May 5: Saint Nunzio Sulprizio
A tragic and poor existence illuminated by the love of the One Crucified
Everything that for the world is nothing but misfortune and failure can be found in this young man who died at only 19 years of age. Orphaned, poor, exploited at work, chronically ill, discriminated against, he found his fulfillment in following Christ Crucified. He is Nunzio Sulprizio, who discovered in the love of God the reason for his life. A sorrowful and unfortunate existence from a human point of view, but rich in sanctity and goodness.
Born on April 13, 1817 in Pescosansonesco, in the province of Pescara, his father, Domenico, was a shoemaker and his mother, Rosa, a spinner. It was a modest and simple family, but rich in religious faith. The couple's only child was baptized on the same day of his birth with the name of Nunzio. At three years of age he received Confirmation. A few months later, he lost his father. His mother Rosa, also to financially support her son, decided to remarry Giacomo Antonio De Fabiis and moved to the town of Corvara (Pescara).
There, Nunzio began attending a school opened by a priest, Don Giuseppe De Fabiis, where he learned about the message of Salvation. Unfortunately, on March 5, 1823, his mother also died. Now an orphan, he was taken care of by his maternal grandmother, who lived in Pescosansonesco. She taught him to love the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary and to pray for priests. Nunzio expressed to his grandmother the desire to receive his first Communion, but he was too young and, at that time, it was not allowed. He attended the school opened by Don Nicola Fantacci, until, in 1826, his grandmother also died and he was once again alone.
A maternal uncle, Domenico Luciani, who was a blacksmith by trade, took him into his home. He was a violent man, who got drunk and began to mistreat the boy. Not only did he forbid him to attend school, but he forced him to go to his shop every day to learn how to become a blacksmith, although his real purpose was to exploit the boy as a laborer. Unfortunately, Nunzio's fragile constitution could not stand up to the fatigue and hard work. His day was marked by continuous deliveries of goods, exposed to harsh weather, always wearing the same worn and torn clothes and broken shoes that were too big for his small feet. In the midst of difficulties, he offered all his suffering to Christ and prayed for the salvation of sinners. One freezing winter day, his uncle ordered him to make a delivery on the slopes of a mountain. With a load of hardware on his shoulders and the lashing cold, Nunzio was overcome by fatigue. By evening, he had a swollen leg and a fever. The disease that would lead to his death manifested itself: bone decay. A festering sore on the instep of his left foot began to cause him great pain. His uncle would not listen to reason and forced him to work anyway. So, after spending most of the day in his uncle's shop, Nunzio went to the village fountain to wash his sore. The women of the village, however, fearing that he would infect the water where they washed their clothes, forbade him from using that fountain. Nunzio then found the Riparossa spring, where he could cool his sore, while reciting rosaries to the Madonna.
Both for malnutrition and for the worsening of the sore, in April 1831, he was admitted to the hospital in L'Aquila, where he remained until the end of May, doing his utmost for the other patients. Although he could find some relief from his pain, the doctors had no chance of curing him, so they considered him incurable and discharged him.
Meanwhile, a paternal uncle who was in the army, having learned of his nephew's sad situation, spoke with his Colonel Felice Wochinger, who decided to take Nunzio into his home in Naples. The boy left with the only things he had: his tattered clothes, a rosary and a little book on the Virgin Mary. The colonel was a second father to him. He had him admitted to the hospital for the incurable where the boy repeated his compassionate attention towards the sick and asked the chaplain to be able to receive his First Holy Communion. His love for the Eucharist characterized him for the rest of his short life. Although he had not received sufficient religious education, he managed to bring even those who had not confessed for years closer to the Sacraments and to make them understand the truths of the faith. He prayed tirelessly for all the suffering, the sinners, the abandoned. On April 4, 1834, he was discharged from the hospital and was hosted at the colonel's house, inside the Maschio Angioino, which was then used for military purposes. Although he needed a stick to walk, he began to improve and understood that the Lord was calling him to follow him more closely. The colonel introduced him to Saint Gaetano Errico, who promised to let him enter the Congregation he was founding. Unfortunately, his health conditions did not allow him to realize his dream. So Nunzio chose a room most similar to a simple monastic cell, he wore brown clothes and followed a rule marked by fervent prayer and visits to the Tabernacle in the church of Santa Brigida. Even in the colonel's house, there was no shortage of discrimination by some of the servants, who beat him and left him without food. He never reported their misdeeds to the colonel, but he forgave everything.
Towards the middle of 1835, his health worsened, so much so that his leg would have had to be amputated, an operation that he could not survive. Therefore he remained more time in his room, where many people went to visit him, sure of his sanctity. Little by little, he was forced to stay in bed, immersed in pain and prayer. Before dying, he asked the colonel to show him the Crucifix so he could kiss it, then he wanted to receive the Sacraments. It was May 5, 1836, after two hours he died saying: "The Madonna! See how beautiful she is!".
As soon as the news of his death spread, people flocked to see the crippled, poor boy who, with his great heart and his sacrifice, had opened the way to salvation for others. His fame for sanctity was so widespread that the patches he had placed on his diseased leg were considered relics. An event favored the opening of his beatification process. One day, a lady-in-waiting of the Queen of Naples fell from her horse and broke her knee. Trusting in Nunzio's intercession, the colonel placed a patch used by the boy on the fracture and the noblewoman miraculously healed. The news reached the ears of King Ferdinand II, who wanted to offer a sum of money to support the canonical process. He was canonized by Benedict XVI on October 14, 2018. Nunzio's mortal remains rest in the parish church of San Domenico Soriano in Naples.