Saint Leopold Mandic

I never heard of Saint Leopold Mandic until tonight.

Leopold was born into a Croatian Catholic family in Castelnuovo di Cattaro (present day Herceg-Novi in Montenegro) on 12th May 1866, the last but one of 16 children of Petar Mandić & Dragica Zarević. At his baptism he was given names Bogdan Ivan (Deodatus John).
His paternal great-grandfather, Nicholas Mandić, was originally from Poljica, in archdiocese of Spalato (Split), to where his ancestors had come from Bosnia, back in 15th century.

At Castelnuovo di Cattaro, at that time in Province of Dalmatia, part of Austrian empire, the Capuchin Franciscan friars of the Province of Venice had been active since 1688 when area was under rule of  Republic of Venice.

 His religious vocation

Spending time with friars, both during religious functions & at after-school lessons, little Bogdan expressed his desire to become a friar. For period of his discernment, he was welcomed into the Capuchin Seminary at Udine, & subsequently on 2nd May 1884 at 18 years of age, he began novitiate at Bassano del Grappa (Vicenza). Here he took Franciscan habit, received the name of “Brother Leopold” & dedicated himself to following the rule & spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.

From 1885 to 1890 he studied philosophy & theology in friaries of Padua (Santa Croce) & Venice (Santissimo Redentore). In those years the religious formation he had received from his parents took definitive shape from his study & knowledge of Holy Scripture & Patristics, & through his development of a Franciscan theology. On 20th September 1890, in the basilica of the Madonna della Salute in Venice, he was ordained priest by Cardinal Domenico Agostini.

 His missionary & ecumenical aspiration

Of keen intelligence, Fr. Leopold Mandić had a good training in philosophy & theology & for rest of his life continued to read writings of Fathers & Doctors of the Church. Since 1887 he had felt himself “called” to promote union of Eastern Christians, separated as they were from Latin Catholic Church. With a view to returning to his native land as a missionary, he dedicated himself to learning a number of Slav languages, as well as some modern Greek. 

He asked to be sent to eastern mission in his homeland, in pursuit of that ecumenical ideal, to which he vowed himself & which aim he followed to the end of his life, but his superiors didn't grant his request. Indeed, due to his frail physical condition & a speech impediment, he was unable to devote himself to preaching.

His first years thus passed in silent seclusion in the friary in Venice, where he heard confessions & carried out humble tasks in the friary, as well as carrying out door-to-door collections.

In September 1897, he was given the task of running the little friary of Zara in Dalmatia, but his hope of realising at last his missionary aspirations didn't last; he was recalled in August 1900 to Bassano del Grappa (Vicenza) as a confessor.

He had a brief period of missionary activity in 1905 as vicar of the friary of Capodistria, in nearby Istria, where he proved to be a much appreciated & sought-after spritual counselor. But once more after only a year, he was recalled to the Veneto, to the sanctuary of the Madonna dell’Olmo at Thiene (Vicenza). From 1906 to 1909 he served there as a confessor, with exception of a brief stay in Padua.

 His arrival in Padua

In the Spring of 1909 Fr. Leopold arrived in Padua, at the friary in Piazzale Santa Croce. In August 1910, he was nominated to role of director of studies, that is to say he was in charge of those young friars preparing for priesthood who were studying Philosophy & Theology.

These were years of intense study & dedication. Fr. Leopold, who taught Patrology, differed from other lecturers in his kindness, which some considered eccessive & not in keeping with traditions of the Order. It was probably for this reason that in 1914 Fr. Leopold was suddenly withdrawn from teaching. This was a new cause of suffering for him.

Thus it was that from autumn 1914, when he was 48 years old, Fr. Leopold was asked to devote himself exclusively to hearing confessions. His gifts as a spiritual counselor had been well-known for some time, so much so that within a few years he became sought-after as a confessor by people from all walks of life, who came from beyond the city to see him.

 Leopold is sent to the South

Closely attached as he was to his homeland, Fr. Leopold had retained his Austrian nationality. His choice, motivated as it was by his hope that his identity documents would help him return there as a missionary, became a problem in 1917 with Battle of Caporetto. 

As for other “foreigners” resident in the Veneto, he was subject to police investigation & because of his express wish not to renounce his Austrian citizenship, he was sent beyond Florence to margins of the south of Italy. In Rome on his journey southwards he also met Pope Benedict XV

He reached the Capuchin friary of Tora (Caserta) at end of September 1917, where he was to pass a period of political exile. The following year he was sent to the friary at Nola (Naples) & then to Arienzo (Caserta).

At end of World War 1 he returned to Padua. On his journey he visited sanctuaries of Montevergine, Pompei, Santa Rosa at Viterbo, Assisi, Camaldoli, Loreto & Santa Caterina at Bologna.

He settles finally in Padua

On 27th May 1919 he reached the Capuchin friary of Santa Croce at Padua, where he assumed again his old role of confessor. His popularity increased despite his shy manner. The Annals of the Venetian Province of the Capuchins state: 

“In confession he demonstrated an extraordinary attraction to highest levels of culture, a fine intuition & particularly a sense for sanctity of life. Not only did working people flock to him but also intellectuals & aristocrats, lecturers & students from the university, secular clergy & members of religious orders.”

