Saint’s Life Story

His Early Life

Gaetano (Cajetan) dei Conti di Thiene was born in 1480 in Vicenza, Italy. He was the youngest of three sons born to his father, Gaspar, Count of Thiene, and Mary di Porto, both hailed from a distinguished Venetian aristocratic family. At his birth his mother, a fervent Dominican tertiary, dedicated Cajetan to the Blessed Virgin.

Tragedy struck early when his father died when Cajetan was 2 years old. His charitable and pious mother helped raise Cajetan to grow in an affluent yet devout household, where acts of almsgiving to the needy were commonplace and instilled a lasting sense of Catholic devotion. As a child, he was devout, temperate, obedient, and mindful of the poor. He practiced long periods of prayer that helped him to avoid the temptations that came from his family’s wealth and status.

Doctor in Law

Cajetan pursued his higher education at the University of Padua, Italy, one of Europe’s premier centers for legal scholarship during the Renaissance, studying canon and civil law. By 1504, at the age of 24, Cajetan had earned his doctorate in both canon and civil law, marking a significant milestone in his intellectual development.

Lawyer

Following his graduation, Cajetan returned to Vicenza, where he established himself as a practicing lawyer. He applied his legal expertise in local matters while beginning to demonstrate a commitment to public service.

Apostolic Protonotary

Though his first desire was to enter into a hidden life of prayer, Cajetan caught the eye of the Pope. In 1506, Cajetan relocated to Rome, entering the service of the Roman Curia under Pope Julius II. The Pope appointed him as an Apostolic Prothonotary, a prestigious clerical office responsible for authenticating papal documents and handling administrative duties. Cajetan is said to have played a crucial role in helping to relieve the tensions and reconcile Venice with the Pope, ensuring peace for his homeland.

During the thirteen years, Cajetan labored in Rome for reform. Doing what he could to bring comfort to others by visiting the sick in hospitals and seeking out the incurable and the dying in their homes. Cajetan had joined the Confraternity of Divine Love, a small, unofficial group devoted to works of charity. They cared for the sick, the poor, foundlings, and prisoners. Gradually their influence spread further afield in Italy.

Ordained

In 1513, Pope Julius II died and Cajetan resigned his duties in the papal household to pursue priestly ordination. He was ordained as priest in 1516.

The following year, while praying at the Christmas crib in the church of Saint Mary Maggiore, he had a mystical experience. He records, “Encouraged by the Blessed Saint Jerome, whose bones lie in the crypt beneath the crib, I took from the hands of the timid Virgin who had just become a mother her tender Child, in whom the eternal Word had been made flesh.”

Returned to Vicenza

In 1518, Cajetan returned to Vicenza to be with his dying mother. There, he joined the Oratory of Saint Jerome. Most of the members of the Oratory were men of lower classes. As a result, many of Cajetan’s family and noble “friends” were deeply offended by his association with the lowest and poorest classes deemed to be unworthy of association with the nobility.

Upon his mother’s death, he dedicated his considerable inheritance to relieving distress, first in Vicenza and then in Verona and Venice. Cajetan spent his fortune in building hospitals and devoted himself to nursing the plague–stricken. To offer an alternative to loan sharks, Cajetan founded a bank to help the poor that later became the Bank of Naples. He also founded a similar oratory at Venice and continued his work, particularly with the incurable.

Saint for Gamblers

Cajetan became known as a sort of holy gambler because when he gave spiritual advice, he made a “bet” with the person that if his advice worked, the person had to light a votive candle. If it did not, Cajetan would light the candle. For this reason, he is invoked by those seeking freedom from gambling addictions.

Returned to Rome

In 1523, Cajetan returned to Rome. Here, he sought to reform the Church from within. joined the Oratory of Divine Love, an organization committed to prayer and the service of the sick and poor. It was there that he became associated with three other like-minded companions: Bishop Giovanni Pietro Carafa (the future Pope Paul IV), Bonifacio da Colle, and Paolo Ghisleri.

