The Light of Christ Conquers the Darkness

The canonization of new saints is a tremendous sign of the vitality of the church and the power of goodness conquering evil. A person who is officially recognized by the Holy Father to be enjoying the Presence of God in heaven has lived a life that conquered sin and the power of evil by the help of God’s grace. Some saints have done this in a particularly dramatic way. One of the seven new saints canonized on October 19 is one who, in a powerful manner, conquered evil and turned away from the power of the Evil One to embrace a life of holiness. His name is St. Bartolo Longo.
 
Bartolo was born in 1841 in the town of Latiano in southern Italy of a wealthy family. When he was 10 years old, his father died. His mother remarried a lawyer. His family was devoutly Catholic, and he was brought up well-formed in the Faith. He began studies at the University of Naples in 1861 to become a lawyer. At the university he encountered progressive revolutionary thought, so rampant in the mid-19^th century, that displayed a marked anticlerical hostility toward the Church. Bartolo became convinced of this poisonous and erroneous ideology. He developed a hatred and a negative attitude for the Church, the clergy and the Holy Father. He rejected the Catholic Faith and claimed that only reason and politics could bring us truth. At the same time, the revolutionary and anti-Church connections in Italy, as elsewhere, were bound up with occult practices, such as freemasonry, spiritualism, magic, and devil worship. Bartolo embraced occult practices and even Satanism, being consecrated a Satanic priest and giving his soul to a demon.
 
After his involvement in Satanism, he began to suffer greatly. He became a mere shadow of himself, experienced frazzled nerves, and became ill due to a stomach ailment. He claimed to constantly sense a dark presence at his side. He became increasingly depressed, nervous, confused, and even suicidal.
 
A very devout professor at the University of Naples, Dr. Vincenzo Pepe, became very worried about Bartolo. He comforted him but told him that he was on the road to madness and damnation. At Pepe’s invitation, Bartolo moved into his home. After three weeks of meeting with a holy Dominican friar, Father Alberto Radente, Bartolo went to confession and was reconciled with the Church. This began a slow, steady process of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. Bartolo remined doubtful of being freed from demonic influence and achieving salvation. Father Radente continued to befriend him and help him, as did a nun, Sister Caterina Volpicelli. They helped him to develop a vibrant devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary.
 
One day, when Bartolo was feeling particularly hopeless, he remembered one of the promises of Our Lady to St. Dominic: “He who propagates my Rosary will find salvation.” Falling to his knees, Bartolo exclaimed to the Mother of God, “If your words are true that he who propagates your Rosary will be saved, I shall reach salvation, because I shall not leave this earth without propagating your Rosary.” From that day forward, Bartolo untiringly promoted the Rosary as he took care of the poor, orphans, and those who did not know the truth of the Catholic Faith. He was instrumental in the building of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompei, as well as schools and orphanages for poor children. He encouraged people to come on pilgrimage to the Basilica, where a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary was venerated. Miracles and cures began to occur there, and a great spiritual renewal sprang up.
 
Up to his death in 1926, Bartolo promoted the Rosary and witnessed to the truth of Jesus Christ. In 1980, he was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II, who called him the “Apostle of the Rosary.” Bartolo’s canonization in 2025 is a cause for all the Church to rejoice, as a new example of holiness, repentance, conversion,  and a powerful intercession has been raised up for us.

St. Bartolo Longo’s life reminds us that no matter how dark a person’s past may be, God’s mercy and grace offer us salvation. The ancient foe, the devil, and all his offers and enticements only lead to unhappiness and sorrow. He is defeated by the light of Christ that shines on us through the intercession of His Mother. Just as the university of St Bartolo’s time was fraught with errors and immorality, so too, our culture and institutions often lead young people away from the truth. It is by living the life of grace, receiving the Sacraments, and devotion to the Mother of God that we can embrace the truth and grow in holiness. Just as the Rosary was the powerful instrument of healing and peace for St. Bartolo, so, too, the Rosary will draw us to the Heart of the Savior.
 
It is by seeking to grow in holiness that we can see that every single human person  is a gift from the hands of the Creator and is destined for holiness. No one should be denied the ability to grow in holiness whether by abortion, or euthanasia or any other attack on human dignity in between. Human life is sacred and must be cherished and protected.  Every life must be given the opportunity to become the saint he or she is called to be so that the world may be transformed into a place of peace and love.
 
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh