The Saint of the Blessed Sacrament, Saint Paschal Baylon (1540-1592)

"[May 17th is the Traditional Feast Day of] Saint Paschal Baylon,...Franciscan Brother, Patron of Eucharistic Confraternities and Congresses.

"This humble Spanish friar is known as the Saint of the Blessed Sacrament. Saint Paschal was a shepherd from the time he was seven until the age of 24. He taught himself to read so that he could recite the Little Office of Our Lady.

"When he was about 18, he asked to join the Friars Minor at Loreto. These barefooted Franciscans, who followed the austere reforms of Saint Peter of Alcantara, at first rejected Paschal; but when they finally accepted him years later, Paschal's virtues stood out even among these fervent friars.

"An unlearned man who worked mainly as a porter or doorkeeper, Paschal acquired an understanding of theological matters through his many hours on his knees before the Blessed Sacrament. Even after praying through the night, he eagerly served consecutive Masses beginning after dawn.

"Saint Paschal was sometimes sent on journeys through France at a time when persecution from the Huguenots made travelling dangerous for anyone in a habit, and he was stoned on more than one occasion.

"Many miraculous cures of the sick and poor were attributed to Saint paschal even during his lifetime."

2018 Saints Calendar & Month Planner, Charlotte, North Carolina: TAN, 2017, 126.