Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/February 27

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Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, a Passionist clerical student known for his devotion to the Virgin Mary, born Francesco Possenti at Assisi, Italy on March 1, 1838, died Gran Sasso, Italy February 27, 1862.

Francis Possenti was born on March 1 1838, the eleventh of thirteen children born to his mother Agnes and his father Sante. The family were then resident in the town of Assisi. As a child and young man Possenti was well liked by his peers and had a reputation for great charity and piety. In 1851 Francis became desperately ill and promised to enter religious life if he recovered. Once he had recovered his promise was soon forgotten. In 1853, Francis again fell ill, this time afflicted with a throat abscess. He attributed his healing to the recently beatified Andrew Bobola, SJ. Once more he had promised to enter religious life upon his recovery and this time actually set the process in motion.

Accompanied by his brother Aloysius, a Dominican friar, Francis set out for the novitiate of the Passionists at Morrovalle. He arrived at the novitiate on September 9 1856. On September 21 that same year he received the habit of the Passionists and the name Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. The following year Gabriel pronounced his vows. In June 1858 Gabriel and the other students moved to Pietvetorina to continue their studies. Local disturbances meant they would stay only a year and in July 1859 the group moved to the monastery of Isola Gran Sasso. Gabriel proved an excellent student and his excellence in academic life was only outdone by the great progress he was making in his spiritual life. At the same time Gabriel began to display the first symptoms of tuberculosis. The news did not worry Gabriel who was in fact joyful; he had prayed for a slow death so as to be able to prepare himself spiritually. Throughout his illness he remained cheerful and kept up all his usual practises. He was a source of great edification and inspiration to his fellow students, who competed to spend time with him at his deathbed. Before he could be ordained a priest, Gabriel died in the at Gran Sasso in the early hours of February 27th 1862 in the presence of the community, holding close an image of Our Lady of Sorrows and smiling peacefully. Those who were with Gabriel when he died reported that at the moment of death he sat up in bed and his face became radiant as he reached out to an otherwise unseen figure that was entering the room. It was the opinion of Father Norbert that Saint Gabriel had seen the Virgin Mary at the very moment of his death.
Attributes: Passionist Habit and Sign
Patronage: Students, Youth, Clerics, Seminarians, Abruzzi
Prayer: