It would be ungrateful of me if I neglected to pay homage to St. Francis of Paola on this, his feast day. He is, in a sense, one of our parish patrons, since we were meeting in the Church of San Francesco di Paola when our parish was canonically erected in 1983.This is the Italian parish in San Antonio, founded by immigrants from the Calabria region of Italy, dedicated to their local and beloved saint. The 15th century founder of the Franciscan Minims, St. Francis of Paola was one of the great and holy hermits in the history of the Church. He was given the task by the Pope to prepare King Louis XI of France for a holy death.
The story of this Calabrian saint couldn't be much further from our Anglican roots, but nonetheless he was a great spiritual patron to us in our early days, and I look forward each year to offering the Mass in his honor.
Here is a picture of the church dedicated to him here in San Antonio.
It was our spiritual home for the first few years of our existence, and those of us who were part of those "early days" remember with fondness and with gratitude the hospitality we were shown.