October 19, 2025 • 37 mins
A fallen seeker becomes a builder of hope as we trace Blessed Bartolo Longo’s path from occult rites to a life consecrated to Mary and the rosary. We share how prayer, confession, and community rebuilt a soul and revived Pompeii with a living devotion.
• early life in Brindisi and the loss that shaped him
• university restlessness and the pull of secularism
• descent into spiritism and satanic priesthood
• a mother’s rosary and hidden intercession
• meeting Fr Alberto Radente and the counsel to return
• confession, Eucharist, and a slow, steady conversion
• consecration to Mary and the rosary promise
• founding the Rosary brotherhood and restoring a chapel
• miracles at Pompeii and documented testimonies
• schools, orphan care, and a culture of prayer
• lasting legacy and why no soul is beyond mercy
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Journeys of Faith.
Brother Joseph Frey Aldenhovenhere.
Be sure to look at thedescription for special offer.
From the occult to Apostle ofthe Rosary, the miraculous
conversion of Blessed BartoloLongo.
In the shadow corners of 19thcentury Italy, a man named
Bartolo Longo walked a path sodark it seemed impossible to
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turn back, a path of occultrituals, despair, and even
service as a satanic priest.
Yet, in a twist of divine gracethat reads like a script from
the heavens, this same man wouldbecome one of the most fervent
apostles of the rosary, a beaconof hope for the downtrodden and
a blessed figure in the CatholicChurch.
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His story isn't just a footnotein history, it's a thunderclap
of redemption, a reminder thatno soul is beyond the reach of
God's mercy.
Here at Journeys of Faith, we'redrawn to tales like Bartolo
Longo's stories oftransformation that echo the
very heart of our mission toinspire and deepen devotion
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through the riches of Catholictradition, founded by Bob and
Penny Lord.
Our ministry has spent over fourdecades guiding pilgrims to
sacred sites and sharing thelives of saints through books,
documentaries, and retreats.
Bartolo's journey from darknessto light is the kind of
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narrative we live to tell, onethat invites us all to reflect
on the power of faith to rebuildbroken lives.
Whether you've walked with us onpilgrimage or encountered our
resources through EWTN orbeyond, we invite you to step
into this incredible story ofconversion, a testament to the
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miraculous ways God works, evenin the most unlikely of hearts.
Bartolo Longo's life is apilgrimage in itself, a grueling
trek from the abyss of spiritualruin to the heights of sanctity.
It's a story that challenges usto look at our own struggles, to
see the possibility of renewal,and to cling to the intercession
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of our lady through the rosary.
So come with us as we uncoverthe layers of this man's
journey, how a soul ensnared byevil found freedom, purpose, and
a mission that would touchcountless lives.
Let's walk this path togetherwith reverence and wonder and
see what lessons of faith andperseverance await.
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Brindisi, a port city steeped inhistory and faith, was a
crossroads of cultures andideas, and Bartolo, with his
sharp mind and sensitive soul,absorbed it all, perhaps too
much.
Orphaned at a tender age afterlosing both parents, Bartolo's
life took on the weight ofsolitude.
He was sent to a boarding schoolrun by the Pierist fathers,
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where the seeds of faith weresown, but so too were the seeds
of doubt.
The nineteenth century was aturbulent time in Italy with the
winds of secularism and anticlericalism blowing fiercely.
As a young man, Bartolo foundhimself drawn into this storm.
He enrolled at the University ofNaples to study law, and there,
amid the intellectual fervor ofthe era, he began to drift from
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the church.
The allure of esotericphilosophies and radical
ideologies gripped him, pullinghim into a shadowy underworld of
spiritualism and eventuallyoutright Satanism.
It's hard to imagine now thisboy from Brindisi, a place of
ancient cathedrals and Mariandevotion, offering himself as a
priest to dark forces, but suchwas the depth of his fall.
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Yet even in these bleak yearsthere were glimmers of the
divine at work.
Friends and family, thoughheartbroken by his choices,
never ceased praying for hissoul.
A professor, Vincenzo Pepe,became a quiet beacon, urging
Bartolo to reconsider his path.
These were the first cracks inthe wall he'd built around his
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heart, though the journey backto light would be neither swift
nor easy.
In the shadows of Brindisi,Bartolo's story was just
beginning, a tale of descent,yes, but also the faint promise
of redemption.
Join us on a journey of faithand transformation.
Hey there, fellow seekers of thesacred, at Journeys of Faith,
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we're not just about readingstories like blessed Bartolo
Longo's incredible conversionfrom darkness to divine light.
We're about living them.
We've been guiding souls ontransformative pilgrimages since
1980, just as Bob and Penny Lorddid when they when they founded
this ministry with a passion forCatholic tradition.
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If Bartolo's story of redemptionthrough the rosary stirs
something in you, let's takethat inspiration further
together.
Here's how you can dive deeperwith us.
Embark on a pilgrimage, walk thepaths of saints and Marian
shrines across Europe and theHoly Land.
Experience the same spiritualrenewal that changed Bartolo's
life.
Explore our media from books tostreaming content, dive into
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over 200 EWTN episodes and 25plus works on miracles and
saints.
Let blessed Bartolo's story bejust the start.
Join a retreat.
Visit our Holy Family Mission inMorrulton, Arkansas for
spiritual formation andcommunity.
Connect digitally, access ourgrowing library of resources
online to fuel your devotiondaily.
(05:57):
Let's journey together.
Visit our site and start yourown story of faith today,
university years and the rise ofspiritual restlessness.
In the hallowed halls of theUniversity of Naples, young
Bartolo Longo found himself at acrossroads that would define the
trajectory of his soul.
It was the eighteen sixties, atime of intellectual ferment in
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Italy, where the winds ofsecularism and anti-clerical
sentiment blew fiercely throughacademic circles.
Bartolo, a bright andinquisitive law student, was not
immune to these currents.
Raised in a devout Catholicfamily in Latiano, his early
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years had been steeped in therhythms of prayer and the
comforting embrace of thechurch.
