One Charism, Many Ways

Other Passionists whose holiness has been recognised by the Church include Blessed Isidore (de Loor) of Saint Joseph, the saintly porter of the Retreat at Kortijk in Belgium, and two Italian Passionist students, Blessed Grimoaldo (Santamaria) of the Purification and Blessed Pio (Campidelli) of Saint Aloysius. Together, our Passionist saints and saints-in-waiting represent an extraordinary variety of ministries and activities: priests, brothers, students; preachers, spiritual directors, confessors, teachers of philosophy and theology; cooks, questors, infirmarians and sacristans; superiors general and provincials, postulators of the causes of saints, and even two bishops! All of them lived the Passionist life and were guided by the spiritual teaching of Saint Paul of the Cross.

What makes the founding work of Saint Paul of the Cross so original and singular is that special imprint of deep hunger for God and aspiration for sanctity as the model for the full realisation of human perfection. So it is important to underline the charism of sanctity which has distinguished our Congregation in the [more than] two centuries of its existence. Limiting ourselves to persons of public sanctity which the Church officially recognises, or those in the process of being recognised through the initiation of their causes, we are greatly surprised by the phenomenon of statistics not likely to be found in any other order of the Catholic Church…. The percentage of our religious whose holiness has been recognised by the Church is certainly astonishing; this says much about the possibilities for sanctification built into the humble institution forged by Saint Paul of the Cross.

Three Spanish Provincials, Letter to the Brethren on the Second Centenary of our Founder’s Death, 1975

A full list of Passionist saints, beati and venerables can be seen on the website of the Australian Province.

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