St. Bartolo Longo was an Italian lawyer who, after falling into spiritual darkness and involvement in the occult, experienced a powerful conversion that led him back to the Catholic faith. Guided by a Dominican priest, he devoted his life to promoting the Rosary and works of charity. He founded the famous Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii and established schools and orphanages for the poor. His life stands as a testament to the boundless mercy of God and the transforming power of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession. Once a man lost to despair, Bartolo became a zealous apostle of the Rosary, calling it “the chain that binds us to God.”
Lived: February 10, 1841 – October 5, 1926 | Feast Day: October 5 | Canonized: October 20, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV
Patronage: Converts, those struggling with despair, and devotion to the Holy Rosary
