St. Joseph of Cupertino

Joseph was born on June 17, 1603 in Cupertino, a small village in Naples. His father was a poor carpenter who died before Joseph was born and creditors drove his mother from the house; she gave birth to Joseph in a stable. Joseph experienced ecstasies as a child, but he also had a hot temper and had difficulty learning. After being refused admittance to the Friars Minor Conventuals, because of his lack of learning, Joseph was admitted to the Capuchins as a lay brother in 1620. He could not work effectively because of his many ecstasies and he was dismissed. His strict mother and uncles began to call him good for nothing, but he finally was allowed to work as a lay stable hand at a Franciscan convent. Soon his virtue became apparent; he was allowed to enter the order and was ordained a priest. Although he still had learned little, he had an inspired knowledge of divine things and could answer difficult questions on them. His ecstasies continued and drew so much public attention that his superiors only allowed him to say Mass in private and forbid him to take part in public devotions. He was sometimes gifted with levitation and on one occasion is said to have erected the heavy cross onto a church steeple, by flying to the top with the cross in his arms. At another time he used this miraculous power to rescue a workman dangling from a building. He was often transferred to out of the way monasteries, to avoid public attention, but he bore everything joyfully for the love of God. Joseph of Cupertino died on September 18, 1663 at Osimo. He was canonized in 1767 and his feast is September 18. He is the patron of aviators and of students who have difficulty learning.