Bartolo Longo
Bartolo Longo (1841-1926) is the youngest figure on this list, and has by far the most paradoxically-sinful background. He was born to wealthy and devoutly Catholic parents in Latiano, Apulia, and went to study law at the University of Naples in 1861, despite his stepfather wanting him to become a teacher. At this time, the Catholic Church in the country was at a low ebb, and after the Unification of Italy was identified Garibaldi as an enemy of nationalism. Caught up in nationalistic fervor, Longo grew weary of his parents’ faith and made friends with a group of Satanists.
Italian children grow up with tales of El Barto‘s debauched university days. He participated in séances (an act especially censured by the Catholic Church), fortune-telling, and the orgies for which Satanism is famed. Longo spoke publicly against the Catholic Church, ridiculing its rites and history and attending public demonstrations against Rome. Incredibly, as well as recruiting new members for the Satanic Cult he was a member of, Longo was an ordained Satanic Priest. He later claimed that during his ordination, in which he promised his soul to the devil, a demon shook the walls and foundations of the building.
His actions came at a great price, however. He was tormented by visible demons, afflicted with paranoia and extreme depression, and finally suffered a mental breakdown. Encouraged by his distraught parents, Longo made a full confession and went to live with Franciscan friars for two years. He then had another vision, this time of the Virgin Mary, and became a Third Order Dominican. This allowed him to marry a wealthy widow, Countess Mariana di Fusco, with whom he remained celibate and undertook charity work until his death. He was beatified in 1980 and is expected to be canonized soon.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
Augustine. Confessions, trans. by R.S. Pine-Coffin. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1961.
Butler, Alban. Lives of the Saints. London: Studio Editions, 1990.
Farmer, David Hugh. The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Newman, Barbara, and Margot H. King, ed. and trans. Thomas of Cantimpré, The Collected Saints’ Lives: Abbot John of Cantimpré, Christina the Astonishing, Margaret of Ypres, and Lutgard of Aywières. Turnhout: Brepols, 2008.
Robertson, James Craigie, ed. Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (Canonized by Pope Alexander III, A.D. 1173). 7 vols. London: Longman, 1875-1885.
Thomas Becket. Who was Thomas Becket and why did he clash with the king?. BBC Bitesize.
Sophronius. The Life of Mary of Egypt, trans by Nomikos Vapori.
Stagnaro, Angelo. “The Satanist on the Path to Sainthood,” The Catholic Herald, July 13, 2011.
Vitae Patrum, trans. by Benedict Baker.
de Voragine, Jacobus. The Golden Legend, trans. by William Caxton. London: Dent, 1993.
White, Carolinne, trans. Early Christian Lives. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1998.
