2023-05-11 07:01:00
May 11, 2023 / 12:01 a.m.
San Francisco de Gerónimo was a Jesuit missionary who was called “the apostle of Naples”; famous for his tireless work in favor of the conversion of sinners, whom he looked for as an example of the Good Shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep.
Francis opened his heart so that God would instill in him love for the poor, the sick and the oppressed. That heart that the Lord molded announced his Word in season and out of season, through word and action.
Francisco de Gerónimo was born on December 17, 1642 in Grottaglie, a city in southern Italy. At the age of 16 he entered the college of Taranto, where he remained under the tutelage of the Society of Jesus.
There he studied humanities and philosophy, and was so successful in his studies that the bishop sent him to Naples to attend lectures on Canonical Theology at the famous Gesu Vecchio college, which at that time rivaled the greatest universities in Europe.
On July 1, 1670, he entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus. At the end of his first year of probation, he was sent as a missionary to a place near the Italian municipality of Otranto, to practice his oratory or preaching skills. There he confirmed his call to be a voice announcing the joy of the Gospel.
After 4 years of preaching in small towns and completing his theology studies, his superiors appointed him preacher of the Gesú Nuovo church in Naples. His eloquent, brief and energetic sermons moved many, stirring stagnant consciences and awakening the sense of faith.
Many conversions the Lord worked through his words, especially of people who had a hardened heart and did not feel any guilt for their bad deeds.
On some occasions he went through no less than 5 villages in a single day, preaching in streets, public squares and churches. People who knew him even said that he converted at least 400 sinners a year.
One of his regular charities was visiting hospitals and prisons. And more than once he went in search of a lost soul in a dive. That earned him more than one beating or mistreatment, but that did not stop him from insisting on the call to conversion, knowing himself to be a forgiven sinner.
San Francisco died at the age of 74 and was buried in the Church of the Company of Naples. He was beatified in 1758 by Benedict XIV and canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI.
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