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Category: Extraordinary People
Extraordinary People

Holy “Revenant”

Mutilated, starved, enslaved and beaten yet totally consumed by love for his tormentors even to his death, Saint Isaac Jogues (1607-1646), apostle to the Native Americans, remains one of the most fascinating missionaries of all time. Miraculously escaping from his first capture, he eventually died as a martyr at the age of 39. Canonized together with the other seven North American Jesuit Martyrs in 1930, St. Isaac Jogues has traditionally been claimed by the Catholic Church of the United States because he was martyred in what was later to become the state of New York.

Fr. Lorenzo Carraro | Comboni Missionary
Extraordinary People

A modern-day saint

A Catholic medical doctor from New Zealand, Edric Baker (1941-2015) was well known and loved in Bangladesh for his untiring service to the country’s poor. In 1983, he set up the Kaliakuri Health Care Project to provide medical care for the poor free-of-charge, regardless of creed or race and with a very original approach. People used to call him “Doctor Bhai” (brother-doctor). He was popular and highly respected not only among Christians but also among Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. He won the hearts and minds of people through his love. People were struck by his kindness and saw that his goodness was due to his Christian faith. He spread the Gospel through his service. In 2014, Dr. Edric Baker was awarded Bangladeshi citizenship in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the nation.

Fr. Lorenzo Carraro | Comboni Missionary
Extraordinary People

Unending love story

Both members of the British aristocracy, the love story of Frank and Elizabeth Longford, from its romantic beginning to its end, is fascinating and exemplar. Over 69 years of marriage and eight children, their lives remained distinct and yet emotionally complementary. Frank Pakenham (1905-2001) was a politician and social reformer. As Lord Longford, he was notable for his lifelong advocacy of penal reform, but especially because he visited prisoners on a regular basis for nearly seventy years, until his death. He saw politics less as a career and more as part of a moral crusade. Conscience for him came before party loyalty. At his death, Prime Minister Tony Blair said: “He was a great man of passionate integrity and humanity and a great reformer, committed to modernizing the law while also caring deeply for individuals.” Meanwhile, Lady Elizabeth (1906-2002) was “addicted to motherhood,” but also an accomplished historian.

Fr. Lorenzo Carraro | Comboni Missionary
Extraordinary People

Padre Pio Santo

From tending sheep, God called the young Francesco Forgione (1887-1968) to the priesthood in the Franciscan tradition of the Capuchins. Gifted with an extraordinary experience of God, Padre Pio, as he started calling himself after professing his vows from his convent cell, attracted millions with his Ministry of Confession and the power of his intercession. He carried the wounds of Christ (stigmata) in his body for fifty years. Canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002, Padre Pio is possibly the most popular miracle-worker saint ever. Pope Francis has arranged that his body be venerated in St. Peter’s Basilica during the Jubilee of Mercy.

Fr. Lorenzo Carraro | Comboni Missionary
Extraordinary People

The Great Communicator

An American Jesuit priest who lived in the Philippines since he was 22, James Reuter (1916 – 2012), taught at Ateneo de Manila University and was a well-known public figure: a writer, director and producer in theater, radio, print and film. He was also a prominent figure in the resistance against the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and played a key role in the 1986 People Power Revolution.
He educated and trained generations of students in creative works, inspired by Christian values. Father Reuter received the award for “Outstanding Service to the Catholic Church in the field of Mass Media,” personally given to him in January 1981 by Pope John Paul II. He was made an “honorary citizen of the Republic of the Philippines” in 2006.

Fr. Lorenzo Carraro | Comboni missionary
Extraordinary People

The Lame Gospel Runner

A Spanish Franciscan missionary to California, Junipero Serra(1713-1784) walked the length and breadth of the American peninsula, notwithstanding his injured leg, preaching the Gospel to the natives and founding a string of missions which gave a peculiar feature to that territory Academically proficient as a professor of Philosophy and preacher, his dream was to be a missionary among the natives as he struggled to protect them from the impact of the arrival of the white men. Pope Francis will canonize him during his coming trip to America, as a way of confirming the great name he left among the inhabitants of California.

Fr. Lorenzo Carraro | Comboni Missionary
Extraordinary People

Young Holiness

While they lived in different periods, two young men of the 20th century, because of their similar destiny, reflected the features of Christ like the two faces of a mirror. Both had a university education and were keen mountaineers. They displayed an exceptional love for and devotion to their Catholic faith. Their holiness soon brought them to their commitment to social transformation as they both entered politics. Pier Giorgio Frassati used to say: “Charity is not enough, we need social reforms,” and he worked for both. A terminal illness severed the thread of his life at 24. As for Vinicio, he fell to his death while climbing a dangerous mountain. He was only 30.

Fr. Lorenzo Carraro | Comboni Missionary
Extraordinary People

The Lovers’ Saint

Saint Valentine is commonly recognized as a third-century bishop and martyr, commemorated on February 14. He is moreover associated, since the High Middle Ages, with the tradition of courtly, romantic love. St. Valentine’s link with people in love is mostly legendary, but it enriches the sexual, simply human love, with a religious, mystical dimension. Given the contemporary need of understanding what true love is, we may assume that the bishop and martyr Valentine from heaven will not disown the lovers who ask for his prayers and protection.

Fr. Lorenzo Carraro | Comboni Missionary
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