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St Joseph of Copertino has gone into history as "the flying saint". In fact, one of the features of his extraordinary mystical experiences was a state of ecstasy. It was enough to see a picture of Jesus, Our Lady, St Francis or some other saint, or even to hear their names spoken, for him to levitate. He would let out a shout and bounce in the air like a rubber ball. And there he would stay up in the air for one, two or three hours while people would come runnirig to observe the phenomenon. Curious and devoted crowds would throng around him, all amazed and moved while doctors and scientists would try to give him tests and understand how an event of this kind was possible.

Since St Joseph of Copertino lived in the 17^th century, that is 400 years ago, when we are told about his levitations we immediately tend to think that it is a question of pious legend. But there are incontrovertible historical documents that lead us to think it was absolutely true and authentic. The flights occurred every day and often more than once. They began in 1628 and continued until the death of the saint in 1663. It has been calculated that these ecstatic flights were repeated thousand of times and were watched by at least a hundred thousand people including priests, bishops, cardinals and even a Pope.

Three Italian regions are especially involved in the life of St Joseph of Copertino: Puglia, where he was born in Copertino on the 17^th June, 1603; Umbria, where he lived in Assisi for 14 years; and the Marches because it was here that he passed the last six years of his earthly life at Osimo, where there is now a Sanctuary dedicated to him and where he is buried.

He came from a family that was fairly well off but his father, Felicd Maria Desa, got into debt through signing promissory notes to help some friends. His friends disappeared and he had to answer for the debts. The authorities were looking for him and, to avoid jail, he had to live in the scrub all the time. When his wife, Franceschina, was about to give birth to Joseph, the bailiffs arrived for yet another time and she sought refuge in the stable.

So, like Jesus, Joseph was born in a stable. He grew up almost without a father and when he reached school age he fell seriously ill. He got well again only five years later thanks to a miracle of Our Lady. He was now too old to go to school and he began to work for a cobbler. It did not last long for he was too distracted, in another world. Every now and again. he was spell bound, lost and somewhere else. The people who lived with him thought he was slow-witted, absent-minded and called him, ironically, "the gaper". In reality, at these times, Joseph was in contact with an invisible world, the world of the spirit, and was "enthralled" by the celestial entities that his eyes could see.

At 19, he decided to become a monk but no congregation wanted him. He was taken in by the Capuchins of Martina Franca as a lay brother but, after eight months, he was thrown out because of his absent-mindedness. At this time, his father died and, since he was the eldest son, he was his father's heir and had to answer for his father's debts. The bailiffs began to look for him and, in order not to go to jail, he had to stay a long way from home.

One day, to escape arrest, he went to the Grotella Convent near Copertino to ask for help. The sacristan took pity on him and hid him. In exchange for the hospitality Joseph undertook the worst jobs but also spent many hours in prayer. This was how the brothers noticed the great goodness of this young man and how great his faith and his inner life were. They pleaded his case with their superiors and, in the end, young Joseph Desa was admitted to the Order of the Conventual Franciscans, but only as a "Tertiary Franciscan" employed in domestic work.

His exemplary conduct began to attract people. Many of them asked him for advice and his answers were so highly illuminated that his superiors decided to have him study as a prieSt Joseph did not want to. He felt unworthy and did not know how he could pass the theological examinations. In fact, he was illiterate. He studied night and day but with hardly any progress. When examination time came along his head was completely empty. In desperation, he prayed to Our Lady and on every occasion something strange and unforeseen occurred and Joseph was passed without taking his exams. He was ordained a priest because of his goodness, but everyone knew he was ignorant. However, they also knew that in him there was "innate knowledge" and many professors of theology, bishops and even cardinals went to him to ask his advice when they had problems.

In the meantime, his famous "ecstasies" had begun with levitations that brought many devotees to the convent. One of the clergy was envious of such popularity and wrote an anonymous letter to the Holy Office, "In Puglia, there is a 33-year old monk who acts as the Messiah and attracts huge crowds." The Holy Office reacted immediately and Joseph was called to Naples to defend himself before the Court of the Inquisition. There, he underwent three trials. But even in front of the Judges he went into ecstasy and rose from the ground. The judges were frightened and did not have the courage to condemn him. They sent him to the Vatican Court in Rome. This time, Joseph was questioned in the presence of the Pope, Urban VIII, and such was Joseph's joy to find himself before the Vicar of Christ that he went into ecstasy and flew high over the heads of the Pope and the united cardinals. On seeing this marvel with their own eyes, they all became admirers' of this humble little brother.

He was never condemned but for the whole of his life he was a "suspect" of the Inquisition. The judges of this terrible court always kept him under control and, every now and again, to put a brake on his popularity with the faithful they would intervene with restrictions, prohibitions and orders to move to another convent. He was always forced to live in exile. He stayed in Assisi for 14 years, then he was sent to Pietrarubbia, to an isolated convent in the Monti di Carpegna belonging to the Capuchins, then to Fossombrone, in a convent belonging to the Capuchins again and then, in 1656, to Osimo in the Province of Ancona.

He passed the last six years of his life in this town in the Marches. Six years of relative serenity and tranquility. He was lodged in three little rooms that are still as they were at the time of his death. He led a retired life and avoided meeting people also because his health had deteriorated. He put up with the ailments of old age and his illness with great serenity and never complained. He died on 18 September 1663.

(Renzo Allegri – Medjugorje, Torino, Anno XII, n. 44)

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