Today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Leopold Mandic.

Leopold, a Croatian native, joined the Capuchin Franciscans and, despite his numerous illness, became a saint several years later. He was unable to preach aloud enough in public. Along with severe arthritis, bad eyesight, and a gastrointestinal illness, he endured these conditions for many years.

Leopold spent many years instructing his province’s priests in Patrology, or the study of the Church Fathers, but he is well known for his work in the confessional, where he would frequently spend 13 to 15 hours each day. Several bishops sought him for his spiritual counsel.

Leopold aimed to visit the Orthodox Christians and work toward the union between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. His health never allowed it. Leopold frequently reiterated his commitment to travel with the Eastern Christians and regularly prayed for the cause of unification.

When Pope Pius XII declared that the greatest sin of our time is “to have lost all sense of sin,” Leopold had a keen understanding of sin and an even greater understanding of God’s grace, awaiting the time when humans would cooperate.

Source: franciscanmedia.org