Yet as he immersed himself inthe university's progressive
ideals, a restlessness began tognaw at him, a spiritual hunger
that neither lectures nordebates could satisfy.
This wasn't just a phase, it wasa full blown crisis of faith.
Bartolo, like so many young menof his era, became enamored with
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the allure of rationalism andthe emerging occult trends that
promised hidden knowledge andpower.
He drifted from the sacraments,drawn instead to seances and the
dark mystique of spiritualism,is chilling to think of him in
those dimly lit rooms surroundedby whispers of the unseen,
seeking answers in places whereonly shadows will.
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Friends and mentors noticed thechange, his once bright spirit
seemed clouded, his laughterreplaced by a brooding
intensity.
Bartolo himself later confessedthat this period felt like a
descent, a deliberate turningaway from the light of Christ
toward a void that offered nopeace, but even in this darkness
the seeds of grace were quietlyat work.
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The very restlessness that drovehim to explore forbidden paths
was, in a paradoxical way, asign of his longing for
something greater.
He couldn't shake the memory ofhis mother's rosary, the simple
prayers of his childhood, or thequiet strength of the faith he
had once known.
These echoes of his past becamea silent counterpoint to the
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chaos of his university years, areminder of a home he had left
but could not fully abandon.
Little did he know that thistension between the allure of
the world and the pull of thedivine would soon erupt into a
dramatic turning point, one thatwould reshape his life and
countless others in waysunimaginable.
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Descent into spiritism and theoccult.
In the shadowed corridors ofBartolo Longo's early life, we
find a young man adriftgrappling with the spiritual
void of a post-Christian Europe.
Born in 1841 in Latiano, Italy,Bartolo was raised in a devout
Catholic family, but the windsof change blowing through the
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nineteenth century, rationalism,secularism, and the allure of
the occult swept him far fromthe faith of his childhood.
As a law student at theUniversity of Naples, he found
himself drawn into the murkyunderbelly of spiritism, a
movement that promised answersthrough seances and communion
with the dead.
It was a seductive escape, a wayto wrestle with the existential
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questions that gnawed at hissoul.
But spiritism was only thebeginning of Bartolo's descent.
The deeper he ventured, thedarker the path became.
He became entangled with asatanic sect, a group that
reveled in the inversion of allthat was holy.
In a chilling turn, Bartolo wasordained as a satanic priest,
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presiding over blasphemousrituals that mocked the very
sacraments he had once receivedas a child.
It's hard to fathom the weightof such a choice, the deliberate
rejection of light for shadow,the embrace of desecration over
devotion.
Yet in his own writings Bartololater confessed the profound
emptiness of those years, ahollowness that no amount of
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forbidden knowledge could fill.
He was a man possessed, not bydemons in the literal sense, but
by the despair of a lifeunmoored from truth.
This wasn't just a personalfailing, it was a reflection of
an era.
The nineteenth century was abattleground for the soul of
Europe with the church undersiege from every angle,
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political upheaval, intellectualskepticism, and uh the rise of
rise of uh uh uh uh esoteric uhmovements that that preyed on
the spiritually hungry,Bartolo's story in this sense is
a microcosm of a broaderstruggle.
He wasn't merely a rebel withouta cause, he was a seeker who had
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stumbled into a spiritual deadend, mistaking darkness for
enlightenment, and yet even inthis abyss the seeds of
redemption were quietly beingsown, though he could not yet
see the hand of grace reachingout to pull him back.
The intercessory power of amother's prayers.
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In the shadow chapters ofBartolo Longo's life, when the
weight of his satanic priesthoodbore down like a suffocating
fog, there was a quiet,persistent force that refused to
let him go entirely to thedarkness.
It was the power of a mother'sprayers, his own mother's
unyielding intercession, abeacon of hope flickering even
in the abyss of his despair, amother's love, as we know from
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the heart of our faith, mirrorsthe boundless compassion of our
lady, and it was through thismaternal persistence that the
first cracks of light began topierce Bartolo's hardened soul.
His mother, a devout Catholic,never ceased to pray the rosary
for her wayward son.
Day after day, bead after bead,she entrusted him to the Blessed
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Virgin Mary, believing with afierce, quiet certainty that no
soul was beyond redemption.
This wasn't mere sentimentality,it was a spiritual warfare waged
on her knees.
She understood, as we are calledto understand, that the rosary
is not just a string of prayers,but a lifeline, a direct plea to
the mother of God who standsever ready to intercede for her
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children.
Bartolo, lost in the occult andtormented by the emptiness of
his choices, could not escapethe invisible shield of grace
woven by those maternalpetitions.
Scripture reminds us of thepower of persistent prayer, as
in the parable of the widow whowore down the unjust judge with
her ceaseless pleas, Luke 18,1-8.
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How much more then does theheart of our lady respond to a
mother's cry for her child?
Bartolo's story is a testamentto this truth.
Though he had turned his back onthe faith of his upbringing, the
prayers of his mother plantedseeds that would eventually
sprout, even if she could notyet see the harvest.
Her faithfulness echoes thesorrowful yet hopeful heart of
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Mary at the foot of the cross,trusting in God's plan even
amidst piercing grief.
For us, this is a profoundlesson in the hidden might of
intercessory prayer.
How often do we doubt the impactof our whispered rosaries, our
quiet intentions for those welove who seem so far from God?
Bartolo's life urges us topersevere.
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A mother's prayers, united withthe immaculate heart of Mary,
became the first step in amiraculous conversion that would
not only redeem a lost soul, butelevate him to become an apostle
of the very devotion that savedhim.
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But God, in his infinite mercy,had other plans.
Enter Father Alberto Radente, aDominican priest whose very
presence seemed to radiate thepeace of Christ.
This wasn't just a chancemeeting, it was a divine
appointment.
Father Redente, with his gentleyet piercing insight, saw
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through the torment in Bartolo'seyes.
He didn't recoil from the man'spast, didn't flinch at the
whispers of satanic rites or thescars of a life misspent.
