St. Francis Caracciolo

St. Francis Caracciolo (13 October 1563 – 4 June 1608) was born Ascanio Caracciolo into a noble family in the Abruzzo region of Italy. A serious skin illness in his youth prompted a vow to devote his life to God; recovering, he studied for the priesthood and was ordained at Naples, where he ministered to prisoners and to the condemned awaiting execution. Through a providential misdelivered letter he joined John Augustine Adorno in founding a new religious community.

With Adorno he co-founded the Clerics Regular Minor in 1588, taking the name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. To the usual vows the order added a fourth, renouncing ecclesiastical ambition, and made perpetual Eucharistic adoration a hallmark of its life. Known for his intense prayer before the Blessed Sacrament — before which he would spend whole nights — and his zeal for souls, he served as superior and spread the order in Italy and Spain. He died at forty-four and was canonized by Pope Pius VII in 1807.