleased God to reward the
humble resignation of His servant amid such great and painful trials by revealing his
holiness not only to his brethren in religion, but even to the Cardinals and the Supreme
Head of the Church, Pope Urban VIII.2 The Pope commanded the Father General to send
Father Joseph to a monastery in which the rule was most perfectly observed. This caused
the Father General to alter his plans and to send Joseph to the monastery at Assisi. The
command gave the saint great pleasure, for he had long desired to live near the tomb of
his holy Father, St. Francis. Without delay he therefore set out with Brother Louis and
full of joy arrived at Assisi the last day of April, 1639.3
Joseph's joy was of short duration; for God wished to try His servant anew, and, as

23
it were, by fire, by withdrawal of consolation, by persecutions, temptations and spiritual
dryness which should purify his soul more effectively than the earlier trials at Grottella.
Soon after Joseph's arrival at Assisi Father Antony of St. Maure was appointed Custos of
the place. Although, as Provincial of the Province of Bari, he had tenderly loved Joseph
and taken him for his companion, he now (certainly not without the design of heaven)
changed his conduct. He treated the pious Joseph at first with haughtiness, then with
contempt, and finally threatened and repeatedly punished him, calling him a useless
hypocrite and publicly reproving him as such. The courageous saint regarded all this as a
source of merit, and not only bore these bitter reproaches and accusations in silence, but
evinced even greater humility and greater readiness to serve his superior.

24
BASILICA OF ST. FRANCIS AT ASSIST. TOMB OF ST. FRANCIS

25
 In addition to these trials on the part of the Custos, the Lord began gradually to
withdraw the consolations which had heretofore given Joseph courage. The saint had no
longer either ecstasies or heavenly delights; on the contrary, he experienced aridity
during spiritual reading, when praying the Divine Office, at the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass, in short, in all divine things. God seemed to be deaf to his voice, unmoved by his
tears, insensible to his requests, so that poor Joseph was oppressed by a deep gloom,
which seemed to break his heart and manifested itself in his dim and tired eyes.
The devil frequently assailed the saint with terrible temptations, suggesting to him
impure thoughts and disturbing his sleep by most hideous dreams. To these assaults,
which lasted almost two years, Joseph, though terrified, offered continual resistance, so
that the inner citadel of his soul remained firm and unshaken, God's superabundant grace
strengthening him in keeping with the severity of his sufferings.
Remembering the delights of spirit he had enjoyed when near our Lady of Grottella,
whom he was wont to call his mother, Joseph thought of returning thither. To a fellow-
religious he said, "I should like to return to our Lady of Grottella, for she is my mother."
The Father General, however, learning of Joseph's unrest, summoned him to Rome to
keep him there during the whole of Lent, 1644.4
While on the way with his companion, he was seized with a great desire to return to
his beloved shrine of the Blessed Virgin and thought of asking his superior for leave to
go. In his soul, however, he heard the voice of God chiding him because of this innocent
but vain desire, and saying: "What desirest thou? What seekest thou? What demandest
thou? Am I not the same here as there?" Enlightened by these words, Joseph stood still,
raised his eyes to heaven and said to his companion, "My brother, we shall soon return to
Assisi." And, indeed, after a brief stay at Rome, where God again opened to him His
bountiful hand and made him partake of heavenly sweetness in ecstasies of love, Joseph
returned to Assisi.
His return was a source of joy to the religious and the citizens of Assisi. On his
arrival he was led into the church and, seeing on the ceiling a picture of Our Lady similar
to that at Grottella, he cried, "Ah, my dear Mother, you have followed me," and was
lifted about eighteen paces into the air, as if to embrace the picture. Several days later,
on seeing a true copy of the Virgin of Grottella, which Father Michaelangelo Catalano,
Assistant to the General, gave to him, he repeated the ejaculation, "Ah, my Mother!"
hastened toward the picture, and with his eyes fixed upon it remained a long time in
delightful ecstasy.
Joseph was now formally adopted into the family of the Conventuals of the Sacro
Convento.5 The city council by unanimous vote conferred on him honorary citizenship,
and a delegation was sent to present to him the diploma.6 The saint received the
delegates in his cell and so delighted was he to become a "fellow-citizen of St. Francis,"
as he expressed himself, that he was robbed of the use of his senses and lifted in ecstasy
almost to the ceiling.

26
 CHAPTER IV

CAUGHT UP INTO PARADISE (II COR. 12, 4)

Calm had now followed the storm, and a love so powerful and tender possessed our
saint, that his noble soul seemed united more to God than to the body and, as it were,
immersed in a limitless ocean of love. Owing to this love it happened that, whenever he
heard songs or music in church, or a conversation about God, or the names of Jesus and
Mary, he would be enraptured and cry out, "O love, O love!" or would sing sacred songs.
Among these was one to St. Catharine of Siena, whom he venerated as his special
patron. When, in the song, he came to the words, "and the divine love pierced her hands
and feet, and even her heart,"1 he would weep, tremble all over, and, with a
corresponding gesture, say, "Open my breast, cleave this heart." To the question, what he
desired most, he replied, "That God take my heart, my whole heart." Before an image of
the Crucified Saviour he would often pray," I desire to be dissolved and to be with
Christ," or "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, draw me to Thee, I cannot remain here; sweetest Jesus,
draw me up to where Thou art."
In the holy season of Christmas, the saint joyfully invited all to sing with him the
song: "Bambino, my Bambino, give, oh, give to me but a small share of Thy divine
love."2 At times, especially during Holy Week, he was sad and, on meeting anyone,
would lament and say, "Think of it, my son, Jesus has been scourged, Jesus has been
crucified, Jesus has died and has died for love." After various other ejaculations, he
would usually conclude with the words, "I am much worse than the Jews; for I know
who Thou art, and yet crucify Thee." On such days he pined away in sorrow and lay as
dead in a swoon. But when Easter came, he sang and exulted for hours together for joy,
and on Pentecost he would glow with the same divine fire and display a like jubilation of
spirit.

27
 By such manifestations of holy love he aroused similar sentiments in the hearts of
others and endeavored to stimulate them still more by saying to them, "Love God; for he
who loves is rich without knowing it." His desire was that the whole world should love
God. He therefore wept on seeing how men offend God by so many sins and because of
this felt such agony that blood gushed from his mouth. Gladly would he have shed his
blood in martyrdom and, to accomplish this, desired to accompany some missionary as
companion and servant to the heathen. Wishing to see all have a like desire, he would
ask each religious, even the novices, "Would you gladly die for Jesus Christ?" and, when
they answered in the affirmative, he would exult in his heart and manifest unusual joy.
The saint's love at times found expression in words that show his desire to be utterly
unselfish.3 "My Lord," said he, "even if I knew that Thou hadst predestined me to hell at
my creation, yet I would follow Thee in every possible way and serve Thee by all such
works as have been practised by the greatest saints of paradise." In this event he would
have wished to be alone, so as not to hear the blasphemies and curses of others. He
therefore added, "I would wish to be in a place apart, so that I should not hear the others
blaspheme and curse; in that solitary place I would bless and praise God in spite of hell."
This love, of which Pseudo-Dionysius says that it is the cause of ecstasies, was the
inexhaustible fountain from which the heart of Joseph drank and was filled and, as it
were, intoxicated with ecstatic delight.
Divine love had influenced the soul of Joseph from earliest childhood, and as a boy
he experienced the first impulses of rapture, which later, when he had become a priest,
grew to deepest ecstasies. These recurred until his death and often followed one another
at such brief intervals that one might regard them as continual. The least thing pertaining
to God sufficed to cause him to cry out and to lose the use of his senses. No doubt could
be entertained as to the truth and vehemence of this influence of divine love; for, when
pricked with needles, struck with iron, burnt with a torch, or touched on the apple of the
eye with the tips of the fingers, he did not move in the least and only returned to the use
of his senses when God allowed him a respite or obedience called him. These ecstasies
were so astonishing and frequent that hardly any other saint is known to have received of
God such a superabundance in this regard.
To satisfy the curiosity of the reader and to make this narrative at once brief and
clear, we shall now relate some of the many ecstatic flights in the order of time as they
occurred in the various places where he lived. We begin with Copertino.
Once, on Christmas eve, when Joseph heard the sound of the bagpipes and flutes of
some shepherds, whom he had invited to celebrate with him the birth of the Heavenly
Child, he began to dance because of excessive joy and, with a sob and a loud cry, flew as
a bird through the air from the middle of the church to the high altar, a distance of almost
forty feet.4 There he remained about a quarter of an hour in sweet rapture, without,
however, disturbing any of the many lighted candles or burning his clothes. The
shepherds marvelled exceedingly.
Great was the wonderment of the religious and the people of Copertino on the
occasion of a procession on the feast of St. Francis. Joseph, dressed in a surplice, rose up

28
to the pulpit, about fifteen palms from the floor, and remained a long time suspended in
ecstasy with outstretched arms and bent knees. Marvellous, too, was his rapture during
the night of Holy Thursday while praying with other religious before the holy sepulchre,
which was erected above the high altar and lit with many lamps. Suddenly he rose in
direct flight to the chalice, in which his Divine Treasure was enclosed, but without
touching any of the many decorations, and only after some time, when called by his
superior, did he return to his former place.
At times he made similar flights to the altar of St. Francis or, while praying the
Litany, to that of our Lady of Grottella. Very remarkable was his exuberance of love
when the saint erected a Calvary on a hill between Copertino and the monastery at
Grottella. Two crosses were already placed, but ten persons with united effort could not
raise the third, which was fifty-four palms high and very heavy. On seeing this Joseph,
full of ardor, flew about eighty paces from the portal of the monastery to the cross, lifted
it as easily as if it were a straw, and placed it in the hole prepared for it. These crosses
were the object of his special devotion, and from a distance of ten or twelve paces, he,
drawn by his crucified Saviour, would rise to one of the arms or the top of the cross. One
day a religious was speaking with the saint about the descent of the Holy Ghost on the
Apostles. Just then a friar happened to pass with a burning candle in his hand, at sight of
which Joseph uttered a cry and flew four paces into the air, inflamed with the fire of the
Holy Ghost.5 Another time, hearing a priest say, "Father Joseph, oh, how beautiful God
has made heaven," he flew up on an olive-tree and remained there half an hour kneeling,
and it was a strange sight to see how the branch which bore him swayed as lightly as if a
small bird rested on it.
On one occasion Joseph was present at the investment of several nuns in the church
of St. Clare at Copertino. As soon as the choir intoned the antiphon, "Come, thou bride
of Christ," he was seen to hurry from the corner in which he knelt towards the confessor
of the convent, a member of the Order of the Reformati, grasp him by the hand, lift him
by supernatural power from the floor, and rapidly dance about with him in the air. It
would lead too far to recount all the raptures and flights through the air while the saint
was at Copertino; suffice it to say that, according to the acts of his beatification, more
than seventy such flights were recorded, not counting those which occurred daily at Holy
Mass and generally lasted two hours.
After the saint left Copertino, the same fire of love burned within him and
manifested itself in the same miraculous manner. It may interest the pious reader to learn
of some of the many other raptures which, till the end of his life, were an object of the
greatest admiration wherever he lived. At Nardo, where he stayed for a time after leaving
Copertino, he was seen to be lifted up in ecstasy in the church of St. Francis to the terror
of those present. Another time, on seeing an "Ecce Homo" picture, he remained
immovable as a statue in a house whither he had gone to heal a sick person. In another
house, on hearing a song, he rose with his customary cry to a kneeling posture on the
edge of a table. Later, when he came to Monopoli on his way to Naples, and was led by
his fellow-religious to the monastery church to see a new and beautiful statue of St.

29
Antony of Padua, he rose at sight of it from the floor and flew a distance of fifteen paces
to the image of the saint on the altar and returned in like manner to his former place. But
scarcely had he recovered from his first rapture when he fell into a second; for, while the
Litany was being recited, he flew to the altar of the Immaculate Conception and back
through the air to his original place.
The city of Naples likewise witnessed his wonderful flights. One day when, at the
command of the Inquisition, he had said Mass in the private chapel of the church of St.
Gregory of Armenia, belonging to the nuns of St. Ligorio, he suddenly rose with a loud
cry from a corner of the chapel, where he was praying, flew up to the altar, and remained
standing there, bending over the flowers and candles with arms spread in the form of a
cross, so that the nuns cried out, "He will catch fire!" But, crying out anew, he returned
unharmed to the middle of the church, whirled about in a circle with the speed of an
arrow and sang, "O most Blessed Virgin! O most Blessed Virgin!"
It pleased God to glorify the saint in the presence of men of the highest rank.
During his first stay in Rome he went with the Father General to pay homage to the
Pope, Urban VIII. While kissing the feet of the Pontiff the saint, filled with reverence for
Jesus Christ in the person of His Vicegerent, was enraptured and raised aloft till the
Father General's command brought him back to his senses. The Pope marvelled much
and said to the Father General that if Father Joseph were to die during his pontificate, he
himself would bear witness to this occurrence.

