Born in France in 1748, Benedict was the oldest of fifteen children whose father was a wealthy shopkeeper. 

His uncle was a priest and mentor for Benedict and in his mid-teens Benedict sought permission from his parents to become a Trappist Monk, but they said he was too young. 

Not long after there was an epidemic and Benedict helped his uncle minister to the sick. As the epidemic came to an end, one of its last victims was his uncle. 

Benedict was finally given permission by his parents to become a priest but found he could not satisfy the academic requirements so he became a pilgrim, moving from shrine to shrine, begging for what he needed to survive, at one time being given shelter from the parents of St. John Vianney. 

When he arrived in Rome he settled there, leaving once a year to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Loretto. Essentially Benedict was homeless, finding a place to stay in the Colosseum. 

He was said to have been able to levitate, bi-locate, and perform miracles, at one time multiplying loaves of bread for the other homeless. 

He spent as much time as he could before The Blessed Sacrament, becoming known as “The Poor Man of The Forty Hours Devotion.” 

While praying in The Church of Santa Maria ai Monte he collapsed and was taken to a nearby house where he died on this day in 1783 at the age of just 35. 

St. Benedict Joseph Labre, please pray for us.