A seaside town was no rest stop

Jan 9, 2014 at 2:09 pm

A cliché says a generous person would give you the shirt off his back. St. Antony Mary (Eustace) Pucci gave a poor man his pants and cloak at least once.

This 19th century saint was born into a peasant family of seven children at Poggione de Vernio, Tuscany, Italy. His father was parish sacristan and the boy delighted in helping.

Eustace decided to join a religious order, but his father wouldn’t allow it until he turned 18. He entered the Servants of Mary (Servites) at Florence in 1837, taking the name Antony Mary. He was ordained a priest in 1843.

In 1844, he began a 45-year assignment, first as assistant pastor and then pastor, four years later, at the new St. Andrew Parish in Viareggio, a Tuscan seaside town.

In an era of anti-clericalism, Fr. Pucci was well loved. Parishioners called him “il curatino” (“the little parish priest”), despite his being unattractive, shy and having an unpleasant voice. They valued his calm, organizational skills and insistence that a strong organization must be the servant of — not a substitute for — charity.

Because of his preaching and willingness to spend all day in the confessional, he was considered an excellent pastor. He started groups for men, women, girls and boys, and even met returning fishing boats to teach the catechism to boys learning the trade from their fathers.

During cholera epidemics in 1854-1855 and 1866, he assisted the ill and started a sanatorium for poor children suffering from tuberculosis.

He was known for spending hours in prayer and for walking with tearful eyes in Corpus Christi processions. A lay brother who lived at the same friary said of Fr. Pucci: “All the times that I had the opportunity, for the sake of my office, to enter his cell, I always found him in prayer.”

Fr. Pucci brought food, sheets, blankets and mattresses to the poor and organized a St. Vincent de Paul conference in his parish.

When the Servites were concerned for his health because of his tireless work, he said: “It is not necessary to have a long life, but you need to take advantage of the time that God gives us to do our duty.”

He died soon after catching pneumonia one stormy night after rescuing a sick person. Pope John XXIII canonized him the day after the first session of Vatican II closed.

 

Sources: heiligen-3s.nl; katolsk.no; saints.sqpn.com; saintpatrickdc.org; and santiebeati.it.

 

Staley is a retired editor of The Compass.

St. Antony Mary Pucci

  • When: 1819-1892
  • Where: Italy
  • What: Priest
  • Feast: Jan. 12

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