St Leopold Pray for Our Holy Father Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch now at their historic meeting in Cuba. Pray for unity of Our Lords beloved Church which was a prayer so close to your heart and your mission while here on earth. Amen
St Leopold had the most beautiful holy face , just like Padre Pio. Both priests of the confessional. The Capuchins muct be very,very proud of them both.
Thank you Padraig for this wonderful information about St. Leopold. He was the Saint who "chose" me for 2014. I knew that he was a compassionate confessor which drew me to him. I ask him now to intercede to give us, in our new pastor yet to be chosen to replace the pastor of 27 years who suddenly passed away recently, another holy man who will especially draw people to him in the confessional....esp. for this Year of Mercy. I love this Saint Leopold, Saint giving to us a real example of God's own unfathomable Mercy so that many came to trust fully in Him.
He was only a very,very small man, I think less thn 5 feet. If you look at pictures of his paretns I get an impression they were almost dwarfs. He seems to have had a very, very great heart an openess far, far beyond his time. A great spirit of love , mercy , kindness and gentlenss. I am a little surprised he was not more persecuted than he seems to have been. These qualities would have made him a target. I would have loved to have seen himself and Padre Pio meet and talk together about confession just to see what they would say.
I don't kow if you have ever had this, but very occasionaly a priest may something that causes the hair on the back of my neck rise a little , for what the confessor says is so exact and to the point and wise that you knwo the Holy Spirit is speaking in a supernatural manner. But St Leopold did this all the time. No wonder crowds flocked to his confession box, even out of pure nosiness.
Just spent over 3 hours waiting in line at St. Peter's to view Sts. Pio and Leopoldo. The crowds were unbelievable. Just when you think that the world has lost its Christian faith it is so heartwarming to see such a display of faith.
What struck me, Padraig, as I watched the two great Saints Padre Pio and Leopold Mandic in the procession into St. Peter's (video below) was that I immediately thought of the Two Witnesses. Not that Padre Pio and Leopold are the Two Witnesses, but just that in a spiritual sense they represent the Two Wintesses. I was even struck by the lamp stands that accompanied them into St. Peter's, as the Two Witnesses are also called the two lamp stands in the Book of Revelation.
Brilliant idea bring the bodies of the Saints to St Peter's for the Year of Mercy. Brilliant. I might have tried for the Cure of Ars as well.
From what I saw they both looked incorrupt but I read that Padre Pio's face has a silicone mask over it. They both looked like they had just been laid to rest. If I was more computer savvy I could include pictures I took. Maybe I can get my husband to do it later.
It is a real mystery why some of the saints bodies are kept incorrupt and others aren't. I would suspect though it is God's way of underling their sanctity and the holiness of their works, especially if they were under attack. For isntance St Bernadette Soubirous in order to confirm the validity of Lourdes. Padre Pio because he came under heavy fire from within the Church and so on...
I love St. Leopoldo and have for a long time and pray for his intercession daily. This past summer I have the great privilege of going to Padua and to visit his shrine. I was thrilled! There is a great biography on him that I recommend just called "Father Leopoldo".
Today we celebrate the feast day of Saint Leopold Bogdan Mandić, a Croat born in the Bay of Kotor. He served in Croatia, but mostly in Italy, in Padua. He was known as the saint of the confessional, exceptionally short in stature at only 135 cm, very humble, with the gift of insight and many miracles. I already mentioned earlier that on one occasion he was traveling by carriage when another carriage suddenly approached from the opposite direction at great speed. The street miraculously widened, and both carriages passed without any collision, witnessed by many people. He died in 1942. He had foretold that the church would be destroyed in bombing, but that the confessional would remain untouched and preserved. And that is exactly what happened. About 150,000 people attended his funeral in wartime Italy — even more than for Padre Pio, although I am not comparing them, only showing how much people loved him. His final wish was for his bones to be transferred to Croatia, and we are still waiting for Italy regarding this. In 2016, Pope Francis proclaimed the Year of Mercy and highlighted two great confessors: Padre Pio and Leopold Mandić. His relics came to Croatia, and the lines of people waiting were truly kilometers long for days. His body is incorrupt. To conclude, I leave you with one of his sayings: “The greatest people in God’s eyes are always the smallest in human eyes. For them, God always has the greatest tasks.”
