Saint Charles of Sezze

Charles of Sezze (19 October 1613 – 6 January 1670) - born Giancarlo Marchioni - was an Italian professed religious from the Order of Friars Minor. He became a religious despite the opposition of his parents who wanted him to become a priest and he led an austere life doing menial tasks such as acting as a porter and gardener; he was also a noted writer. He was also held in high esteem across the Lazio region with noble families like the Colonna and Orsini praising him and seeking his counsel as did popes such as Innocent X and Clement IX. His beatification was celebrated in 1882 while Pope Pius XII approved his canonization in 1958; but the pope died before he could canonize the friar so his successor Pope John XXIII did so on 12 April 1959. Giancarlo Marchioni (also known as Charles) was born in Sezze on 19 October 1613 to the poor farmers Ruggero Marchioni and Antonia Maccione. His baptism was celebrated on 22 October 1613. His mother - when he was a toddler - liked to dress him in a dark tunic with a cord and hood in honor of friars Francis of Assisi and Anthony of Padua and she kept this 'habit' even after he outgrew it. His maternal grandmother Valenza Pilorci instilled devout practices and other religious values within him in his childhood. He worked on the farm as a shepherd to help his parents with the exhaustive workload and liked to plough in the fields because he liked the oxen. He made a private vow to remain chaste in 1630 and in 1633 fell ill to the point of near death that he pledged to join the Order of Friars Minor if he were to be healed of his ailment. His parents encouraged his call to become a priest, though he was a poor student and largely illiterate, leaving seldom hope of his excelling in advanced studies. He felt a desire to serve in the missions in India and later became inspired from the lives of Pascal Baylon and Salvador of Horta - who were both professed religious.