Saintly Miracle Worker

Today we learn about a saint who gave his life to the priesthood with great zeal and understanding.

St. Joseph of Oriol

Feast Day: March 23
Birth: 1650
Death:  1702
Spain
Poverty

Born into a poor family in Barcelona, Spain.  He studied at the University of Barcelona, receiving the degree of Doctor of Theology in 1964.  He was later ordained a priest in 1976.  His priestly life was remarkable for a spirit of penance, profound humility, and prudence in directing souls.

Joseph made a pilgrimage to Rome on foot in 1686 and was granted a a permanent Church appointment in the church of Nuestra Señora del Pino in Barcelona.

Wanting to experience martyrdom, he began a return visit to Rome in April 1698 to offer himself for the foreign missions, but he fell sick at Marseilles and returned to Barcelona.

God bestowed upon him prophetic and miraculous power. The dying, the blind, the deaf and dumb, the lame, and the paralytic, were instantly cured by his intercession.  He is called the "Miracle Worker of Barcelona"    

He died in 1702 in his beloved Barcelona.