The Life of Saint Paul of the Cross Founder of the Congregation of the Cross and Passion 1694-1775 Volume 2 – 1741-1775 Father Louis Therese of Jesus Agonizing, C.P. 1873 Fr. Simon Woods, C.P. (Translated from the third French Edition) 1959 (INDEX TO VOLUME TWO ON FINAL PAGES) CHAPTER TWENTY MISSIONS TO THE SOLDIERS AND INHABITANTS OF ORBETELLO, PORTERCOLE AND PORTO LONGONE 1741 - 1742 There is a similarity between a Religious Order and an immortal soul. Each has its own special grace that prepares it for that work that Almighty God wills it to accomplish. Now that the Congregation of the Passion has its official mandate from the Holy See “to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” we can examine what is this grace, what is its efficacy, and what will be the fruits it will reap. Soon, we will see Paul of the Cross take his flight from his aery on the heights of Monte Argentario, and spread the wings of an apostle. It is almost meridian of this fiery sun whose flame will enkindle the world. Paul is forty-seven years of age - the age of maturity, of vitality, the age that produces more thorough and more lasting results than the age of youth. Moreover, he was, by an extraordinary grace, endowed with a rich disposition which never withers with age nor fades with time, but ripens to a richer and more fruitful maturity. He will carry the fire of his zeal undimmed, even to his very last years, and more often than in the preceding pages we will relate one miracle after another. Once again it is the field of battle. Whilst invaders redden with human blood the earth they devastate, and conquests far from satisfying their ambition, yet too much for their own sepulcher, God makes their greed redound to His glory, to the triumph of His Church and to the salvation of souls. The death of the Emperor, Charles VI, was the beginning of the famous War of Succession against Austria, a war immortalized by the heroic cry of Hungary, “Let us die for our Queen, Marie-Therese.” Pretenders struggled with one another to possess different sections of Empire. The Kings of Spain and of the Two Sicilies claimed for the Infanto, Don Phillip, Lombardy, Parma and Placentia, and had heavily reinforced the garrisons along the coast of Tuscany. On their side, the Austrian troops were advancing and massing their forces. Everything presaged the approaching thunder of battle. The commanding General of the armies of the League, the Duke of Sangro, desiring that his soldiers prepare themselves for battle like true Christians, invited the Saint from Monte Argentario to preach a mission to them at Orbetello, Portercole and Porto Longone. The apostle went down to Orbetello, accompanied by his chosen companion, Angelo d’ Stefano, still a novice. On an open plain a platform had been erected from which Paul preached to a vast assembly of soldiers - Italian, Spanish, French and Swiss. God repeated here the miracle He had worked in the early days of the Church. Although Paul preached in his native Italian tongue, yet each of the foreign soldiers understood every word as though it had been spoken in their own language and 2 missed not a word. The sermons, like a two-edged sword, penetrated every heart, even the most hardened in sin. At the tone of his voice, now fearful and threatening like justice, now affectionate and pleading like mercy, the tears, the sobs, the cries of fear or of hope that were heard on every side made the scene one of indescribable wonder. Emotion reached a climax when the Saint scourged himself with a heavy iron chain until his shoulders were lacerated and streaming with blood. The officers nearest the platform rushed forward and snatched the bloodstained scourge out of his hand, whilst the cries of distress and pity rent the air. From the lips of all came the pleas, “Pardon. Pardon. Mercy. Enough, Father. We are converted.” “Men and women, soldiers, even persons of the highest rank, all who had been at enmity with others,” said an officer who was an eye-witness, “were reconciled there in public and begged pardon of each other. Then were carried to the platform and placed at the feet of the preacher obscene and profane books, dice, etc., which Paul burnt in the presence of all, a sight which in itself excited those assisting him to repentance.” Scarcely had he descended the platform than all, rich and poor, officers and soldiers, assembled in a body around his confessional. Let us quote the simple and sincere testimony of a soldier, which we are compelled to abridge. “Father Paul preached with such fervor that his very face seemed on fire, and the tone of his voice filled the hearts of sinners with terror? It penetrated to the very depths of their soul, and they were converted indeed, the power of the word of God was visible. …The terror that Father Paul aroused during the beginning of his sermon was tempered by the gentleness with which he concluded. He softened all hearts and encouraged them to trust in God and to hope for pardon. And the people, moved to contrition, shed abundant tears. I saw it all with my own eyes. …It is quite true that the seed Father Paul sowed in preaching, he reaped in the confessional. He showed such tender charity in hearing confessions that several soldiers, who feared to go to confession because of their many sins, were persuaded by their companions who had already been. And they, too, found in the missioner charity, understanding and an extraordinary gentleness towards all, especially towards the greatest sinner and the most wretched. I have heard this from the soldiers themselves. …It is indeed true that the preaching of Father Paul produced astonishing conversions in Orbetello…” Among the soldiers in the Swiss regiment were a great number of Lutherans and Calvinists. When they saw the effects of this mission, the like of which they had never seen in their own religion, awed by the burning charity of the apostle, overcome by the power and the sanctity of his words and, at the same time, enlightened by divine grace, they exclaimed, “Such a preacher can only be the preacher of truth.” And through the true apostle they found the true Church. They came in a crowd to the platform and proclaimed publicly that they wished to abjure the errors of heresy. Among them was a young man of noble bearing, who exclaimed in good Italian, with the conviction of faith that moved all hearts, “I abjure, I detest and I despise the sect of which until this day I have been a member. I am convinced that it is false. I confess and believe that the Roman Catholic Church is the one true Church established by Jesus Christ.” Who could express the tenderness with which Paul pressed them all to his heart. 3 With paternal solicitude he instructed them in the truths of the faith and prepared them himself for their reception into the Church. The number of abjurations, which could be counted in the circumstances, amounted to seventy. Such, therefore, is the power of a saint: to see him, to hear him, to meet him is, in itself, an evident demonstration of the truth of the Catholic Church. God blessed and ratified the words of His apostle by the most astonishing prodigies. We will relate only some of them, so extraordinary are they, that if they were not found in the most authentic sources, the Processes of Canonization, we would not dare to mention them. Here is one which showed the authority of the Saint over the powers of hell, and filled the hearts of all with a salutary fear. One night, after the heavy fatigue of the day, Paul was taking a little rest. A sergeant of the regiment of Namur ran to the house and, beating loudly upon the door, shouted, “Father Paul, come quickly. Hurry. At headquarters the devil is trying to carry away one of the soldiers.” The Missioner arose quickly from his bed, took his crucifix and ran to the scene. Surrounded by a tumultuous crowd, as many people as soldiers, he saw with his own eyes the unfortunate soldier, white and trembling with fear, being carried by an invisible power. “Save me,” shouted the victim. “The devil is carrying me away.” Paul first commanded the evil spirit and then spoke to the soldier, “Fear not. I am here to help you. Repent of your sins; that is sufficient.” At the same time he endeavored to inspire in him a great confidence in the mercy of God and in the merits of Jesus Christ, urging him to break all pacts with the devil. Those present, and especially the soldiers of the regiment, were seized with terror. Paul commanded with authority the enemy of souls, who eventually took flight. The soldier was disfigured after such violent blows, and was so weakened that he could scarcely stand on his feet. Father Paul asked him if he could see the devil. The soldier replied that he could not. Then he begged Paul to hear his confession. The Saint put a rosary around the neck of the soldier and told him not to be frightened, for he had in the beads a powerful protection against the forces of evil. Then he added that he would hear his confession in the morning. Next morning the soldier was waiting, but, as he was French and did not speak Italian well enough to make his confession in Italian, Father Paul took “‘him to the Chaplain of the regiment.