Saint Peregrine was born in 1260 and grew up in Forli, Italy. His family was moderately wealthy, and as a young man, Peregrine was involved in politics. The city of Forli tended to belong to the anti-papal party in Italian politics. At one point, during a period of civil unrest, the pope sent Saint Philip Benizi to act as a mediator. During a riot, Peregrine struck Saint Philip Benizi in the face, to which Saint Philip Benizi responded by turning the other cheek. This had an immense impact on Peregrine, who from that point on, repented and began to reform his life. He spent a great deal of time in prayer, and developed a special devotion to the Blessed Mother. A vision from Our Lady inspired Peregrine to travel to Sienna and join the Servite Order, the same Order to which Saint Philip Benizi himself belonged. Saint Peregrine spent some years in Sienna, where he was renowned as one tireless in pursuit of virtue. During this time, he became a priest, and was equally fervent in celebrating the liturgy, preaching, and ministering to the people.

At the behest of his superiors, he returned to Forli to found a new house for the Order. St. Peregrine prayed for long periods of time in an unhealthy standing position in reparation for the sins of his youth. It was while he was working on this new project, that Saint Peregrine contracted a cancer of the foot, which caused him both excruciating pain as well as rejection by others due to its unpleasant appearance and smell. He bore these burdens for some time, as the cancer resisted all treatments. At last the physicians decided that the only thing to do was to amputate the foot. On the night before the scheduled amputation of his leg, Peregrine dragged himself to the foot of the cross in the community chapter room and fell into a deep trance-like sleep. During this trance, he had a vision of Jesus descending from the Cross to heal his leg. He awoke completely cured; the doctors could find no remaining trace of cancer. Saint Peregrine lived twenty more years, to the age of 80, dying in 1345. He was canonized in 1726 and his feast day is May 1st.

Cancer is limited!

It cannot cripple love,
It cannot shatter hope,
It cannot corrode faith,
It cannot eat away peace,
It cannot destroy confidence,
It cannot shut out memories,
It cannot silence courage,
It cannot invade the soul,
It cannot reduce eternal life,
It cannot quench the spirit,
It cannot lessen the power of the Resurrection.

Prayers to St. Peregrine