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“Now, we must entrust the soul of Baby Francis to the abundant mercy of God so that this beloved child may find finally a home in his kingdom.” | Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence presiding June 10 over a Christian burial service for the unborn child he named “Francis,” fulfilling a commitment he made to officials five months ago after a fetus was found floating amid the sewage at a nearby wastewater treatment facility. (Catholic News Service)
In the news
Composer premieres first Mass
ROME — Six decades and hundreds of film and television scores later, award-winning Italian composer Ennio Morricone premiered his first-ever Mass in the Church of the Gesu, the Jesuits’ main church in Rome, where St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Jesuit order’s founder, is buried.
A parishioner at the historic church in the city center, Morricone composed the Mass to mark the 200th anniversary of the universal reconstitution of the Society of Jesus.
The 86-year-old took up his conductor’s stick for the June 10 performance by Rome’s “Sinfonietta”. A chorus of 100 singers from the National Academy of St. Cecilia and the Rome Opera, was directed by Stefano Cucci. (CNS)
Saints under 40
The young and determined Jesuit
Stanislaus Kostka was born in 1550 to Polish nobility. His father was a local governor and his mother was the sister of Polish dukes.
At 14, he and his brother Paul enrolled in a new Jesuit college in Vienna favored by the upper class. Stanislaus was serious and quiet while his brother enjoyed the good life. Paul mocked his younger sibling who responded by becoming more virtuous.
Falling seriously ill at age 15, Stanislaus had an apparition of St. Barbara and two angels who brought his first Holy Communion. The Blessed Mother and baby Jesus then appeared and told him he was to enter the Society of Jesus.
Regaining his health, Stanislaus joined the Jesuits in Rome, far from his family who opposed his decision. Less than a year into his novitiate, after receiving a premonition of his death, he died at age 17 on Aug. 15, 1568, while having a vision of Mary.
He was canonized on Dec. 31, 1726. His feast day is Nov. 13. (Thinkjesuit.org)