Instead he extended a handoffering not judgment but hope
he spoke of the Blessed VirginMary, of her maternal love, of
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the power of the rosary, asimple string of beads that
could become a lifeline tosalvation.
Bartolo, hardened by years ofspiritual rebellion, felt
something crack within him.
It wasn't an instantaneoustransformation, real change
rarely is, but Father Redente'swords planted a seed.
He urged Bartolo to turn toMary, to pray the rosary, to let
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her intercession untangle theknots of his soul.
If you seek salvation, propagatethe rosary, the priest told him,
echoing a promise that felt bothimpossible and irresistible.
This was the first tug on thechains that bound Bartolo, the
first sign that freedom might bewithin reach.
Through Father Redente'sguidance, Bartolo began to
confront the darkness he hadembraced.
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The Dominican's unwavering faithand personal warmth became a
mirror, reflecting what Bartolocould become if he surrendered
to grace.
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Longo, once a satanic priestentangled in the occult's
seductive grip, found himselfhaunted not just by his past
sins, but by a growingunshakable sense of emptiness,
the rituals, the promises ofpower, they had all crumbled
into ash, leaving him hollow.
It was in this brokenness thatthe Blessed Virgin Mary, the
gentle mother of sorrow, seemedto call to him.
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Through the persistent prayersof friends and the quiet witness
of a Dominican friar, Longo wasdrawn to confession, a sacrament
he had long abandoned.
Picture it, a man who once spatvenom against the church, now
trembling as he knelt in theconfessional, pouring out years
of rebellion and pain.
The weight of his sins, thechains of his past began to
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loosen as the words ofabsolution washed over him.
This wasn't just a ritual, itwas a deliverance, a reclaiming
of a soul marked for God.
Returning to the church wasn't atidy, uh one and done moment for
Longo.
It was messy, raw, and real, aslow pilgrimage of the heart.
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He wrestled with doubts, withthe echoes of his old life
whispering temptations.
Yet in the Eucharist and therosary he found anchors.
The rosary especially became hislifeline, each bead a step back
to Mary, who he would later callhis only hope.
This was no mere devotion, itwas a desperate clinging to
grace, a recognition that onlythrough her intercession could
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he rebuild what he had torndown, and rebuild he did, brick
by spiritual brick, allowingGod's mercy to transform his
shame into a mission.
Consecration to Our Lady and theRosary Promise in the heart of
Bartolo, Longo's transformationlies a moment of raw, almost
desperate surrender, a turningpoint that feels like something
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out of a gritty, redemptivenovel.
After years of entanglement inthe dark webs of fee uh
occultism and uh satanic rites,Bartolo found himself at the
edge of despair, haunted by theemptiness of a life unmoored
from truth.
It was here in the quiet of hisbrokenness that he heard the
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whisper of grace through afriend's uh counsel.
Consecrate yourself to our lady.
Give yourself to the blessedVirgin Mary through the rosary.
This wasn't just a casualsuggestion, it was a lifeline.
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Bartolo, a man who had oncemocked the very faith he now
clung to, took up the beads withtrembling hands.
He didn't just pray the rosary,he wrestled with it, poured his
shame and longing into each hailMary, as if each bead could
stitch together the fragments ofhis soul.
In 1871 he made a formalconsecration to our lady,
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binding himself to her maternalcare, and in that act he
discovered a promise.
The rosary would be his shield,his guide, his path to
redemption.
This promise wasn't meresentiment.
Bartolo came to understandthrough the steady rhythm of
those prayers that Mary wasinterceding for him, drawing him
closer to her son.
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He later wrote of the rosary asa chain of love, a tether that
pulled him from the abyss, andin this newfound devotion he
didn't just find personal peace,he found a mission.
He began to spread the devotionwith a fervor that bordered on
obsession, determined to sharethe healing he'd received.
He built a shrine to Our Lady ofthe Rosary in Pompeii, a
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physical testament to the powerof those beads, and dedicated
his life to teaching others topray as he had, fiercely,
faithfully, with everything theyhad.
For those of us who've ever feltlost, Bartolo's story hits hard.
It's not just about a man sayingprayers, it's about a complete
rewiring of the heart throughMary's intercession.
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The rosary for him became aweapon against despair, a daily
reminder of the promise that nosoul is too far gone for God's
mercy.
It's a lesson in trust inhanding over the mess of our
lives to a mother who neverturns away.
Founding the Rosary Brotherhoodin Pompeii in the shadow of
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Vesuvius, amid the ash and ruinof a town still haunted by its
ancient destruction, BartoloLongo found himself at a
crossroads of faith and despair.
Pompeii in the late 19th centurywas a place of spiritual
desolation as much as physicaldecay, a forgotten corner of
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Italy where superstition andpoverty reigned.
But it was here in 1872 thatBartolo, once a priest of Satan
now touched by divine grace,began to sow the seeds of a
miraculous renewal.
Driven by a burning devotion tothe Blessed Virgin Mary, he
resolved to bring the power ofthe rosary to a people starved
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for hope.
Bartolo didn't just preach, heorganized.
With the fervor of a man who hadseen the abyss and turned back,
he founded the Confraternity ofthe Holy Rosary, a brotherhood
dedicated to spreading devotionthrough communal prayer.
He understood that faith isn't asolitary act, it thrives in
community, in the shared rhythmof beads slipping through
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fingers, in the whisperedAbomarias echoing through a
crumbling church.
He started small, gathering ahandful of locals, teaching them
the mysteries of the rosary, andencouraging them to pray
together for their broken town.
Word spread like wildfirethrough the dusty streets.
Families joined, skepticssoftened.
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Soon the Brotherhood was amovement, a lifeline for a
community desperate forsomething to believe in, but
Bartolo's vision wasn't justabout prayer, it was about
action.
He knew the rosary could be acatalyst for transformation, not
just of souls but of society.
He rallied the faithful torestore a dilapidated parish
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church, turning it into asanctuary for the image of Our
Lady of the Rosary, a paintinghe had acquired with humble
means but profound faith.
This image became the heart ofPompeii's revival, a focal point
for pilgrims who began totrickle in, drawn by stories of
miracles and answered prayers.
