Confessor Joseph of Cupertino

Joseph of Cupertino was born Giuseppe Maria Desa on 17 June 1603 in Copertino, a town in Apulia in the Kingdom of Naples. His father, Felice Desa, a carpenter, had died before the birth, leaving his mother Francesca Panara destitute; according to traditional accounts she gave birth in a stable. The boy grew up in poverty and was widely regarded as simple-minded, clumsy, and given to sudden abstractions. He failed at several trades and was rejected by the Capuchins after a brief trial. Around 1620 the Conventual Franciscans at Grottella accepted him first as a servant and then as a lay brother. Despite his limited education he was later allowed to prepare for the priesthood and was ordained in 1628 after an examination that happened to fall on the only scriptural passage he knew thoroughly.

After ordination Joseph’s life was marked by frequent and prolonged mystical ecstasies. He was reported to levitate during Mass, at the names of Jesus and Mary, and in prayer, sometimes remaining in the air for considerable periods. These occurrences were witnessed by crowds, by fellow religious, and, according to contemporary reports, by Pope Urban VIII. The phenomena, together with reputations for miracles of healing, drew such attention that the Holy Office investigated him. From 1639 onward he was transferred among various Franciscan houses—Assisi, Pietrarubbia, Fossombrone—and lived for years in relative isolation under orders that restricted his public ministry.

Joseph accepted these measures with obedience and continued a life of severe penance, poverty, and devotion. He showed particular kindness to the poor and to those considered simple or afflicted. In his last years he resided at the Conventual convent in Osimo in the Marche. He died there on 18 September 1663.

Popular veneration began immediately. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV on 24 February 1753 and canonized by Pope Clement XIII on 16 July 1767. His remains are enshrined in the basilica dedicated to him in Osimo. Because of the levitations associated with his prayer he is invoked as patron of aviators, astronauts, and air travelers; because of his own intellectual struggles and the help he is believed to give students, he is also patron of those taking examinations and of people with mental or learning disabilities.