St. Peregrine Brings Courage, Healing to the Seriously Ill
By: Sharon Roulier, Assistant Editor
The Catholic Observer of the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts
He was a member of the anti-papal party. He once heckled and then
struck out at a man preaching the word of God.
And now many Catholics around the world look to this same man, who
later became St. Peregrine, at they fight the ultimate battle of their
lives — that against cancer, AIDS, and other serious diseases.
A perpetual novena to this Italian saint who lived more than 700
years ago is held every Friday at 7:00 PM at St. Patrick’s Parish in
Monson, MA.
Father Jeddie Brooks, pastor of St. Patrick’s, began the novena
during Lent of this year as part of the parish retreat. It was so well
received that he decided to make it a perpetual novena in May.
The weekly event now features a Mass, blessing of the sick and
veneration of a relic of St. Peregrine.
Father Brooks said he began the novena as a way of bringing comfort
to families in the parish who have been touched in some way by cancer.
“I’m offering a faith-filled prayerful way that people can assist
themselves or others during this time of suffering and pain,” he said.
But why pray to St. Peregrine?
The early facts about St. Peregrine are few and uncertain. He was
born in Forli, Italy, around 1265. At that time, Forli was governed by
the pope as part of the Papal States.
Peregrine grew up in a family which was actively involved in the
opposition or anti-papal party. Forli was a stronghold of anti-papal
party activism. Because of this anti-papal political activity, the city
was under the church penalty of interdict. This means that Mass and the
sacraments could not be celebrated in the city.
St. Philip Benizi, the prior general of the Servants of Mary, was
sent to Forli to preach the reconciliation of the city and the removal
of the penalty. Young Peregrine was so intense in his political fervor
that he heckled Philip during the preaching and at one point Peregrine
actually struck St. Philip.
The moment of striking St. Philip seemed to drastically change
Peregrine. He began to channel his energies into good works and
eventually joined the Servants of Mary and pronounced his vows in the
Servite Priory in Siena. He was 30 years old.
Peregrine then returned to Forli where he spent the rest of this
life. The best information indicates that he was not a priest but a
choir brother, who undertook an apostolate among the people of Forli.
He especially dedicated himself to the sick, the poor and the fringe
people of society. He also imposed a special penance on himself to
stand whenever it was not necessary to sit. This led to varicose
veins. The varicose veins deteriorated into an open, running sore on
his leg which was diagnosed as cancer. The wound became so obvious,
odious and painful that the local surgeon scheduled surgery to amputate
the leg.
Suddenly, Peregrine was confronted with the ugliness and suffering
of his life. He had given himself to people of similar situations and
then found he must lean on his own faith in the goodness of God. The
night before the operation he prayed before the image of the crucified
Christ in the priory chapter room. At the age of 60 he was challenged
to carry a new and more difficult cross. His prayer led him into a deep
trance-like sleep during which he envisioned the crucified Christ
leaving the cross and touching his cancerous leg. When Peregrine
awakened from the trance of the prayer, he discovered the wound had
healed and the leg was saved.
St. Peregrine lived 20 more years. He died on May 1, 1345 at the
age of 80. He was canonized on Dec. 27, 1726. He was named the patron
saint of those who suffer from cancer. The people of Forli chose him to
be the patron saint of their city. His feast day is celebrated May 4.
“We are a people of miracles,’ said Father Brooks. “We accept them
and we pray for them.”
The weekly novena attracts about 15 people from the parish and
surrounding communities, said Father Brooks, nothing that there are
several other ways that people may request their prayers.
See top of the page for information
|
