The Life of Saint Paul of the Cross Founder of the Congregation of the Cross and Passion 1694-1775 Volume 1 – 1694-1741 Father Louis Therese of Jesus Agonizing, C.P. 1873 Fr. Simon Woods, C.P. (Translated from the third French Edition) 1959 (INDEX TO VOLUME ONE ON FINAL PAGES) DEDICATION to HIS EMINENCE FERDINAND CARDINAL DONNET Archbishop of Bordeaux Your Eminence, The Life of Saint Paul of the Cross, which it is my privilege to dedicate to you, may rightfully be called your very own. Without your Eminence the work may not have been completed, and I may never have realized the idea that I had in mind for a very long time. It is then the humble fruit of a tree planted by your own hands in the vineyard confided to your care by the Heavenly Father. It was when your Eminence was in Rome for the Beatification of our holy Founder that you obtained from His Holiness Pope Pius IX the sons of Saint Paul of the Cross for your Archdiocese… And, if this little family was welcome and took its humble beginnings in the fruitful soil of France under your protection and guidance, is it not due to your paternal interest and initiative? Soon, it is true, a learned and zealous clergy imitated your zeal; but in those days of supreme struggle, of unceasing conflict against the rights of the Church, your Eminence realized that it is necessary that zeal be united with learning, especially when the war “against the Lord and his Christ” becomes so universal. You knew that far too many souls would tread the path leading to perdition unless men were raised up who would become the saviors of their souls. That is the reason why you have invited to your vast Diocese men taken from the ranks of the different Religious Orders, apostles ever ready to come to your side as co- operators in the ceaseless search for souls, the fire of whose zeal would successfully triumph over the obstacles hindering their apostolate efforts; and from all your apostolic assistants, you have formed one army, already united, of valiant soldiers of Jesus Christ. Your Eminence, among so many other works, due to your indefatigable apostolic zeal, there is one, I dare to say, that will not be the last of your glories before God. That is the souls, saved by these untiring apostolic laborers, the souls who will be your crown and your joy in the kingdom of Heaven, For ourselves, the humble Religious of the Passion, for a long time we have had your name inscribed within that sacred sanctuary which no one can ever efface – the heart of 2 the Divine Master; there we have included your name with those of other glorious benefactors, Crescenzi, Rezzonico, Albani, Altieri, Corsi, and among those illustrious Princes of the Church who have proved themselves loyal protectors of our Congregation, whose names are linked with the immortal name of the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius IX. In deigning to accept the dedication of these humble pages, that are so unworthy of your excellence, your Eminence, and especially unworthy of the glorious Saint whose Life we have written, we proclaim to you and to the world our debt of gratitude. You have permitted us to lay at your feet, and it is also your wish to impart to this Life a special benediction from the depths of your heart, a heart that is ever ready to encourage and to strengthen men of good will who aspire to the loyal and loving service of God, of the Church and of humanity. I am, with sentiments of most profound respect, Your Eminence, Your most humble and obedient servant, Louis Therese of Jesus Agonizing, Passionist The Retreat of Our Lady of Sorrows BORDEAUX 28TH APRIL, 1869 FEAST OF ST. PAUL OF THE CROSS 3 LETTER FROM HIS EMINENCE THE ARCHBISHOP OF BORDEAUX Bordeaux, 24th May, 1869 Reverend Father, The Life of Saint Paul of the Cross, Founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Cross and Passion of Jesus Christ, who was canonized on the 24th June, 1867, by Pius IX of immortal memory, during one of the most impressive celebrations of the universal Church, at which I had the honor of being present, is a work of the most profound interest, the marvelous achievements of his long life of more than eighty years will perhaps astonish innumerable Christians of our day who are so little accustomed to reading prodigies of a supernatural nature; but, in spite of their repugnance to these things, they doubt their authenticity. For you have written your Life not by the aid of ancient documents that have been resurrected from the tomb of forgotten things, which in spite of the talent and the good will of the biographer, still leaves the truth veiled in obscurity; but you have had at hand the testimony of conscientious witnesses who have not long passed away from us. The seal of veracity which stamps your Life is such that seems to us that you have borrowed from the Apostle, Saint Peter, the words of his first discourse to the people after the Last Supper. Virum approbatum a Deo in vobis, virtutibus et prodigiis et signis quae fecit Deus per illuin medio vestri, sicut et vos scitis. “A man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him, in the midst of you, as you also know.” Acts 2, 22 Your hero, who has become your spiritual father, you have followed from the day of his birth at Ovada in the Republic of Genoa, 3rd January, 1694, until the day of his glorious death on the Caelian Hill in the Retreat of Saints John and Paul, 18th October, 1775, with scrupulous exactness and a filial affection. You have shown with charming simplicity, at Castellazzo, the home of the Saint, his youthful piety and penances, and the charity that inspired his every action. One cannot read this Life without being emotionally stirred; nor can one read without associating Saint Benedict in the grotto of Subiaco, Ignatius in the cave of Manresa, with the austerities of the youthful Paul Danei, and of the struggles he had to endure when, withdrawing to a damp and cold room under a stairway in the sacristy of the Church of Saint Charles at Castellazzo, he wrote in obedience to the wish of the Bishop, the Rules of the Congregation of the Passion. The manner, in which you have described Monte Argentario, so life-like and so delicately, had made us fall in love with that hallowed room, the silent witness during long years to the prayer, the penance and the silence of the first members of your Congregation. If today this privileged place, where Mary so mysteriously called your holy Founder, has been stolen from you, let us hope that in happier times that are not far off, God will return this sacred sanctuary to you, the holy cradle of your holy 4 Congregation. Nothing is more touching than the description of those many journeys of the Saint to Rome, along arduous and treacherous paths, bareheaded and barefooted, in the biting cold of winter or the scorching heat of summer, and of the obstacles that he encountered in his efforts to obtain the approbation of the Holy See for the foundation of this new Congregation. These difficulties seemed to impede the inspired and holy work. But was it not rather that the tree destined to spread high and wide its protective shelter and shade should be buffeted by storms from the very beginning of its existence, so that its roots would acquire the strength necessary to support and sustain its innumerable branches? Yes, the works of Saint Paul of the Cross were most pleasing to God; also was it not necessary, too, that they should be tried in the fire of tribulation, Quia acceptus eras Deo, necesse fuit ut tentatio probaret te. “Because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove you.” (Tobias 12,13) But, once the Congregation was approved by a Rescript from Pope Benedict XIV, it expanded and developed to equal the Orders of Dominic and Ignatius. The fecundity of the word of Saint Paul of the Cross during apostolic missions is something simply astonishing, but which is only explained in the light of the sanctity of the Missionary; and the prodigies accompanying his word and work were a sign of God’s approval on the labors of the grand Servant of God, The tender friendship that the Pontiffs - Clement XIII, Clement XIV, Pius VI - vowed to Saint Paul of the Cross is explained also by the beauty of soul of the Founder, in which these Pontiffs, disturbed by the calamities of the times, were happy to find the help and consolation they sought. I must refrain myself, Reverend Father, for if I do not, I will never finish relating those sentiments which your Life of Saint Paul of the Cross has aroused in my soul. But one word more: the doctrine which, during the course of your narrative you have related, is true and orthodox; your unpretentious style is pure, simple and delightful and your hero, as you have portrayed him, is the very same as your fathers have known, admired and loved. It now only remains for me to bless this work, and I do so with my whole heart, begging of God that it may shine before priests and people, for I am convinced that it will increase in their hearts devotion to Jesus crucified, which is the sole source of all sanctity.