Bartolo's brotherhood wasn'tjust a prayer group, it was the
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foundation of a spiritual andcultural rebirth, a testament to
the power of Mary'sintercession, every bead
counted, every prayer was abrick in the foundation of what
would become the Basilica of OurLady of the Rosary, a monument
to Bartolo's unyielding beliefthat even the darkest past could
be redeemed through devotion.
In Pompeii, where historywhispered of destruction,
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Bartolo Longo crafted a newstory, one of healing, unity,
and the quiet, persistentstrength of the rosary.
Restoring a ruined chapel into aMarian shrine in the shadow of
Mount Vesuvius amid thedesolation of Pompeii's ancient
ruins, Bartolo Longo foundhimself standing before a
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crumbling chapel in the valleyof Pompeii.
It was 1872, and this once holyplace was little more than a
husk, its walls cracked, itsaltar desecrated, a forgotten
relic in a land scarred by bothvolcanic fury and spiritual
neglect, Bartolo, stillwrestling with the echoes of his
dark past as a satanic priest,felt an unshakable call in his
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heart.
This broken chapel, he believed,was not just a pile of stones,
but a battlefield for souls, aplace where the blessed Virgin
Mary could reclaim what sin hadshattered.
With little more than ferventprayer and raw determination,
Bartolo set to work.
He wasn't a man of means, hisresources were scant, his hands
unaccustomed to labor, yet hepoured himself into the
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restoration, driven by a visionof transforming this ruin into a
beacon of Marian devotion.
He rallied the local peasantswhose lives were as battered as
the land they tilled, andtogether they scrubbed away
decades of grime, patched thewalls, and breathed life back
into the sacred space.
It was grueling, unglamorouswork, more sweat than sanctity,
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but Bartolo saw every brick laidas an act of reparation, a plea
for mercy, a step closer to themother of God.
Central to this rebirth was animage of Our Lady of the Rosary,
a painting Bartolo acquired withthe help of a Dominican priest,
when it arrived in Pompeii on ahumble cart carried through the
dusty streets, the villagersgathered, their weary faces
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alight with something like hope.
This image, though not amasterpiece by worldly
standards, became the heart ofthe chapel.
Bartolo enshrined it above thealtar, and almost overnight
whispers of miracles began tospread, healings, answered
prayers, hearts turned back toGod.
The chapel, now the sanctuary ofthe Blessed Virgin of the
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Rosary, grew into a pilgrimagesite, a testament to the power
of conversion and theintercession of Mary.
Bartolo's efforts didn't stop atstone and mortar.
He knew that true restorationmeant rebuilding souls.
He founded schools for the poor,orphanages for the abandoned,
and a confraternity dedicated tothe rosary, weaving a community
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of faith around the shrine.
Each bead prayed, each childtaught, was a brick and a
spiritual edifice far greaterthan any physical church.
Through this work, Bartolo wasnot just salvaging a chapel, he
was becoming apostan an apostleof the rosary, a living witness
to the transformative grace ofGod through Mary's hands.
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Miraculous healings and thespread of devotion.
In the wake of Bartolo Longo'sprofound conversion, the once
wayward soul became a conduitfor miracles that would ripple
through the hearts of thefaithful.
The rosary, that humble stringof beads and prayers, turned
into a lifeline for the peopleof Pompeii, where Bartolo had
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settled to rebuild his life.
He didn't just preach devotionto our lady, he lived it,
breathed it, and watched as theimpossible unfolded before his
eyes.
Stories began to murder.
To Kurus emerged whispers atfirst, then bold testimonies of
healings that defiedexplanation.
A child bedridden with a feverno doctor could break, rose
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after a novena to the Virgin ofthe Rosary, a mother, barren for
years, cradled a newborn, afterentrusting her sorrow to Mary
through Bartolo's guidance.
These weren't just anecdotes,they were sparks that ignited a
wildfire of faith.
Bartolo, ever the meticulous manshaped by his legal training,
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didn't let these accounts driftinto mere folklore.
He documented them, ensuring theauthenticity of each miracle,
knowing that skepticism wouldfollow.
But the evidence was undeniable,and the people of Pompeii, once
mired in despair andsuperstition, began to turn
their faces toward the light ofMarion devotion.
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The shrine he founded, thesanctuary of Our Lady of the
Rosary, became a beacon, notjust a building, but a living
testament to the power ofprayer.
Pilgrims trickled in, thenpoured in, drawn by the stories
of grace that seemed to seepfrom the very stones of the
place.
This wasn't a passive movement.
Bartolo rolled up his sleeves,organizing rosary
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confraternities, teaching thepoor to pray, and even
establishing schools andorphanages under Mary's
patronage.
He understood that devotionwasn't just about personal
salvation, it was about liftingup a broken community.
The rosary became more than aprayer, it became a revolution
of the heart, spreading farbeyond the shadow of Vesuvius.
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Letters arrived from distantvillages, then from across
Italy, begging for images of OurLady of Pompeii for prayers, for
a piece of the hope Bartolo hadunearthed, and with each story
of healing, each lifetransformed, the devotion grew,
binding the faithful in a chainof grace that stretched across
oceans and generations.
A legacy of transformation,Bartolo Longo's call to us all.
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As we reflect on theextraordinary journey of blessed
Bartolo Longo from the darknessof a satanic priesthood to the
radiant light of an apostle ofthe rosary, we're reminded that
no soul is beyond redemption.
His story, steeped in divinemercy, isn't just a historical
footnote, it's a livingtestament to the transformative
power of faith.
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At Journeys of Faith, we'reinspired by such miracles of the
heart, and we invite you to walkthis path of discovery with us.
Bartolo's conversion teaches usthat even in our deepest
struggles, the Blessed Mother'sintercession and the grace of
God can lead us home.
His devotion to the rosarybecame a lifeline, a beacon for
countless others to follow.
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We encourage you to explore.
Explore these sacred mysteriesperhaps by joining us on a
pilgrimage to Marian Shrines ordiving into our resources on the
lives of saints like BartoloLongo.
