Saint Lawrence of Brindisi

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi was a Capuchin friar, preacher, and theologian, a master of languages and of Sacred Scripture. He governed his order and reconciled rulers in conflict. He is a Doctor of the Church. His memorial falls on July 21, the eve of the anniversary of his death.

He was born on July 22, 1559, in Brindisi, in Apulia, and his name was Giulio Cesare Russo. He lost his father early. His mother entrusted him to the Conventual Franciscans in his hometown, and later he went to Venice, where he came to know the Capuchins. In 1575 he entered their order in the Venetian province and took the name Lawrence.

He studied philosophy and theology, among other places in Padua, and devoted every spare moment to learning languages. Besides Italian and Latin he mastered Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac, as well as French and German. He knew Sacred Scripture and rabbinic literature so well that, according to Benedict XVI, even rabbis treated him with respect. Right after his priestly ordination he began to preach, and he remained a tireless preacher almost until his death.

In his order he was a professor of theology, novice master, provincial minister, and definitor general, and from 1602 to 1605 minister general of the Capuchins. He brought the order into the lands of Central Europe, founding friaries in Prague, Vienna, and Graz, among other places, and he led the friars in Austria, Bohemia, Bavaria, and Tyrol. In Germany he addressed Christians who had embraced the Reformation and defended the Catholic teaching on the primacy of Peter, on justification, and on the necessity of good works.

In 1601 he was chaplain to the imperial army fighting the Turks in Hungary, at Székesfehérvár. According to the apostolic letter of John XXIII, he raised the cross and fired the Christian soldiers for battle, and they won a brilliant victory. Popes and Catholic princes sent him on missions to settle disputes and strengthen harmony among the states of Europe, which were threatened by the Ottoman Empire.

His writings, collected in more than fifteen volumes, include a commentary on the Book of Genesis, numerous sermons, a collection of sermons on the Mother of God called the Mariale, and three volumes of polemics against Lutheranism. Benedict XVI stressed that he presented the history of salvation centered on the Incarnation, upheld the Immaculate Conception of Mary, and taught about the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers. He himself spent long hours in prayer and celebrated Mass with great devotion and without haste.

Despite poor health he undertook one last mission: on behalf of the people of Naples, oppressed by the local authorities, he went to King Philip III of Spain. He died in Lisbon on July 22, 1619, on his sixtieth birthday. Pius VI beatified him in 1783, and Leo XIII canonized him in 1881. In 1959, on the fourth centenary of his birth, John XXIII proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church; he is called the Apostolic Doctor.