Saint of the day - July 21
Caesare de Rossi was born in Brindisi, kingdom of Naples, on July 22nd, 1559. At the age of sixteen, he joined the Capuchins at Verona, taking the name Lawrence. He pursued his higher studies in theology, philosophy, the bible, Greek, Hebrew and several other languages at the University of Padua. An accomplished linguist, in addition to his native Italian, Lawrence could read and speak Latin, Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish, and French fluently.
He became definitor general of his Order in Rome in 1596, was assigned to conversion work with Jews by Pope Clement VIII. Lawrence was sent to Germany, with Blessed Benedict of Urbino, to combat Lutheranism. They founded friaries at Prague, Vienna and Gorizia, which were to develop into the provinces of Bohemia, Austria and Styria.
At the request of Emperor Rudolf II, Lawrence helped to raise an army among the German rulers to fight against the Turks, who were threatening to conquer all of Hungary. He became its chaplain, and was among the leaders in the Battle of Szekesfehevar in 1601; many attributed the ensuing victory to Lawrence.
In 1602, he was elected Vicar General of the Capuchins but refused re-election in 1605. He was sent to Spain by the emperor to persuade Philip III to join the Catholic League, and while there, Lawrence founded a Capuchin house in Madrid.
He was then sent as papal nuncio to the court of Maximillian of Bavaria, served as peacemaker in several royal disputes, and in 1618, Lawrence retired to the friary at Caserta. Later on, he was recalled at the request of the rulers of Naples to go to Spain to intercede with King Philip for them against the Duke of Osuna, Spanish envoy to Naples and convinced the King to recall the Duke to avert an uprising.
That trip in the sweltering heat of summer exhausted him and he died a few days after his meeting with the King at Lisbon on July 22nd, 1619.
Lawrence was canonized in 1881 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope John XXIII in 1959.
Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint John of Edessa
2. Saint Julia of Troyes
3. Saint Zoticus of Comana
4. Saint Arbogast
5. Saint Praxedes
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