Through retreats, books, anddigital content, Journeys of
Faith is here to guide yourspiritual growth grounded in the
rich tapestry of Catholictradition.
Let Bartolo's life inspire you.
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Step into your own journey offaith today.
FAQs about blessed BartoloLongo.
Who was Bartolo Longo?
Bartolo Longo was a nineteenthcentury Italian lawyer who
underwent a profoundtransformation from a life
steeped in darkness to becominga fervent Catholic and an
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apostle of the Rosary.
Born in 1841 in Latiano, Italy,he is best known for his
tireless devotion to the VirginMary and for founding the shrine
of Our Lady of the Rosary inPompeii.
Beatified by Pope John Paul IIin nineteen eighty, Bartolo's
life stands as a testament tothe power of redemption and
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faith, a story that resonatesdeeply with those of us at
Journeys of Faith who seek toshare the transformative
journeys of the saints.
What was Bartolo Longo's lifelike before his conversion?
Before his conversion, BartoloLongo lived a life far removed
from the light of faith.
Raised in a devout Catholicfamily, he drifted during his
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university years in Naples,immersing himself in the secular
anti-clerical culture of thetime.
His search for meaning led himdown a troubling path marked by
disillusionment and a rejectionof the church.
It's a reminder of how even themost lost among us can be called
back, a theme we explore oftenin our pilgrimages and media at
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Journeys of Faith.
How did Bartolo longo becomeinvolved with Satanism?
During his time at university,Bartolo became entangled in the
occult, a dark undercurrent ofthe spiritualist movements
popular in nineteenth centuryEurope, seeking answers beyond
the church, he was drawn intosatanic practices and even
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became a priest in a Sataniccult.
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Who influenced Bartolo Longo'sconversion to Catholicism?
Key figures played a pivotalrole in Bartolo's return to the
Catholic faith.
A friend, Professor VincenzoPepe, urged him to reconsider
his path, while a Dominicanpriest, Father Alberto Redente,
provided spiritual guidanceintroducing him to the healing
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power of the rosary.
Their influence, combined withBartolo's own longing for peace,
mirrors the communal support wefoster at journeys of faith
through our events andpilgrimage experiences.
How did Bartolo Longo discoverthe power of the rosary?
Bartolo's discovery of therosary came as a lifeline during
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his darkest hour.
Under Father Redente's guidance,he began praying it and found in
its rhythm a profound connectionto the Virgin Mary.
He later recounted a moment ofdivine inspiration when Mary
herself spoke to him, saying, Ifyou seek salvation, promulgate
the rosary.
This moment reshaped his life, apersonal encounter with the
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divine that we at Journeys ofFaith cherish in the stories of
the saints we share.
What role did the Virgin Maryplay in Bartolo's life?
The Virgin Mary became thecornerstone of Bartolo's renewed
faith.
After his conversion, hededicated himself to her, seeing
her as his spiritual mother andguide.
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Her intercession, he believes,saved him from the abyss, and he
spent the rest of his lifespreading devotion to her
through the rosary.
This deep Marian devotion is atthe heart of many of our
pilgrimages at journeys of faithas we lead the faithful to
shrines where Mary's presence isfelt so strongly.
What miracles are associatedwith Bartolo Longo?
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Bartolo's life and legacy areintertwined with miracles,
particularly those attributed tothe intercession of Our Lady of
the Rosary in Pompeii.
Countless healings andconversions have been reported
by pilgrims visited visiting theshrine in Nise, shrine
Yesherumshine Adu Shrine hefounded.
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While Bartolo himself is notcredited with performing
miracles, his work created asacred space where the
miraculous became commonplace, aphenomenon we've witnessed on
our own journeys of faith, toursto Marian sites.
How did Bartolo Longo promotethe rosary?
Bartolo became a relentlessadvocate for the rosary,
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believing it to be a powerfulweapon against evil and a path
to salvation.
He wrote numerous books andpamphlets on its importance,
organized public devotions, andestablished the confraternity of
the Holy Rosary.
His most enduring contributionwas the construction of the
shrine of Our Lady of the Rosaryin Pompeii, a beacon of hope and
prayer.
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At Journeys of Faith, we echohis mission by encouraging
personal devotion through ourresources and retreats.
What is Bartolo Longo'sconnection to the city of
Pompeii?
Bartolo's connection to Pompeiiis both physical and spiritual.
After his conversion, he movedto the Valley of Pompeii to
manage property for a noblewoman.
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There, amidst poverty andspiritual neglect, he felt
called to rebuild not just theland but the faith of its
people.
He founded the shrine of OurLady of the Rosary, turning a
forgotten corner of Italy into aglobal pilgrimage destination.
His work in Pompeii is apowerful example of renewal, a
theme we celebrate at Journeysof Faith as we guide pilgrims to
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sacred places of transformation.
Thanks for listening to SuperSaints Podcast.
Be sure to click the link in thedescription for special links.
Welcome to Journeys of Faith.
Brother Joseph Frey Aldenhovenhere.
Be sure to look at thedescription for special offer.
From the occult to Apostle ofthe Rosary, the miraculous
conversion of Blessed BartoloLongo.
In the shadow corners of 19thcentury Italy, a man named
Bartolo Longo walked a path sodark it seemed impossible to
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turn back, a path of occultrituals, despair, and even
service as a satanic priest.
Yet, in a twist of divine gracethat reads like a script from
the heavens, this same man wouldbecome one of the most fervent
apostles of the rosary, a beaconof hope for the downtrodden and
a blessed figure in the CatholicChurch.
(00:42):
His story isn't just a footnotein history, it's a thunderclap
of redemption, a reminder thatno soul is beyond the reach of
God's mercy.
Here at Journeys of Faith, we'redrawn to tales like Bartolo
Longo's stories oftransformation that echo the
very heart of our mission toinspire and deepen devotion
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through the riches of Catholictradition, founded by Bob and
Penny Lord.
Our ministry has spent over fourdecades guiding pilgrims to
sacred sites and sharing thelives of saints through books,
documentaries, and retreats.
