A Franciscan priest, he preached hundreds of popular missions across Italy calling people to conversion. He spread devotion to the Stations of the Cross and famously erected the Stations inside the Colosseum in Rome.
Life
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice was born in 1676 in Porto Maurizio, in the Liguria region of Italy. After studying in Rome he entered the Franciscans, was ordained a priest and spent his life as a preacher of popular missions.
For decades he traveled throughout Italy preaching missions, and he especially spread the devotion of the Stations of the Cross. He is said to have erected hundreds of sets of Stations, including one in Rome's Colosseum in 1750. He died in Rome in 1751 and was canonized in 1867. The Church remembers him on November 26.
Spirituality
Leonard's spirituality is a zeal that calls to conversion through meditation on Christ's Passion. Through the Stations of the Cross he helped ordinary believers accompany Jesus in His suffering and come to know God's love. His preaching was demanding, but God's mercy was always at its heart.
Reflection
Leonard taught many people to pray the Stations of the Cross. Why not pray the Stations once this week, at the parish or at home?