PASCHAL BAYLON, ST.

Franciscan monk; b. Torre-Hermosa, Aragon, Spain, May 24, 1540; d. Villareal in Castellon, Spain, May 15, 1592. He was a shepherd, the son of Martin Baylon and Elizabeth Jubeira, peasants of lowly origins, and he taught himself to read and write. In 1564 he was received into the Alcantarine Franciscans at Monteforte. His superiors urged him to study for the priesthood, but he chose to become a lay brother. During most of his religious life he served as porter. In this office he showed remarkable kindness to the poor who came to the friary door. His personal austerities surpassed the severe demands of the Alcantarine constitutions. He was granted marvelous insights into the mysteries of religion, and his counsel was sought by learned and saintly persons. But it was his devotion to the Eucharist that emerged as the dominant theme of his life. In this connection numerous miracles are reported by his early biographers, but it is not always easy to distinguish fact from legend.

His writings consist of two books of prayers and reflections that he jotted down on scraps of paper. One of these volumes was edited by Jaime Sala and published at Toledo in 1911 under the title Opúsculos de San Pascual Bailón. Because of the number of cures worked through his intercession, paul v beatified Paschal in 1618, 26 years after the saint's death. He was canonized by alexander viii in 1690, and, in 1897 leo xiii designated him patron of all Eucharistic congresses and societies.

Feast: May 17.

Bibliography: Acta sanctorum May 4:48–131. o. englebert, Saint Pascal Baylon (Paris 1942). v. facchinetti, Pasquale Baylon, frate minore: Il santo dell'Eucaristia (Milan 1922). a. groeteken, Paschalis Baylon: Ein Heiligenbild aus Spaniens Goldenem Jahrhundert (Cincinnati 1912). l. guim castro, San Pascual Bailón: Celestial patrono de los Congresos Eucarísticos (Vich, Spain 1953). c. navarrete, San Pascualito Rey y el culto a la muerte en Chiapas (Mexico City 1982). l. a. porrentruy, The Saint of the Eucharist, tr. o. staniforth (San Francisco 1905). l. principe, Pasquale Baylón, santo, ieri e oggi (Naples 1973). i. a. russo, San Pasquale Baylon (3d ed. Naples 1968). j. ximenez, Chrónica del beato Fr. Pascual Bailón (Valencia 1601).

[c. j. lynch]