April 2 | Saint Francis of Paola

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, imagine being the most powerful person in your entire country. You have massive castles, vast wealth, and an army of guards at your command. But despite all that power, you are absolutely terrified of one thing. You are sick, and in a panic, you send out an urgent command for the only person in the world Who might have the power to save you?

But you don't send for a world-famous doctor or a brilliant scientist. You send for a man who lives in a dark, damp cave. A man who barely eats, hardly sleeps, and owns absolutely nothing. Saint Francis of Paola. Let's set the scene. Francis was born on March 27, 1416, in a town called Paola, which is in the Calabria region of Italy. His story starts with a miracle, because his parents were very poor and had prayed desperately just to be able to have a child.

Because their prayers were answered, Francis was dedicated to God right from the time he was a baby. Now, you know how some teenagers have a rebellious streak? Well, as a young man, Francis rebelled against the comfort of the world. He took his dedication to God completely literally and just left regular society behind.

He withdrew into the quiet, isolated caves near his hometown to live as a hermit. Can you imagine? He embraced God's love for him. Total solitude, intense fasting, and near-total abstinence from the things most of us enjoy every day. His austerity, meaning his strict and simple way of living, was considered extreme even by the standards of hardcore disciplined monks. He barely ate, slept very little, and spent long, quiet hours in deep prayer.

Anyone who actually traveled out to the caves and met him was completely blown away by his serenity, his gentleness, and this radiant, supernatural joy he carried with him. He was so full of peace that people started following him into the wilderness.

Even though he tried to resist having followers, disciples gathered around him anyway. This group of followers eventually grew into a new religious community called the Order of Minims. To push back against society's obsession with greed and having too much stuff, the members of this order took a strict vow to never eat meat or dairy ever again. Their entire way of life was an embodied protest against excess and spiritual complacency.

Let's fast forward to that moment we started with. News of this holy, joyful hermit reached all the way to France. King Louis XI of France was terribly sick and completely terrified of death. Desperate for a miraculous healing, the king summoned Francis to the royal court. When he arrived, Francis didn't flatter the king or tell him what he wanted to hear. Instead, Francis looked the king in the eye and preached to him about repentance, humility, and getting ready to face God's judgment.

Even while living right in the middle of the luxurious French court, Francis lived just as poorly as he did in his Italian cave. He flat out refused all the king's rich gifts and honors, and he bravely rebuked injustice whenever he saw it. Francis showed the world that true holiness can confront massive worldly power without ever being corrupted by it.

Francis died on April 2nd, 1507, in France, at the incredibly old age of 91. Think about that. He barely ate and lived in a cave, yet he lived to be 91. Just a dozen years later, in 1519, he was officially canonized as a saint by Pope Leo X.

In art, he is usually shown with a hermit's cloak, a staff, and cool sea imagery. And if you're wondering who he looks out for in heaven, St. Francis of Paola is the patron saint of sailors, hermits, and his home region of Calabria, Italy.

Francis showed us that penance isn't about punishing yourself. It's actually about finding true freedom. His entire life was a protest against excess. Today, we live in a world of total excess. We have endless scrolling, binge-watching, junk food, and constant noise everywhere we look. Pick one excess in your life right now. Maybe it's checking social media, playing video games, or snacking when you aren't even hungry. Give it up for just one day. Take that extra time to sit in silence, pray, and find a little bit of that quiet cave space that Francis loved.

See if letting go of something small brings you a little bit of the supernatural joy and absolute freedom he experienced. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.