Saint Paschal Baylon

St. Paschal Baylon is one of the most multi-faceted diamonds the Church has ever contained in its Treasury of Faith. He is a lay person, never having been ordained a priest. And yet he is the Patron of Eucharistic Congresses and Confraternities of the Blessed Sacrament. His whole life centered around the Eucharist, for which he is most known, and yet he would not become a priest. He felt only called to be a brother. He adored the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but did not feel worthy to call Our Lord down onto the Altar as a priest of God.
He is virtually unknown in the United States, although there are a few churches named after him; one we know of in particular, is St. Paschal Baylon in Thousand Oaks, Southern California, the town next to Westlake Village, where we lived for twenty-five years. While we knew virtually nothing about him, all the years we were living next door to him, so to speak, imagine our surprise the first time we went to Lourdes; there in front of the Basilica of the Rosary was an altar, right next to St. Bernadette's altar, dedicated to St. Paschal Baylon, Defender of the Eucharist! There he was, clutching his hands together, clasped in an attitude of prayer, looking up to God the Father. How many Saints do you know who have their own altars in Lourdes? Not many! But this dear Saint Paschal, not well-known, and not even French, is right up there next to St. Bernadette.