Joseph of Cupertino

Saint Joseph of Cupertino (or Joseph Desa) (June 17, 1603 - September 18, 1663) was an Italian saint. He is the patron saint of air travelers, pilots, aviators and of bad students too. He was said to be prone to levitating miraculously. When this was supposedly witnessed in public the ensuing notoriety induced the monastic authorities to keep Joseph secluded. He was canonized in 1767.

Related Topics:
June 17 - 1603 - September 18 - 1663 - Italian - Patron saint - Air travel - Pilot - Aviator - Levitating - 1767

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On more than 70 occasions, Joseph levitated. A number of dignitaries testified to his ?holy flights?, including the philosopher Leibnitz and the Spanish ambassador to the pope.

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Joseph had a very difficult life almost from the moment he was born, and right up until the time of his death.His father, Felix Desa, was a carpenter in the village of Cupertino on the Apulia peninsula within the Kingdom of Naples. He was known locally as a good-hearted and charitable man who would often be the guarantor of the debts of his neighbors who were unable to pay. As a result, he was often driven into debt himself. At the time of his death, his wife Francesca Panara was pregnant with the future saint.

Related Topics:
Cupertino - Apulia - Naples

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When his uncle Fr. Francis Desa learned that Joseph was secretly studying at night, he became impressed and proposed that he be accepted as a candidate for the Conventual Franciscans ... and the priesthood! He entered the Order as a novice at Grottella and kept his name as Joseph. Joseph continued to grow in holiness and the grace of his Franciscan vocation, especially through a life of poverty and prayer. He performed menial tasks around the friary, such as gardening, looking after the animals, cleaning their stalls, and helping in the kitchen. Joseph also had time for deep meditation and was often found wandering in a daze, winding up in different places in the friary unaware of how he got there.

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On October 4, 1630, the town of Cupertino held a procession on the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi. Joseph was assisting in the procession when he suddenly soared into the sky and remained there hovering over the crowd of people looking on at this spectacular sight. When he came down and realized what had happened, Joseph became so embarrassed that he fled to his mother's house to hide from the crowds. This was the first of his many flights, which earned him the name, "The Flying Saint". Needless to say, his life changed dramatically after this incident. They also continued and seemed to become more frequent. In fact, his 'flights' were so frequent that his superiors would not permit him to take part in community exercises for years on the belief that it would cause too great a distraction for the members of the friary. But Joseph could not contain himself. On hearing the names of Jesus and Mary, he would simply go into ecstasy and would remain there until a superior commanded him under obedience to come to his senses. Incidents of his flights also took place when he would hear the sweet singing of hymns, when he celebrated the feast day of St. Francis or during a Holy Thursday Mass when he was praying before the Blessed Sacrament. His most famous occasion occurred during a papal audience before Pope Urban VIII. When he bent down to kiss the Pope's feet, he was suddenly filled with reverence for Christ's Vicar on earth, and was lifted up into the air. Only when the Minister General of the Order, who was part of the audience, ordered him down was Joseph able to return to the floor. In addition to his flights, Joseph also possessed the gift of miraculous healing. He once cured a girl who was suffering from a severe case of measles. An entire community suffering from a drought asked Joseph to pray for rain, and when it came the drought ceased. He also dedicated himself to improving the spiritual lives of his fellow friars. When he accompanied his provincial on his visitations, Joseph would fall into ecstasy and caused many a lukewarm friar to be inspired to greater evangelical perfection.

Related Topics:
1630 - Francis of Assisi - Jesus - Mary - Holy Thursday - Mass - Urban VIII - Measles