30
INTERIOR OF THE UPPER CHURCH, BASILICA OF ST. FRANCIS AT ASSISI

31
 How often, by God's special grace, such happenings recurred during the thirteen
years of his stay at Assisi it is difficult to say. In 1645, the Spanish Ambassador to the
Papal Court, the High Admiral of Castile, passed through Assisi on purpose to see
Joseph. He visited the saint in his cell. After speaking with him he returned to the church
and said to his wife, "I have seen and spoken with another Saint Francis." On hearing
this, his wife desired to meet Joseph, and, at her request,6 the Father Custos commanded
him to go up into the church and speak with the lady. With the words, "I will obey, but
know not whether I shall be able to speak," the saint hastened to comply. Scarcely had he
entered the church when, looking up to a statue of the Immaculate Conception on the
altar, he flew about twelve paces over the heads of those present to the foot of the statue.
After remaining there some time in prayer, he flew back with his customary cry and
returned to his cell. The occurrence amazed the Admiral, his wife, and their numerous
retinue.
On another occasion Joseph terrified several painters, who remarked in his presence
that they meant to paint a picture of the Immaculate Conception in his little chapel. They
first heard him cry out in great agitation, "What? The Conception of the Virgin Mary?
The Immaculate Conception?" and then they saw him remain for more than half an hour
deprived of the use of his senses and immovable with outspread arms and eyes lifted to
heaven, enraptured in contemplation of the sublime mystery.
Great was the astonishment of a priest who, in company with Joseph, once entered a
village church. The priest enquired, "Do you think the Blessed Sacrament is preserved
here?" As no lamp was burning, the saint replied, "Who knows?" But immediately he
cried out aloud and flew towards the tabernacle, embraced it and adored the Blessed
Sacrament, which he miraculously knew to be present. Several religious, whom he
assisted to clean a reliquary and to fold a habit worn by St. Francis, saw him hover in the
air above their heads. Others saw him suspended on a cornice in the chapel of St.
Francis, sixteen palms from the floor. One day, while a priest was preaching to the
faithful in the chapel of St. Ursula, Joseph flew from a jalousied balcony, which jutted
out in front of the altar at some distance from the floor. He remained suspended in a
kneeling posture and, with face all radiant as that of a seraph, fixed his eyes on the
tabernacle till, at the command of his superior, he flew back to the balcony.7 Great was
the surprise and terror of the Father Custos on one occasion, when solemn Vespers had
been sung in honor of the Immaculate Conception in the chapel of the novitiate. Joseph
entreated the father to repeat with him the words, "Beautiful Mary." He then seized the
father and, pressing him close and exclaiming with louder voice, "Beautiful Mary,
Beautiful Mary!" rose with him into the air.
To avoid prolixity, we will omit other ecstasies and, in conclusion, relate one of the
most marvellous, which was occasioned by a deranged nobleman, Baltasar Rossi of
Assisi.8 Bound to a chair, this nobleman was brought to Joseph, that he might pray for
his recovery. The man of God commanded that the patient be freed and forced to kneel
in his oratory. He then touched his head and said, "Chevalier Baltasar, doubt not, but
commend yourself to God and His holy Mother." With these words and uttering his

32
usual cry, "Oh," he seized the nobleman by the hair and lifted him from the floor as he
rose in ecstasy into the air. The saint held him thus for a time to the amazement of those
present, who with the nobleman, now fully restored, praised and thanked God for
working such great miracles by His servant.

33
 CHAPTER V

GOOD ODOR OF CHRIST (II COR. 2, 15)

These ecstasies and flights were, no doubt, effects of the divine love which burned
in the heart of our saint and evidenced the union of his soul with God. Father Jerome
Rodriguez, a pious and learned priest of the Society of Jesus, once said after conversing
with Joseph: "He is perfectly united to God and his heart is more disposed to this union
than powder is to be ignited by the smallest spark." This union was fostered by and
found expression in continued prayer; almost without effort the saint raised his spirit to
God, whom he found ready to enlighten and inflame him and to draw him towards
Himself. It was as if in looking towards heaven he saw the beauty of paradise spread out
before his eyes, as he once said to Cardinal Brancati (speaking as of a third person): "It
appeared to him as if he were in the midst of a large gallery filled with beautiful and rare
objects, and saw in a bright mirror hanging there, at a single glance, the forms of all
things and could with certainty pronounce the hidden mysteries which it pleased God to
reveal to him while this sublime union lasted." His customary cry was an effect of the
inner fire which could not be confined to his breast, but forcibly broke forth from his
lips, as he himself said, — though again as of a third person,—"like to powder
proceeding from the cannon's mouth, causing a loud report." This great vehemence often
raised with the soul the body and any object he happened to have hold of. He even sang
and danced during these joyful ecstasies.
By reason of his abstraction from earthly things the saint often did not understand
what others said to him, or gave answers which plainly showed that he used natural
things only as a ladder to mount to the contemplation of the supernatural. Once, on a
journey, he met several women, and when a religious asked him whether he recognized
them, he replied, they were perhaps the Blessed Virgin, St. Clare, and St. Catharine.

34
Other times, when asked regarding other persons, he mentioned various saints.
He was very attentive when reciting the canonical hours or saying his prayers, as is
evinced by his many tears and the impression of his knees at the foot of the altar and on
the floor of his oratory. He prayed with lively faith and firm hope in God and said to
others, "Children, trust in God alone; for God alone can provide for you; men fail, God
never fails." And again, "He who has faith, is lord of the earth." As to himself, he said
that he trusted in God, and that he was like a man cast by accident on an ocean reef,
where, surrounded by water, he could expect no help, but from God alone. If necessary
he would remove mountains in the strength of this faith, from one end of the earth to the
other.
This lively faith it was that rendered his prayers effective. He once prayed that
Copertino and its territory be spared in a severe storm, and the hurricane ceased at once.
At another time he prayed while a heavy downpour of rain frightened the inhabitants and
threatened the vicinity of the convent at Grottella. When, after his prayer, he ran out of
the church and cried, "Dragon, dragon," the clouds fled before him and the sky cleared.
Once, when the heat of the sun had parched the fields near the same place, a procession
was held to implore aid, and, as the saint had foretold, a plentiful rain fell immediately
after. It was owing to Joseph's prayers that Alcide Fabiani, a surgeon, passed unnoticed
six assassins who sought to waylay him on his return from Spello to Assisi. By his
prayer he saved the Father General of his Order from the danger of drowning in a deep
trench, called Cannara, near the village of Monte Falco. The father, with his frightened
mule, had fallen from a bridge, and in falling had commended himself to Joseph, who
was then still living. On seeing the Father General later, the saint said to him: "Certainly,
my dear Father General, you were in great peril; for you had a dangerous fall at ten
o'clock, just as I was saying Mass, and I prayed to God for you."
The efficacy of his prayers is strikingly shown in the conversion to the Catholic
faith of a Lutheran prince, John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick. While visiting the
principal courts of Europe, in the year 1649, the prince, then twenty-five years of age,
came from Rome to Assisi expressly to see Joseph, of whose fame he had heard in
Germany. On his arrival at the monastery, he was given lodging in the rooms reserved
for persons of rank and, as he wished to speak with Joseph and then continue his
journey, he, with two of his retainers (one a Catholic, the other a Protestant) was led next
morning to the door of the chapel, where the servant of God was saying Mass. The saint,
who was not informed of their presence, was made aware of it when about to break the
sacred host, which he found so hard, that, in spite of all his efforts, he could not break it,
but had to replace it on the paten. Fixing his eyes upon the host, he wept and with a loud
cry rose in kneeling posture about five paces into the air. With another cry he returned
after some time to the altar and broke the sacred host, though with great effort. At the
instance of the Duke, the Father Superior asked him why he had wept, and he replied:
"My dear compatriot,1 the persons, whom you sent to my Mass this morning, have a hard
heart; for they do not believe all that Holy Mother Church teaches, and therefore the
Lamb of God was hardened in my hands so that I could not break the sacred host." The

35
Duke, astonished at this occurrence, deferred his departure in order to consult with the
servant of God. This he did after dinner, remaining with the saint till Compline. Moved
by divine grace, the Duke wished again to assist at Holy Mass on the following day. At
the elevation, the cross on the host appeared black to all present, and the saint, with his
usual cry, was raised up a palm from the floor, and remained about a quarter of an hour
in this position, elevating the host. On seeing this miracle the Duke wept, but his
companion, the Lutheran, said angrily: "Cursed be the hour in which I came to this
country; for at home I was much more at peace and now my conscience is tormented by
the furies of doubt."2 Joseph, enlightened from above, assured one of his friends of the
future conversion of the prince in the following words, "Let us be of good cheer, the deer
is wounded." The prince conversed with Joseph till midday. On seeing the Duke return
to his cell after Vespers, the saint hurried towards him, girded him with his girdle, and
said with great fervor: "For paradise I bind you; go, venerate St. Francis, assist at
Compline, follow with devotion in the procession, and do all as you see the friars do."
The prince humbly obeyed, promised to become a Catholic, and with his own hand
inscribed himself in the register of the Archconfraternity of the Cord of St. Francis.
Before publicly abjuring heresy, he returned home to arrange his affairs. The following
year he came to Assisi and, as he had promised, knelt before the Blessed Sacrament, and
in the presence of Cardinals Facchinetti and Rapaccioli, made profession of faith in the
hands of Father Joseph. Ever after the Duke remained devoted to his benefactor.
Very numerous are the miracles God wrought through the intercession of His
servant Joseph. We will content ourselves with adding these words from the process of
beatification: "His prayer was never in vain, but always obtained what he implored for
the welfare of the soul and body; even those who merely commended themselves to him,
received the desired favor at the moment he prayed for them." Knowing that all good
comes of prayer and wishing his neighbor all good, he frequently exhorted others by
saying, "Pray, pray."
Joseph's charity was such that he prayed without ceasing for all men, for the just,
that they might persevere in God's grace, and for sinners, that they might amend their life
and do penance. To render his prayer effective, he would at times implore God to bear,
as with the past, so, too, with the present sins of the world; at other times he would
severely chastise his body to make atonement, in some measure, for the sins of others.
When others recommended themselves to his prayers, he would kindly reply, "Take
refuge to God, and I, on my part, will not fail to pray for you." When such as were
troubled with doubts came to him he repeated to them the words, "Scruples and
melancholy I tolerate not in my house."3 After counselling and comforting them he
would in such cases jestingly take a broom, sweep them from head to foot, and say, "See,
I have taken all scruples from your back; do good, have a pure intention, and cast off all
doubts." Whenever he saw or heard of dissension he was very desirous to put an end to it
and usually succeeded in restoring peace.
His conversation was unaffected, yet so interesting that he captivated the hearts of
all who heard him. It was his wish that all should be upright and gentle in their

36
intercourse. He detested deceit, pride, and ostentation, and exhorted all, even his
superiors, to compassion, gentleness, and love. He frequently repeated such sayings as:
"Love, oh, love; he who has love is rich and knows it not; who has not love, has nothing;
he is unhappy without knowing it. Love and charity make for happiness." On seeing
anyone perform an act of charity, he rejoiced and would even embrace such a person, as
he once did a religious who had put an end to a dissension between certain persons by
pacifying their anger. He said to him, "God bless you, my dear son. May St. Francis
bless you; for you have acted as a true son of his."
This tender charity he recommended to others and practised himself, even towards
those who offended him. One who had insulted him was rewarded by a miracle. Another
who had wounded him with a knife because of a reproof, he won by gentleness and
forbearance, at the same time advising him of his approaching end. Yet another, who
was on the point of attacking him in anger, he tenderly embraced. Another fruit of his
charity was his zeal. In the monastery he severely reprimanded those who transgressed
the rule, and admonished his superiors to be vigilant. Sometimes he impetuously
approached and reproved the transgressors, as once at Assisi, on seeing two persons
engaged in vain discourse in the Basilica of St. Francis.
The saint sought to heal the secret wounds of the soul, which he knew by heavenly
enlightenment. Thus he freed Alphonso of Montefuscolo from temptations against
chastity, which beset him, and, at Copertino, induced a lady of Veglie to burn a charm
she was making. A person of distinction once brought to him a young nobleman who
was in a state of mortal sin. The saint said: "Who is this Moor, whom you have brought
to me? Do you not see that he is black?" Then he turned to the nobleman and said, "Go,
my son, and wash your face." When the man returned to him after a contrite confession,
Joseph said: "Now, my son, you are beautiful; wash yourself frequently; yesterday you
were ugly as a Moor." To everyone whose soul he saw disfigured by sin he said: "Oh,
how ugly you are! Go, adjust your bow!" By this latter expression he meant their
conscience.
As Joseph with Christian candor revealed their faults to those who had fallen into
sin, that they might repent, so he kindly cared for those who were in danger of falling, or
were tempted. A priest of Spello, who was about to sully his soul by committing a
grievous sin, experienced the effects of Joseph's charity. Beset by a severe temptation,
and in imminent danger of consenting, it was his good fortune to meet the saint, who
pressed his hand and kindly said to him: "My son, resist this temptation with courage;
for it is God's will that you offend Him not; this I say to you in earnest." By this singular
admonition he assisted the priest to conquer. Those who were tempted by evil spirits he
advised to receive the sacraments frequently. "For," said he, "where God dwells, the
enemy of God cannot easily approach; and in the long run God always conquers because
by His grace He can do more than the devil by temptations."
The charity of our hero was not restricted to the faithful, whom he would lead to
God, but reached out to infidels. He spoke with great tenderness and compassion of their
unhappy state and would gladly have undertaken anything for their conversion. It

