Blessed Raymond of Capua

Today is the feast of Bl. Raymond of Capua. He was born in 1330 in Capua, a city in southern Italy. While studying at the University of Bologna, he met the Dominicans. After receiving a miraculous vision of St. Dominic, he resolved to enter the Order.

He was teaching in Florence at Santa Maria Novella when his superior assigned him to Siena to be the spiritual director of the great mystic St. Catherine of Siena. St. Catherine’s fervent prayer for a spiritual guide was answered through Bl. Raymond. While he was celebrating Mass on the Feast of St. John the Baptist, St. Catherine heard an interior voice saying: “This is my beloved servant. This is he to whom I will entrust you.” Raymond was Catherine’s spiritual director for the last six years of her life. After inspiring many sinners to repent, Catherine sent them to Raymond to confess their sins.

Shortly after St. Catherine’s death, Bl. Raymond was elected as the 23rd Master of the Order. He vigorously worked to reform the Order, and while promoting the reform in Nuremberg, Germany, he died in 1399.

Let us ask Bl. Raymond to intercede for our current Master of the Order, Fr. Gerard Timoner III, O.P., so that he may lead the Dominican Order to further achieve its purpose: preaching and the salvation of souls.