Feast of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, CSsR

As a Confessor:

"He was a much sought after confessor.  Many eyewitnesses testified that he always had a long line of penitents."

"I chose Father Seelos as a confessor, for I, as well as others, looked upon him as a living saint. His confessional at the entrance of the church was closely besieged on all sides. I had to wait about two hours until my turn came." - Brother Neithart

"I habitually went to confession to him...He was a very good confessor, was kind towards sinners, and he had a power that others did not possess." - Valentine Winheim

"I found Father Seelos patient, affable and full of charity. I never left the confessional without consolation and I desired to go to confession to him more than to anyone else. I felt he could read my heart. Sometimes he chided me but his chiding did not depress me but strengthened and consoled me." - Joseph Herzog, a penitent from Baltimore

On Blessed Seelos' Sanctity and Powers of Healing:

  "The parishioners dearly loved him and all were full of praise for him.  He seemed to celebrate Mass with greater devotion than others ordinarily manifested.  As a confessor I found him patient, affable and full of charity and I wanted to go to him to confession more than to others..."

..."Seelos was grave and austere as becomes a priest. Small talk was foreign to him, and no one ever spoke of foolish things to him. He was nevertheless more affable and likable than any other priest I knew. He was always happy, and the spirit of Christ seemed to rule and govern his life." - Joseph Herzog

"I heard everybody speaking of him as a very holy man." - Therese Eckstein, later a Sister of Charity.

Father Seelos healed the husband of a devout Catholic woman. The husband was non-Catholic and ridiculed his wife's religion. The husband had a "suppurating ulcer" on his face. Father Seelos placed his hands on the man's face and prayed. The ulcer disappeared. The man not only stopped ridiculing the Catholic Church but later converted.

Father Seelos also healed an 11 year old girl from convulsions when no one else could help her.

"True happiness consists only in our conformity with our Savior - now to suffer with Him in patience, meekness and perseverance unto death - in order to be glorified with him in true life, true happiness and everlasting joy." - Father Seelos

First Class Relic of Bl. Seelos

Photo Source: Gefroh Family

On Father Seelos Approaching Death:

..."If God demands the sacrifice of my life, willingly will I make it. The Will of God and my own soul are dearer to me than all the souls in the world." - Father Francis X. Seelos

After his death, many miracles have been attributed to him, according to Bob and Penny Lord in the episode of Bl. Seelos on Super Saints (which airs on EWTN. It seems that after Mother Angelica suffered a severe stroke in 2001, prayers for Blessed Seelos' intercession were offered. After Mother came out of surgery, the doctor declared that one person had survived that kind of brain surgery and that person was Mother Angelica!

On our Prayers for Our Pets blog, Blessed Seelos is one of our patron saints. You can see why after you read the following:

VETS RECOMMEND SEELOS
One night, our chihuahua puppy came down with a bad eye problem. The lower lid of his right eye was swollen and hanging down, appearing like a large red gel sac. We immediately took him to the pet emergency clinic.

The vet did not give a very good prognosis: the eye could be lost. We prayed prayed to Fr. Seelos. His eye was saved, but he would have to take steroids & eyedrops to bring the swelling down. Having had bad reactions to medicines in the past, we begged Fr. Seelos to cure his eye by morning. The next morning his eye was completely normal. When the clinic called the next day for a check up, they were astounded that his eye was normal.

They took Fr. Seelos’ name, and said that they would start recommending the sick pets to his care. While at the pet emergency clinic, I was approached by a lady, distraught at the condition of her cat who was dying of kidney failure. She asked me to pray that he would be cured, while her husband was trying to get her to accept the fact that their pet would have to be put down. I called a friend of mine,
and had her post the request in the Seelos.org guestbook. Twenty minutes later the vet called the woman in, who shortly came back out crying, “It’s a miracle, he’s o.k.” Thanks to Fr. Seelos, there was no more sign of kidney failure.
Sr. Mary Michael, CMSS
Spokane Valley, Washington

Quotes Source: Cheerful Ascetic: The Life of Francis Xavier Seelos, C.SS.R. by Mihael J. Curley, C.Ss.R.