Leopold Mandic

Beatification

Homily of Paul VI

Rome, St. Peter's Square, 2 May 1976
Who is he, who is he who gathers us here today to celebrate in his blessed name an irradiation of the Gospel of Christ, an inexpressible, yet clear and evident phenomenon, that of an enchanting transparency, which allows us to glimpse in the profile of a humble friar, an exhilarating and at the same time almost disconcerting figure: look, look, it's Saint Francis! you see it? Look how poor he is, look how simple he is, look how human he is! it is he himself, Saint Francis, so humble, so serene, so absorbed as to appear almost ecstatic in his own interior vision of the invisible presence of God, and yet to us, so present for us, so accessible, so available, that it almost seems knows us, and waits for us, and knows our things and can read inside us. . . Look carefully: he is a poor, little Capuchin, he seems suffering and wavering, but so strangely sure that one feels attracted and enchanted by him. Look carefully, with the Franciscan lens.

You see it? Are you shaking? who did you see? Yes, let's face it: it is a weak, popular, but authentic image of Jesus; yes, of that Jesus, who speaks simultaneously to the ineffable God, to the Father, Lord of heaven and earth; and he speaks to us tiny listeners, enclosed in the proportions of the truth, that is, of our small and suffering humanity. . . And what does Jesus say in this poor oracle of his? Oh! great mysteries, those of the infinite divine transcendence, which leaves us enchanted, and which immediately takes on a moving and enthralling language: the Gospel echoes: "Come to me, all you who are weary and oppressed, and I will refresh you".
(Matth. 11, 28).

So who is he? it is Father Leopoldo; yes, the servant of God Father Leopoldo da Castelnovo, who before becoming a friar was called Adeodato Mandić, a Dalmatian, like Saint Jerome, who certainly must have had in his temperament and memory the sweetness of that enchanting Adriatic land, and in his heart, and in domestic education the goodness, honest and pious, of that strong Venetian-Illyrian population. He was born on 12 May 1866, and died in Padua, where, having become a Capuchin, he lived most of his earthly life, which ended at the age of 76, on 30 July 1942, just over thirty years ago.

Here, in this case, Canon Law has become indulgent, derogating from the norm that defers the discussion of the virtues of a Servant of God until fifty years after his death; but how can we postpone this procedural act when the vox populi in favor of the virtues of Father Leopoldo, instead of subsiding with the passage of time, has become more insistent, more documented and more certain of its testimony? The judgment of the Church had to be surrendered to the spontaneous chorus of those who knew the humble Capuchin, or experienced his thaumaturgical intercession (Cf. Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 2101), anticipating its favorable conclusions, so that proclaiming the exceptional moral and spiritual value of Father Leopoldo are not only those who collect the posthumous legacy, but there are still quite a few who can support this celebration of his by saying: I knew him; yes, he was a religious saint, a man of God, one of those singular men who immediately make the impression of their supernatural virtue.

And immediately in the memory of those who know a little about the history of the religious family of the Capuchins, the great figures of these Friars emerge, faithful to the most rigorous Franciscan tradition, who personified its holiness; and among these let's limit ourselves to a typical literary figure, well known to all, Fra' Cristoforo del Manzoni. But no: Brother Leopoldo was smaller, in stature, in natural abilities (he wasn't even a preacher, as many talented Capuchins are), he wasn't even in strong physical health, he was really a poor little friar.

However, we cannot ignore a particular note; he was originally from the Levantine side of the Adriatic, from Castelnovo, in the mouth of Kotor, in the territory of Croatia - Montenegro - Herzegovina - Bosnia; and he always retained a faithful love for his land, even if, having lived in Padua, he was no less fond of his new hospitable homeland and above all of the population among whom he exercised his silent and tireless ministry. The figure of Blessed Leopoldo therefore summarizes this ethnic bivalence, almost as if merging it into an emblem of friendship and brotherhood, which every devout follower of his will have to make their own.

This particular biographical fact of Blessed Leopold is the first fulfillment of a thought, of a dominant purpose in his life. As we all know, Father Leopoldo was "ecumenical" ante litteram, that is, he dreamed, foresaw, promoted, even without acting, the recomposition of the Church in perfect unity, even if it is jealously respectful of the multiple particularities of its ethnic composition; unity desired by historical origins and even more by the sacred and mysterious will of Christ, founder of a Church, all penetrated by the essential requirements of the supreme vow of Jesus: ut unum sint, let them all be one and have the same faith, the same baptism, the same Lord join in one Spirit, bond of peace.
(Cf. Eph. 4, 3 ff.; Io. 17, 11-21).

Oh! may Blessed Leopold be a prophet and intercessor of much grace for the Church of God!
But the peculiar note of the heroism and charismatic virtue of Blessed Leopold was another; who doesn't know? it was his ministry in hearing Confessions. The late Cardinal Larraona, then Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, wrote, in the 1962 Decree for the beatification of Father Leopoldo: "his method of life was this: celebrating the sacrifice of the Mass early in the morning, he sat in the confessional cell, and there he remained all day at the disposal of the penitents. This standard of living he maintained for about forty years, without the slightest complaint. . .

". And this, we believe, is the primary title that earned this humble Capuchin the beatification that we are now celebrating. He sanctified himself mainly in the exercise of the sacrament of Penance. Fortunately, copious and splendid testimonies have already been written and disseminated on this aspect of the sanctity of the new Blessed. We only have to admire and thank the Lord who offers the Church today such a singular figure of minister of the sacramental grace of Penance; which on the one hand calls Priests to a ministry of such capital importance, of such current pedagogy, of such incomparable spirituality; and which reminds the Faithful, whether fervent or lukewarm and indifferent, what a providential and ineffable service even today, or rather today more than ever, individual and aural Confession is for them, a source of grace and peace, a school of Christian life, a comfort incomparable in the earthly pilgrimage towards eternal happiness.

May Blessed Leopoldo comfort the souls in love with spiritual growth in assiduous attendance at the confessional, which certain critical currents, certainly not inspired by Christian and mature wisdom, would like to be relegated to the outdated forms of living, personal, evangelical spirituality. May our blessed be able to call to this severe, yes, tribunal of penitence, but no less lovable refuge of comfort, of interior truth, of resurrection to grace and of training in the therapy of Christian authenticity, many souls numbed by the fallacious profanity of modern custom, to make them experience the secret and resurgent consolations of the Gospel, of the conversation with the Father, of the encounter with Christ, of the intoxication of the Holy Spirit, and to rejuvenate in them the anxiety of the good of others, of justice and dignity of the costume.

To you, Franciscan Brothers of the Capuchin Order, thank you for having given to the Church and the world a "type" of your austere, friendly, pious school of a Christianity as faithful to itself as it is capable of reviving in the hearts of the people the joy of prayer and goodness

. And honor to you, Children of Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the whole of Yugoslavia for having generated in our time such a high and so human exemplar of your Catholic tradition.

And you, Padua, know how to honor close to your St. Anthony this not dissimilar brother of the Franciscan genealogy, and know how to instill in the new generations the Christian and human virtues already so illustrious in your history.