Quote
“You create the conditions for a change to happen, for people to make the change they want … I don’t make the change. I just create the conditions as best I can.”
| Comboni Father Giovanni Esti, who arrived in Egypt in 2007 to create a social development center for young people in Cairo and has witnessed the country’s political upheaval and violence, some of which has been directed at Christians. The center launched in 2010. (Catholic News Service)
Profile
John “Jon Jon” Ulep
Youth and young adult minister of the AGAPE Ministry at St. Joseph, Waipahu
- Favorite Scripture quote: Jeremiah 29:11
- Saint: St. Michael the Archangel
- Food: Sushi
- Movie: “Seven Pounds”
- Church song: “Refiner’s Fire”
- Most memorable priest: Father Arnel Soriano
- PC or Mac: Mac
- Five fantasy dinner guests: Johnny Earle, Blake Mycoskie, Jamie Oliver, John Mayer, Tony Robbins
Saints under 35
Staying true to God
St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother did not seem destined to become a religious, but illness would lead him to join the Congregation of the Passionists and lead a life filled with compassion and love for God.
Born Francisco Possenti in Assisi, Italy, in 1838, St. Gabriel’s early life was filled with tragedy. But despite the loss of several siblings as well as his mother, he was a happy and social child who thrived in school. A serious illness spurred him to vow to join religious life if he was cured, and ultimately he did just that despite his father’s efforts to dissuade him.
He was given the name Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother because the day he received his Passionist habit — Sept. 21, 1856 — was also the Feast of the Sorrowful Mother. When the Passionist province in Pieta where Gabriel lived came under threat from the new Italian government, he and other novices were moved to Isola. Gabriel became known for facing soldiers who had been terrorizing the town — including one who held a girl at gunpoint — and getting them to leave in peace.
Tuberculosis ultimately claimed Gabriel’s life at age 24, before he could be ordained a priest. He was canonized in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV and declared a patron of Catholic youth. (www.passionist.org)