In October 1923 his superiors transferred him to Fiume (Rijeka), after friary there had passed to control of the Venetian Province. But only a week after his departure, bishop of Padua, Mgr. Elia Dalla Costa, responding to desire of laity, asked Provincial Minister of Capuchins, Fr. Odorico Rosin da Pordenone, to bring him back. Thus it was that by Christmas of that year Fr. Leopold, in obedience to his superiors & abandoning his dream of working in field for Christian unity, found himself once more in Padua.

He stayed in Padua for rest of his life. Here he passed every moment of his priestly ministry in administering sacrament of confession & in spiritual direction.

On Sunday 22nd September 1940, he celebrated his golden jubilee, that is to say 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination, in church of the Friary of Santa Croce. Widespread, spontaneous, universal & large demonstrations of sympathy & regard for Fr. Leopold demonstrated how profound & significant his work of had been in 50 years of ministry.

His health got progressively worse in last months of 1940. He was taken into hospital at beginning of April 1942; he hadn't realized that he had a tumor of the esophagus. He returned to his friary & continued to hear confessions, even though his condition continued to get worse. As was his usual habit, he passed 29th July 1942 hearing confessions without pause, then passed the greater part of night in prayer.

At dawn on 30th July, as he was preparing to celebrate Mass, he fainted. He was carried back to bed where he received Sacrament of the Sick. A few minutes later, as he spoke final words of the prayer, Hail Holy Queen, he raised his hands & breathed his last. The news of death of Fr. Leopold spread quickly through Padua. 

For 2 days a long queue of people came to pay their respects to body of the confessor at Friary of the Capuchins. His funeral took place on 1st August 1942, not in Capuchin church but in the much more spacious Santa Maria dei Servi. He was buried in main cemetery in Padua, but in 1963 his body was translated to a chapel of the Capuchin church in Padua.






  

Saint Leopold Mandic (1866 - 1942)

 
   
 

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/pattyknap/we-all-know-padre-pio-but-who-is-st.-leopold-mandi

 

Who was St. Leopold?

 

St. Leopold was also a Capuchin priest like Padre Pio.  Born the youngest of 12 children in 1866 in the Montenegro area of Croatia, he was called Bogdan as a child. Throughout his life he suffered from severe abdominal pain as well as a severe stutter.  Along with these ailments, chronic arthritis deformed his posture & hands. His bent spine gave him a height of just 4'5".  He had poor eyesight & was usually in pain. Despite his lifelong physical problems, his was a life of faith & sacrifice.

 

At 16, Bogdan began his studies at Capuchin Seraphic School in Italy.  He took religious name Brother Leopold & made his Profession of Vows at 17.  Brother Leopold was ordained a priest in Venice in 1890.  

 

He wanted to become a missionary in Eastern Europe, which was under siege by religious conflict, but his request was turned down because of his poor health.  He was instead stationed at several friaries around Venice.  He began to teach about early Church Fathers at a school in Padua, where he became well known for his devotion to his students & his hours spent in prayer each night.

 

Besides one year in an Italian prison during World War I for refusing to renounce his Croatian nationality, Brother Leopold would spend most of next 3 decades devoted to spreading faith in Padua.  From his small cell he'd spend up to 15 hours a day hearing confessions & giving spiritual direction.  

 

He was known for his constant prayer, fasting, & sacrificing. His dream was to reunite Catholic & Orthodox churches by going to Orient, but that never happened. He became known as Apostle of Confession & Apostle of Unity. He wrote a famous prayer for ecumenism, & was known to prophesy & to levitate.

 

When his superiors would say he was too lenient with people who came to him for confession, he'd respond, “If the Lord wants to accuse me of showing too much leniency toward sinners, I'll tell him that it was he who gave me this example, & I haven't even died for salvation of souls as he did.” Leopold would often remark, “Be at peace; place everything on my shoulders. I'll take care of it.” He once explained, “I give my penitents only small penances because I do the rest myself.” At nighttime, he'd spend hours in prayer, explaining: “I must do penance for my penitents.”

 

Brother Leopold was known to be especially fond of expectant mothers & young children. He set up orphanages for children without parents.  He had a deep devotion to Virgin Mary who he referred to as “my holy boss,” & he prayed Rosary regularly. Each day he celebrated Mass at side altar in the Little Office of the Virgin Mary. Then he'd go around & visit sick in nursing homes, hospitals & homes.  He also visited sick Capuchin friars in the infirmary, encouraging them to keep the faith.

Leopold used to repeat to himself: “Remember that you've been sent for salvation of people, not because of your own merits, since it is the Lord Jesus & not you who died for salvation of souls... I must cooperate with the divine goodness of our Lord who has deigned to choose me so that by my ministry, the divine promise would be fulfilled: ‘There will be only one flock & one shepherd’” (John 10:16).

 

Brother Leopold suffered from esophageal cancer, which would ultimately lead to his death at age 76. On July 30, 1942, after an entire night of prayer & a previous day hearing confessions nonstop, he collapsed while preparing for Mass.  He was brought to his cell where he was given Last Rites. Friars gathered at his bed sang “Salve Regina,” & when they got to words, “O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary,” St. Leopold died while singing final words.

 

The church & part of friary where Brother Leopold lived were demolished by bombs during World War II, but as he predicted, his cell & confessional were left unharmed.  He stated before his death, “The church & friary will be hit by bombs, but not this little cell. Here God exercised so much mercy for people, it must remain as a monument to God’s goodness.”  Pope Paul VI beatified Leopold on May 2, 1976, & St. John Paul II canonized him during Synod of Bishops on October 16, 1983.  Leopold is hailed as “Apostle of Unity.”  His feast day is July 28.