Beato Nunzio Sulprizio
“To suffer is but a little matter, as long as I am assured of my salvation,” - Beato Nunzio Sulprizio
This amazing young man, died at Naples at the age of 19. (1817-1836) An orphan since the age of 6, he was taken in by a maternal uncle, who happened to be cruel and abusive. Nunzio’s story reminds me of a Dickens novel, so awful were the circumstance of his apprenticeship to his uncle. The boy was treated like a slave, given little food, forced to work day and night, beaten by his blacksmith uncle and harrassed by fellow workers in his uncle’s smithy.
Blessed Nunzio faithfully and patiently endured these horrid conditions for six years, after which another sympathetic uncle, took him under his care. In the course of Nunzio’s forced labor, the wicked uncle severely injured Nunzio, causing the Beato’s foot to develop gangrene, thus crippling him for the rest of his life.
The kind uncle, an officer in the military, together with Nunzio, came to the attention of the man’s commanding officer, who took pity upon the boy and decided to take him under his care. Nunzio was able to be hospitalized and given proper treatment. In this setting, his piety and virtue became recognized by all.
He made his First Holy Communion at the age of fifteen, which intensified his Eucharistic and Marian piety. He was often found praying along his bedside during the night. Blessed Nunzio spent his days in visiting and attending to fellow patients in the hospital, teaching catechism to the children.
For awhile, Nunzio’s condition seemed to improve somewhat, and he desired to study for the priesthood. This was short-lived however, and he subsequently died as a result of infection to his wounds from the abuse he suffered earlier.
What is astonishing to me is the heroic virtue and patience of this young Blessed. In his years of apprenticeship, he was not permitted to attend daily Mass, yet he possessed a profound spirituality, nourished by prayer and obedience to his duties in life, despite the hardship and maltreatment. Morally, he suffered the obscene taunts of fellow workers, who mocked him for his purity. When he was finally delivered of this abuse, he lamented that he had not been a good worker for his uncle, whom he never condemned or criticized.
Blessed Nunzio, whose feast is today, must certainly be the patron of abused and exploited children, along with the Blessed Laura Vicuna, who died from injuries suffered from her mother’s lover.