Saint Gaspar del Bufalo

Gaspar del Bufalo was born in Rome in 1786 and ordained a priest in 1808. When Napoleon occupied Rome, Gaspar refused to take an oath of loyalty to him and spent four years in exile and prison. After his release he founded in 1815 the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, who preached missions throughout central Italy, even in regions troubled by bandits, and spread devotion to the Blood of Christ. Worn out by his work, he died in Rome on December 28, 1837, and was canonized in 1954.

The Roman Martyrology remembers him on December 28; his Missionaries of the Precious Blood, present in the United States and Latin America, celebrate him on October 21. His body rests in the church of Santa Maria in Trivio in Rome.