St. Gaspar del Bufalo was born on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 1786, in Rome. His parents named him after the Magi who visted the Christ child: Gaspar Melchior Balthazar del Bufalo. It was an apt name for a man who would spend his life on a quest to fulfill the will of God.
Gaspar was raised in the bustle and activity of the Eternal City. When Gaspar was a little boy, his father was hired as a cook for a family with royal connections, and the family moved to the Palazzo Altieri, in the heart of Rome.
As a child, Gaspar suffered from a near-fatal illness, and his faith-filled mother, Annunziata, dedicated him to St. Francis Xavier. At a young age, Gaspar knew his calling, and he visited the sick and the poor, often stopping at a bakery first to buy a sweet treat to share with them.
He was ordained in 1808, at the age of 22. Soon after, he formed an evening society for the laborers and farm workers who came into Rome to sell their wares. He wanted to bring them back to the Church, and to show them that, even though they struggled to survive on the streets of Rome, their lives had value.
Gaspar was caught up in the political crisis when Napoleon swept into power in the Papal States. The new anti-clerical government demanded that priests sign an oath of allegiance to Napoleon. Gaspar declared, “I cannot, I must not, I will not.” His refusal to sign the oath led to four years of exile and imprisonment. Many priests, bishops and even the pope were also exiled in those years.
Away from home, unsure about his future, unable to continue in his many ministries, and in misery over the death of his beloved mother, Gaspar struggled against despair. But also during that time, mentored by Francesco Albertini, Gaspar nurtured his devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus.
After Napoleon’s defeat, he returned to Rome in 1814 and threw himself into his preaching ministry. Through spreading the Good News of the Gospel, he believed he could help heal and revive a Church that had been sorely tried and tested.
On August 15, 1815, St. Gaspar founded the Congregation of the Most Precious Blood (C.PP.S.) in Giano, Italy. It was a very small congregation, with only four members (including St. Gaspar). They began to preach in towns throughout central Italy. As they preached mission after mission, igniting the fire of faith in God’s people, they began to draw more members to their new Congregation.
Life was not easy for St. Gaspar. He was mocked and threatened by those in the anti-clerical movement of the day. People in his own Church often did not understand or support what he was attempting. Money for his fledgling congregation was always in short supply.
In the years that followed, St. Gaspar never stopped moving. He founded 15 mission houses and encouraged more young men to join his Congregation as priests or brothers. He continued throughout his lifetime to reach out to those who were alienated from society. When the countryside fell into the grips of bandits, Pope Pius VII threatened to raze the town of Sonnino, which had become the bandits’ headquarters. Gaspar begged for the chance to save the town. He preached to the bandits until they accepted his message of reconciliation and redemption—and saved the town from destruction.
Through it all, he inspired others to follow him, always expanding his circle. Through his preaching, a young woman named Maria de Mattias was moved by the spirituality of the Precious Blood to found the Adorers of the Blood of Christ in Acuto, Italy, in 1834. (Maria was canonized in 2003.)
Gaspar died on December 28, 1837, in Rome, where he spent the previous summer ministering to those affected by an epidemic of cholera. The physician who examined him said Gaspar died a “victim of charity,” worn out by his ministry to others.
St. Gaspar was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954. His work continues through his Missionaries around the world. St. Gaspar never turned back. Weakened by ailments, called a fanatic or fool by people who should have supported him, imprisoned and impoverished, and challenged at every turn, his answer to God’s call was always yes. His followers continue to turn to him for inspiration, as they fulfill the wish he once expressed: “I wish that I could have a thousand tongues, to endear every heart to the Precious Blood of Jesus.”
Jesus also suffered outside the gate, to consecrate the people by his own blood.
Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach that he bore.
For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come.
Through him then let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise,
that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead
the great shepherd of the sheep
by the Blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord,
furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will.
