“O my God and Father,
Grant that I praise You and work that all Your creatures praise You.
Grant, my Father, that all sinners be converted,
That all the just persevere in grace,
And all of us reach eternal glory. Amen.”
Showing all posts dated October 23, 2025
Saint Anthony Mary Claret: a burning torch of love
What would Spain be without Saint Anthony Mary Claret?
In 1861, a prominent anarchist wrote, “If it hadn’t been for Father Claret, Catalonia would have understood the message of the revolution. With his thousands of extraordinarily popular sermons, this tireless man managed to re-Christianize the whole of Catalonia. After completely transforming Catalonia, he did the same in the Canary Islands and, later, in Cuba, where Catholicism was dying out. But that was not the worst of it. His time in Madrid was a catastrophe for the Spanish revolutionary movement.”
Who was this man who exerted so much influence and had such a profound impact on the political arena despite not being a politician himself?
Antonio María Claret was born in Sallent, near Barcelona, in 1807. Like his brothers, he helped in his parents’ textile business and demonstrated such talent in his higher studies that he was entrusted with taking over a large company. However, the Lord had heard his prayers, as from a very young age he had asked for the grace of the priesthood.