Saint Joseph of Cupertino

Joseph Desa was born on June 17, 1603, in Cupertino, in southern Italy, to a very poor family. As a boy he was absent-minded and clumsy and was turned away by more than one religious order. He was finally accepted by the Conventual Franciscans, first as a helper in the stables, and despite great difficulty with his studies he was ordained a priest in 1628. According to tradition, at his examinations he was asked only the questions he knew.

Joseph was known for deep humility and for ecstasies in prayer, during which many witnesses reported seeing him rise into the air. These events drew crowds and suspicion, and Church authorities moved him from friary to friary to keep him in seclusion. He accepted everything with obedience and joy. He died in Osimo on September 18, 1663, and was canonized in 1767.

Students around the world pray to him before exams, and many schools hold a special blessing for students on or near his feast. His relics are venerated in the basilica dedicated to him in Osimo, Italy.

Because of the accounts of his levitations, he is also invoked as patron of air travelers, pilots and astronauts.