Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Saint John Calabria

If you have non-Catholic friends with an interest in the Catholic Church, might I suggest that you ask Saint John Calabria for assistance in your prayers. There is a brief biography at the Vatican and here are a few quotes from that document:
He understood this radical and prophetic spiritual renewal in which even the laity could be involved. As a matter of fact in 1944 he founded "The Family of External Brothers" solely made up of laymen.

He prayed, wrote, acted and suffered for the unity of Christians. In view of this he kept in touch with protestants, orthodox and Hebrews: he wrote, spoke and loved but he never entered into discussions.

He conquered everybody's love. Even the Lutheran Pastor, Sune Wiman of Esklstuna (Switzerland), who had had several epistolary sharings with him, on the 6th of March 1964 in a Lettera Postulatoria to the Holy Father Pope Paul VI, asked that his venerable friend be glorified.
Although not mentioned in that biography, Fr Calabria had an interesting correspondence with C. S. Lewis and Lewis' side of the correspondence is printed in The Latin Letters of C. S. Lewis (edited, with English translation by Martin Moynihan).

Fr. Calabria was beatified by Pope John Paul II on the 17th April 1988.


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