Canonization Day of St. Bartolo Longo

“Where sin abounded, grace did more abound.” (Romans 5:20)

On October 19, 2025, the Church rejoices as she lifts up to the altars Saint Bartolo Longo, the Apostle of the Rosary and Builder of Pompei. His life is one of the most astonishing stories of grace in modern times — proof that no sinner is beyond redemption, and no valley is too desolate for the mercy of God.

From Despair to Mercy

Bartolo Longo was born in 1841 in Latiano, southern Italy. As a young man, he was gifted, idealistic, and deeply restless.He studied law in Naples at a time when the faith of many students was being corroded by rationalism and anti-clerical philosophy. In that atmosphere, Bartolo’s heart grew cold. Seduced by the spirit of the age, he turned from the Church and entered a world of darkness — dabbling in spiritualism and even being “ordained” in a blasphemous séance as a kind of anti-priest in a satanic cult.

The weight of sin soon crushed him. He fell into despair, haunted by fear, convinced that he was damned. But God’s mercy had already set out in search of him.Through the prayers of his family and the patient friendship of a holy Dominican friar, Fr. Alberto Radente, Bartolo was led back to confession. The grace of absolution broke the chains that bound him. He later wrote that he felt “as if a thousand devils had fled” from his soul.

In that moment, the young lawyer who had mocked the Church was reborn as her defender. He donned the Dominican scapular as a lay tertiary and dedicated his life to reparation and love for the Virgin Mary.The same zeal that once drove him to error now burned with holy fire. He vowed to spend the rest of his life proclaiming the power of the Rosary, calling it “the chain that binds sinners to the Heart of God.”

The Miracle of Pompei

In 1872, Bartolo visited the Valley of Pompei — a barren, malaria-ridden wasteland strewn with the ruins of ancient sin. There he saw a people forgotten, children uncared for, souls unchurched. It was, as he said, “a valley of paganism reborn.”

In that desolation, he heard the voice of the Virgin speak to his conscience: “If you seek salvation, spread the Rosary.”

Taking those words as a divine command, Bartolo began the work that would transform history. He rescued a tattered image of the Madonna of the Rosary from a neglected chapel, repaired it, and placed it in the valley. Then he gathered the poor and the orphaned, teaching them to pray, to read, to hope.

With no wealth but faith, he began building — stone by stone, Ave by Ave — a sanctuary for Our Lady of the Rosary. The project drew ridicule at first, then wonder, and finally the blessing of popes and the devotion of the world.

From the dust of Pompei arose a Basilica, a city of charity, and a worldwide movement of prayer.

Bartolo’s motto became a prophecy:

“Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved.”

His life fulfilled those words. He spread the Rosary not only across Italy, but across continents — through publications, schools, and the great Supplica prayer that still unites millions in pleading for Mary’s intercession.

The Triumph of Grace

Now, on this radiant day of October 19, 2025, the Church confirms what Heaven has long proclaimed: that Bartolo Longo is a saint — not because he was perfect, but because he allowed mercy to perfect him. He is the patron of all who have fallen and risen again; the model of every layperson who longs to make their ordinary life an instrument of grace.

His canonization is a song of hope for our time. It tells every soul trapped in discouragement: Do not be afraid. If Bartolo Longo could become a saint, then the door of mercy stands open for everyone.

Meditation

Look today upon the valley of Pompei — once cursed by fire, now crowned by prayer. See in it the reflection of your own soul: the places where sin has scorched, the ruins left by pride or fear. And hear again the voice that called Bartolo from the shadows: “If you seek salvation, spread the Rosary.”

To spread the Rosary is not only to speak of it — it is to live it.It means to make our lives a sequence of mysteries: joyful in service, sorrowful in sacrifice, luminous in faith, and glorious in love.

The Rosary is a way of seeing the world through Mary’s eyes — to discover, even amid the ashes, the quiet beginnings of grace.

Let the story of St. Bartolo Longo rekindle in us that same courage. For each of us has a valley to rebuild, a ruin to redeem, a mission to fulfill. May this new saint of the Church teach us that every “no” we once spoke to God can be turned into a new and resounding Ave.

Prayer for the Canonization Day of St. Bartolo Longo

Saint Bartolo Longo, once a wanderer and now a herald of hope, pray for us who struggle to believe that mercy is stronger than sin. Teach us to cling to the Rosary as you did —with the trust of a child and with the courage of the saints.

Inspire us to rebuild what has fallen, to heal what is broken, and to offer our lives as sanctuaries of love.

O Queen of the Rosary of Pompei, bless your new saint and your people who honor him. Through his intercession, renew the Church with the fire of prayer, until every heart, reborn through grace, becomes a living temple of your Son, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.