St. Cajetan lived in the early 1500s in Italy, at a time when the Church was marked by corruption and indifference. In response, like an effective team captain rallying other players, he reenergized a community of priests who reformed the Church with their zeal and service to the poor.

He was born in 1480 to noble parents, and attended the University of Padua where he dedicated himself to studies and prayer. He received doctorates in civil and canon law and returned to his hometown, where he was appointed a senator. After a time, he discerned a call to the priesthood, and was ordained when he was 33.

He began to gather other priests around him to care for the poor and sick. Because Cajetan was of noble status, he could have selected anywhere to minister—at court, or in the hierarchy at the Vatican. Instead, he sought out the priests who were living and working among the people of the streets. Though this offended his friends, he persisted. He even founded a bank to offer poor people an alternative to loan sharks.

The group founded a hospital for those suffering from incurable diseases. He told his brother clerics that in church “we try to serve God by worship; in our hospital we may say that we actually find him.”

The Church itself was sick at that time—many of the clergy were corrupt and indifferent. Cajetan and his community of brother priests decided to formalize their efforts as a religious community dedicated to zeal and to spreading authentic faith through their personal witness. They preached, cared for the sick, encouraged people to receive the sacraments frequently, and urged pastors to live a dedicated life of service.

He spent the rest of his life working to reform the Church and mediating civil conflicts. His community of priests went on to play a key role in the reformation of the Church. When he fell ill in 1547, his doctors ordered him to lay on a mattress instead of the bare boards he used for his bed. “My savior died on a cross,” Cajetan said. “Allow me at least to die on wood.”

St. Cajetan’s relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. He is patron saint of workers and of those seeking employment.

St. Cajetan, who led priests and rallied the Church with his zeal and commitment to the poor, pray for us!

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Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Cajetan is in the public domain. Last accessed March 28, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.