St. Joseph of Cupertino

Feast date: Sep 18

Joseph began having mystical visions when he was seven, and was often so lost to the world around him that the other children made fun of him giving him the nickname, "open-mouthed" for his gaping manner.

He had an irascible temper and read very poorly, giving others the impression that he was dumb and good for nothing. Aside from that, he was so continually drawn into ecstasy that it was impossible for him to be attentive to the tasks at hand. Thus, when he secured a job, he lost it very quickly.

He finally managed to obtain a post taking care of a stable in a Franciscan convent near Cupertino. Upon realizing his holiness and aptitude for penance, humility, and obedience, it was decided that he could begin studying for the priesthood.

Joseph was a very poor student, however during his final examination, the examiner happened to ask him a question on the one topic he knew well.  He passed and was admitted into the priesthood

It was also soon recognized that though he knew little by way of worldly knowledge and had little capacity to learn, Joseph was infused with a divine knowledge that made him capable of solving some of the most intricate theological quandaries.

For the last 35 years of his life as a priest he was unable to celebrate Mass in public because he would often, without being able to help it, be lifted up into the air when he went into an ecstatic state, which happened at nearly every Mass.  It took only the slightest reference of anything having to do with God in order for this state to be induced in him.

Despite being moved from one friary to another, because of the disruption he caused by his ecstasies and the persecutions he endured from some of his brothers who were envious of his gifts, he remained profoundly inundated by the joy of abandoning himself to Divine Providence.

He died on September 18, 1663 and was canonized in 1767 by Pope Clement XIII.  He is the patron of air travelers and students preparing for exams.

The association had barred parochial school students from participating on teams in their home school districts, even though it had permitted charter school students and homeschooled students to participate.

“This is a huge relief for parents and students across Pennsylvania who have been unnecessary excluded from participation simply because of their desire to pursue a faith-based education,” an attorney for the Thomas More Society said.

Stating that creditors have “bled [the diocese] dry,” an attorney for the diocese said that “the cost is too high, and the survivors in this Chapter 11 Case—and the 500,000+ faithful Catholics in the Diocese of Oakland—deserve better,”

The co-chairmen of the National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue—Auxiliary Bishop Elias Lorenzo, OSB, of Newark and Imam Kareem Irfan—commended the guide “to all Catholics, Muslims, and people of good will so they may understand and address the disturbing phenomenon of anti-Muslim sentiment in our times.”

The guide states that “In the United States today, Muslims often face prejudice and discrimination—not unlike what Catholics faced in earlier generations of American history. Anti-Muslim bigotry is both a religious freedom concern and a social justice issue. Fortunately, our Catholic faith inspires and equips us to identify and address bigotry, no matter whom it targets, and to build up a world defined by fraternity and hospitality.”

On September 18, the Crux news agency released five excerpts from the July interviews between senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen and Pope Leo XIV. The interviews provided the material for her book, Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, which was published in Spanish this week, with an English-language edition due early next year.

“The victims were caught off guard at a mourning ceremony in the village of Ntoyo at around 9:00 PM, and most of them were killed with machetes,” a local official said. “The attackers used firearms and hammers, and some homes were selectively set on fire,” Aid to the Church in Need reported.

“To all the families affected by this umpteenth and horrible carnage,” said Bishop Melchisédech Sikuli Paluko of Butembo-Beni, “and to all the faithful of the parish, we express our spiritual closeness. May God, the Master of Life, strengthen us through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, consoler of the afflicted, and lead us beyond the desert of present-day suffering to lasting peace.”

In July, at least 34 people were killed in an Islamist terrorist massacre at a parish in the adjacent Ituri province.

Father Bogati expressed “confidence in Sushila Karki, who, among other things, in the past, when she was still a lawyer, defended one of our priests and some religious sisters who had been wrongly accused in several court cases.”

“The position of the Catholic Church in Nepal is clear,” the priest added. “We say ‘no’ to any form of violence and work for a peaceful development of the situation, hoping for a good government that can effectively combat one of the scourges afflicting the country: corruption.”

There are 8,000 Catholics in Nepal. The South Asian nation of 31.1 million (map) is 64% Hindu, 13% ethnic religionist, 12% Buddhist, 6% Christian, and 4% Muslim.

“This implies that social development is linked to the denial of the right to life to the child in the womb,” said Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Switzerland. The prelate added:

It is true that women in many parts of the world face difficult, or even tragic, situations involving suffering, violence, loneliness, a total lack of economic prospects, and depression and anxiety about the future. We should be honest and admit that it is by addressing these dramatic human situations that we can reach social development and the good of the world’s women and not by proposing false solutions, such as denying another person’s inviolable right to life, which is always a failure of law, of justice and ultimately of the entire society.

Archbishop Balestrero called for “a serious commitment to creating equal conditions, including providing [women] with access to education, quality healthcare, decent work, participation in every sphere of life, measures to alleviate poverty, and freedom from violence and discrimination.”

“He did live videos on TikTok to spread the word of God,” his sister said. The president of the Assyro-Chaldean Association of Lyon described the victim as “a very kind, discreet person, deeply believing, who liked to speak about the Christian faith.”

CNA reported that Sarnaya previously complained that his “content was frequently blocked or suspended due to reports from Muslim users. In March, he claimed to have been physically attacked by Muslims.”

An official of the Armenian Apostolic Church told Vatican News that the September 16 papal audience took place in “a fraternal and cordial atmosphere, during which various ecclesial issues were discussed, and the Armenian Patriarch emphasized the fate of the Armenians of Artsakh,” an Armenian enclave in largely Muslim Azerbaijan. Patriarch Karekin also invited Pope Leo to visit Armenia.

The Armenian Apostolic Church (CNEWA profile) is among the Oriental Orthodox churches that ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See following the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451). Karekin II, now 74, has led the church since 1999.