The Church includes several saints and blessed in the May 6 saints' calendar. Among the best known are the young St. Dominic de Savio and the founder of the Mercedarian Order, St. Peter Nolasco.
Dominic Savio was born on April 2, 1842 near Chieri, Turin, the second of 10 siblings, the son of Charles, a blacksmith, and Brigida, a seamstress. He was baptized the same day of his birth in the parish church of Riva near Chieri.
He received his First Holy Communion at the age of 7, and made these purposes1) I will go to confession frequently and take communion as often as the confessor allows me to do so. 2) I will sanctify the feast days. 3) My friends will be Jesus and Mary. 4) I will die rather than sin". Dominic renewed these resolutions every day of his short life.
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, Mary, the Pope
Don Bosconarrating the first meeting with Savio, he says: "I recognized in him a state of mind according to the spirit of the Lord. I was surprised to realize the work that divine grace had already worked in that tender heart". His great devotions were Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the Pope.
It should be remembered, say the websites The role of Dominic Savio in the foundation of the Society of the Immaculate Conception, nursery of the future Salesian Congregation". In March 1857, due to a serious and sudden illness, Dominic's health worsened. He died at the age of 14, exclaiming: "Oh, what marvelous things I see...". Pope Pius XI defined him as "a small but great giant of the spirit".
Visiting and freeing captives
Another saint of the day is St. Peter Nolasco. "God, the Father of mercy," write the Mercedarian religious, "has willed to to raise in the Church men and women guided by the redeeming spirit of Jesus Christ". May they "visit and liberate Christians who, because of circumstances adverse to the dignity of the human person, are in danger of losing their faith".
To carry out this mission, "impelled by the love of Christ, inspired by the Virgin Mary and responding to the needs of the Church, on August 10, 1218, St. Peter Nolasco founded in Barcelona the Order of St. Peter Nolasco and the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Virgin Mary of Mercy of the Mercy of the redemption of the captives, with the participation of King James of Aragon and before the bishop of the city, Berenguer de Palou".
Indeed, the poor captives had no one to look after them and were doomed to die in their miserable situation or to deny their faith. The drama touched his heart, and Pedro embarked on the task of redeeming themHe was able to incorporate his friends. And when his spirits were flagging and there were no means, Pedro Nolasco noticed how Mary encouraged him to continue and not to lose heart.
