St Joseph of Cupertino

Joseph of Cupertino is one of those saints whose very weakness makes grace look stronger. He appears first as a poor and awkward friar who, in a famous phrase, read badly and wrote worse, and who reached ordination only through a providential examination in which he was asked the one text he could explain. From there his life opens into severe penance, prayer, ecstasies, and the levitations for which he became famous. Yet the marvels are never the real center.

Some early stories are doubtful or later enlarged, while the firmer witness belongs especially to his later years at Osimo. More importantly, Joseph was remembered as innocent, obedient, humble, patient under suspicion, and willing to endure removal, confinement, and misunderstanding without bitterness. The extraordinary signs remain in the story, but they are clearly secondary to sanctity.