Birth and first years

Saint Egidio Maria of St. Joseph was born on November 16, 1729, in a humble house in the alleys of the old city of Taranto. There were no songs, parties, lights and sounds the day of his birth. In fact his family was not noble and rich but a poor family of artisans.

His father was named Cataldo Postillo and his mother was named Grazia Procaccio. They subsisted on the money they earned working the ropes. Postillo's family didn't have luxuries. Cataldo and Grazia became the fortunate parents of a great Saint: Sant'Egidio Maria of S. Giuseppe. God gave them a flower of holiness whose name will be remembered forever.

A few days after his birth, the child was baptized with the names of Francis, Anthony and Pasquale. It seems that someone already knew the future of the child that growing up he would enter the Franciscan order following the examples of St. Pasquale Baylon and St. Pietro of Alcantara.

The boy became religious and he became as poor as St. Francis, miraculous as Saint Antonio and a lover of the Eucharist as St. Pasquale. The child grew and was as a small angel.

His First Communion increased the fervor and the faith of Francis Antonio so that, from the day of the first meeting with Jesus in the Eucharist, he consecrated himself to the cult of Jesus in the Eucarist. He took part in the Holy Mass, he frequently took Communion and he often went to visit Jesus in the Church. So great was his devotion to the Holy Virgin that he enrolled himself in the brotherhood of the Holy Rosary.

Among his friends he was recognized for his modesty, seriousness, reservation, and amiability. Everybody said he was as an angel. He preferred the silence and the joy of the internal life, rather than the noise of the daily life.

It is not sure that he attended school because he had to work since he was child. However before going to work he attended Holy Mass or he served the priest at Mass in Monks Alcantarini's Church. Before beginning his job, he folded his hands, looked at the sky and always said a small prayer. Then he made the sign of the Cross many times.

He always spoke of the virtues, of God, and of holy things, so much that his master said: "Since Francis Antonio has been working with me, my shop has become an Oratory." His daily destinations were these three: house, shop and Church.

The shade of the Cross

When Francis Antonio was eighteen years old, his father died. He was sorry about this. Now he became the only support for his poor family. He understood that he had a very important assignment and therefore he doubled his efforts. He decided therefore to change jobs and become a worker of ropes. He divided his salary in two parts. He delivered a part of his earnings to his mother, for the family, and the other part to the poor men. If his companions asked him about the future, he answered: "The Lord will take care of the future."

While he was working at sustaining the family, his mother decided to get married again. Despite having a lot of faith in the Lord, he was sorry about this news. He was afraid to have a stepfather. But God succeeds in transforming the ugly things in good things and He succeeds in drawing the good from the evil.

His stepfather was very impressed by Francis Antonio and he decided to free him to become religious. It can be said that the death of his father had delayed the realization of his dream but the arrival of his stepfather allowed Francis to become Monk. At this point he left the world and he went to live in the convent. He wanted to be of God, all of God, all for God, all and forever with God. But where? But how?

He had a celestial vision. He wanted to become religious. He was sure of his choice, but since he was young he had a doubt: which religious order would he join? He asked suggestions. Antonio began a novena to the Celestial Regina in order to get a suggestion about the religious order to join. On the seventh day of the novena he dreamt about two Alcantarini religious men. One was a priest and the other was Secular. They agreeably drew near to him and they invited him to follow them in their Religious Order.

A day later, as soon as he woke up, Antonio, full of emotion for the dream he had, ran to the Convent of the Franciscan Alcantarini, that had just been founded in Taranto, and with great simplicity he asked to talk to the two religious that had invited him to join that convent. Unfortunately nobody was able to understand which monks the boy saw. Someone thought even that he had had hallucinations. Antonio was mortified, discouraged and misunderstood. Then he asked God’s help. He entered the Church of the Convent to place his needs at the feet of Jesus. While he was praying, he looked up at the altar and he saw the pictures of St. Pietro of Alcantara and St. Pasquale of Baylon. He immediately recognized the two Religious as those that appeared to him in his dream. Now he knew it was here that the Lord called him.