Bartolo's journey from darknessto light is the kind of
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narrative we live to tell, onethat invites us all to reflect
on the power of faith to rebuildbroken lives.
Whether you've walked with us onpilgrimage or encountered our
resources through EWTN orbeyond, we invite you to step
into this incredible story ofconversion, a testament to the
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miraculous ways God works, evenin the most unlikely of hearts.
Bartolo Longo's life is apilgrimage in itself, a grueling
trek from the abyss of spiritualruin to the heights of sanctity.
It's a story that challenges usto look at our own struggles, to
see the possibility of renewal,and to cling to the intercession
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of our lady through the rosary.
So come with us as we uncoverthe layers of this man's
journey, how a soul ensnared byevil found freedom, purpose, and
a mission that would touchcountless lives.
Let's walk this path togetherwith reverence and wonder and
see what lessons of faith andperseverance await.
(02:58):
Brindisi, a port city steeped inhistory and faith, was a
crossroads of cultures andideas, and Bartolo, with his
sharp mind and sensitive soul,absorbed it all, perhaps too
much.
Orphaned at a tender age afterlosing both parents, Bartolo's
life took on the weight ofsolitude.
He was sent to a boarding schoolrun by the Pierist fathers,
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where the seeds of faith weresown, but so too were the seeds
of doubt.
The nineteenth century was aturbulent time in Italy with the
winds of secularism and anticlericalism blowing fiercely.
As a young man, Bartolo foundhimself drawn into this storm.
He enrolled at the University ofNaples to study law, and there,
amid the intellectual fervor ofthe era, he began to drift from
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the church.
The allure of esotericphilosophies and radical
ideologies gripped him, pullinghim into a shadowy underworld of
spiritualism and eventuallyoutright Satanism.
It's hard to imagine now thisboy from Brindisi, a place of
ancient cathedrals and Mariandevotion, offering himself as a
priest to dark forces, but suchwas the depth of his fall.
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Yet even in these bleak yearsthere were glimmers of the
divine at work.
Friends and family, thoughheartbroken by his choices,
never ceased praying for hissoul.
A professor, Vincenzo Pepe,became a quiet beacon, urging
Bartolo to reconsider his path.
These were the first cracks inthe wall he'd built around his
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heart, though the journey backto light would be neither swift
nor easy.
In the shadows of Brindisi,Bartolo's story was just
beginning, a tale of descent,yes, but also the faint promise
of redemption.
Join us on a journey of faithand transformation.
Hey there, fellow seekers of thesacred, at Journeys of Faith,
(04:49):
we're not just about readingstories like blessed Bartolo
Longo's incredible conversionfrom darkness to divine light.
We're about living them.
We've been guiding souls ontransformative pilgrimages since
1980, just as Bob and Penny Lorddid when they when they founded
this ministry with a passion forCatholic tradition.
(05:12):
If Bartolo's story of redemptionthrough the rosary stirs
something in you, let's takethat inspiration further
together.
Here's how you can dive deeperwith us.
Embark on a pilgrimage, walk thepaths of saints and Marian
shrines across Europe and theHoly Land.
Experience the same spiritualrenewal that changed Bartolo's
life.
Explore our media from books tostreaming content, dive into
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over 200 EWTN episodes and 25plus works on miracles and
saints.
Let blessed Bartolo's story bejust the start.
Join a retreat.
Visit our Holy Family Mission inMorrulton, Arkansas for
spiritual formation andcommunity.
Connect digitally, access ourgrowing library of resources
online to fuel your devotiondaily.
(05:57):
Let's journey together.
Visit our site and start yourown story of faith today,
university years and the rise ofspiritual restlessness.
In the hallowed halls of theUniversity of Naples, young
Bartolo Longo found himself at acrossroads that would define the
trajectory of his soul.
It was the eighteen sixties, atime of intellectual ferment in
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Italy, where the winds ofsecularism and anti-clerical
sentiment blew fiercely throughacademic circles.
Bartolo, a bright andinquisitive law student, was not
immune to these currents.
Raised in a devout Catholicfamily in Latiano, his early
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years had been steeped in therhythms of prayer and the
comforting embrace of thechurch.
Yet as he immersed himself inthe university's progressive
ideals, a restlessness began tognaw at him, a spiritual hunger
that neither lectures nordebates could satisfy.
This wasn't just a phase, it wasa full blown crisis of faith.
Bartolo, like so many young menof his era, became enamored with
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the allure of rationalism andthe emerging occult trends that
promised hidden knowledge andpower.
He drifted from the sacraments,drawn instead to seances and the
dark mystique of spiritualism,is chilling to think of him in
those dimly lit rooms surroundedby whispers of the unseen,
seeking answers in places whereonly shadows will.
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Friends and mentors noticed thechange, his once bright spirit
seemed clouded, his laughterreplaced by a brooding
intensity.
Bartolo himself later confessedthat this period felt like a
descent, a deliberate turningaway from the light of Christ
toward a void that offered nopeace, but even in this darkness
the seeds of grace were quietlyat work.
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The very restlessness that drovehim to explore forbidden paths
was, in a paradoxical way, asign of his longing for
something greater.
He couldn't shake the memory ofhis mother's rosary, the simple
prayers of his childhood, or thequiet strength of the faith he
had once known.
These echoes of his past becamea silent counterpoint to the
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chaos of his university years, areminder of a home he had left
but could not fully abandon.
Little did he know that thistension between the allure of
the world and the pull of thedivine would soon erupt into a
dramatic turning point, one thatwould reshape his life and
countless others in waysunimaginable.
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Descent into spiritism and theoccult.
In the shadowed corridors ofBartolo Longo's early life, we
find a young man adriftgrappling with the spiritual
void of a post-Christian Europe.
Born in 1841 in Latiano, Italy,Bartolo was raised in a devout
Catholic family, but the windsof change blowing through the
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nineteenth century, rationalism,secularism, and the allure of
the occult swept him far fromthe faith of his childhood.
