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 Saint Paul of the Cross: Bicentenary of Death Scott 585-587 (1975) October 20 is the Feast of Saint Paul of the Cross, who died on October 18, 1775. In 1975, Vatican City issued a three-stamp set to commemorate the bicentenary of his death. The stamps depict a portrait of the Saint by Giovanni Della Porta (150 L stamp), the monastery at Mount Argentario (50 L value), and the burial site of the Saint at the Basilica of Saints John and Paul in Rome (300 L stamp). Paul Francis Danei was born in 1694 in Ovada, in the Piedmont region north of Genoa. The son of devout middle-class parents, he volunteered to serve in the Venetian army but soon discovered he was not a soldier. After a period of reflection, in 1720, assisted by his brother, he decided to become a priest, and in 1727 formed a congregation at Monte Argentario, a Tuscan archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The congregation followed an intense devotion to Christ’s passion, which gave the order its name, the Passionists, Congregation of the Discalced Clerks of the Most Holy Cross and Passion. Their work focused on parish missions. Paul is described as a highly effective preacher, especially concerning Christ’s passion. David Farmer describes the rapid success of his group: “The aim as thus to combine the active and contemplative lives at the deepest level. So outstanding was their ministry to the sick and the dying, and in reconciling the sinners and the lapsed that they were soon in demand in many parts of Italy.”However, the group grew very slowly, and some members departed, in great part due to its stringent and austere practices (which were later modified). An enclosed convent of Passionist nuns was established at Corneto in 1771. Saint Paul of the Cross died in 1775 and is buried at the church of SS. John and Paul in Rome. REFERENCES: |
