Blessed
Francesco di Gesù Maria Giuseppe (Palau)
Biography
Francis Palau was born on 29th of December 1811 in Aytona (Spain).
In 1828, he entered the seminary of Lèrida. After completing the three years of philosophical studies and finishing the first course of theology, in 1832 he joined the Order of Discalced Carmelites where, in the following year, he made his vows. Forced by political circumstances to live outside the cloister, he was able to receive priestly ordination in Barbastro in 1836.
After a long period of stay in France (1840 – 1851), he returned to Spain and devoted himself to the ministry of preaching and popular missions, especially in Barcelona and the Balearic Islands. It was there that in the years 1860 – 1861 he took care of the organization of some women’s groups giving rise to what are now called the Teresian Carmelite Missionary Sisters and the Carmelite Missionary Sisters. He also founded a family of Brothers of Charity, now extinct.
He died in Tarragona on 20th of March 1872.
The beatification ceremony took place on April 24, 1988.
Procedure
1. The canonical norms concerning the procedure to be followed in the Causes of Saints are stated in the Apostolic Constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister promulgated by John Paul II on 25 January 1983 (AAS LXXV, 1983, 349-355).
2. To initiate a Cause it is necessary that at least five years pass after the death of the candidate. This is to allow for greater balance and objectivity in the evaluation of the case and to allow the emotions of the moment to decant. There must be a clear conviction among people about his/her sanctity (fama sanctitas) and about the efficacy of his/her intercession with the Lord (fama signorum).
Iconography