May he carry out in you what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Writings
(Year B)The first thing that is needed is some of that mystical wine of repentance which takes away that lethargy and invigorates our souls anew.Potassti nos vino compunctionis. [You have allowed your people to suffer, to drink a wine that makes us reel. Ps 60:5]. As a result, in accordance with our need, once we are repentant and contrite of conscience, we find ourselves again on the road that leads to Paradise, and how too does it spur us with hope! There is also the urgent need that we feel for the heavenly bread and mystical wine of your holy and divine love. It offsets the defection into which we could so easily fall were it not for you, O Lord, who propitiously supply us with nourishment. It is that very same nourishment that produces cheerfulness and gives rise to courage to follow the road to the mountain of perfection. Therefore, the Psalmist said:Panis cor hominis confirmet ... et vinum laetificet cor hominis.[Wine to make them cheerful, oil to make them happy and bread to make them strong. Ps 104:15]. Yet the nearer we get to our beloved home, heaven, the more necessary it is to grow strong in merit and rich in works before God. It is on this account that the dear Lord preserves for us special drinks of the choicest wines, such as those mentioned in the Canticle.Botrus Cypri Dilectus meus.[My beloved is a cluster of henna flowers among the vines of Engedi. Song 1:15]. Intemperance in drink is forbidden, but in the spiritual order, blessed is he who is inebriated with the celestial and holy love, symbolized by the choicest wines of the vineyards of Engedi.
These wines, however, require the soul to cultivate the mystical vineyard of the heart and, moreover, to cultivate only such vines therein which will yield them. The divine Husbandman is Jesus. It is left to us to allow him to nourish us, while we cooperate with the designs of divine Providence. Then, indeed, will there be verified in each and every one of us, the words:Vineae florentes dederunt odorem. [The blossoming vines give out their fragrance. Song 2:13]. Attracted by this fragrance, the people shall come to receive suitable nourishment. For this reason, it is also necessary to keep the protective hedge well-trimmed so that, while helping others, our mystical vineyard is not trampled under foot and its produce destroyed.
The wine cellar is fitted with a wine press to squeeze out the juice of the grapes in order to obtain from them those precious wines which we have been speaking of until now. Indeed, using the wine cellar as a type, was not the Heart of Jesus put under the wine press of a most cruel suffering? And, does not all the profit which comes from his sufferings - to make an application from our comparison - flow from that source into our souls?Torcular calcari solus, et de gentibus non est vir mecum.[ I have trodden the winepress alone. Of the men of my people not one was with me. Is 63:3]. My beloved in Jesus Christ, it is time for us to submit the vineyard of our souls to cultivation, to toil willingly under the pressure of present trials. The love of Jesus, represented by the wine, will take away our lethargy, will provide against our dejection, and will give us strength and comfort for the journey to our dear home in heaven, where we shall rejoice triumphantly without end. Let these sentiments be impressed upon the minds and hearts of each one of us. Let the image of the wine cellar remind us to fulfill our obligations by corresponding to a God most lavish with his gifts. With our thoughts concentrated on a most accurate examination of ourselves, may he animate us toward the cure of our spiritual maladies. May he help us aim at the sublimest degrees of sanctity.
Since the King of Glory has brought us into this banquet hall, let us establish here our own peaceful abode in time. Also, let us reenforce the foundations of the holy city of God with the bonds of charity. Let us remember that the nuptial bed of the peace-loving King is the Cross, and, that our souls upon this nuptial bed yearn for the most tender embraces of affection toward Jesus. He has redeemed us through love, has shed all his Blood in love, and through him we have a mystical dwelling in his heart. Introduxit me Rex in cellam vinariam, ordinavit in me charitatem.[The king has taken me to his banquet hall, and the banner he raises over me is love. Song 2:4].(Circular Letters)
Musical Selection
Glory be to Jesus, Who in bitter pains Poured for me the lifeblood From his sacred veins.
Grace and life eternal In that blood I find; Blest be his compassion, Infinitely kind.
Blest through endless ages Be the precious stream Which from endless torments Did the world redeem.
Lift we, then, our voices, Swell the mighty flood; Louder still and louder Praise the precious blood!
Collect
Almighty and merciful God,
who gave us an ardent witness
of love for you and for our neighbor
in Saint Gaspar del Bufalo, priest and
dedicated missionary of the Precious Blood of Christ;
through his intercession,
listen to the voice of the blood of your Son
which daily rises to you from the earth
in the painful cry of suffering humanity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