37
happened that once, when praying for them and meditating on the inscrutable mysteries
of Divine Providence, he was enraptured for a long time. On coming to himself, he wept
bitterly and said to those about him: "My children, pray for the just and the sinners, pray
for the heretics, Turks and infidels; in short, pray for all; for we are all redeemed by the
most precious blood of Jesus Christ."
His charity extended also, as far as obedience would permit, to the bodily needs of
his fellow men. Even in the seclusion of his cell he knew by divine enlightenment of
their wants and aided them by his prayer. Where he had full liberty to act, he hastened to
the aid of the sick within and without the monastery, admonished them to resign
themselves to the will of God, and cheered them by words of good counsel. With joyful
countenance he would kindly say to such as feared death or were sad for other reasons,
"Be of good cheer, God will provide for you." He was ever ready to render them the
most humble services. He lifted them up, fed them, and bandaged their wounds. In short,
his love for the sick was so great that his fellow-religious were accustomed to say, It
were better to be sick than to be well when with Joseph, as in the former case he lived
only for the sick, in the latter only for himself. His charity toward the sick was,
moreover, so pleasing to God that He glorified the saint by miraculous cures.
The affection of his tender heart was manifested especially during a disastrous
famine in Assisi and the adjoining provinces. He wept and prayed without ceasing to
implore aid from God, and, as he was not allowed to beg for the support of the hungry
outside the monastery, he anxiously went about within the precincts of the convent to
comfort and cheer at least his spiritual brethren.
Gratitude prompted him, in view of his poverty, to reward his benefactors by
thanking and blessing them, by praying for and promising ever to remember them. Once
he spoke winningly to a surgeon who had rendered him aid: "Be blessed for the great
kindness you have shown me; God will reward you for it, and I will not forget to pray
for you when I shall come to the abode of the blessed."
Joseph's gratitude towards the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whose intercession he
ascribed all benefits he received from God, was most extraordinary. He sought to show
her a love than which none could be more tender and deep. In infancy his mother
instilled into him devotion towards Mary. He was accustomed to call Mary his mother. It
is difficult to tell how eagerly he served and honored her. He adorned her images with
flowers and devoted the most fervent affections of his heart to her. He was wont to say
jestingly: "My mother is very strange; if I bring her flowers, she says she does not want
them; if I bring her cherries, she will not take them, and if I then ask her what she
desires, she replies: 'I desire thy heart; for I live on hearts!' " That his heart belonged to
Mary was apparent from the continued devout prayers which he recited in her honor and
the tender words he applied to her, calling her his protectress, lady, patroness, mother
and helper, from the simple and joyful songs with which he extolled her, and especially
from the frequent ecstasies and flights which he experienced when he saw her image or
heard her praises.
Once, when the Litany of our Lady was being prayed in the church, he flew over six

38
fellow-religious at the words "Holy Mary." At other times such flights occurred at the
words, "Holy Mother of God," "Mother of Divine Grace," "Gate of Heaven." Even on
hearing the name of Mary he was often enraptured and lifted from the ground. His heart
melted at the thought of the beauty of the Queen of Heaven. One day, while he was
saying Mass, many persons saw him enraptured and lifted into the air and heard him
exclaim with tears in his eyes, "Praise her, ye holy angels, with your songs; for I pine
away because I cannot worthily praise her."
Not satisfied that Mary should be loved and praised by all the saints and angels of
Paradise, he most earnestly desired that she be loved and praised by all men on earth.
Some citizens of Copertino once came to the monastery at Grottella to visit him. "Why
have you come?" he said to them. "Do you wish to visit Our Lady?" When they replied
in the affirmative, he continued, "And what have you brought?" They replied, "The
Office and the rosary." "What Office? What rosary?" he asked,—for he well knew they
had come out of curiosity. "My Lady wishes more, she desires the heart and the will." By
these words he inflamed their hearts with love for Mary and, bidding them kneel, prayed
the Litany with them as he was accustomed to do with all who came to his cell. He also
admonished all to repeat often the words: "Mary, thou refuge of sinners, Mother of God,
be mindful of me." This ejaculatory prayer, he said, pleased the Blessed Virgin very
much because she is justly called Refuge of Sinners.
Joseph sought to honor the Mother of God by the frequent recital of the praises
contained in the Litany of Loreto. Once, when the shepherds with whom he prayed the
Litany each Saturday in a chapel near the monastery at Grottella, were hindered from
coming, he called with a loud voice to the sheep which he could see from afar, "Come
hither, to revere the mother of your God and my God." At these words the sheep, which
were so far distant from Joseph that his voice could not have reached them, ran towards
the chapel, without regarding the cries of the shepherd boys, and when they had come to
the chapel, the saint joyfully began the Litany. The animals replied in their own way to
each praise which he uttered, so that, for instance, when he said "Holy Mary," all cried
"Baa" and in this manner completed the Litany. On receiving the saint's blessing, they
gambolled back to their pastures.
The servant of God had acquired such confidence in his heavenly Mother that by
reciting the Litany he was able to exorcise devils and free the possessed. In serious
dissensions he reconciled the litigants by saying to them, "Let us go to Mother, to
Mother." In the name of the Mother of God, to whom he ascribed all good, he frequently
promised to work miracles and occasionally wrought them without delay. Thus he once
cured a blind woman by touching her eyes and saying: "May the Mother of God restore
you to health." The Vicar-General of Nardo was unwilling to bless the three crosses
which Joseph had erected near Grottella because of the great heat, but acceded to the
entreaties of the saint when he said, "My Mother will not let you feel the heat." Although
the solemnity lasted three and one half hours and the Vicar-General wore a cope, he did
not feel the least discomfort from the broiling sun.
At times Joseph's mother, who was poor, came to seek his aid. To her he said: "The

39
Madonna is my mother. I have nothing because I am poor. Take refuge to the Madonna,
she will provide for you." In very deed she always gave opportune aid in some
mysterious way. To a priest who was confined to bed by ulcers he said, "Do not lose
courage; how long is it since you were at Grottella to see your Mother?" "Alas," replied
the sick man, "do you not see in what condition I am and that I can hardly move?" The
servant of God then bandaged his wounds and stroked them saying, "Have you no
confidence in your Mother?" At the same moment the ulcers dried up and healed, and
soon the priest recovered fully. Another priest hesitated to pray for a particular grace.
The saint, seeing the cause of his doubt, said to him, "Take refuge to Mary; she will hear
you." The prayer was heard. At another time the saint opened the lips of a dying man
and, as he gave him a certain liquid to drink, asked him, "Do you feel better now?" The
man replied, "Yes," and Joseph continued, "Then say nothing about me to anyone, but
rather say the Mother of God, who is your mother and mine, has made you well."
To be brief, Joseph's holiness began, as he himself attested, with devotion to Mary.
The fame of his holiness was likewise due to the many graces which people received
from Mary because of his prayer. During his whole life our saint called the Blessed
Virgin "Mother," and in dying he invoked her by that sweet name in the words of the
Ave Maris Stella:

Show thyself a Mother;

Offer Him our sighs,
Who for us Incarnate
Did not thee despise.

40
 CHAPTER VI

EVANGELICAL PERFECTION

The love of our saint for the virtue of purity may be measured by his love for the
"Mother most pure." He was not immune, as were some saints, from impure temptations,
but rather severely molested by them; but the more vehement the temptations, the more
glorious was the victory which he won by invoking the aid of God and the B. V. Mary.
Nevertheless, he was so disquieted by doubts and fears that he was once heard to
exclaim: "Alas, my God, I know that Thou hast made all things well and that by Thy
grace I shall not sin in these temptations, but I would wish not to experience them." It
was God's will, however, that he be not free from temptations, yet remain pure and
unsullied. His confessors and many others have testified that they never remarked in him
even a shadow of impurity, but rather found him wholly pure in body and soul, so that
his spirit appeared to them more angelic than human.
In his love for purity, and in order to lead others to esteem it, he was wont to say
that a pure soul was like a crystal vase, beautifully polished and filled with fresh, clear
water, which everybody prizes in the time of heat; but if only a single drop of oil were
poured in, the whole mass of water would become an object of disgust. With a like
purpose he admonished all by word and example to flee every danger threatening this
virtue. Only when obedience required it, would he associate with persons of the other
sex. He was wont to say: "It is a dangerous thing to associate with women, who but harm
him who wishes to belong to God. One must avoid them and associate with them only
when obedience demands."
God rewarded his spotless purity by granting him the power to free those who were
molested by temptations against chastity, — at times by the use of some object, at other
times by mere words. A youth who was suffering from a very grievous temptation was

41
freed on girding himself with the girdle of the saint. A Turk who had been recently
converted to the Catholic faith complained to the saint of more vehement temptations
than he had ever had before. Joseph replied that this was due to the fact that formerly his
false religion had not forbidden impurity and that the devil does not strive to secure
control of what he already possesses. From that time on the man felt freed from these
temptations and confirmed in the Catholic faith.
The most certain and miraculous evidence, however, of the saint's angelical purity
was this, that he perceived a stench emanating from the bodies of incontinent persons,
and that his own body exhaled an exceedingly pleasant odor which was noticed by
others. On seeing a licentious person he recognized him as such by this stench. Once he
appeared restless and perplexed, and, on being asked what ailed him, replied that he had
just spoken with a licentious person, who had filled his nose with such a stench that he
could not remove it, not even by using snuff. To fill others with a horror of the vice of
impurity, he was wont to say that the impure stank before God, before the angels and
men.
"The best proof of Joseph's purity," said Cardinal Brancati, "was given to all those
who associated with him or only touched an object belonging to him; for there emanated
from him a most pleasant perfume, which clung for a long time to all things he used.
Even the rooms through which he passed long retained this unusual odor, and to find the
way he had gone, it sufficed to follow this odor."1 This perfume which he diffused was
regarded by all as supernatural; for it could be compared to no other perfume than that
which emanated from a breviary of St. Clare, preserved in Assisi, and that of the shrine
in which the remains of St. Antony are laid to rest and which those who have perceived
it have called a fragrance from Paradise.
Our saint excelled in religious poverty. Although religious are permitted the use of
many articles of food and clothing, yet he wished to be bereft not only of all
superfluities, but even of most necessaries of life. His habit was ever the worst he could
secure, and under it he wore a rough undergarment which better deserved the name of a
cilice than of a garment. His small clothes were of rough linen. He never dressed
otherwise, not even as a protection in the cold season, and put on slippers only when he
appeared in public. If questioned, on arriving at a monastery, whether he had brought his
clothes with him, he replied that he had certainly done so, referring to the clothes he
wore. In his last illness he consented to take two white handkerchiefs at the insistence of
the surgeon, but when he saw they were made of linen, he said, "They are too fine," and
returned them, taking in their stead others of coarser material.
His poverty in all other regards was of the same heroic mold. He ate but once a day,
and then only a few herbs and vegetables, seldom fish. Several times, when commanded
to do so, he ate meat, but, as already mentioned, his stomach always rejected it. He ate
alone in his cell, lest his frequent ecstasies cause disturbance in the refectory; and after
meals insisted on the removal of even the smallest remnants of food. The furniture of his
cell consisted of a priedieu, two cane chairs, a small table and several paper pictures of
saints. His bed was made up of several boards and a pallet of straw. This uncomfortable

42
and poor bed was so dear to him that once, when he was commanded to use a mattress
and linen sheets because of illness, he could not bear this unwonted comfort, but said he
felt as if all his bones were crushed. In order to satisfy him, his superior allowed him to
use his dear boards again.
The saint had a great aversion to money. He always refused it, and when
importuned to take it for the benefit of the monastery, would request the donors to bring
it to the superior. He loathed it so much that one day, when several pious persons had
secretly put a silver coin into his cowl, he began to breathe heavily and perspired as if he
bore a great weight, and finally exclaimed, "I can bear it no longer." Not until the money
had been removed was he again at ease. For the rest, he esteemed himself rich, and with
joyful countenance would say that he had nothing, but God provided him with all things.
He looked upon God as the source of all good and frequently repeated the words of his
Seraphic Father, "My God and my all." When, on his deathbed, he was asked to make
the customary renunciation and to give a list of the things he had in use, he could say to
his superior, "Father Guardian, I would gladly make the renunciation, but I have nothing
to renounce."
It may be said of our saint that he was wholly subject to his superiors. He frequently
said he would rather die than disobey. He revered his superior as if he were St. Francis
himself, and would not see any defect in him in order that he might not find even a
shadow of a reason to disobey. To each superior he disclosed his manner of life and
stated his readiness to change it if so directed. He did not wish to do aught without the
merit of obedience, so that without the consent of the lay-brother, his companion, he
would not even open or close the window of his cell. One day, while Extreme Unction
was being administered to Father Caravaggio, his confessor, who was very sick and
given up by the doctors, Joseph was enraptured and lifted up over the bed of the sick
priest. On returning to himself, he wished to go back to his cell, but on hearing his
superior command him to stay, he remained immovable at the place where he stood, not
daring to take a step till the superior had given him permission. If commanded to do so,
he ate meat, left his cell, spoke to persons, allowed his feet to be kissed, gave to his
admirers any object he was using, although he had a great aversion to whatever
redounded to his own honor and praise. Once his superior commanded him to eat a
confection, and he ate it quickly. When asked by a religious how it had tasted, since he
was accustomed to fast on bread and water, he quietly replied, "I merely obeyed." At
another time the Father General commanded a religious to take away Joseph's old habit
in order to give it to the Princess of Savoy, who had a great devotion toward the saint
and had provided a new habit for him. At first, Joseph, not knowing of the command of
his superior, objected, but as soon as he learned of it he quickly took off his cowl and
habit saying, "If obedience requires it, I am satisfied that you take not only my habit, but
also my skin and flesh." On another occasion he said, "If commanded to do so, I would
not fear to enter a fiery furnace and would trust to be preserved uninjured because of the
merit of obedience."
To induce others to love and practice obedience he extolled its merits and called it a

