Gabriel, born at Assisi in Umbria of a respectable family, and called Francis in memory of his seraphic fellow-townsman, shewed from boyhood an excellent disposition of soul. As a youth, when studying letters at Spoleto, he seemed for a time to be allured by the empty beauty and pomp of the world. But by the gift of the merciful God, who had already called him to the perfection of a Christian life when he had fallen sick, he began to tire of the vanity of the world, and to desire immortal treasures alone. But to quicken his obedience to the call of God, it happened that as he saw the celebrated Image of the Blessed Virgin being carried with solemn pomp outside the precincts of the church of Spoleto, he experienced the flame of divine love, and at the same time decided to enter the Institute of the Clerks of the Passion of Jesus. Therefore, after overcoming no slight difficulties, he joyfully donned the somber habit in the secluded place of Morrovalle, and chose to be called Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, to recall forever the memory of her joys and griefs.
In the novitiate, day by day he became conspicuous for regular observance and for the exercise of all the virtues, and in a short time he came to be considered a pattern of perfect holiness, not only by his companions and his seniors, but also beyond the confines of the monastery; he became a sweet odour in Christ in every place. An assiduous devotee of the Lord's Passion, he spent days and nights meditating upon it. He was drawn by unbelievable zeal towards the Holy Eucharist, a memorial of that Passion; and when he nourished himself with it, he burned with seraphic ardour. There was nothing more noticeable than his filial piety towards the great Mother of God. He was accustomed to pay her honour for every type of devotion, but especially to contemplate her stricken and afflicted by the sufferings of Jesus, with such sorrow that he shed floods of tears. The sorrowful Virgin was, as it were, the whole reason of his being, and the teacher of the holiness that he had acquired. As a result all his associates shared the one opinion that this servant of God had been inspired from on high so that the cult of St. Mary of Sorrows through his example might receive a great increase.
In the novitiate, day by day he became conspicuous for regular observance and for the exercise of all the virtues, and in a short time he came to be considered a pattern of perfect holiness, not only by his companions and his seniors, but also beyond the confines of the monastery; he became a sweet odour in Christ in every place. An assiduous devotee of the Lord's Passion, he spent days and nights meditating upon it. He was drawn by unbelievable zeal towards the Holy Eucharist, a memorial of that Passion; and when he nourished himself with it, he burned with seraphic ardour. There was nothing more noticeable than his filial piety towards the great Mother of God. He was accustomed to pay her honour for every type of devotion, but especially to contemplate her stricken and afflicted by the sufferings of Jesus, with such sorrow that he shed floods of tears. The sorrowful Virgin was, as it were, the whole reason of his being, and the teacher of the holiness that he had acquired. As a result all his associates shared the one opinion that this servant of God had been inspired from on high so that the cult of St. Mary of Sorrows through his example might receive a great increase.
Among other virtues, he especially loved Christian humility and obedience; for he considered himself the least of all. He therefore strove eagerly to do all the most menial work of the house, and he most diligently performed, not only the direct commands, but even the unexpressed wishes of his superiors. Curbing his senses, and accustoming himself to a life of austerity, he retained unfaded the flower of his virginity, and completely crucified to the world, he lived to God alone, enjoying an intimate familiarity with his Lord. And so, at Isola in the Abruzzi, filling the short span of his life with so many noble virtues, consumed by the fire of charity rather than by disease, and refreshed by the aid of the Mother of God, his soul flew to heaven in a most peaceful journey in the year 1862, at the age of twenty-four. Then, as he had been made illustrious by God through miracles, Pope Pius X added him to the number of the Blessed in heaven. Likewise, the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XV in 1920, two hundred years after the foundation of the Institute of the Passion, on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, decreed the honours of the Saints to the blessed youth; and Pius XI extended his Office and Mass to the Universal Church.
The body of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
