May God be Glorified in His Angels and in His Saints!

This will be a very glorious Fall for our Confraternity and all who love Our Lady’s Rosary, and it’s not a mystery why! As I write this, I don’t have a concrete date and time, but Bl. Bartolo Longo, that great modern Apostle of the Rosary, as well as Bl. Carlo Acutis, the young cyber-missionary, will be canonized. Although Bl. Carlo Acutis is generally more known for his work in promoting Eucharistic miracles (and I don’t believe he is a member of our Confraternity), still, he also maintained a website with approved Marian apparitions, and loved to pray the Rosary. As Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect for the Congregation for the Cause of Saints stated in the preface of an Italian Rosary book, “Carlo loved the prayer of the rosary: an ancient prayer, which he refreshed every day on his lips; a prayer he learned and loved since early childhood… Our Blessed was an authentic apostle of the rosary of the Blessed Virgin.” ¹

Between these two wonderful persons, it is understandable as to why Bl. Carlo Acutis has drawn more attention in our times: he was a young saint, and very relatable to the youth, playing Pokemon and computer games, and even being active on the internet very early on. He has much more of an “Everyman” quality about him. Bl. Bartolo Longo, on the other hand, ended up losing his way in his youth, falling into the Occult, and even becoming ordained as a Satanic priest. After some time in his days of darkness, depression, and error, a friend helped lead him to the Faith, through the good counsels of a Dominican friar and priest, Alberto Radente. Inspired, he would soon become a lay Dominican (Dominican tertiary), and married. Finding the faith of the people in Pompei to be in a shocking state, he would restore a dilapidated church, help found a local Confraternity, and eventually become a leading shrine and basilica. His humanitarian works even earned him two nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. So his life is a little more extraordinary, in both the good and the bad extremes.

However, as someone named after the “Good Thief,” St. Dismas, I tend to have a weak spot, if not always for the underdog, then certainly for the “bad dog” who turns his or her life around and becomes good. Bl. Bartolo Longo may not directly inspire as many people to follow in his footsteps, but he is certainly an inspiration for all the parents and families of loved ones who have fallen away from the Faith, and especially for those who have not only abandoned the Faith, but thrown themselves into lives of darkness, blasphemy, and sin. This soon-to-be saint reminds them, and us, that while we may be tempted to despair for our loved ones, that we must never give up on them. We do not know what happened with St. Dismas’ parents – perhaps they were already deceased, perhaps they did not know what happened to their son, perhaps they disowned him, but Our Lord was there on that fateful day on Golgotha to snatch that soul from the gaping maws of Hell, even at His physically weakest and most vulnerable point on the Cross. Neither Our Lord nor Our Lady command us to cease praying if someone seems beyond hope and to not “waste our time” on them. I would daresay that it is the contrary – the more lost, the more help they need. The Good Shepherd left the ninety-nine that was managing well enough to find the one lost sheep who probably despaired of ever seeing its flock again.

God’s ways are mysterious, and will work in due time. The murderer of St. Maria Goretti turned his life around, and became a holy religious brother, as did the murderer of St. Peter Martyr, Bl. Carino of Balsamo. St. Paul was either directly or indirectly complicit in the persecution of the early Church and the death of some of Her saints. The “hard work” of conversion of a soul is up to God; the praying for and giving a good example and encouragement to that soul is entrusted to us.

So to honor this wonderful member and promoter of Our Lady’s Rosary and her Rosary Confraternity, and to further inspire hope in those who fear for their loved ones, we will dedicate our September-October issue of Light & Life to Bl. Bartolo Longo, taking a pause from our normal programming for this special issue. We will add a special holy card in his honor. His feast day is October 5th, blessedly close to that of Our Lady of the Rosary, so it is rather timely as well.

Oh soon-to-be saints, raised to the honor of the altars in Churches throughout the world, pray for us!

1 https://www.thecatholictelegra...

Novena-Sacred and Immaculate Hearts-2025

Four New Priests and Promoters of Our Lady’s Rosary:

(Left to right: Fr. Elias Guadalupe Ford, O.P., Fr. Nathaniel Maria Mayne, O.P., Fr. John Peter Anderson, O.P., Fr. Antony Augustine Cherian, O.P.)

Thank you for your prayerful and financial support of our seminarian student brothers! Without you this blessed ordination, on May 30th, would not have been possible. Pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send many more young men out into His fields!

Feature Article - Theology for the Laity

Omniscience

Note from the Director

Dear faithful supporters of the Rosary Center & Confraternity, THANK-YOU! to all who have already donated to help us. We cannot do this without you! We rely on your ongoing support. May God bless you for your generosity!
Fr. Dismas Sayre, O.P.

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