ST.
GASPAR DEL BUFALO (1786-1837) was born in Rome on the Feast of the
Epiphany, January 6, 1786. He was baptized that same day and given
the name Gaspar Melchior Balthazar, the traditional names of the magi
who visited the child Jesus. The son of Annunziata and Antonio del
Bufalo, he grew up in the city of Rome, in the servants' quarters of
a noble family. His father worked as chef in the
household of the Altieri family, whose palace was across from the
Church of the Gesù in Rome.
Because of his delicate health, his
mother had him confirmed at the age of one and a half years. As he
was suffering from an incurable ailment of the eyes, which threatened
to leave him blind, prayers were offered to St. Francis Xavier for
his recovery. Through the influence of his mother he became greatly
devoted to St. Francis Xavier, whose relic is prominently displayed
on an altar of the Gesù. In 1787, he was miraculously cured,
wherefore he cherished in later life a special devotion to the great
missionary Apostle of India, and selected him as the special patron of
the congregation which he later founded.
Of interest, his maternal uncle, Abbot
Eugenio Pecche, had a special influence
over his spritual life. Pecche
was a Cistercian monk of S. Croce de Gerusalemme
in Rome, and he is
described as having later been the abbot of San Sebastiano. Abbot Pecche also made several prophecies, which you can read, click here.
St. Gaspar was also active in several
ministries. He visited the sick and the poor often and founded a
young persons’ religious organization whose members prayed and did
charitable work. He was ordained to the priesthood in the diocese
of Rome in 1808. Soon after St. Gaspar formed an evening society for
the laborers and farm workers who came into Rome from the countryside
to sell their wares. He provided catechism for orphans and children
of the poor and set up a night shelter for the homeless.
Along with other clergy who refused to
take the oath of allegiance to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1809 after the
deportation of Pope Pius VII, St. Gaspar was sent into exile to
northern Italy and imprisoned for four years. Upon his return to Rome
in 1814, he considered joining the Jesuits, who had recently been
reestablished. However, in view of the needs of the time and at the
request of Pius VII, he engaged in the ministry of preaching missions
to the people in order to reestablish some order in the midst of the
chaos of the time.
Despite
facing considerable difficulties, in 1815 he founded a society of
priests, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, at the abbey of San
Felice in Giano, Umbria. With the help of local people, St. Gaspar
worked to repair the abandoned 10th century monastery.
The year 1821 was a time of great
lawlessness in the Papal States and many towns were out of the
control of the civil authorities. Bandits controlled many of the
towns in the coastal provinces. Cardinal Cristaldi, papal treasurer
and advisor to Pope Pius VII, suggested that St. Gaspar and his new
missionaries go into the towns and provinces where the bandits lived
and establish mission houses. There they were to preach the Word,
establish churches and chapels, and see to the continued instruction
of the people. Between 1821 and 1823 six new mission houses were
opened. Gaspar and his companions went out and preached the merits of
the Precious Blood. They called the people to repentance and to
return to faithfulness. They would preach on the street corners at
night. They instructed the children. Armed with only the crucifix,
they went into the hills, where St. Gaspar negotiated a peace with
the banditi.
Although St. Gaspar was very popular in
his native city, he was not without enemies. His activity in
converting the "briganti", who came in crowds and laid
their guns at his feet after he had preached to them in their
mountain hiding-places, excited the ire of the officials who profited
from brigandage through bribes and in other ways.
He also faced ecclesiastical
opposition. One major objection to the new society was that its name,
The Society of the Precious Blood, was considered unecclesiastical.
Gaspar was accused of disregarding canon law and the mission cross
and chain that the members wore was untraditional. This
opposition began under the reign of Pope Pius VII c. 1820 who had
been a strong support of the society at its founding in 1815. This
opposition became so strong that the successor to Pius VII, Leo XII,
was positively adverse to the community. It is noted that this was at
a time when St. Gaspar was being more and more open in his criticism
of abuses in the Church and the government of the Papal States. St.
Gaspar felt that this opposition was more of a personal attack on
himself and so he offered to step down as moderator of the community
so that things could be smoothed over. Fortunately, this was not
needed as the situation with Leo XII was resolved after a meeting
between the two of them.
Until his death on December 28, 1837,
St. Gaspar worked tirelessly to re-evangelize central Italy,
especially the Papal States. He was well known for his eloquence in
preaching, his devotion to the poor, and his work with the brigands
of southern Lazio.
