Saint of the Day — 18 June
Saint Gregory Barbarigo
The Bishop Who Began Again, Again and Again
He lived through one
of the most devastating plagues
in Italian history.
Saint Gregory Barbarigo
was born into Venetian nobility
in 1625 —
a brilliant young diplomat
who could have spent his life
in comfortable political circles.
Instead, while still a young man,
he found himself in Venice
during a catastrophic outbreak
of plague.
He spent his days
caring for the dying,
burying the dead,
comforting the grieving —
work most nobles
would never have touched.
That experience
changed the direction
of his entire life.
He entered the priesthood.
And was eventually made
Bishop of Bergamo,
then Cardinal,
then Bishop of Padua.
But here is what made him
remarkable —
every time he faced
a setback,
a failure,
a community in crisis —
he did not retreat.
He began again.
When he found the seminaries
in his diocese
poorly run and intellectually weak —
he rebuilt them from scratch,
founding new colleges
with rigorous theological training.
When he saw that Catholics
struggled to communicate
across language barriers
with the Eastern Churches —
he established a printing press
capable of producing texts
in multiple languages,
including Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew —
extraordinary for his time.
When his own diocese
needed reform —
he personally visited
every parish,
correcting abuses,
training priests,
rebuilding trust.
He gave away
enormous personal wealth
to the poor
throughout his life.
He never stopped
adjusting,
rebuilding,
starting over
where things had gone wrong.
He died on 18 June, 1697.
He was canonised in 1960
by Pope John XXIII —
who, as a young priest,
had once served
in Bergamo,
the very diocese
Gregory had once led.
Today's Word of Life
speaks of beginning again
after setbacks.
Gregory Barbarigo
lived that truth
his entire life —
never staying down,
always taking
the next faithful step.
"Forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward
to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal."
— Philippians 3:13–14
"The righteous falls seven times
and rises again."
— Proverbs 24:16
Prayer
Saint Gregory Barbarigo,
you never let setbacks
become permanent defeats.
Pray for us —
that when we fail,
when our plans collapse,
when we feel we have wasted years —
we may have your courage
to simply begin again.
Amen.
Truth for Today
A setback is not your story's ending.
It is simply
the place where you begin again.
Reflection
Is there an area of your life
where you have been afraid
to start over?
Comment "St. Gregory, pray for us"
or "Amen"
#SaintOfTheDay #SaintGregoryBarbarigo #June18 #RiseWithTheWord🏅 Saint of the Day — 18 June
Saint Gregory Barbarigo
The Bishop Who Began Again, Again and Again
He lived through one
of the most devastating plagues
in Italian history.
Saint Gregory Barbarigo
was born into Venetian nobility
in 1625 —
a brilliant young diplomat
who could have spent his life
in comfortable political circles.
Instead, while still a young man,
he found himself in Venice
during a catastrophic outbreak
of plague.
He spent his days
caring for the dying,
burying the dead,
comforting the grieving —
work most nobles
would never have touched.
That experience
changed the direction
of his entire life.
He entered the priesthood.
And was eventually made
Bishop of Bergamo,
then Cardinal,
then Bishop of Padua.
But here is what made him
remarkable —
every time he faced
a setback,
a failure,
a community in crisis —
he did not retreat.
He began again.
When he found the seminaries
in his diocese
poorly run and intellectually weak —
he rebuilt them from scratch,
founding new colleges
with rigorous theological training.
When he saw that Catholics
struggled to communicate
across language barriers
with the Eastern Churches —
he established a printing press
capable of producing texts
in multiple languages,
including Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew —
extraordinary for his time.
When his own diocese
needed reform —
he personally visited
every parish,
correcting abuses,
training priests,
rebuilding trust.
He gave away
enormous personal wealth
to the poor
throughout his life.
He never stopped
adjusting,
rebuilding,
starting over
where things had gone wrong.
He died on 18 June, 1697.
He was canonised in 1960
by Pope John XXIII —
who, as a young priest,
had once served
in Bergamo,
the very diocese
Gregory had once led.
Today's Word of Life
speaks of beginning again
after setbacks.
Gregory Barbarigo
lived that truth
his entire life —
never staying down,
always taking
the next faithful step.
📖 "Forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward
to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal."
— Philippians 3:13–14
📖 "The righteous falls seven times
and rises again."
— Proverbs 24:16
🙏 Prayer
Saint Gregory Barbarigo,
you never let setbacks
become permanent defeats.
Pray for us —
that when we fail,
when our plans collapse,
when we feel we have wasted years —
we may have your courage
to simply begin again.
Amen.
💭 Truth for Today
A setback is not your story's ending.
It is simply
the place where you begin again.
❓ Reflection
Is there an area of your life
where you have been afraid
to start over?
❤️ Comment "St. Gregory, pray for us"
or "Amen" 🙏
#SaintOfTheDay #SaintGregoryBarbarigo
#June18 #RiseWithTheWord
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