As a law student at theUniversity of Naples, he found
himself drawn into the murkyunderbelly of spiritism, a
movement that promised answersthrough seances and communion
with the dead.
It was a seductive escape, a wayto wrestle with the existential
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questions that gnawed at hissoul.
But spiritism was only thebeginning of Bartolo's descent.
The deeper he ventured, thedarker the path became.
He became entangled with asatanic sect, a group that
reveled in the inversion of allthat was holy.
In a chilling turn, Bartolo wasordained as a satanic priest,
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presiding over blasphemousrituals that mocked the very
sacraments he had once receivedas a child.
It's hard to fathom the weightof such a choice, the deliberate
rejection of light for shadow,the embrace of desecration over
devotion.
Yet in his own writings Bartololater confessed the profound
emptiness of those years, ahollowness that no amount of
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forbidden knowledge could fill.
He was a man possessed, not bydemons in the literal sense, but
by the despair of a lifeunmoored from truth.
This wasn't just a personalfailing, it was a reflection of
an era.
The nineteenth century was abattleground for the soul of
Europe with the church undersiege from every angle,
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political upheaval, intellectualskepticism, and uh the rise of
rise of uh uh uh uh esoteric uhmovements that that preyed on
the spiritually hungry,Bartolo's story in this sense is
a microcosm of a broaderstruggle.
He wasn't merely a rebel withouta cause, he was a seeker who had
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stumbled into a spiritual deadend, mistaking darkness for
enlightenment, and yet even inthis abyss the seeds of
redemption were quietly beingsown, though he could not yet
see the hand of grace reachingout to pull him back.
The intercessory power of amother's prayers.
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In the shadow chapters ofBartolo Longo's life, when the
weight of his satanic priesthoodbore down like a suffocating
fog, there was a quiet,persistent force that refused to
let him go entirely to thedarkness.
It was the power of a mother'sprayers, his own mother's
unyielding intercession, abeacon of hope flickering even
in the abyss of his despair, amother's love, as we know from
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the heart of our faith, mirrorsthe boundless compassion of our
lady, and it was through thismaternal persistence that the
first cracks of light began topierce Bartolo's hardened soul.
His mother, a devout Catholic,never ceased to pray the rosary
for her wayward son.
Day after day, bead after bead,she entrusted him to the Blessed
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Virgin Mary, believing with afierce, quiet certainty that no
soul was beyond redemption.
This wasn't mere sentimentality,it was a spiritual warfare waged
on her knees.
She understood, as we are calledto understand, that the rosary
is not just a string of prayers,but a lifeline, a direct plea to
the mother of God who standsever ready to intercede for her
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children.
Bartolo, lost in the occult andtormented by the emptiness of
his choices, could not escapethe invisible shield of grace
woven by those maternalpetitions.
Scripture reminds us of thepower of persistent prayer, as
in the parable of the widow whowore down the unjust judge with
her ceaseless pleas, Luke 18,1-8.
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How much more then does theheart of our lady respond to a
mother's cry for her child?
Bartolo's story is a testamentto this truth.
Though he had turned his back onthe faith of his upbringing, the
prayers of his mother plantedseeds that would eventually
sprout, even if she could notyet see the harvest.
Her faithfulness echoes thesorrowful yet hopeful heart of
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Mary at the foot of the cross,trusting in God's plan even
amidst piercing grief.
For us, this is a profoundlesson in the hidden might of
intercessory prayer.
How often do we doubt the impactof our whispered rosaries, our
quiet intentions for those welove who seem so far from God?
Bartolo's life urges us topersevere.
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A mother's prayers, united withthe immaculate heart of Mary,
became the first step in amiraculous conversion that would
not only redeem a lost soul, butelevate him to become an apostle
of the very devotion that savedhim.
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But God, in his infinite mercy,had other plans.
Enter Father Alberto Radente, aDominican priest whose very
presence seemed to radiate thepeace of Christ.
This wasn't just a chancemeeting, it was a divine
appointment.
Father Redente, with his gentleyet piercing insight, saw
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through the torment in Bartolo'seyes.
He didn't recoil from the man'spast, didn't flinch at the
whispers of satanic rites or thescars of a life misspent.
Instead he extended a handoffering not judgment but hope
he spoke of the Blessed VirginMary, of her maternal love, of
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the power of the rosary, asimple string of beads that
could become a lifeline tosalvation.
Bartolo, hardened by years ofspiritual rebellion, felt
something crack within him.
It wasn't an instantaneoustransformation, real change
rarely is, but Father Redente'swords planted a seed.
He urged Bartolo to turn toMary, to pray the rosary, to let
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her intercession untangle theknots of his soul.
If you seek salvation, propagatethe rosary, the priest told him,
echoing a promise that felt bothimpossible and irresistible.
This was the first tug on thechains that bound Bartolo, the
first sign that freedom might bewithin reach.
Through Father Redente'sguidance, Bartolo began to
confront the darkness he hadembraced.
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The Dominican's unwavering faithand personal warmth became a
mirror, reflecting what Bartolocould become if he surrendered
to grace.
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Longo, once a satanic priestentangled in the occult's
seductive grip, found himselfhaunted not just by his past
sins, but by a growingunshakable sense of emptiness,
the rituals, the promises ofpower, they had all crumbled
into ash, leaving him hollow.
It was in this brokenness thatthe Blessed Virgin Mary, the
gentle mother of sorrow, seemedto call to him.
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Through the persistent prayersof friends and the quiet witness
of a Dominican friar, Longo wasdrawn to confession, a sacrament
he had long abandoned.
Picture it, a man who once spatvenom against the church, now
trembling as he knelt in theconfessional, pouring out years
of rebellion and pain.
The weight of his sins, thechains of his past began to
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loosen as the words ofabsolution washed over him.
This wasn't just a ritual, itwas a deliverance, a reclaiming
of a soul marked for God.
Returning to the church wasn't atidy, uh one and done moment for
Longo.
It was messy, raw, and real, aslow pilgrimage of the heart.
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He wrestled with doubts, withthe echoes of his old life
whispering temptations.
Yet in the Eucharist and therosary he found anchors.
