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As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
January 6, 1786–December 28, 1837
Patron Saint of the missionaries of the Most Precious Blood and Catholic missionaries; invoked for the conversion of sinners
St. Gaspar del Bufalo was an Italian priest and missionary whose passionate preaching helped renew the Catholic faith in early 19th-century Italy. His life was centered on the Precious Blood of Jesus, which he understood as a powerful sign of Christ’s sacrificial love and the source of grace for the conversion of sinners.
Born in Rome in 1786, Gaspar was ordained a priest in 1808. He devoted himself to preaching, catechesis, and charitable works.
Gaspar was sent to the Papal States to bring peace and order amid rampant lawlessness. His powerful preaching led people to repentance and reconciliation with God. He went into the mountains and negotiated with a group of violent outlaws, who eventually surrendered their weapons to him. His missionary work also sought to renew priests, teach the Faith, and strengthen Christian communities.
Gaspar’s ministry was interrupted when Napoleon’s forces occupied Rome. He refused to take an oath of loyalty to Napoleon’s government because he believed it conflicted with his allegiance to the pope. As a result, he spent several years imprisoned and in exile.
After Napoleon’s fall, Gaspar returned to Rome and resumed his missionary work. In 1815, with the encouragement of Pope Pius VII, he founded the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood. The community was dedicated to preaching parish missions, encouraging conversion, and spreading devotion to the Precious Blood of Christ.
In 1837, an outbreak of cholera struck Rome. Gaspar continued ministering to the sick despite the danger. His health declined, and he died on December 28, 1837.
Pope Pius XII canonized him in 1954. St. Gaspar del Bufalo is remembered as the “Apostle of the Precious Blood.”
For Gaspar, devotion to the Precious Blood was inseparable from the mystery of Christ’s sacrificial love. During his years in prison and exile, he lived in isolation and suffering; Christ’s sacrifice would have been a source of hope, strength, and comfort. Upon his release, Pope Pius VII asked him to help revive the war-torn, spiritually shaken faith of the Italian people. Gaspar’s devotion to Christ’s Precious Blood was for him the supreme source of spiritual power, mercy, and renewal to heal a fractured world following the devastation of war. He used Christ’s blood as the central theme of his fiery preaching and call to conversion. He encouraged priests and laypeople to turn to the Precious Blood as a source of mercy and grace. This spirituality eventually became the defining charism of the religious community he founded.
After Napoleon occupied Rome and sought to reorganize the Church under his authority, priests were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the emperor. Gaspar refused, declaring, “I cannot, I ought not, I will not.” He believed the oath compromised his loyalty to the pope. He was arrested, sent into banishment, and forced to endure four brutal years of exile and confinement in dark, damp Italian prisons. He was moved across harsh detention facilities, including jails in Bologna, Imola, and Lugo. He suffered from cold cells, poor rations, and failing health, yet he never surrendered his loyalty to Pope Pius VII. Each time French authorities demanded compliance, he repeated his firm refusal. He gained his freedom in 1814 after Napoleon fell from power. He returned to Rome and, at the Pope’s request, founded the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1815. He traveled across Italy, preaching at least five times daily, to help renew the Faith.
St. Gaspar del Bufalo evangelized and converted many of the violent outlaws known as briganti or bandits, who terrorized the Papal States in the early 19th century. During the 1820s, the Italian countryside was overrun by heavily armed outlaw bands who controlled entire towns, committing robberies and murders with very little accountability. Gaspar believed that if he intervened, he could save the town through peaceful means. Venturing directly into mountain hideouts and dangerous regions, He preached the message of Christ’s redemption and devotion to the Precious Blood. His powerful persuasion moved crowds of brigands to repentance, causing them to come forward and lay their weapons at his feet.
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St. Francis of Assisi is the first recorded stigmatist in Church history. Since then, many holy men and women have experienced this mystical gift. In this free eBook, you’ll discover the stories of Sts. Francis, Catherine, Rita, and Pio of Pietrelcina, along with Servant of God Rhoda Wise. You’ll also learn more about the stigmata in a special Q&A with “Miracle Hunter” Michael O’Neill, host of several EWTN programs.
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