In 1836, his strength began to fail. He
had given his last mission in Rome at the Chiesa Nuova in 1837.
Although fatally ill, he hastened to Rome, where the cholera was
raging, to administer to the spiritual wants of the plague-stricken.
He returned to Albano but went again to Rome at the suggestion of
Cardinal Franzoni, the cardinal protector of the Congregation, in
December 1837. It proved too much for him, and he succumbed in the
midst of his labours on December 28, 1837.
His funeral was held in Rome at the
church of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria, near the Teatro di Marcello, and
he was buried in Albano. Later, his body was transferred to the house
of the Missionaries on the Via dei Crociferi in Rome (Santa Maria in
Trivio), where it remains today.
Saint Gaspar del Bufalo was beatified by St. Pius X in
1904, and canonized by Pope Pius XII on June 12, 1954. His feast day,
as indicated in the Roman Martyrology, is on the day of his death,
December 28, but has not been included in the General Roman Calendar.
Currently Saint Gaspar del Bufalo's feast day is celebrated on
October 21.
There are
few prophecies made by St. Gaspar, but he too confirmed that the
devil would attack Christ crucified, and it would be necessary to
once more uphold the glories of the Cross. (O f interest, Our Lord
said to Marie-Julie Jahenny the Age of Peace will come through the
Victory of the Cross and this victory will be proclaimed by those who
survive the chastisements.) St. Gaspar he also declared a prophecy
that there will be a chastisement of a terrible Three Days of
Darkness, and recommended devotion to the Precious Blood for
protection in times of tribulation, (also foretold to Marie-Julie Jahenny)
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On the
Cross, and the Precious Blood offered on our Altars
St. Gaspar:
“In every era the Lord has inspired certain devotions to stem the
tide of iniquity. We also see that in times past the Church was
attacked in this or that doctrine. Today the war is being waged
against religion as such and against Christ Crucified. We need,
therefore, to reemphasize the glories of the Cross and of our
Crucified Redeemer, to reopen the fountains of mercy just when the
devil would make us the victim of wrath. Now, more than ever, it
is opportune to tell people at what price our souls were redeemed. We
must let it be known how the Blood of Christ cleanses the souls and
sanctifies them, particularly by means of the sacraments. We must
arouse them from their insensibility by reminding them that His Blood
is offered up every morning upon the altars and that instead of
blasphemy and insult, we should give it adoration and praise.”
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St. Gaspar:
“I repeat: let us propagate widely this very important devotion;
let us often
meditate on those words: “making peace through the Blood of the Cross both in the heavens and on the earth.” May Jesus be our love. (to Mr. Giovanni Francesco Palmucci, February 24, 1826, Letter 1341)
meditate on those words: “making peace through the Blood of the Cross both in the heavens and on the earth.” May Jesus be our love. (to Mr. Giovanni Francesco Palmucci, February 24, 1826, Letter 1341)
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On the Three Days of Darkness
St.
Gaspar: “The death of impenitent persecutors of the Church will occur during
the three days darkness. He who outlives the darkness and fear
of the three days will think that he were alone on earth because of
the fact that the world will be covered everywhere with cadavers….”
(Yves Dupont, Catholic Prophecy,
Tan Books and Publishers 1970, p 79)
Spanish and Portuguese websites have another few lines line after this, saying: "The world will not have seen anything like it since the time of the Deluge, with a great slaughter of priests and other misfortunes in Rome." Those devoted to the Precious Blood will be protected he affirmed.
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Devotion
to the Precious Blood
“Blessed
Gaspar del Bufalo frequently assured his contemporaries that those
who foster devotion to the Precious Blood shall obtain special mercy
in times of tribulation.” - ('Glories of the Precious
Blood” Rev. Fr. Max Walz, TAN, 2010)
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St.
Gaspar: “Become attached in fervor to the devotion to the Divine
Blood which
softens every heart, and do not fail to turn frequently to the most holy Mary Immaculate under whose protection it is most helpful to remain.” (from St. Gaspar's Letter 1183 to Fr. Giovanni Chiodi, June 30, 1825)
softens every heart, and do not fail to turn frequently to the most holy Mary Immaculate under whose protection it is most helpful to remain.” (from St. Gaspar's Letter 1183 to Fr. Giovanni Chiodi, June 30, 1825)
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