Feast Day: | May 17 |
Born: | 1540, Torrehermosa, Aragon |
Died: | 17 May 1592 |
Canonized: | October 16, 1690 by Alexander VIII |
Major Shrine: | Royal Chapel in Villareal |
Patron of: | Patron of Eucharistic congresses and Eucharistic associations |
When he was twenty-four, Paschal became a Franciscan brother. The other friars liked him. Paschal was easy to get along with and kind. They noticed that he often did the most unpleasant and hardest jobs that no one wanted to do.
He did hard penances that were even stricter than their rules. Yet he was a happy person. When he was a shepherd, he had wished he could be in church praying to Jesus. Now his wish had come true. He loved to keep Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament company. He was also very happy to serve at Mass.
St. Paschal's two great loves were the Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Mother. Every day Paschal prayed the Rosary with great love. He also wrote beautiful prayers to our Heavenly Mother.
Out of some scraps of paper, St. Paschal made himself a little notebook. In it, he wrote down some beautiful thoughts and prayers. After he died, his superior showed the little book to the local archbishop who reading it said, "These simple souls are stealing heaven from us!"
Paschal died in 1592 at the age of fifty-two.
Reflection: How can we grow closer to Jesus in the Eucharist and to Mary? We can make a special visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and ask Mary to help us be faithful to her Son.