43
"knife that kills the will of man and sacrifices it to God, a carriage that conveys a man
comfortably to heaven, a little dog that leads the blind." "O holy obedience," he often
exclaimed, "God Himself esteems thee." When enraptured, neither blows nor the
application of fire could recall him to his senses, but if obedience called, he returned
forthwith. On being asked one day to explain this, he replied that he did not hear the
voice of his superior when enraptured, but because God loved obedience so well, and
desired that he should obey without delay, He made the vision disappear at once. We
have already recorded the words of the saint, that God drew aside a veil before the
enraptured soul and showed it, as in a gallery, many beautiful and ineffable objects.
Referring to this comparison he added that, at the word of obedience, the Lord again
drew the veil and left the soul free to its duties.
The merit of his obedience was so great that by it he obtained the power to terrify
the devil and subject even irrational animals to his will. When, at the behest of his
superior, he exorcised persons possessed by evil spirits, he would command Satan to
depart from their bodies by saying, "Out of obedience I have come, therefore you must
depart." At times, after praying the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, he would gently say: "I
have come, not to drive you from this body, but only to obey; if, therefore, you wish to
leave, do so; but if not, do as you like; for me it is sufficient to have obeyed." In this
manner he confounded the proud spirit and forced him to leave his victim. Yet another
means Joseph employed. During the exorcism of a possessed woman, the devil struck
him a terrific blow in the face. The saint was not alarmed, but, kneeling down, drew
forth the written command of his superior, gave it to the possessed person and said,
"Here, take it! O holy obedience." He then prayed the Litany of our Lady, and the devil,
unable to bear this childlike obedience, departed at once.
It was amazing with what alacrity irrational animals did the saint's bidding. A
linnet, to which he often said, "Praise God," would praise the Lord or cease to do so at
his command. Once, on setting free a gold-finch, he said to it: "Go, enjoy what God has
given thee; as for me I require nothing more of thee than that thou return when I call thee
to praise with me thy God and mine." Obedient to these words, the bird flew about in the
garden near by and, when Joseph called it, straightway came to praise the Creator. A
hawk once killed a finch, which the saint had trained to say, "Jesus and Mary. Friar
Joseph, pray your Breviary." The hawk returned at the saint's command and, when he
reproached it saying, "Thou, thief, hast killed my finch and deservest that I should kill
thee," it remained perched on the cage as if sorry for its misdeed, allowed Joseph to
strike it with his hand, and only flew away when he said, "Now go. This time I will
pardon thee, but do not do such a thing again."
A ram which had gone mad because bitten by mad dogs, was confined in a garden
so as to harm nobody. The servant of God, accidentally coming to the place, was warned
to beware of the animal. With a smile he replied that he trusted in God. He then turned to
the ram, stroked it and said, "Foolish one, what dost thou here? Return to thy flock." On
being freed, it hastened back to its flock, well and tame.
To the nuns of St. Clare at Copertino the saint presented a white lamb to watch over

44
the discipline of the community. The lamb was always first in all exercises, abstemious,
quiet in the chapel and ever alert to wake the sleepy by butting and jostling or to remove
with hoofs and teeth any vain finery which it observed. When the lamb had died, the
saint promised to send the nuns a bird which should prompt them to love God, and thus
it came to pass. One day as the nuns were reciting the Divine Office, a forest songster
perched on the window of the choir and sang most sweetly. And thus day by day the
merry warble of the feathered songster accompanied and encouraged the chanting of the
nuns, until one day it saw two novices quarrelling and flew between them in an endeavor
to part them with its outspread wings and tiny claws. One of the novices struck the bird,
and it flew away and did not return, though it had been with the community for five
years. The nuns were grieved because of this and complained to Joseph, but he said: "It
serves you right; why did you provoke it and chase it away? It is unwilling to come
again." But, at their urgent request, he promised to send the bird again. At the first
summons to choir, the bird not only came to the window and sang, but, grown more
tame than before, flew into the monastery. The nuns tied a small bell to its foot. When it
failed to appear on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, they again had recourse to Joseph,
who replied to them: "I sent you the bird that it should sing, not that it should ring a bell.
It has stayed away because during these days it has guarded the holy sepulchre. I will see
that it comes back again." And the bird returned and remained a long time with the pious
nuns.
The saint commanded two hares near the convent at Grottella, saying, "Go not too
far from the church of our Lady; for there are many hunters lying in wait for you." They
obeyed and profited by their obedience; for when hunters pursued the one, it fled into the
church and thence into the monastery, where it leaped into the arms of Joseph. The saint
said to it, "Did I not tell you not to go too far from the church, lest it cost you your skin?"
The saint protected the hare from the hunters. The other rabbit, which was chased by
dogs and concealed itself beneath Joseph's habit, had a like good fortune. When the
Marquis of Copertino, who had arranged the hunt, came up and asked the saint whether
he had seen the rabbit, he replied, "See, here it is, but do it no harm." The saint then said
to the animal, "Go, jump into those bushes and remain there without moving." The hare
obeyed and the dogs did not pursue it, to the great amazement of the Marquis and his
whole party.

45
 CHAPTER VII

IN HIS LIFE HE DID GREAT WONDERS (ECCLI. 48, 15)

As has been recounted above, Joseph was not well talented; he had only sufficient
knowledge of Latin to use the Breviary and the Missal.1 God, however, bestowed on him
a measure of wisdom which amazed even learned theologians. He penetrated deeply into
the meaning of Holy Scripture, especially of the Psalms, and would say, "No better
spiritual book can be found than the Breviary; to me it is the source of all profit." When
asked regarding the more difficult mysteries, for example, the Most Blessed Trinity, the
Incarnation, predestination, the efficacy of grace, justification, and similar subjects, he
would reply readily with great erudition and would solve the difficulties proposed by
very learned men. On such occasions he made use of comparisons from the material
world and explained all questions with such lucidity that he soon convinced his hearers.
Of the many and learned religious who questioned him, one admitted, "He knows more
than I." Another said, "Now I am learning a new and more excellent theology." A third
asserted, "My conversations with Father Joseph have been of greater use to me than
many years of study." A fourth declared, "Joseph speaks more profoundly on theological
subjects than the foremost theologians of the world." All agreed that "the gifts of the
Holy Ghost, wisdom, science and intellect were made manifest in Joseph."
To this heavenly light of wisdom was added another, by means of which Joseph
knew the thoughts and secrets of others. When anyone stained with sin came to him, he
said, "Go wash your face which you have sullied with ink," or, "Adjust your bow,"
referring to the person's guilty conscience. If such a person replied, he was not conscious
of any particular sin, Joseph would add the time, place and circumstances of the sin. On
the return of such a person after confession, he kindly said, "Now all is well again with
you." He even knew the guilty ones without seeing them. Once he said to one who

46
rapped at his door, "Go first to confession, then come again and enter."
Similar occurrences are recorded of him as a confessor. A woman made her
confession and added that she knew of no other sin. But the saint replied, "Confess those
evil thoughts to which you consented," naming the occasion and place. The woman
thereupon confessed that it had indeed been so. In like manner he said to a novice, whom
he had advised to write his general confession, "My son, here you have not expressed
yourself well; for it was not as you have written here, but thus and thus." On one
occasion he revealed in a discourse to the novices their most hidden faults, so that all
were greatly amazed.
If anyone prayed the Divine Office, the Litany or rosary with him, Father Joseph
called attention to any distractions the person entertained. To one he said, "Remain
here," thus referring to his wandering thoughts. To another he said, "You have prayed
the Our Father very distractedly." Another, who had not yet prayed the Office for the
day, was asked at nightfall by the saint, "Where is the Divine Office? The Breviary cries
out against you." It is related that people who had not a clear conscience or were slaves
to passion, dreaded to meet him.
As he disclosed faults, so, too, he often revealed to others their good works and
anxieties. Thus, he thanked a lady named Elizabeth, whom he met coming from church,
for a "Salve Regina" which she had prayed for him. To a Tertiary who feared to reveal to
him some doubts which troubled her, he said, "Why do you fear? Tell me your
difficulties." Without allowing her to speak, he then revealed to her all she had wished to
say to him. On another occasion he said to the same person: "Yesterday you scourged
yourself and practised one other mortification. You entertained this thought. In future
you must do this and omit that." He revealed to Cardinal Rapaccioli, Bishop of Terni, the
good works he had done while in his room. Another time, when the Cardinal was much
disturbed by doubts and was about to send a letter to Joseph explaining them, he
received a letter from the saint in which, to his amazement, he found his doubts solved in
detail. In like manner a religious received of Joseph, through a companion, advice
regarding several matters about which he intended to consult him. To another, who was
very sad that he had not entered a stricter Order, Joseph cheerily said: "What is the
matter? Why are you sad? Can you not practise what the Reformati do? Be satisfied in
the Order in which you have taken vows."
Even hidden thoughts were revealed to the servant of God. He gently reproved a
novice who, during Terce, had thought of the fruit in the garden, by repeating verbally to
him what he had said to himself, namely, "Today I shall climb the fig-tree and eat my
fill." A lay-brother who was his companion on a journey and carried a goldfinch, thought
of different persons to whom the saint might wish to present the bird. Joseph suddenly
turned to him and said, "Not to any of the persons of whom you have thought, will I give
the bird, but I will set it free." He thereupon opened the cage and let the bird fly.
Distance was no bar to his knowledge. One night while Joseph was at prayer in the
church at Grottella, a lady who suffered severe pain sent her servant to request the saint
to come. Before the man could deliver his message, the saint said, "Son, go home; the

47
pain has ceased, and your lady is well."
One evening when speaking with the Guardian, he suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, what a
stench! Oh, what a hellish stench!" The Guardian noticed nothing; but Joseph, knowing
the cause of the stench he perceived, obtained permission, hurried as fast as he could to
Copertino, went directly to a certain house and rapped at the door till he was admitted.
He then ran up the steps and came upon a number of sorcerers, men and women, with
salves and oils in vases and in pots on the fire. In holy indignation he broke the vases
into fragments with his cane, while his countenance appeared so terrible that the guilty
ones fled in dismay.
The saint revealed the recovery of persons who lay sick at Rome, and the death of
others, notably Popes Urban VIII and Innocent X, who died at the time he had foretold.
Many other instances of his knowledge of things that had happened long before or at a
great distance, could be adduced on sworn testimony of trustworthy witnesses.
The saint foretold the events of his own life even to the minutest details. His
prophecies regarding others are very numerous; we will, however, content ourselves
with narrating a few. A mother brought to him her two sons, that he might bless them
before they set out for Rome, where they meant to study for the degree of doctor.
"What," said the saint, "doctors? Yes, doctors in heaven." The two died soon after. A
noble Polish youth asked him whether it were better for him to marry or to take orders,
and received the answer, "Neither the one nor the other." A few months later the youth
died. A sick man commended himself to the saint, that he might recover so as to provide
for his wife and parents. The saint rejoined: "Why do you think of wife, of father and
mother? You need patience, my son, for God wishes to take you to Himself. O Paradise,
how beautiful is Paradise!" His prophecy was fulfilled in all its details; for the sick man
recovered but died a sudden death within a month. In like manner Joseph foresaw the
circumstances of the death of many others and the recovery of the sick.
Once, on seeing a vain courtesan, he said to the bystanders, "Behold, a Magdalen."
He then turned to her and said, "God calls thee. Leave this vain finery and love God,
thou Magdalen." She obeyed this summons of grace and after her conversion took the
name Magdalen.
Two prophecies regarding a notary public came true. Because he had not heeded
Joseph's words, this notary was subjected to suffering, which the saint had foretold. He
then entered the clerical state, but without the hope of becoming a priest because his
father had left him no fortune. Joseph, however, said to him, "Be of good cheer; when
the time comes, God will provide for you." And, indeed, he received the needed
patrimony from a person of whom he had least expected it.
When Portolongone2 was besieged by the King of Spain, in 1649, our saint foretold
that the city would fall on the feast of the Assumption, as indeed happened. A doctor at
Assisi had often commended himself to Joseph's prayers, asking that a son might be born
to him. When his wife was near death in travail, the physician hastened to the saint to
implore his prayer, but the latter reassured him by saying that the lady's life was not in
danger. After the doctor had gone, Joseph smilingly said to a fellow-religious, "Tonight a

48
son will be born to the doctor; I did not wish to reveal it to him, lest it be said that I pose
as a prophet." His words came true.
A marriage was the occasion of several remarkable prophecies. The saint sent
congratulations to the father of a young lady because of a projected alliance. The man
thanked him for the civility but answered that, owing to the great social inequality
between the persons in question, the realization of his wish was far distant. Thereupon
Joseph said with a smile: "But what if her husband is already born. The marriage was
made in heaven and will be contracted on earth." The marriage took place. The mother
of the bride, fearing that witchcraft might have influenced the transaction, sent to Joseph
requesting him to say Mass for her intention, but without making known her suspicion.
The servant of God sent her word that she should not fear and, because he was sick, have
the Mass said by her pastor. The marriage might then take place without delay, and in
time a son would be born to those about to wed. The woman, astonished and full of joy,
especially because of the promised son, requested that Joseph stand sponsor for the boy.
The saint, however, replied that she should make a better choice because he would no
longer be among the living. All the words of the saint were verified.
To a brave young man who was preparing to go to war, Joseph foretold that he
would not go; thus it came to pass. A religious who was destined for the Congo mission
was told by the saint that he would not go to the mission, as indeed happened. Another
religious was commanded to go to Perugia to study, but Joseph remarked to him, "One is
well off at Urbino, too." The friar went to Urbino and not to Perugia. Joseph said to
Father Raphael Palma, Custos of the monastery at Assisi, "Oh, what a handsome head!
How well the mitre will grace it!" The priest became a bishop. The dignity of the
Cardinalate he prophesied to Nicholas Albergati (who later took the name Louis), to
Antony Bichi, Bishop of Osimo, and to Father Lawrence Brancati of Lauria. All three
received the sacred purple. The saint foretold to John Casimir, who later became King of
Poland, his elevation to the throne. To Cardinal Benedict Odescalchi (later Pope
Innocent XI), who much desired the arrival of a supply of grain to prevent a scarcity in
Ferrara, where he was Legate, he foretold its early arrival. The two Custodes at Assisi
were cheered by Joseph's promise that the need of their monastery would soon be
relieved, and they received abundant help. A religious requested a favor of the newly
elected Father General. The saint prophesied that he would receive it, but not until many
years later, and from another General; thus it came to pass. In short, whatever Joseph
foretold came true to the smallest detail.
Joseph was frequently honored by heavenly visions. Saints3 appeared to him and
conversed with him about Paradise. Angels, in visible form, brought him heavenly
comfort. Jesus Christ appeared to him in the form of a tender child, in the consecrated
host and on other occasions, nestled in his arms and by sweet words and fond caresses
filled him with ineffable delight.
God revealed some of these favors to other souls. Sister Catharine of Cantu, a
Tertiary, saw Joseph enter Assisi accompanied by two angels. To Sister Cecilia Nobili of
Nocera4 it was revealed that Joseph's guardian angel was of a higher angelic choir than

