Blessed Bartolo Longo The Ex Satanist On the Path to Sainthood Christian Saints Heroes News. By Angelo Stagnaro 71. The Catholic Herald UK. Angelo Stagnaro visits the resting place of Blessed Bartolo Longo, the turbulent occultist who become a champion of the rosary. He consecrated the world, entrusting it to Marys hands, offering the Blessed Virgin a golden rose. In his homily, Benedict XVI likened Bartolo Longo to St Paul of Tarsus, who also initially persecuted the Church, described Bartolo as being militantly anticlerical and engaging in spiritualist and superstitious practices. PLONDON, England UK Catholic Herald The tomb of Blessed Bartolo Longo in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary in Pompeii. About three million. Watch breaking news videos, viral videos and original video clips on CNN. P LONDON, England UK Catholic Herald The tomb of Blessed Bartolo Longo in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary in Pompeii. About three million pilgrims visit the basilica each year. Pompeii has more to offer than dusty ruins filled with plaster casts of people, and one unfortunate puppy, frozen in time. It is also, coincidently, home to the only church in Christendom built by an ex Satanist. Its the same old story boy from a religious family goes away to university, falls in with a bunch of New Age Satanists, becomes a satanic high priest, thinks better of his decision and ultimately reverts to the Church its the basic satanic rags to saintly riches story. I didnt believe this story when I first learned about Blessed Bartolo Longo either. Having grown up the son of Italian immigrants, I was regaled with all of the lurid stories of El Bartos excesses, debauchery and general dissoluteness. I came to Pompeii not just for the ruins but also to see if the stories were true. Watch Further Up Pompeii Online Free HD' title='Watch Further Up Pompeii Online Free HD' />Bartolo Longo was born on February 1. Latiano, near Brindisi in southern Italy. His parents, Dr Bartolomeo Longo and Antonina Luparelli, were devout Catholics who prayed the rosary together daily. When Longos mother died in 1. Catholic faith. He was left to his own devices when he studied law at the University of Naples and became involved with a New Age pagan group which ultimately ordained him a satanist priest. He participated in sances, fortune telling and the de rigueur orgies. Unsatisfied with merely practising his new pagan religion, he felt it important to publicly ridicule Christianity and did everything within his power to subvert Catholic influence. SjrcsAbyoHABEzzMFoOwGW9XY.jpg' alt='Watch Further Up Pompeii Online Free HD' title='Watch Further Up Pompeii Online Free HD' />He even convinced many other Catholics to leave the Church and participate in occult rites. But none of these activities brought him joy. In fact, his life was marked by extreme depression, paranoia, confusion and nervousness. He even began to show signs of demonic obsession, as opposed to demonic possession, which included being inflicted by diabolical visions and continually declining poor health. He ultimately experienced a mental breakdown. Showtime Full The Diary Of A Teenage Girl Online Free. In his despair, he heard the voice of his deceased father urging him to Return to GodReturn to God In fear and desperation, Longo turned to Professor Vincenzo Pepe, a friend from his home town, for guidance. Vincenzo convinced Longo to abandon Satan and introduced him to the Dominican priest, Fr Alberto Radente. Fr Radente heard his Confession and helped him to further reclaim his life. One evening, as he walked near chapel at Pompeii, Bartolo had a profound mystical experience. He wrote As I pondered over my condition, I experienced a deep sense of despair and almost committed suicide. Then I heard an echo in my ear of the voice of Friar Alberto repeating the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary If you seek salvation, promulgate the rosary. This is Marys own promise. These words illumined my soul. I went on my knees. If it is true. I will not leave this valley until I have propagated your rosary. To prove his new found commitment to Christ and His Church Bartolo even attended a sance. In the midst of it, he stood and raised a medal of the Blessed Virgin Mother and cried out I renounce spiritism because it is nothing but a maze of error and falsehood. On March 2. Longo became a Third Order Dominican, taking the name Brother Rosario in honour of the rosary. He joined a charitable group in Pompeii and worked alongside Countess Mariana di Fusco, a wealthy local widow whom he married a year later on Pope Leo XIIIs recommendation. The happy couple decided to start a confraternity of the rosary. To serve as a spiritual focus for this group, Bartolo needed a painting of the Blessed Virgin. Sister Maria Concetta de Litala of the Monastery of the Rosary at Porta Medina offered him one that she got at a Neapolitan junk shop. She paid only 3. 4. The painting portrayed Our Lady of the Rosary with St Dominic and St Catherine of Siena. Though it was of modest artistic accomplishment and in very poor condition, it served Bartolos purpose. He described it in his journal Not only was it worm eaten, but the face of the Madonna was that of a coarse, rough country woman. Nothing need be said of the hideousness of the other figures. St Dominic looked like a street idiot. To Our Ladys left was a St Rose. This I had changed later into a St Catherine of Siena. I hesitated whether to refuse the gift or to accept. I took it. In addition, the sorcerer turned born again Catholic restored a ramshackle church in October 1. Our Lady of the rosary. He installed the repaired painting in this very church. Within hours of its installation miracles began to be reported and people came to the church in droves. Seeing the devotion of the pilgrims, the Bishop of Nola encouraged Bartolo to construct a larger church. He approached architect Giovanni Rispoli to build it, making the following appeal In this place selected for its prodigies, we wish to leave to present and future generations a monument to the Queen of Victories that will be less unworthy of her greatness but more worthy of our faith and love. Work on the larger building began on May 8 1. May 1. 89. 1 by Cardinal La Valetta who represented Pope Leo XIII. In 1. 90. 6, he and his wife donated the Pompeii shrine to the Holy See but this didnt diminish his evangelistic zeal. Bartolo continued promoting the rosary until his death in. To spread devotion to the rosary and to the Blessed Virgin Mary Bartolo would evangelise young people at parties and in local cafes, explaining the dangers of occultism. He would witness continually as to the glories of Christ, the munificence of His mother and the beauty of the Catholic Faith. In 1. 93. 9 the church was enlarged and re consecrated as a basilica and officially renamed the Basilica of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Pompeii. It soon became a focus of pilgrimages for more than a century as most Catholics and non Catholics alike found a church built by a reformed ex Satanist to be devilishly irresistible. Bartolo had died a saintly death and his Cause for canonisation was almost immediately called for. He was beatified by John Paul II on October 2. Apostle of the Rosary. More than 3. 0,0. Pope Benedicts historic pastoral visit to the shrine on October 1. He consecrated the world, entrusting it to Marys hands, offering the Blessed Virgin a golden rose. In his homily, Benedict XVI likened Bartolo Longo to St Paul of Tarsus, who also initially persecuted the Church, described Bartolo as being militantly anticlerical and engaging in spiritualist and superstitious practices. He continued by saying Wherever God comes in this desert, flowers bloom.