Saint Cajetan

Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene was born in Vicenza, Italy, in October 1480, into a noble family. He earned a doctorate in law at Padua and served at the papal court in Rome, but he felt called to something deeper. Ordained a priest in 1516, he joined a confraternity devoted to prayer and to caring for the incurably sick, and he worked tirelessly in hospitals.

Seeing how much the Church needed reform, in 1524 he founded with Gian Pietro Carafa, the future Pope Paul IV, the Congregation of Clerics Regular, known as the Theatines, priests who lived in poverty, trusted entirely in Providence and sought to renew the clergy by their example. In Naples he helped found a Monte di Pietà, a charitable lending house that protected the poor from usurers. He died in Naples on August 7, 1547, and was canonized in 1671. His trust in Providence made him the saint people turn to when they need work.

In Argentina, San Cayetano is one of the most popular saints: every August 7 huge crowds, many waiting in line all night, visit his sanctuary in the Liniers neighborhood of Buenos Aires carrying a sprig of wheat, asking for bread and work and giving thanks for jobs received.

He is also widely honored in Brazil, Mexico and across Latin America, and many families keep a wheat stalk with his image at home.