49
those of ordinary men. The saint had such a great reverence for his guardian angel that
he never entered his cell without inviting the angel to enter first. The same venerable
servant of God, Sister Cecilia, saw the soul of Joseph take refuge in the wound of the
side of Christ; and at another time she saw his soul on the top of a very high mountain,
which signified the mountain of perfection.
More than by such testimony of pious souls Joseph's sanctity was attested by the
devil, the greatest enemy of all holiness. Thus Satan said to a religious who was
exorcising him and who bound a girdle, which the saint had blessed, about the possessed
one: "If you knew the virtue of this friar and how pleasing his soul is to God, you would
be astonished. I must acknowledge this because God forces me to speak. Friar Joseph is
the worst foe we have."
The infernal spirits treated Joseph as their enemy. One night the servant of God was
standing before the altar of St. Francis, in the Basilica at Assisi, when he heard the door
opened violently and saw a man enter, who advanced so noisily that his feet seemed
cased in iron. The saint regarded him closely and saw that, as he approached, the lamps
went out, one by one, till finally all were extinguished and the intruder stood at his side
in utter darkness. Thereupon the devil, for he it was, furiously attacked Joseph, threw
him on the floor, and attempted to strangle him. Joseph, however, invoked St. Francis,
and saw him come forth from his tomb and relight with a small candle all the lamps, at
the gleam of which the fiend suddenly vanished. By reason of this occurrence Joseph
gave St. Francis the name "Lamplighter of the Church."
The devil made other attempts on the life of Joseph, by throwing him into a rapid
stream in order to drown him, by taking hold of him to tear him to pieces, and by
endeavoring to run him through with a sword, but all to no purpose. Though the evil one
did succeed in striking him so terribly that his fellow-religious were horrified by the
noise of the many blows and the rattling of chains, he did not succeed in tiring the
patience of the saint. When asked by his fellow-religious as to the cause of the strange
noises in his cell at night, Joseph laughingly replied, "It was only fun." All the devil
accomplished by his implacable hatred was to give unmistakable proof of Joseph's
sanctity.
Our saint frequently wrought miracles. We have already mentioned some and shall
now relate a few others of the many that are on record.
In the hands of Joseph, or at his word, bread, wine, honey and other similar things
were multiplied. The lame and the crippled he cured by giving them a crucifix to kiss.
He restored sight to the blind by the touch of his hand, by placing on their heads his
biretta5 or something he had written. By the sign of the cross he healed many of the fever
and even recalled the dying to life.
A nobleman of Naples once entered the cell of Father Joseph and insolently said:
"Impious hypocrite, it is not your person, but the religious garb you wear, which I
respect and to it I trust, that if you will make the sign of the cross over my wound, it will
heal." He then uncovered the wound. Joseph smiled and replied with joyful and humble
mien, "What you say is true." He blessed the wound, and it healed immediately.

50
 The rare gift of bilocation (being at two places at the same time) was given to our
saint on two occasions. There lived at Copertino an old man, Octavius Piccinno, who
was generally called "Father." He had requested the saint, while living at Grottella, to
assist him in the hour of death. The saint had promised to do so, and added, "I shall assist
you even though I should be in Rome." This promise was a prophecy, and its fulfilment
involved a miracle. Joseph was at Rome when the old man fell sick, but at the approach
of his last hour hastened to assist him. He was seen by many witnesses, especially by
Sister Teresa Fatali of the Third Order, who on this occasion spoke to him and in
amazement asked, "Father Joseph, how did you come?" He replied, "I came to assist the
soul of 'Father,' " and then suddenly disappeared.
While living at Assisi, he was seen at Copertino assisting his mother in the hour of
death. She had much desired to see him and cried out in sorrow, "Alas, my dear Joseph, I
shall not see you again." Presently a bright light filled the room, and the dying woman,
on seeing her son, joyfully exclaimed, "O Father Joseph! O my son!" At the same time
the Father Custos at Assisi met Joseph, sad and in tears, about to enter the church. The
Father Custos enquired as to the cause of his sadness. With a sob, Joseph replied, "My
poor mother has just died." Events proved the truth of his words; for a letter from
Copertino soon brought the sad news. Several persons, who lived with his mother and
who later came to Osimo, solemnly testified that the saint had assisted his mother on her
deathbed.
A very amazing miracle was wrought by our saint at Copertino. A flock of sheep
had been killed by enormously large hailstones, and the shepherds begged the saint to
help them. Joseph hurried out into the field, lifted up his heart to God, and then raised
the animals, one by one, from the ground, saying, "In the name of God, arise!" All the
animals arose, and the shepherds were so amazed that they could not utter a word to
thank their benefactor.

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 CHAPTER VIII

GLORIFIED IN THE SIGHT OF KINGS (ECCLI. 45, 3)

One need not marvel that a man of such great virtue and enriched with such gifts,
attracted men and aroused in all the desire to rank him among their number, as did the
Archconfraternity of St. Antony of Padua at Rome and the Confraternity of St. Stephen
at Assisi. Everyone esteemed it a privilege to know him and to associate with him. His
presence was so charming, his words so gentle, and his company so pleasant, that all
were forced to love him. Many persons of the highest rank came to visit him. He was
universally called "the holy friar" and esteemed as such. Besides Cardinals Facchinetti,
Ludovisi, Rapaccioli and Odescalchi, who have already been mentioned, Cardinals
Donghi, Pallotta, Verospi, Paluzi, Sacchetti and others admired and revered Father
Joseph as a saint. On visiting him, they were much edified by his virtues, his holy words,
his ecstasies and flights, and other wonderful gifts which they observed.
Prince Leopold of Tuscany, who was later created Cardinal, went to Assisi for the
express purpose of making Joseph's acquaintance. While there, he had the good fortune
of seeing him fall into ecstasy, with eyes fixed on a picture of the Mother of God, when
the Father Custos said some words in praise of the Queen of Heaven.
The fame of Joseph's sanctity spread to Germany, France, Poland, and other
countries, so that besides the Duke of Brunswick and the High Admiral of Castile,
already mentioned, many other princes and lords came to Assisi to visit the holy man.
Such visitors were the Duke of Bouillon from France, Isabelle, Duchess of Mantua, from
Austria, Princes Radziwill and Lubomirski with their wives, Prince Zamoyski and other
grandees from Poland. The royal Prince of Poland, John Casimir, visited the saint
repeatedly. Joseph, on hearing of his wish to become a religious, advised him to enter the
Society of Jesus in preference to any other Order, because he would be forced to leave

52
the religious state, which he could not do if he entered any other Order.1 On another
occasion he advised the Prince not to take sacred orders, and said God would reveal His
will to him explicitly. John Casimir was raised to the Cardinalate by Pope Innocent X,
but after the death of his brother Ladislaus was elected King of Poland. Joseph, on
seeing him at Assisi in a worldly garb on his journey from Rome to his kingdom,
smilingly said to him: "Did I not tell you? Just go; for you will advance God's interests
more in this state of life than in the religious state." On hearing this the King left, well
satisfied. Knowing the great sanctity of Joseph, he continued to consult him by letter and
received from him good counsel and even knowledge of future events in Poland.
A lady of rank who, prompted by curiosity, had come with others to see the saint in
ecstasy, was put to shame. When she entered and was about to pronounce the holy
names of Jesus and Mary, as had been agreed upon, the saint reproached her with the
words: "What! Should one come out of mere curiosity? Do you not know that God could
work miracles on this wood? Go away in the name of God."
Mary, daughter of Charles Emmanuel of Savoy and Catharine of Austria, whom we
have already mentioned, came to Assisi after having visited various sanctuaries of Italy.
This princess, who had led a pious life from early youth and had been invested with the
habit of the Third Order by Father Francis Angelus Cavallari, Guardian of the
Conventuals at Turin, felt so drawn toward the saint that she was reluctant to leave
Assisi. She therefore remained many days at Rivotorto, near Assisi, and then several
months at Perugia, whence she returned repeatedly each week to discuss with Joseph the
affairs of her soul and to spend whole days with him in holy converse. Her veneration
grew in keeping with the miracles of which she was a witness and frequently the object.
The princess was somewhat deaf and used a silver ear-trumpet, but the voice of the
saint she heard without the instrument and at some distance from him. She wrapped the
saint's girdle about a finger, which she had bruised while closing a door, and at once felt
free from pain. She was frequently a witness of ecstasies and miraculous flights while
assisting at Holy Mass said by the saint. Once she saw him, in his private chapel, hover
three palms from the floor while elevating the Sacred Host. In the chapel of the Veil of
Mary, whither she had brought a relic of the true cross encased in gold, she repeatedly
saw him in ecstasy during Holy Mass. After Mass, when he had laid aside the vestments,
she saw him fly upon the altar and remain there, with bent knees, in sweet ecstasy.
Once, when the princess was permitted to dine with the Father Custos and the saint
in the sacristy of the upper church at Assisi, she witnessed an ecstasy. Joseph, out of
obedience, consented to dine with the princess, but brought his own food, saying that he
brought dinner to a poor pilgrim (meaning the princess). Hardly had they begun to eat,
when the saint unexpectedly went into ecstasy, fell on his knees with outspread arms and
fixed his eyes on the princess. She felt great joy because of this and requested the Father
Custos to recall him by virtue of obedience. At the word of his superior, Joseph came to
himself and hurriedly went to his cell without saying aught else than his usual words in
such cases, "Let my heart be undefiled in Thy justification, that I may not be
confounded" (Ps. 118, 80). When asked by a religious regarding this occurrence, he

53
replied, "We have two St. Clares; one still lives on earth, the other is in heaven," and
added that he had seen such splendor on the countenance of the princess that he could
not resist the impulse to kneel. Thus he did but praise her piety to conceal his own
holiness.

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 CHAPTER IX

MY LIFE IS "HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD" (COL. 3, 3)

(Antiphon to Magnificat of I. Vespers, Office of St. Joseph)

In spite of the honors bestowed upon him, our saint remained humble. From his lips
no one ever heard a word in his own praise. He habitually regarded himself as the least
of all men and called himself a "man dead and useless to all purposes," or "brother ass,"
or the "most wicked and infamous sinner among men." He once said that if he had aught
of good, it came from God, who generally made use of the greatest sinners to perform
great things. On seeing people and princes come to him, he said in astonishment, "I
know not why these people come to me; for I am but an ignorant man and a poor sinner."
After a visit by persons of rank he would fall on his knees, kiss the floor and repeat the
words, "Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Thy name give glory." (Ps. 113, 1.) He then
repeatedly struck his breast and wept bitterly because of such visits.
The actions of the saint suited his words. He humbled himself not only before his
superior, but before all his brethren, undertook with joy the lowliest tasks, detested all
praise, and took pleasure in being insulted and despised. One day while the saint was in
his cell, speaking to other religious on spiritual things, his confessor unexpectedly
entered and, to try the saint's humility, scornfully said, "What did you say, hypocrite?"
Joseph, without showing the least resentment, replied, "What you say is true," and then
covered his face with both hands.
In his efforts to hide the gifts and graces he received from God, he ascribed the
supernatural perfume which emanated from his person, to aromatic substances which he
designedly carried about with him. It was ascertained, however, that the odor was

55
present even if he carried nothing or even malodorous things about his person. His
ecstasies and flights he called sleep, infirmity, frailty or physical weakness. Often, when
he felt ecstatic impulses of love, he would say, in order to avoid the admiration of men,
"Enough,enough, cease, cease, no further," and begged God to deprive him entirely of
such heavenly consolations.
He was wont to extol the virtue of humility and to admonish others to practise it. To
the novices, in particular, he said: "Some of you will be called to preach, but be not
elated because of that; for a preacher is like unto a trumpet which produces no tone
unless one blows into it. Before preaching, pray to God, 'Thou art the spirit and I am but
the trumpet, which, without Thy breath, can give no sound.' "
The following instance shows how he endeavored to humble himself. While at
Copertino he went, upon command of his superior, to the house of a lady who was a
member of the Third Order. While there, another Tertiary came on a visit with her child,
about three years of age. Joseph caressed the child, placed it on a chair, and said, "Little
one, repeat after me: 'Brother Joseph is a great sinner and, when he dies, he will go to
hell'." But the child, hardly able to speak distinctly and unable to understand the meaning
of the words, replied clearly and distinctly, "Brother Joseph is a great saint and, when he
dies, he will go to Paradise." The saint rejoined with seeming anger:" Will you not speak
as I prompt you? Now, say as I do, 'Brother Joseph is a great sinner.' " But the child
repeated his former words, "Brother Joseph is a great saint." Joseph, taking the child by
the ears and hair, said, "Will you not say as I do?" and again prompted, "Brother Joseph
is a great sinner and, when he dies, he will go to hell." But the child repeated a third
time, "Brother Joseph is a great saint, and, when he dies, he will go to Paradise." Those
present were touched unto tears and convinced that God had wished, by the mouth of an
innocent child, to reward and exalt Joseph because of his humility.
Pope Innocent X, on learning of Joseph's many rare gifts and of the concourse of
people who went to Assisi to visit him, decided to remove him in order to shield and
preserve his sanctity. By written order of the General Inquisition to the Father Inquisitor
at Perugia, Father Joseph was transferred to the monastery of the Capuchins at
Pietrarubbia. This monastery was built on a slope of Mount Carpegna, in the diocese of
Montefeltro, Duchy of Urbino. The papal command was executed July 23, 1653.
Although Joseph, by divine revelation, foresaw this trial, he manifested some anxiety,
because he wished to live with his beloved fellow-religious near the tomb of his Seraphic
Father. In fact, he was so frightened that the Father Custos had repeatedly to reassure
him.1 Obedience, however, prevailed over his fears and, kissing the feet of the Father
Inquisitor, he hurried into the carriage which stood ready.2 Tranquil of heart he
undertook the journey, even though he knew not his destination.
The journey was an occasion for new manifestations of the saint's virtue. In a litter
carried by two mules, which was substituted for the carriage at Città di Castello,3 he
crossed ravines and rocks without mishap, to the great astonishment of his companion.
On his arrival at Pietrarubbia, he prostrated himself at the feet of the Guardian, whom he
recognized, though he had never seen him before. This superior had received strict

56
command from the Father Inquisitor to restrain Joseph from associating with others than
Capuchins and from corresponding with anyone. The saint was so perfectly obedient in
all things that he took no step without the leave of the superior and never enquired as to
the reasons for the restrictions to which he was subject.

