From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   September 20th - St. Francis Mary Camporosso   
      
   John Evangelist Croese was born at Camporosso (Imperia) Italy, at Liguria's   
   western border, on December 27, 1804. His family owned a modest house and   
   maintained small parcels of farmland. Elementary education was provided by   
   his pastor.   
      
       At 18, John developed a friendship with a Conventual friar which led to   
   John's being invested as a tertiary among the Conventuals at Sestri on   
   October 1, 1822. At his investiture, he received the name, Anthony. Not   
   completely satisfied with the spirit and life he experienced among the   
   Conventuals, he went to the Capuchin friary at Voltri where he poured out   
   his heart to Alexander Canepa, a Capuchin from Genoa. Early one morning, in   
   late autumn of 1824, Anthony quietly left the Conventuals and sought   
   admittance as a postulant among the Capuchins, among whom he received the   
   name, Francis Mary. After almost three years of postulancy, Francis Mary   
   left Voltri for the novitiate of St. Barnabas in Genoa where he chose to be   
   a non-cleric novice, confiding to a friend that his choice was based on the   
   example of Saint Francis "who did not want to ascend to the priesthood,   
   because it is preferable to be humble and obedient."   
      
       Francis Mary was invested as a Capuchin on December 17,1825, and spent   
   his year of probation under the direction of Bernard of Pontedecimo. His   
   first vows were professed into the hands of Samuel Bocciardo of Genoa on   
   December 17, 1826. After profession, he was assigned to the province's   
   principal friary, Immaculate Conception in Genoa, which housed 90 friars,   
   the provincial curia, infirmary and retirement home, a vast library, and   
   where material for the friars' clothing was produced. The friars at   
   Immaculate Conception operated a pharmacy open to the public and provided   
   sanitary health care with a staff that included a doctor, a surgeon, and a   
   licensed dentist. The friary was also a public distribution center for wood   
   the sole source of energy at the time. Life at Immaculate Conception was   
   normally hectic and became even more so in the wake of the anticlerical,   
   antireligious era of the Italian Risorgimento.   
      
       Francis Mary helped wherever there was a need in the infirmary, kitchen,   
   orchard, etc. Because of the great number of friars residing at Immaculate   
   Conception, there were many questors, some of whom canvassed the city, and   
   others who went to the countryside. In 1831, one of the friary's rural   
   questors, Pius of Pontedecimo (who quested in the area of Val Bisagno) could   
   no longer continue the arduous task of climbing mountains to quest, so   
   Francis Mary was placed in training under Pius' tutelage. He learned quickly   
   that questing offered an opportunity not only to receive, but to give. He   
   received the offerings of the people with words of simple faith and   
   spontaneous yet effective catechesis. At nighttime, the rural questors would   
   take shelter at the villa of the Sauli family. Francis Mary always deferred   
   to his older companion, preparing their food, making sure that Pius had   
   enough to eat, without worrying about the size of his own portion. He chose   
   to sleep on the stairs so that Pius could have the bed. Although well suited   
   for this rural ministry, his assignment lasted only two years, at which time   
   he was chosen to be an urban questor.   
      
       Urban questors played an even more vital role in providing daily   
   sustenance for the friars. The city was divided into quarters, with each   
   questor responsible for his respective area. Since the friars were   
   prohibited from handling money, the questor was accompanied by a youngster   
   from one of the benefactors' families. (The child between the ages of six   
   and ten would carry a sack and receive any money that was given.) The choice   
   of Francis Mary to fulfill this ministry at such a young age attests to the   
   esteem in which he was held both by friars and others.   
      
       Francis Mary was very popular with ordinary people. His fame spread   
   rapidly, as did the nickname, padre Santo, (i.e., "holy father" or "holy   
   monk"). People confided in him and he always took the time to listen. Asked   
   to do anything, he always seemed to do even more than what was asked.   
   Francis Mary gave practical yet profound spiritual advice. While questors   
   often were brought into contact with nobles and ecclesiastical dignitaries,   
   most of Francis Mary's encounters were with parents, shopkeepers, sailors,   
   and prostitutes. In unsophisticated language, he spoke to all of the reign   
   of God. To those who sought advice he would say, "Have faith! Have faith" To   
   those who thanked him for his intervention and prayers, he would remark, "I   
   did nothing, it was the Madonna who helped you ." His sanctity was marked by   
   affability, and his personal life was distinguished for its austerity,   
   penance and obedience.   
      
       After 1840, the Capuchin ministers conferred on Francis Mary the office   
   of chief questor. This was in keeping with a local Capuchin custom whereby   
   an especially exemplary questor was recognized as a model and guide, and   
   served as coordinator of the other questors. With the office came the   
   responsibility of questing for certain staples destined for the infirmary:   
   coffee, sugar, chocolate, and cocoa. These alms were collected at the   
   customs house, a privilege reserved to the Capuchins. So great an amount of   
   goods was regularly gathered at the customs house, that the friary became a   
   distribution center for the needy. Goods were also disbursed to help   
   churches and other charitable institutions.   
      
       Since friars reflected the divisions rampant in the political upheaval   
   of the age, maintaining charity within the friary was not easy. In 1847,   
   Venanzio of Turin, the general minister, visited the friary in an attempt to   
   calm the friction. Francis Mary concentrated his energies on a program which   
   he had accepted for his own ongoing conversion: the acceptance of suffering   
   and the ministry of being a peacemaker. He always spoke a kind word,   
   expressed his appreciation of others, willingly extended a helping hand, and   
   never forgot the most lonely or sad. He displayed a great deal of affection   
   for and devotion to his community.   
      
       Still, they were turbulent times. In 1849, an insurrection arose in   
   Genoa. Even some non-Capuchin religious took up arms. Eventually, the state   
   confiscated the hospital and much of the Capuchin friary for its own   
   purposes.   
      
       In 1866, cholera was discovered on-board a vessel docked at Genoa and   
   all ships were subsequently quarantined. On August 5th, the first case   
   within the city was reported. Despite his own and others' fears, Francis   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)