Saint Benedict

St Benedict ImageSaint Benedict Joseph Labre

This pilgrim traveled from one great European shrine to another, living off alms.

He wore the rags of a beggar and shared his food with the poor, but he was filled with the love of God and neighbor.

In Rome, he lived in the ruins of the Coliseum for a time. People accepted his ragged appearance better than he did. His excuse to himself: “Our comfort is not in this world.”

On the last day of his life, April 16, 1783, Benedict Joseph dragged himself to a church in Rome and prayed there for two hours before he collapsed, dying peacefully in a nearby house. Immediately after his death, he was proclaimed a saint.