57
THE SACRO CONVENTO AT ASSISI
Where St. Joseph lived, 1639–1653

58
 At Pietrarubbia Joseph continued to practise mortification, patience, and every other
virtue. At times he would weep bitterly over the sufferings of Jesus Christ. At other
times he would joyfully sing his usual spiritual hymns, in which he occasionally invited
the Capuchins to join. Here, too, he was favored by God with a knowledge of the secrets
of others, with revelations of future events, with frequent miracles, with apparitions of
angels and saints and of Jesus Christ Himself, and with continual ecstasies in his cell or
in the garden, but especially at the altar.
The Inquisition intended that the saint should remain hidden in the solitary
mountains. God, however, permitted him to become so widely known that the church
could not hold the crowds which gathered to assist at his Mass.4 Because of this some
removed the roof, while others broke openings into the wall of the church in order to see
him. For greater convenience many built themselves huts near the monastery or even
erected inns. The saint stayed three months at Pietrarubbia. Then command was given by
Rome to the Archbishop of Urbino to remove him to the Capuchin monastery at
Fossombrone. Mario Viviani,5 Canon and Archpriest of the cathedral, was entrusted with
the execution of the task.
Our saint, buoyed up by the thought that God is everywhere, undertook with joy
this journey to Fossombrone. It was characterized by frequent ecstasies and miracles. A
stubborn mule, attached to the saint's litter, and a horse used by one of the party,6 which
before had refused to bear any burden, were quiet and obeyed the voice of the guide
during the journey. A violent shower, which annoyed the others very much, did not even
moisten the saint's garments.
Although the greatest secrecy was observed, his arrival at the monastery of
Fossombrone became known at once to the people. They came in throngs to the
monastery, desirous to see the saint and to commend themselves to his prayers; and they
came in such numbers that, for fear of violence, the friars dared not go out, but
concealed themselves within the convent. In spite of this concourse of people Joseph was
dead to the world and isolated to such a degree that he said Mass at a private altar
prepared for the purpose. Here was verified his reply to the Father Guardian, who had
asked him one evening, when about to retire, "What are you doing here, Friar Joseph?"
The saint had joyfully answered, "I am burying one who is dead." The solitude gave him
so much greater freedom for God, with whom he conversed without interruption. The
virtues of the saint most remarked during his stay at Fossombrone were charity toward
the sick religious of the monastery and obedience. The saint did not even go down into
the garden without special permission, although he was free to do so.
Of the many ecstasies which occurred at Fossombrone three deserve special
mention. The first took place in the monastery garden when a Capuchin, in presence of
the saint, spoke of the glories of Mary. Uttering his usual loud cry, the saint ran towards
the speaker with outspread arms and with such impetuosity that both fell to the ground.
The other Capuchins, hearing the noise, hastened thither and saw Joseph immovable and
in ecstasy, in which condition he remained about an hour and a half.
The second rapture occurred in the same garden on the evening of the Sunday on

59
which the gospel of the Good Shepherd is read. Joseph happened to see a lamb in the
garden, and mounting as usual from created things to the contemplation of the
supernatural, joyfully said, "Look, a lamb!" When he was about to take hold of it, a friar
quickly lifted it and placed it in his arms. After petting the animal he took hold of its feet
and placed it on his shoulders. Absorbed in contemplation of the Good Shepherd, he then
began to run about the garden, saying with joy to the Guardian, "Father Guardian, see
here the Good Shepherd, who brings back the lost sheep." Finally, he threw the lamb into
the air and flew after it above the highest trees, where he remained enraptured, kneeling
with outstretched arms for more than two hours, to the amazement of the religious.
The third ecstasy was experienced by the saint on Pentecost. When, during his
Mass, he came to the words of the Sequence, "Veni, Sancte Spiritus," the fire of divine
love burst forth with such power in his breast that he tore himself from the altar and,
with a noise like thunder and the speed of lightning, gyrated about the whole chapel with
such impetuosity, that all cells of the dormitory shook and the terrified religious ran out
from their rooms, crying, "An earthquake!" But, on entering the chapel, they discovered
the cause of the disturbance to have been the saint, whom they found in ecstasy and
absorbed in contemplation of the Divine Comforter.
Joseph spent about three years at Fossombrone, with the exception of the few days
of the provincial chapter, during which he was, by command of the Holy Office,
transferred to the Capuchin monastery at Montevecchio. Here he lived with great joy,
especially in consequence of a vision of the "dear old saint," as he called St. Felix.7 After
his return to Fossombrone, Christ appeared to him in the guise of a pilgrim and
strengthened him. The Capuchins became attached to him and revered him because of
the occurrences just related, the fulfilment of his prophecies and his insight into the
thoughts and secrets of others. To a priest he revealed a temptation that had disturbed
him at Mass. To a novice he said, "Son, you have a good mother; she blesses you daily
with the sign of the cross." The novice later learned that his mother gave him this
blessing each day from a balcony.8 The religious were attached to him also on account of
the holy admonitions which he gave them. One religious asked him, whether he knew
that those who carried the rule of St. Francis about their person would be blessed by the
Seraphic Father. Joseph replied, "I know it well, but it is far better to have the rule in
one's heart than to carry it about." By reason of these and many other happenings, it was
not surprising that these pious religious were grieved to learn that the saint was about to
leave them.

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 CHAPTER X

A SAINT'S "PARADISE" (ST. JOSEPH)

On the accession of Pope Alexander VII, a delegation of eight Conventual

Provincials1 entreated his Holiness to restore Joseph to the Conventuals. The Holy
Father enquired to which place they wished him to be sent. They replied, to the
monastery at Assisi, where he had previously been. But the Pontiff was of the opinion
that there was no dearth of holy religious at Assisi, which had always been a school of
true religious discipline. Several days later he informed the superiors that he wished
Joseph to be sent to the monastery at Osimo, an old city in the Marches, six hours distant
from the sanctuary of Loreto. The Pope's nephew, Antony Bichi, was then Bishop of
Osimo.
The Papal brief was dated 1656, but, owing to a pest then raging in parts of Italy,
could be executed only the following year, when the Secretary General of the Order was
sent to take Joseph to Osimo. By divine revelation the saint knew all this, and also the
hour of his departure. He, therefore, against his wont, opened his window and placed
himself near it about half-past eight o'clock2 of the evening of July 6, 1657. A lay-
brother, his companion, surprised by this, asked him why he had done so. The saint
replied, that he would leave the monastery in a few hours to return to his Order and that
the Father Secretary, who was to take him back, was already near.
The Father Secretary arrived about half-past nine that evening,3 laid before the
Guardian the command of Rome and, to avoid delay, left with Joseph that same night.
The pious religious, as a last mark of affection, accompanied Joseph some distance on
the stony path leading to the road, and with tender care placed a sudarium on his breast
and another on his back that he might come to no harm if, in descending the mountain,
he should perspire. Before leaving them he gave back to them these cloths, which

61
diffused a most pleasant odor. This perfume was not only noticeable on the way, but, on
their return, permeated the whole monastery.
The joy of the Conventuals at the return of Joseph was very great. He himself,
though ever resigned to the will of God, was glad to return, and evinced his joy on
arriving at the first monastery of his Order at St. Victoria delle Fratte. His guides, though
familiar with the place, had lost the way in the dark and wandered about in the
neighboring woods. The saint, who had never before been in the place, said to them, "Go
yonder, where the moon is rising." They turned in that direction and soon saw the bell-
tower of the church which adjoined the monastery.4 After his arrival, Joseph learned that
the monastery had been established and built by St. Francis himself and, prostrating
himself, he kissed the floor and thanked God for allowing him to live again among his
brethren and die in their midst.
The Bishop of Fossombrone and his domestics came that very night to receive the
saint's blessing. This prelate detailed one of his servants to lead the saint's horse on the
stony path during the following night, when the journey was continued. The better to
perform his task, the servant held the bridle of the saint's horse with one hand and with
the other a burning candle. Though a violent wind was blowing, the candle was not
extinguished, nor did it seem to grow smaller, though it burned for several hours. The
man ever after preserved the candle as a relic.
To avoid any concourse of people, the party avoided the cities and larger villages
and stopped only at hamlets and farms. At one such farmhouse a poor woman
complained to the saint that the melons from the sale of which she derived a livelihood
for herself and family, were being destroyed by worms. Joseph, moved to pity, blessed
the garden and that year it produced more and larger melons than ever before.
When the saint finally arrived at the walls of Osimo, he was obliged to wait till
evening to enter the city. While he viewed the country side from the porch of a house, a
priest showed him the cupola of the Holy House of Loreto. Joseph, on looking, suddenly
exclaimed, "Do you not see the angels who ascend and descend from heaven to yonder
Sanctuary?" Immediately after saying these words he uttered his usual cry and flew in
ecstasy from the porch, which was twelve palms from the ground, to the foot of an
almond tree, a distance of fifteen yards.5
On the evening of July 10, 1657, Joseph arrived at the monastery of the
Conventuals at Osimo. A secluded room with a private chapel and a garden were
assigned to him, and a brother given him as associate and servant. Pope Alexander VII
had commanded this, that the saint might not be annoyed by the people. During the
remainder of his life he had not the least intercourse with anyone except with the Bishop,
his Vicar-General, the religious of the monastery, and, in case of need, with the doctor
and surgeon. He left his room only to visit the sick religious of the monastery and once,
at night, when all doors had been carefully locked, to look at the church. He was
nevertheless contented in his seclusion and was wont to say, "I live in a city, yet it seems
to me that I live in a forest, or, rather, in a paradise." In very truth he could call his new
abode a paradise; for his soul was almost continually enraptured.

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 Heaven only knows of all the sweet ecstasies which here united him with God.
Many, however, became known. Several were witnessed by Cardinal Bichi, Bishop of
Osimo. On one occasion he was sitting beside the saint and conversing with him, when
he saw him rise rapidly and, with outstretched arms and open eyes, remain deprived of
the use of his senses, and though a gnat crawled over the apple of his eye, he did not
move his eyelids in the least. At times the religious found him in his chapel wrapped in
ecstasy, and would carry him like a corpse to his room. Occasionally these raptures
lasted for six or seven hours. Once the friars saw him rise to a height of three paces and
press his face to that of an image of the Infant Jesus, which stood above the altar of his
chapel. In his cell he danced in delightful ecstasy with this same waxen image of the
Divine Child and pressed it to his breast violently but without damaging it. On Christmas
he would invite all the friars to his oratory, where he had erected a crib. He would then
sing songs he had composed in honor of the Christ child and invariably fall into ecstasy.
He loved the Child Jesus much, and it is recorded that Jesus appeared to him in the form
of a child at Osimo and at other places.
His life at Osimo was one of prayer. His daily prayers included the Divine Office,
the Little Office of our Lady, the Office of the Dead, the Office of the Cross, the Office
of the Holy Ghost, the Seven Penitential Psalms with Prayers, the Litany of our Lady,
and the Rosary.6 What time remained was given to pious reading, edifying converse with
his fellow-religious and enjoyment of heavenly delights when he celebrated Holy Mass.
It was certainly marvellous that the saint always continued the Mass where he had
broken off, and that during his many ecstatic flights, upwards and downwards, forwards
and backwards, his garments were never disarranged.
Living for God alone, Joseph slept but a brief time on his bed of boards, and this
unwillingly. He ate very little and only Lenten foods. He was satisfied with what was set
before him and did not even say a word when his lay-brother neglected to bring him any
food for two days. The devil did not cease to tempt and molest him in various ways. But
the servant of God courageously said, "I do not fear his attacks; for I am with God and
far from the world."
Although the saint lived in such seclusion that he had not visited the city of Osimo
and knew none of its citizens, yet he spoke of the city and its inhabitants, of their homes
and their affairs, both public and private, as if he had seen all with his own eyes. The
inhabitants of Osimo experienced many graces and miracles without knowing who
wrought them. Sometimes the miracle was effected by a mere word. He quelled a
threatening storm by the words, "Go away in God's name." At times he wrought miracles
by means of objects which he used. By a girdle he had worn he freed a man from impure
temptations. By like objects he cured such as suffered from earache, severe pains,
dangerous fevers, hemorrhages or other infirmities.
The supernatural light by which Joseph knew secrets and foresaw the future,
continually increased. This gift was especially remarked by his fellow-religious. To one
of them he related even the smallest details of a journey he had made. Another friar he
reminded of having forgotten to recite a promised prayer. One day, when a priest was

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called to the confessional, he revealed to him that one of his penitents, prompted by false
shame, had concealed a sin in several confessions. "Go, kill the scorpion," said the saint.
The Father confessor understood these words on seeing a scorpion come forth from the
penitent after he had confessed the sin. When several persons recommended to his
prayers a peasant's wife, who had been seriously wounded, Father Joseph reassured them
by saying, "She will not die."
By this same heavenly light the saint discovered that several religious had left the
monastery one evening during the carnival to enjoy themselves in the home of relatives.
"Where are thy sheep?" Joseph asked the Father Guardian, who came to his room. These
words were reported to the friars and they quickly returned and entered the saint's cell.
The servant of God was so overjoyed at their return that he took hold of one of them by
the arm, lifted him with one hand from the floor and whirled him about the cell, as if he
were but a straw. Thus did he show his tender love towards his fellow-religious, whom
he regarded safe from all danger when in the monastery.

