Saint of the Month: St. Paschal Baylón

    St Paschal Baylón was a shepherd turned Capuchin religious brother with an extraordinary devotion to the Eucharist. Paschal was born in 1540 to poor farmers Martin and Elizabeth Baylón. The family lived in Torra Hermosa in the Kingdom of Aragon in northern modern-day Spain. From the age of seven, he worked tending the family’s sheep. His parents couldn’t help but notice that, even as a young child, he had an unusual inclination for silent prayer. He managed to teach himself to read and write by asking many questions, primarily so that he could read the spiritual classic devotional The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. As a youth, he was known to evangelize others working as shepherds. When he was not able to attend Mass, he would hear the bells ring at the moment of the Consecration, and he would drop to his knees and face toward the church. He was mindful of the poor, to the point of giving them portions of his own dinner that was provided for him out in the fields. He eventually was hired out as shepherd for other farmers. One of his employers was so taken by his goodness, he offered to make him his legal heir.
    As a teen, Paschal told his parents that he wished to join a religious order, but the Franciscan monastery he applied to denied him due to his young age. When he was twenty-three, however, he set out on foot to join the Franciscans of the Alcantara reform, where he became a lay brother. He made his final vows in 1565 and declined to pursue priestly ordination. His life as a religious was simple, serving as either a cook/dishwasher, a gardener, an alms gatherer, or as a porter. He especially loved being a porter, because he loved to take care of the many poor children who came to the gate. He became known for his generosity and kindness. Paschal’s spiritual life was anything but simple. He lived his entire life in prayer, whether he was alone or with other people, whether resting or tending to a chore. He especially loved to pray before the Blessed Sacrament and was known to spend hours at a time on his knees in Adoration. He was assigned over the years to several friaries in Spain, and did have an eventful trip to France. There, he effectively defended the Truth of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist against a Calvinist minister, a debate which caused him to be attacked by a pack of enraged Huguenots. 
    Paschal died at the friary at Villareal, in the Kingdom of Aragon in Spain, May 17, 1592, at age fifty-two. Because multitudes of mourners visited his remains, the friars decided to cover his body with lime in order to hasten decomposition and avoid the offensive stench associated with decay. Pilgrims continued to pray at his tomb and numerous miracles were reported. When his body was exhumed before his 1618 beatification, beneath the thick layer of lime, the friars discovered his remains perfectly intact with lifelike skin color. Sadly, in 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, anticlerical fanatics opened his tomb and burned most of his body. 
    St. Paschal Baylón lived his life in constant prayer, a habit he had since childhood. His extraordinary devotion to the Blessed Sacrament was an inspiration to those who knew him. He is sometimes referred to as “the seraph of the Eucharist”. He was canonized in 1690 and has been named the patron of Eucharistic congresses and confraternities. He is usually depicted with a monstrance and is also a patron for cooks, shepherds, and several cities in Spain. His feast day is May 17.