Cafaro, Paolo, Venerable

CAFARO, Paolo, Venerable. - B. at Cafari, near Cava, on June 5, 1707, d. on Aug. 13, 1753 at Caposele. Ordained priest on Sept. 22, 1731, in 1735 parish priest of S. Pietro a Sepi (Cava dei Tirreni), he entered in 1741 the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. He served as master of novices, as lecturer in dogmatic theology, prefect of students, and afterwards was almost always rector of a house. A great missionary, he was a master of the spiritual life (St. Alphonsus and St. Gerard Majella were among his penitents). The cause of his beatification was introduced in 1908.

As a young parish priest he renewed his parish. He was then a tireless preacher, and a contemplative soul, austere with himself, a sagacious director of souls, without evasions, striving toward a solid holiness, imperturbable amid anxieties and labors. He used to spur on his confidants by often repeating: "One must burst to give pleasure to God. God wants strength and not tenderness from us." St. Alphonsus, guided by C. for more than a decade, bitterly lamented his loss, and dictated an extensive biography of him, foreseeing his future beatification. St. Gerard Majella, accepted by C. into the Congregation, saw in ecstasy his soul entering heaven in triumph.