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 CHAPTER XI

OBTAINING THE PRIZE (1 COR. 9, 24)

On entering the monastery at Osimo, Joseph had foretold that he would die there,
saying, "This is my rest" (Ps. 131, 14). Speaking more clearly of his death he added that,
if he were not the first, he should certainly be the second friar of Copertino to die at
Osimo. Events proved him to be the second. He revealed the approach of his death to
Father Sylvester Evangelisti on the return of the latter to Osimo from Montefiascone,
where he had been two years.1 With him the saint agreed that the one who should die
first should be assisted by the other in death. On Father Sylvester's arrival at Osimo
Joseph said to him," Have you come at last? Why did you not wish to come? Did you not
remember your promise to assist me in death?" Even the day of his death he foretold by
saying to his brethren that he would die on the day on which he could not receive the
immaculate flesh of the Divine Lamb, meaning Holy Communion. Knowing that his end
was near, he ardently desired the approach of the happy moment when he should be
wholly united with God. This holy desire shone from his countenance and revealed itself
in his words. It even caused him to loathe all food that might prolong his life.
August 10, 1663, he was seized with a fever. This filled him with great joy and he
replied, to those who advised him to ask of God the gift of health, "No, God forbid!" The
rigorous mode of life led by the saint had sapped his strength, weakened his stomach,
and emaciated his body to such a degree that he could offer but feeble resistance to the
fever. He lay down on his poor couch, resigning himself entirely to the will of the
doctors and his superiors. For five days the fever was intermittent and he was able to rise
each morning to say Holy Mass in his private oratory, where he experienced the usual
delights of spirit in a higher degree than ever. He had miraculous ecstasies and flights
especially during his last Mass, which he read on the feast of the Assumption.

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 When the violence of the fever no longer allowed him to celebrate the Divine
Mysteries, he requested permission to assist at Holy Mass and to receive Holy
Communion each morning. It was touching to see him glow with delight at Holy
Communion; for on receiving the Blessed Sacrament he would exclaim, "Behold, my
delight!" and thereupon would swoon away, closing his eyes and turning pale as a
corpse. As the illness progressed, the flame of divine love in his heart grew so intense
that it could no longer be confined, but frequently burst from his lips in the words, "O
love, O love!" At the same time he would press his hands to his breast as if he would
open it to give vent to the fire within. He would then turn to those who assisted him and
admonish them to pray, or thank them for their kindness.
The surgeon marvelled much to see the servant of God, because of an ecstasy,
insensible to the hot iron he applied to cure him. He marvelled even more when the saint
revealed to him an old and secret sin which he himself had forgotten.
When no longer able to rise from his bed, because of the violence of the fever, the
saint yet wished to receive Holy Communion daily. The last Communion, which he
received as Viaticum on September 17, the day before his death, revealed the degree and
strength of his love. On hearing the sound of the bell that announced the approach of his
Beloved, he suddenly rose from his bed and flew in rapture from the door of his room to
the stair above his chapel. There on his knees, with a supernatural light diffused about
his face, he received his hidden God. After Holy Communion he fell into a swoon,
caused more by love than weakness, and was carried back to his bed.
At the beginning of his illness Joseph had said, "The ass [meaning his body] begins
to ascend the mountain." During its progress he remarked, "The ass has arrived half-way
up the mountain." Finally he said, "The ass has reached the summit of the mountain, he
can no longer move and will leave his hide here." With great fervor he often repeated the
words, "I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ" (Phillip. 1, 23), or, "God be
praised, God be thanked, the will of God be done."
After receiving Extreme Unction he joyfully cried out, "Oh, what a pleasant odor!
Oh, what a fragrance! Oh, what a sweetness of paradise!" He then requested that the
profession of faith be read, begged pardon of all for his faults, and entreated that his
body be interred, without any solemnity, in some remote and hidden spot, that nobody
might know where Friar Joseph was buried. The Vicar General then asked the dying
saint to bless him and all present. After receiving his blessing, the Vicar General told the
saint that he had been authorized by the Holy Father, through Cardinal Ghigi, to give
him the papal blessing. Joseph marvelled that the Vicar of Christ was mindful of so
lowly and worthless a friar and replied, "That is not a favor which one may receive in
bed." Although near death, he rose and, supported by those present, went to his oratory,
where the Litany was recited and on his knees and with great devotion he received the
papal blessing. He was then hurried back to bed, where he prepared for his last journey
by repeated acts of love of God.
A religious, to cheer him, spoke to him of the glories of Paradise. The saint replied,
"I do not want to go to hell, because God is not praised there." Another said to him,

66
"Friar Joseph, it is now time to fight and conquer the devil!" Joseph rejoined, "The
victory shall not be wanting." Nothing remained for him but the glorious triumph, the
approach of which he now beheld.
The saint felt uneasy, not because of pain, but as he himself said, as a consequence
of his vehement love, which prompted him to use all efforts to free his soul from the
bonds that still detained it. To Father Sylvester Evangelisti,2 who spoke to him of this
love, he said, "You understand it! You understand it!" He gave utterance to this love in
the words which he addressed to the crucifix, "Take this heart, burn and rive this heart,
my Jesus." To those who suggested to him ejaculatory prayers and mentioned the love of
God, he said, "Say it once more."
After several ejaculations to his dear mother, as he called the Most Blessed Virgin
Mary, and while the priest who assisted him prayed the "Ave Maris Stella," Joseph
yielded up his soul to God, a sweet smile and bright light spreading over his
countenance. The saint died shortly after midnight3 following September 18, 1663. He
had attained an age of sixty years and three months and had spent the last six years, two
months and eight days of his life at Osimo.
Joseph was tall and well built. His bearing was dignified, his gestures natural and
unassuming. His features were somewhat homely, his eyes black and very vivacious and,
because he habitually raised them to heaven, they gave him a peculiar charm and gravity.
The expression of his countenance was always serene and, owing to his habitual
recollection, serious and majestic. He wore a long, heavy beard which, originally black,
turned gray in later life, as did also his hair. Though he spoke but little, his converse was
cordial and animated and often characterized by a holy gaiety. The saint spent nearly
half of his life away from his native country, yet he always spoke his native dialect with
a singular charm.4
On opening the body of the saint for the purpose of embalming, it was found that
the pericardium was shrivelled up, the ventricles of the heart without blood and the heart
itself withered and dry. This was looked upon as an effect of the ardor of his love of
God. The body was washed with spirits and laid on a sheet. In some unknown way the
sheet caught fire and the flames spread over the whole corpse. On extinguishing the
flames it was found that the body was not harmed and that the beard and hair were not
even singed.

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BODY OF ST. JOSEPH OF COPERTINO
As now preserved in the Basilica at Osimo

68
 The remains were carried to the sacristy and there laid out in state. A barrier of
wood was erected around the bier, and twenty-four persons,— eight canons, eight
noblemen, and eight religious of the monastery,— were detailed to guard the sacred
remains. These precautions were necessary; for the people came in great numbers from
the city and surrounding country and, crying as with one voice, "The holy priest who
lived in the monastery of St. Francis is dead," they desired to see him after death whom
they could not see during life. On the 19th of September all were allowed to enter the
sacristy to view the remains; this continued till 9:15 in the evening. September 20th the
obsequies were held, in which the Cathedral Chapter, the secular clergy, and all religious
communities of the city took part. Till after eleven o'clock in the evening the body
remained exposed to public veneration and was then placed in a coffin of wood to be
buried next day. A renewed concourse and clamor of the people caused the coffin to be
reopened and the body exposed to view for an hour, after which the guards, by
persuasion and force, induced the people to leave. The body was then taken from the
temporary coffin and laid into another of cypress, and this was placed into a box of oak.
Next day the remains were borne to the church and there buried in the chapel of the
Immaculate Conception.

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 CHAPTER XII

THE "MEMORY OF AN ADMIRABLE SAINT "

(Clement XIV, Decree extending the Feast of St. Joseph to the Universal Church)

Owing to the many and striking miracles by which God glorified his servant Joseph
after death, the informative inquiries were begun two years after his demise by authority
of the Bishops of Nardo, Assisi, and Osimo. Pope Innocent XI appointed a commission
for the introduction of the cause and authorized the Bishops of the aforesaid dioceses to
conduct new inquiries by Apostolic authority. Under Clement XI the usual discussion
was begun regarding the heroic degree of the theological and cardinal virtues of the
saint. This process was brought to a favorable close under Clement XII, who on the feast
of the Assumption of our Lady, 1735, made public the solemn decree asserting the
heroic virtue of Joseph. The discussion of the miracles was then taken up. The first
(antepreparatory) congregation was held March 2, 1751, the second (preparatory) on
November 16th of the same year, the third (general) congregation on the anniversary of
the saint's death, September 19, 1752. On the feast of St. Francis, October 4, 1752, Pope
Benedict XIV published the solemn decree of approbation of two miracles, by which it
had pleased God to glorify the dwelling and the tomb of the saint.
These miracles were the following. A swelling had formed on the right knee of
Victor Mattei of Osimo and had grown in the course of six years to such an extent that it
was finally as large as a loaf of bread and very hard. It was impossible for him to kneel
or to walk freely, and he was tortured with incessant pain, which, about a month before
his cure, became almost unbearable. The surgeon who was called, realizing that the
malady was chronic and that by an incision the sick man would be exposed to great

70
danger, refused to undertake an operation. About the time Mattei despaired of all human
aid, the death of Joseph took place. As a last resort the sick man took refuge to
supernatural means, trusting to be healed by God because of the merits of the saint, the
fame of whose holiness had already spread. On the morning of September 19th, he
dragged himself to the church of St. Francis. The body of the saint lay in state in the
sacristy and, not being able to come near because of the great crowd, Victor obtained
permission to go to the room in the monastery in which Father Joseph had lived. He
devoutly entered and at length came to the private chapel, where the saint had said Holy
Mass. He there made an act of lively faith and pressed his knee against the step of the
altar which was worn down by the knees of the saint during his long protracted prayers.
On touching the step all pain and the swelling disappeared at once, so that no trace of the
infirmity remained. The knee was perfectly healed and could be moved like the other,
which had never been affected.
The other miracle was wrought on Stephen Mattei, the twelve year old son of the
above mentioned Victor Mattei, in November of the same year, 1663. While throwing
stones at play with other boys, he was struck in the right eye. The cornea and uveous
coat were cut and humor mixed with blood ran out. The whole eye appeared to be
crushed and pressed into its socket. The doctor and surgeon, seeing that the sight of the
eye could not be restored, endeavored during several days to heal the wound and form a
scar. The boy was exhorted by his mother to trust in the aid of Father Joseph, by whose
miraculous power his father had been healed two months before. He had recourse to the
saint, first by prayer at home, and then, accompanied by his mother, at the saint's grave.
Here mother and son knelt and devoutly repeated their prayer. The boy then pressed his
blind eye to the stone that covered the saint's grave and instantly recovered his sight.
Pope Benedict XIV published the decree of approbation of these two miracles on
the feast of St. Francis after having said Mass at the altar of this saint in the Basilica of
the Twelve Holy Apostles. At the solicitation of the General of the Order, Father Charles
Antony Calvi, and because of the favorable report and opinion of the illustrious Louis
Valenti, who was Promotor Fidei, it pleased his Holiness to grant a dispensation from the
general congregation. This is otherwise held after approbation of the virtues and miracles
to determine whether it be safe to proceed with the solemnities of Beatification. A papal
rescript was therefore published, December 12, 1752, stating that, after the approbation
of the miracles and virtues, and in consideration of the special circumstances of the case,
beatification might be proceeded to without a new congregation. On the feast of St.
Matthias, February 24, 1753, the servant of God, Joseph of Copertino, was solemnly
beatified by his Holiness, Benedict XIV, in the Vatican Basilica, amid the rejoicings of a
great concourse of people.
The miracles wrought through the intercession of Blessed Joseph of Copertino
continued, so that Bishops and princes, together with the Conventuals, entreated Rome
to take up the cause of his canonization. July 17, 1754, the Holy Father approved of the
resumption of the cause and by Apostolic authority three miracles were investigated.
Pope Clement XIII approved the finding of the Congregation of Rites as to the validity

71
of the process, March 7, 1761. Two congregations, September 18, 1764, and December
10, 1765, found the processes to be valid and the three miracles authentic. In the general
congregation of September 22, 1766, his Holiness ordained that public prayers be
offered to implore the divine guidance, and on October 12th following, he published the
decree establishing the authenticity of the new miracles. In the following general
congregation it was unanimously decided that canonization could safely be proceeded
with. A decree to this effect was published soon after, and on July 16, 1767, Pope
Clement XIII promulgated in the Vatican Basilica the Decree placing Blessed Joseph in
the list of Saints.
A brief narration of the three miracles investigated will form a fitting close to an
account of a life so full of the miraculous.
Magdalen Panzironi was afflicted with an abdominal tumor. This growth was large
and hard as stone, and gradually robbed her of all strength. Fever, headache, and other
symptoms set in, so that she was confined to her bed, and towards the end of October,
1753, her dissolution seemed near at hand. She could not speak, her body grew cold, and
the doctors regarded the case as hopeless. She received Extreme Unction on the 31st of
October, and her demise was looked upon as so certain that the servants had begun to
sew her shroud. In this extremity her niece exhorted the dying woman to invoke Blessed
Joseph and place her trust in him. She then brought a relic of the saint from an adjoining
room and pressed it into the hand of Magdalen; at the same time another woman laid a
picture of the saint above the tumor. Instantly Magdalen opened her eyes and, declaring
herself fully restored, arose. The doctors, who returned within an hour, could find no
trace of the tumor. Magdalen partook of the evening meal with the family, went to
church next morning, and was able to attend to all her domestic duties.
Benedicta Pierangelini was afflicted at the age of thirty-two (1741) with palpitation
of the heart and difficulty in breathing. This she bore in silence for eight years, but in
1749, frequent paroxysms of a severe nature forced her to consult physicians. They
discovered a growth in the cardiac vessels which interfered with the circulation of the
blood. During the six years following she remained under medical care. The only
remedy the doctors could apply was bloodletting. This remedy was resorted to
repeatedly each week and, at times, was applied more than once the same day. In
January, 1756, she received the last Sacraments. On the 18th, when death seemed at
hand, her sister prompted her to have recourse to Blessed Joseph of Copertino and laid a
relic of the saint on her breast. The bystanders then prayed an Our Father and a Hail
Mary in honor of the saint. A paroxysm, more severe than any preceding one, shook the
woman, and the doctor, feeling prompted to do so, applied his lancet to her right arm.
With the blood there came forth two growths and fell into the vessel of water, which was
placed to receive the blood. One growth was about an inch in length, the other of the size
and shape of a pigeon's egg. At the same moment Benedicta was made well, just as if she
had never been afflicted.
Since October, 1753, Bernardin Senagogliese, a muleteer, had suffered from herpes.
Scratching aggravated the sores, and the man suffered much pain. He was too poor to

