Modern Saints: Their Lives and Faces (vol. 1) by Ball Ann

Author:Ball, Ann [Ball, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TAN Books
Published: 1933-12-04T05:00:00+00:00

Sister Teresa Valse Pantellini, a wealthy young Italian noblewoman of impetuous and domineering temperament, gave up everything to serve God and the poor. When asked about her life's motto shortly before her death, she replied, "I resolved to pass unnoticed."

Ven. Teresa Valse Pantellini, F.M.A. was declared venerable on July 12, 1982 by Pope John Paul II.

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BLESSED BROTHER MIGUEL

Blessed Miguel, F.S.C.

Francisco Febres Cordero Munoz

1854 - 1910

Ecuador - Spain

Died Age 56

The little son of Professor Cordero was sitting at home with his aunt. Little Francisco—known as "Pancho"—was a delicate child; he had a deformity of both feet, and at the age of five had not yet begun to walk. Gazing out the window toward some rosebushes in the garden, his eyes lit up. "Oh look," he cried to his aunt, "there is a lovely lady near the rosebushes."

Startled, his aunt replied, "Ask her to come in, Pancho."

"How beautiful she is in her white dress and mantle! Can't you see her? She is calling me; she wants me to go to her."

Before the amazed eyes of his aunt, Pancho stood up and went to the window, walking unaided for the first time in his life. The health of the boy improved after this strange incident, although the deformity in his feet remained, making walking difficult for the rest of his life.

Francisco Febres Cordero Munoz was born November 7, 1854, to a well-to-do and prominent family of Cuenca, Ecuador. The little boy was exceptionally bright, and for the first few years he was educated at home by his devout mother. Several unusual incidents during his childhood pointed to the fact that he was specially favored by God.

At the age of eight he was playing with some friends when he was attacked by a wild bull. Bystanders feared he would be killed, but he emerged from the incident completely unhurt.

The de la Salle Christian Brothers came to Ecuador at the invitation of the president of Ecuador, Garcia Moreno. In 1863, Francisco enrolled at the brothers' school. The brilliant nine-year-old immediately fell in love with the brothers and their way of life. He made the school his second home and often stayed after school to help with any projects he could. Soon he had made up his mind that he wanted to become a brother, and nothing seemed able to dissuade him from this view. The brothers, for their part, quickly realized in Francisco a student of rare intellectual ability and religious fervor.

When Francisco informed his family of his hopes to become a brother, they were appalled. His mother had in mind a great career for him. His father and his grandmother flatly rejected the idea. In an attempt to change Francisco's mind, the boy was removed from the school and sent as a boarder to the seminary at Cuenca.

Years later, Brother Miguel wrote, "I stayed there three months only, but it felt like three years. I suffered intensely even though the teachers and students were very kind and friendly. It just wasn't the place God intended for me and I was like a fish out of water.

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