Co-Founder of Theatines

On September 14, 1524, Cajetan and his three companions jointly founded the Order of the Clerics Regular, or Theatines, in the city of Rome, by making their first profession of vows at St. Peter’s Basilica. His vision was to have an order of priests whose lives would be as simple as those of the Apostles and who would serve as models for the secular clergy. The members of the Congregation of Clerks Regular (more generally known as the Theatines) were to dress in black and concentrate on the essentials of the priestly life: embracing poverty, spreading charity, and bringing life in the sacraments. The institute was approved by Pope Clement VII with Bishop Caraffa as the order’s first provost general.

In 1527, Rome was sacked by disgruntled soldiers followed by eight months of violence and looting. During that time, some members of the Theatines were killed. Cajetan himself endured torture. Eventually, Cajetan and the Theatines escaped the city.  Cajetan settled in Venice where he met Saint Jerome Emiliani who helped him established a new house there. The famine and plague in Venice gave Cajetan and the Theatines ample opportunity to devote themselves to the service of others. The Venetians called them “hermits” because of their extreme simplicity of life and Cajetan was named “the saint of Providence.”

Sent to Naples

In 1533, Pope Clement VII dispatched Cajetan to Naples to establish a presence for the Theatines amid growing Protestant influences in southern Italy. He arrived that year and founded the order’s first house there at the church of San Paolo Maggiore, which had been bequeathed to the Theatines. Here, Cajetan served as its initial superior and guiding its mission toward clerical reform and apostolic work. In 1539, he helped establish a nonprofit pawnshop institution designed to combat usury by offering low- or no-interest loans to impoverished families who pawned their possessions. Cajetan collaborated with local nobles and clergy to launch this initiative, which provided immediate relief to debtors exploited by moneylenders/ This institution served as a model for similar ones across Europe and later evolved into the Banco di Napoli, one of Italy’s oldest banking institutions.

Expansion

Over the next two decades, the order continued to grow, expanding into Milan, Sicily, and other parts of Europe, including Germany. Cajetan was well known for his continual penances and life of prayer that fueled his devotion to the mission of his order.

His Death

Cajetan remained in Naples until his death, where he continued his charitable works amid civil unrest. In 1547, during a period of conflict in the city, he offered himself in prayer to end the violence, after which he fell ill. When his physicians advised him not to lie on the hard boards but to use a mattress, his answer was, ” My Savior died on a cross, allow me at least to die on wood.”

When Cajetan was on his death-bed, resigned to the will of God, Blessed Mary appeared to him again, this time surrounded by ministering angels. He said, “Lady, bless me!” Blessed Mary replied, “Cajetan, receive the blessing of my Son, and know that I am here as a reward for the sincerity of your love, and to lead you to Paradise.” She then told him to have patience with the illness that had attacked him, and gave orders to the choirs of angels to escort his soul to heaven. “Cajetan,” she said, “my Son calls you. Let us go in peace.” And so, he did, dying on August 7, 1547. Cajetan was buried in the crypt of San Paolo Maggiore Basilica.

Born:                     October 1480 at Vicenza, Italy

Died:                     August 7, 1547 in Naples, Italy

Beatified:             October 8, 1629 by Pope Urban VIII

Canonized:          April 12, 1671 by Pope Clement X

Feast Day:           August 7

Patron Saint:    Argentina; Bankers; Gamblers; Job Seekers; Naples, Italy; Theatines; Unemployed People, Vicenza, Italy

Source:

• CatholicSaints.Info » Saint Cajetan
• Saint Cajetan — Grokipedia
• Saint Cajetan, Priest – Saint of the Day from My Catholic Life!
• Saint Cajetan – Wikipedia

Prayers

Video Link

Cradio Saint of the Day: Saint Cajetan – YouTube (CatholicSaints.Info)