72
employ medical aid and was forced by his occupation to walk much by day and by night,
it being impossible for him to ride because of his affliction. After eight months the ulcers
had grown so large that he could walk only with difficulty and found it impossible to
provide for his family. A fever set in, which forced him to take to bed, where for two
days he could find neither sleep nor rest and was tormented by convulsions and severe
pain. During the night following June 17, 1754, the pain grew well-nigh unbearable.
Early next morning the man and his wife implored the aid of Blessed Joseph of
Copertino and the wife went to church, further to entreat the saint. Meanwhile the sick
man dozed and beheld Blessed Joseph in an apparition. The saint said, "Come, let us
recite the Litany of our Lady." Blessed Joseph then began, and the sick man replied to
each invocation, "Pray for us." After reciting the words "Health of the Sick," to which
Bernardin responded, "Pray for us," the vision vanished, and at the same time all trace of
the malady disappeared. The man marvelled much, as did also his wife, who had
meanwhile returned from church. Rising at once from his bed and walking with ease to
church, Bernardin rendered thanks to God and his benefactor, Blessed Joseph. The rest
of the day he spent telling many throughout the city of his recovery. Next morning,
being fully restored, he returned to his work.1

The feast of St. Joseph was fixed by Pope Benedict XIV in the Brief of
Beatification for September 18. The Office and Mass were granted to the Conventuals,
Capuchins, Observants, Reformati, Recollects, Discalced and Third Order Regular; to
the dioceses of Nardo, Assisi, Fossombrone and Osimo; to Copertino and Pietrarubbia;
to the Archconfraternity of St. Antony in Rome and the Confraternity of St. Stephen in
Assisi.2 On August 8, 1769, Pope Clement XIV inserted the feast of St. Joseph into the
Roman Missal and Breviary, thereby extending it to the whole Church.3
In 1781, Count John Baptist Sinibaldi erected a large altar of choice marble in the
church of St. Francis at Osimo, that the remains might be placed beneath it. Cardinal
Guido Calcagnini, then Bishop of Osimo, after a solemn triduum, transferred the body to
the new high altar on September 19th of the same year. There it has remained ever since.
The Conventuals remodelled the church, which was originally dedicated to St. Francis,
and dedicated it to St. Joseph of Copertino. Pope Pius VI raised the church to the dignity
of a lesser Basilica.4
The sanctuary of St. Joseph of Copertino at Osimo consists of the chapel in which
he said Mass, and three rooms, one of which served for receiving persons of rank, while
the second was used by the saint as an oratory and the third as a living-room and bed-
room. Many relics of St. Joseph are preserved in these rooms. Such are, clothing worn
by him, the chalice and paten, missal and vestments used by him in saying Mass, his
breviary, devotional books, such as the Imitation of Christ, letters written by him, the
picture of our Lady of Grottella presented to him at Assisi. His oratory is now a chapel5
At a meeting of the municipal council of Osimo, July 26, 1664, the wish was

73
expressed that Father Joseph be known by the place of his death as are St. Antony of
Padua and St. Nicholas of Tolentino. The council furthermore declared the holy friar a
citizen of Osimo and asked that he "implore for the city all blessings."6 The solemnities
in Osimo subsequent to his canonization gave a new impetus to the cult of the ecstatic
saint and aroused a "holy rivalry of devotion on the part of the inhabitants and of all
manner of benefits on the part of the saint," which time has not served to diminish. One
may well say that in all public and private needs St. Joseph is the common refuge. Nor is
the devotion restricted to the people of the city. Many are the pilgrims who come to
Osimo to venerate the saint and to gaze with mingled reverence and admiration upon that
sacred body to which divine love once gave the power of flight.7

74
INTERIOR OF THE BASILICA OF ST. JOSEPH OF COPERTINO AT OSIMO

75
 ENDNOTES

PREFACE

1 Cardinal Vaughan, The Young Priest, London, 1904, p. 108.

2 A. Kaufmann, Thomas von Chantimpré, Cologne, 1899, pp. 41–43.
3 J. Görres, Die christliche Mystik, Regensburg, vol. II, P. 539.— Daumer, a one-time bitter enemy of
Christianity, regards these miraculous facts as well established by reason of the "mistrust and suspicion to which
St. Joseph was subject during life . . . and the severity with which the ecclesiastical enquiry concerning him was
conducted." Apropos of Fr. Pastrovicchi's biography he writes: "It appears to be in keeping with fairness and the
general rules of historical criticism to accept the results of such an investigation." (Christina Mirabilis, etc., pp. 7,
38).—Note the following words of Norman Douglas, a Protestant, in the North American Review (vol. CXCVIII,
July, 1913, pp. 100–107: A Pioneer of Aviation): ". . . it may be urged that a kind of enthusiasm for their
distinguished brother monk may have tempted the inmates of his convent to exaggerate his rare gifts. Nothing of
the kind. He performed flights not only in Copertino, but in various large towns of Italy, such as Naples, Rome,
and Assisi. And the spectators were by no means an assemblage of ignorant personages, but men whose rank and
credibility would have weight in any section of society" (p. 103). For the rest, this article of Mr. Douglas is, at
best, but a cynical travesty. The author repeats this "trace of light fooling," as he styles it (p. 160), with additions,
decidedly stupid and scurrile, in Old Calabria, Boston, 1915, pp. 68–79. He quotes the edition of Pastrovicchi
published in 1767, which he terms the "official biography." The dedication by Father Rossi misled him to regard
Fr. Rossi as the author.
4 Acta Sanctorum, September, tom. V, p. 993.
5 On the supernatural character of rapturous flights see the discussion, "Is There a Natural Levitation?" in The
Graces of Interior Prayer, by A. Poulain, S. J., London, 1912, pp. 550–554; Surbled-Sleumer, Die Moral in ihren
Beziehungen zur Medizin und Hygiene, II (Hildesheim, 1909), pp. 174–181. "The Church has certainly not based
canonization on the single fact of levitation, but without doubt she regards it as the hand of God. She looks to the
habits of life of the favored person, and in particular to the circumstances of the levitation itself for proof of the
supernatural character of this repeated phenomenon" (pp. 178–9).
6 Gattari, Prefazione.
7 Gattari, 1. c., Montanari, pp. XIV–XV.
8 Chapter 30 differs in the editions of 1753 and 1767, the latter edition substituting an account of the three
miracles approved in the process of canonization for that of thirteen miracles in the earlier edition and omitting the
documents (pp. 97–108) of the first edition.

CHAPTER I

76
1 Gattari, 1.
2 Bernino, 3.
3 Gattari, 2.
4 Bernino, 3.
5 Bernino, 4–5.
6 "When little more than seven years" (Bernino, 5); "from 8–14" (Daumer, 45).
7 "Col ferro, e col fuoco "; this would suggest cauterizing; according to Daumer (46) the diseased flesh was
removed by forfices.
8 Bernino, 8.
9 Bernino, 13.
10 Bernino, ibid.
11 Gattari, 5.
12 This word was also used by B1. Veronica of Binasco and St. Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi. "Malatasca" literally
means evil sack (Acta Sanctorum, Sept. V, 1017).
13 Acta Sanct., 1, c., 994.
14 Gattari, 6.
15 The date of this investment is uncertain (Acta Sanct., p. 1010).
16 Because of this occurrence St. Joseph is invoked as patron of examinations by students in Italy and France
(Gattari, 171–172).

CHAPTER II

1 Bernino, 87.

CHAPTER III

1 Gattari, 29.
2 Gattari, 30.
3 Gattari, 32.
4 Bernino, 127.
5 "Honore di gran distinzione" (Bernino, 134).
6 The wording of the diploma, dated Aug. 4, 1644, is given by Montanari, pp. 190–192.

CHAPTER IV

1 This song was composed by the saint; the full text is given by Montanari, LII–LIII.
2 This is another song of the saint; see Montanari, LVIII.
3 In judging of these expressions it is well to remember that the Church has repeatedly (Innocent XI, 1687,
Innocent XII, 1699) condemned the pretence of an habitual love of God in this life which excludes the fear of hell
and the desire for heaven. Even the saints have made only single acts of such love, which are useful as a weapon
in certain temptations. On this difficult subject see Jos. Deharbe, S. J., Die vollkommene Liebe Gottes . . . nach
der Lehre des hl. Thomas von Aquin, Ratisbon, 1856, pp. 44–67, 179–200. In such acts of perfect love heaven, as
a motive of imperfect love, is disregarded (p. 200). "Hell," in such sayings, "does not imply the loss of grace and
God's friendship or the punishment of despair and separation from God" (p. 184). This and other suppositions,
which are impossible of realization because God will not alter the present economy of salvation, enter into these
acts. These acts express a transcendent desire to please God and give us a glimpse of the purity and sublimity of
love to which saints attain (66–67, 185). Bossuet erred by denying to single acts such perfection of unselfishness

77
(192, note 2). The desire for heaven in holy souls arises mostly from perfect love, and thus becomes an act of
perfect love (197). "St. Joseph of Copertino avowed that he served God neither from a desire of paradise nor from
fear of hell, but because He is worthy of love and service; nevertheless his heart burned with an eager desire for
heaven, and he often sang a song he had composed to express this longing" (190).
4 "Più di cinque canne." The measure "canna" varied in different localities. (Acta Sanct., p. 1041.) A fair
equivalent would perhaps be 7½ ft.
5 See Bernino, 330.
6 Gattari, 45.
7 Gattari, 44.
8 Gattari, 43.

CHAPTER V

1" Paesano."
2 Henry Julius Blume became a Catholic in 1653. See Dr. Andreas Raess, Die Convertiten seit der Reformation,
vol. VI (Freiburg, Herder, 1868), pp. 450–452, 558–571.
3 One of the favorite sayings of the saint; see Montanari, X.

CHAPTER VI

1 Nuti devotes an entire chapter (41) to this subject.—Some instances of this "odor of sanctity" have been
collected by Goerres, Mystik, vol. II, pp. 39–44; two recent instances are given in the biographies of Mary Agnes
Clara Steiner (d. 1862) and Gemma Galgani (d. 1903).

CHAPTER VII

1 Gattari, 40.
2 On the island of Elba, taken by the French in 1646.
3 St. Bonaventure, St. Philip Neri, St. Felix of Cantalice.
4 Gattari, 60.— Sister Cecilia died in the odor of sanctity, July 24, 1655.
5 "Unlike the Friars Minor and the Capuchins, the Conventuals wear birettas and shoes." (Catholic Encyclopedia,
IV. 346.)

CHAPTER VIII

1 The saint doubtless had in mind that after the novitiate the members of the Society of Jesus took "simple" vows,
whereas in other Orders "solemn" vows were taken after the time of probation. Many theologians held that the
Pope could not dispense from "solemn" vows.

CHAPTER IX

78
1 Gattari, 63–64.
2 In the haste of departure the saint forgot his Breviary, spectacles, mantle and hat (Montanari, 101).
3 Montanari, 98.
4 People came from Monte Feltro, Fossombrone, Fano, Pesaro, Aricium and Cesena (Daumer, 69).
5 Gattari, 72.
6 Gattari, 73.
7 St. Felix of Cantalice, beatified 1625, canonized 1712 (Acta Sanctorum, 1. c., 1039).
8 Gattari, 80.

CHAPTER X

1 Gattari, 83. This occurred in May, 1656 (Acta Sanctorum, 1008).

2 "Un' ora di notte." This time is reckoned from sunset.
3 "Alle due ore di notte."
4
Gattari, 86.
5" Sei canne."—The "almond-tree of St. Joseph" is still an object of veneration (Gattari, 89).
6 These details are from Gattari, 92.

CHAPTER XI

1 Gattari, 140.
2 Gattari, 149.
3 "Sulle cinqu' ore, e tre quarti della notte."—The Brief of Beatification designates the 19th as the day of death,
"die decimanona Septembris."
4 This description is given by Gattari, 151.

CHAPTER XII

1 Positio super miraculis, 1764, pp. 2–3, 13–15, 29.

2 The Brief is given in the first edition of Pastrovicchi (1753), PP. 97–105.
3 The Decree is printed in the Bullarium Capucinorum, vol. IX (Innsbruck, Wagner, 1884), p. 4.
4 Montanari, 583–585.
5 Montanari, 580–583; Gattari, 169; St. Franzisci Gloecklein, vol. IV (Innsbruck, Rauch, 1881–1882), pp. 357–
358.
6 Montanari, 546–548.
7 Gattari, 168.

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Index
P REFACE 11
B IBLIOGRAPHY 13
I 16
T HE "S UPERNAL V OCATION" 16
II 20
"A S G OLD IN A F URNACE" 20
III 23
"F ELLOW- C ITIZEN OF THE S ERAPHIC F RANCIS" 23
IV 27
"C AUGHT U P INTO P ARADISE" 27
V 34
"G OOD O DOR OF C HRIST" 34
VI 41
E VANGELICAL P ERFECTION 41
VII 46
"I N H IS L IFE H E D ID G REAT W ONDERS" 46
VIII 52
"G LORIFIED IN THE S IGHT OF K INGS" 52
IX 55
"M Y L IFE I S H ID WITH C HRIST IN G OD." 55
X 61
A S AINT'S "P ARADISE" 61
XI 65
"O BTAINING THE P RIZE " 65
XII 70
T HE "M EMORY OF AN A DMIRABLE S AINT" 70

80