ROME — Pope Benedict XVI canonized Blessed Simon of Lipnica, a member of the Order of Friars Minor who lived in the 15th century on June 3. He was one of four canonized in St. Peter’s Square.
Br. Simon was born in the south of Poland between the years 1435 and 1440, and, according to the Vatican’s Web site, like St. Bernardine of Siena and St. John of Capestrano, he spread devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, obtaining the conversion of innumerable sinners.
The Vatican says that the “Order of Friars Minor, on the vigil of the celebration of the eighth centenary of its founding (1209 – 2009), salutes Br. Simon as an authentic witness to poverty, humility and simplicity, as well as to the joy of belonging fully to the Lord and to being a gift to the life of the friars.”