- Saint Cajetan (1480 - 1547)
Today is the feast day of Saint Cajetan. Cajetan was born in 1480 in Vicenza, Italy. When he grew older Cajetan decided to become a lawyer, but after a while felt called to be a priest. He was ordained at the age of 36, and soon after joined the Oratory of Divine Love in Rome. The Oratory of Divine Love was a group devoted to piety and works of charity. After leaving Rome, Cajetan founded oratories in Vicenza and Verona. When he was 42 years old, Cajetan founded a hospital for incurables in Venice. During this time, the Catholic Church was going through a rocky period. There were many evils in the Church such as immoral, licentious priests. Cajetan, along with a few others, decided to start an order based on the lives of the apostles in order to inspire others and to help restore the Church. The new order that Cajetan and the other priests created was called the Theatines Clerks Regular due to the fact that it was an order of regular clergy whose first superior general was named Theatensis. In Naples, Cajetan also founded a monte de pieta or a mountain of piety, which was a charitable organization that lent money in return for the security of pawned objects. The purpose of this was to help the poor and to protect them from usurers. This organization eventually became the Bank of Naples. Towards the end of his life, Cajetan became ill and died in 1547.
Saint Cajetan, pray for us!
_________________________________________
Quote, Picture, and Information About Saint Cajetan Taken From:
No comments:
Post a Comment