May 18 - Saint Felix of Cantalice
Quick Facts- Born to pious peasants, he was a shepherd in his youth.
- At age nine he was hired out as a shepherd and farm hand at Cotta Ducale; he worked there over twenty years.
- A pious youth and man, Felix spent his free time in prayer.
- Having little education, he had a friend read him the lives of the early Desert Fathers; they left him torn - he wanted to live as a hermit, but feared he would give in to temptation if he had no superior.
- He sought entrance to the Capuchins; they were hesistant, but finally accepted him as a lay brother in 1543 at Anticoli near Rome.
- Sent to Rome in 1547 as questor for the community; he stayed there the rest of his life.
- Felix's reputation for holiness spread quickly.
- He could not even read, yet theologians consulted him on spiritualality and Scripture.
- Sinners on the street would hide from him when it became obvious he could see their sins, and knew their hearts.
- Felix preached in the street, rebuked corrupt politicians and officials, and exhorted young men to stop leading dissolute lives.
- Once during Carnival, a time of open vice in the streets, Felix and Saint Philip Neri organized a procession of Capuchin friars right into the middle of the revellers; Fra Lupo, a well-known Capuchin preacher, spoke to the crowds, and Carnival ended for the year.
- Felix worked with the children of Rome; his inherent simplicity and lack of education made him rather childlike, and children trusted him.
- He composed simple teaching canticles, and had the children gather in groups to sing them as a way to teach them catechism.
- The canticles became well-known and popular, and while Felix was begging for his house, Roman citizens would invite him in to sing for them; he saw these invitations as opportunities to teach, and always jumped at them.
- During the famine of 1580, the city fathers asked the Capuchins for the loan of Felix as a fund raiser; he was tireless in the work.
- His friend, Saint Philip Neri, considered Felix the greatest saint then living.
- Saint Charles Borromeo sought Saint Philip's help to draw up the constitutions of the Oblates of Saint Ambrose; Philip referred him to Felix as a the best advisor.
- Slept little, ate what came to hand, attended Mass every morning.
- Had a great devotion to Our Lady; he frequently recited the rosary, sometimes swept away in ecstacy, unable to finish the prayers.
- Received a vision of the Virgin Mary during which he was allowed to hold the Christ Child in his arms.
- Acclaimed a saint by the people of Rome immediately after his death