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However, not all of the friars whom Joseph lived with were well disposed towards him. Some superiors would scold Joseph for not accepting money and gifts offered to him for curing people, especially when they were members of the nobility. He would also find himself in trouble for returning home with a torn habit as a result of the people seeking relics who regarded him as a prophet and a saint. However, the most difficult time came when Joseph was the subject of an investigation by the Inquisition at Naples. Msgr. Joseph Palamolla accused Joseph of attracting undue attention with his "flights" and claiming to perform miracles. On October 21, 1638, Joseph was summoned to appear before the Inquisition and, when he arrived, he was detained for several weeks. Joseph was eventually released when the judges found no fault with him. After his complete declaration of innocence, Joseph was sent to the Sacro Convento in Assisi, a move which made him very happy. However, Joseph experienced a spiritual dryness that conflicted with his expectations of being comforted by being so close to the tomb of his Holy Father St. Francis, and it appeared to have taken its toll upon him. He also experienced no flights during this period either. Eventually, Joseph overcame his difficulties and emerged with an even greater faith. Two years after his arrival at the Sacro Convento, Joseph was made an honorary citizen of Assisi and a full member of the Franciscan community where he became a source of consolation to everyone. He lived in Assisi for another nine years where he spent long hours each day in prayer, saying Mass and leading other devotionals. He was also sought after by people who wanted to experience his divine consolation. Joseph was only happy to follow the request, but his happiness was not to last, for the isolation from the people left him in a state of depression. Plus, he would not be allowed to preach or hear confessions, or even join in the processions and festivities of feast days. When the friars went off to these celebrations, he was left alone in the friary. However, people still sought him out, and soon his room became filled with people from all over Europe seeking his advice. They included Minister Generals, provincials, bishops, cardinals, knights and secular princes.

Related Topics:
Relics - Prophet - Saint - Inquisition

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However, this would lead to another cross for Joseph to bear. On learning that he still attracted a huge following, Pope Innocent X decided to move Joseph from Assisi, and place him in a secret location under the jurisdiction of the Capuchin friars in Pietrarubbia. Despite being under strict orders to neither write nor receive letters, Joseph continued to attract throngs of people; which forced him to be moved to another location, this time to Fossombrone. Once again, efforts were made to keep his location a secret by putting Joseph under tight security, but local people still managed to discover that they had a saint in their midst. This ordeal finally ended when Pope Innocent X died, and the Conventual friars asked the newly elected Pope Alexander VIII to release Joseph from his exile and return him to Assisi. However, the new Pope still wanted to keep an eye on Joseph and instead released him to the friary in Osimo, where the Pope's own nephew was the local bishop! There, Joseph was ordered to live in seclusion and not speak to anyone except the Bishop, the Vicar General of the Order, his fellow friars, and a doctor in case he needed on. Joseph endured his ordeal with great patience. He did not even complain when a brother-cook neglected to bring him any food to his room for two days!

Related Topics:
Innocent X - Capuchin - Alexander VIII - Bishop

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On August 10, 1663, Joseph became ill with a fever, but the experience filled him with joy in knowing that he would soon be completely united to God. During the weeks that followed, Joseph's health shifted between being so weak that he could not rise from bed, to experiencing one last "flight" on the feast of the Assumption, August 15th while saying Mass. In early September, Joseph could sense that the end was near, so he could be heard mumbling, "The jackass has now begun to climb the mountain!" The 'jackass' was his own body. After receiving the last sacraments, a papal blessing, and reciting the Litany of Our Lady, Joseph Desa of Cupertino died on the evening of September 18, 1663. He was buried two days later in the chapel of the Immaculate Conception before great crowds of people who were touched by his Franciscan life and witness. Joseph was canonized on July 16, 1767 by Pope Clement XIII. In 1781, a large marble altar in the Church of St. Francis in Osimo was erected so that St. Joseph's body might be placed beneath it; and it has remained there ever since. Because of his many 'flights', St. Joseph is the patron saint of those traveling by air, and is the patron saint of pilots who fly for the NATO Alliance. In some countries, he is also the patron of those undergoing examinations of any kind.

Related Topics:
1663 - Assumption - Litany - 1767 - Clement XIII - 1781 - NATO

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Like the many places he touched in Italy, his name has touched California through a town named after him: Cupertino, California. It was naturally fitting that in 1978, the Province of Conventual Franciscans in California adopted him as their patron.

Related Topics:
Italy - California - Cupertino, California

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A film was also made about St. Joseph of Cupertino entitled, The Reluctant Saint, and starred actor Maximilian Schnell.

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