From worker of ropes... to Brothers. The next day, he went again to the Keeper of the Convent and then to the Provincial Father and, after having promised to respect the rules of the Religious Order, he joyfully was received by the monks of Alcantarini into the humble state of Secular Brotherhood.

In the year 1754, Antonio was 24 years old. He was sent to the town of Galatone to face his novitiate and then he changed his name from Francis Antonio in Monk Egidio of the Mother of God. The boy was now in the convent of Galatone, in a mystical shelter of holiness and peace.
He quickly progressed under the guide of skilled and saintly teachers and under the shade of the Saint Virgo. Always one imagine of Our Lady was present in his room. He was happy and full of joy for the sacred silence, for the concentration, for the prayer and the poverty. Low and mortified, he obeyed the rules of the Novitiate.

Since the first days he attracted the attention, the admiration and the affection of the Superior and Brothers. In fact even the best monks in the Convent acknowledged that they were like beginners in comparison to Monk Egidio.

He was a lover of the silence in which the Lord talks to the soul. He was busy in the contemplation of the celestial things. He went up step by step on the staircase of holiness. The Community was moved that the boy was so full of virtue.

At the end of the year of trial, Monk Egidio took the Solemn Profession. On February 28th, 1755, with a great fervor in the soul, he accepted the irreversible vows, tying himself to Jesus for life with the three holy knots: poverty, obedience and chastity. Now, instead of Monk Egidio of the Mother of God, he became knows as Monk Egidio Maria of S. Giuseppe.

Super candelabrum

He left Galatone and he was sent to the convent of Squinzano where he continued to have a behavior full of virtue. But the Lord changes the projects of the men. So, Lord changed the future of the boy which was sent to Naples to the Convent of St. Pasquale to Chiaia. In that convent Brother Egidio will be sanctified with his virtues and in that convent he will make many miracles. In that Convent Brother Egidio will leave his terrestrial body that is revered still today in the Convent of St. Pasquale to Chiaia.
In the first days the Superior entrusted brother Egidio to the assignment of cook. Then he was sent to work in the lanificio of the convent and he finally received the charge of porter of the convent. In this charge it is necessary to possess great virtues reliability and meekness of mind. The rules of the institute Alcantarinos established that the assignment of porter had to be given to the best of the secular brothers. In fact, the porter was the Monk that was in contact with local people.
In this way Brother Egidio had the opportunity to practice with virtues of the patience and the charity toward the poor men that knocked to the door of the convent. In few time the poor men and the miserable persons understood that brother porter, who was mild, smiling, pious and benevolent was a beautiful and holy soul. Then the people of Napoli exalted the figure of his Brother Egidio. Then the Superior thought that Brother Egidio was one "oil lamp" that could not be hidden but it had to have put "on the candelabrum", because he would have been able to build the world in a christian way and to bring the souls to Lord. Then the monks of the Convent entrusted the assignment of seeker to Brother Egidio.

Walking...

Since now on find Brother Egidio in all the streets, in all the plazas, in all neighborhoods and almost in all the houses in Naples. His message is as a ray of sun in the grayness of a dark day. He had the joy in the eyes and he put the hope in the hearts. He spent the most greater part of the day by asking the alms. But besides picking up the alms he brought the charity to Neapolitans. He returned to the convent with the heart full of pain for the needy brothers. And he went during the night near the altar of the Madonna of the Well to implore the health to the patients, the providence to the poor families, the peace to the unlucky persons, the reformations or the pardon for the cruel oppressors of the people.
He didn't rest from the dawn to the sunset. When he returned tired to the convent he helped the Brothers in their works. He slept little because he loved to spend the hours of the night in prayer. He very often begged on the altar of the Madonna of the Well, in the church, and he said with devotion: "My mother! You are my mother! ".
The Neapolitans began to revere this humble barefoot child of St. Francis. Brother's prayer Egidio was effective. All loved to meet Brother Egidio: rich and poor, believers and unbelievers. All asked to him suggestions and prayers.
Naples had the certainty that the science, the words and the wealth don't triumph. The purity, the simplicity, the love and the miracles of the Saints triumph.