The rosary especially became hislifeline, each bead a step back
to Mary, who he would later callhis only hope.
This was no mere devotion, itwas a desperate clinging to
grace, a recognition that onlythrough her intercession could
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he rebuild what he had torndown, and rebuild he did, brick
by spiritual brick, allowingGod's mercy to transform his
shame into a mission.
Consecration to Our Lady and theRosary Promise in the heart of
Bartolo, Longo's transformationlies a moment of raw, almost
desperate surrender, a turningpoint that feels like something
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out of a gritty, redemptivenovel.
After years of entanglement inthe dark webs of fee uh
occultism and uh satanic rites,Bartolo found himself at the
edge of despair, haunted by theemptiness of a life unmoored
from truth.
It was here in the quiet of hisbrokenness that he heard the
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whisper of grace through afriend's uh counsel.
Consecrate yourself to our lady.
Give yourself to the blessedVirgin Mary through the rosary.
This wasn't just a casualsuggestion, it was a lifeline.
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Bartolo, a man who had oncemocked the very faith he now
clung to, took up the beads withtrembling hands.
He didn't just pray the rosary,he wrestled with it, poured his
shame and longing into each hailMary, as if each bead could
stitch together the fragments ofhis soul.
In 1871 he made a formalconsecration to our lady,
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binding himself to her maternalcare, and in that act he
discovered a promise.
The rosary would be his shield,his guide, his path to
redemption.
This promise wasn't meresentiment.
Bartolo came to understandthrough the steady rhythm of
those prayers that Mary wasinterceding for him, drawing him
closer to her son.
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He later wrote of the rosary asa chain of love, a tether that
pulled him from the abyss, andin this newfound devotion he
didn't just find personal peace,he found a mission.
He began to spread the devotionwith a fervor that bordered on
obsession, determined to sharethe healing he'd received.
He built a shrine to Our Lady ofthe Rosary in Pompeii, a
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physical testament to the powerof those beads, and dedicated
his life to teaching others topray as he had, fiercely,
faithfully, with everything theyhad.
For those of us who've ever feltlost, Bartolo's story hits hard.
It's not just about a man sayingprayers, it's about a complete
rewiring of the heart throughMary's intercession.
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The rosary for him became aweapon against despair, a daily
reminder of the promise that nosoul is too far gone for God's
mercy.
It's a lesson in trust inhanding over the mess of our
lives to a mother who neverturns away.
Founding the Rosary Brotherhoodin Pompeii in the shadow of
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Vesuvius, amid the ash and ruinof a town still haunted by its
ancient destruction, BartoloLongo found himself at a
crossroads of faith and despair.
Pompeii in the late 19th centurywas a place of spiritual
desolation as much as physicaldecay, a forgotten corner of
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Italy where superstition andpoverty reigned.
But it was here in 1872 thatBartolo, once a priest of Satan
now touched by divine grace,began to sow the seeds of a
miraculous renewal.
Driven by a burning devotion tothe Blessed Virgin Mary, he
resolved to bring the power ofthe rosary to a people starved
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for hope.
Bartolo didn't just preach, heorganized.
With the fervor of a man who hadseen the abyss and turned back,
he founded the Confraternity ofthe Holy Rosary, a brotherhood
dedicated to spreading devotionthrough communal prayer.
He understood that faith isn't asolitary act, it thrives in
community, in the shared rhythmof beads slipping through
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fingers, in the whisperedAbomarias echoing through a
crumbling church.
He started small, gathering ahandful of locals, teaching them
the mysteries of the rosary, andencouraging them to pray
together for their broken town.
Word spread like wildfirethrough the dusty streets.
Families joined, skepticssoftened.
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Soon the Brotherhood was amovement, a lifeline for a
community desperate forsomething to believe in, but
Bartolo's vision wasn't justabout prayer, it was about
action.
He knew the rosary could be acatalyst for transformation, not
just of souls but of society.
He rallied the faithful torestore a dilapidated parish
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church, turning it into asanctuary for the image of Our
Lady of the Rosary, a paintinghe had acquired with humble
means but profound faith.
This image became the heart ofPompeii's revival, a focal point
for pilgrims who began totrickle in, drawn by stories of
miracles and answered prayers.
Bartolo's brotherhood wasn'tjust a prayer group, it was the
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foundation of a spiritual andcultural rebirth, a testament to
the power of Mary'sintercession, every bead
counted, every prayer was abrick in the foundation of what
would become the Basilica of OurLady of the Rosary, a monument
to Bartolo's unyielding beliefthat even the darkest past could
be redeemed through devotion.
In Pompeii, where historywhispered of destruction,
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Bartolo Longo crafted a newstory, one of healing, unity,
and the quiet, persistentstrength of the rosary.
Restoring a ruined chapel into aMarian shrine in the shadow of
Mount Vesuvius amid thedesolation of Pompeii's ancient
ruins, Bartolo Longo foundhimself standing before a
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crumbling chapel in the valleyof Pompeii.
It was 1872, and this once holyplace was little more than a
husk, its walls cracked, itsaltar desecrated, a forgotten
relic in a land scarred by bothvolcanic fury and spiritual
neglect, Bartolo, stillwrestling with the echoes of his
dark past as a satanic priest,felt an unshakable call in his
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heart.
This broken chapel, he believed,was not just a pile of stones,
but a battlefield for souls, aplace where the blessed Virgin
Mary could reclaim what sin hadshattered.
With little more than ferventprayer and raw determination,
Bartolo set to work.
He wasn't a man of means, hisresources were scant, his hands
unaccustomed to labor, yet hepoured himself into the
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restoration, driven by a visionof transforming this ruin into a
beacon of Marian devotion.
He rallied the local peasantswhose lives were as battered as
the land they tilled, andtogether they scrubbed away
decades of grime, patched thewalls, and breathed life back
into the sacred space.
It was grueling, unglamorouswork, more sweat than sanctity,
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but Bartolo saw every brick laidas an act of reparation, a plea
for mercy, a step closer to themother of God.
Central to this rebirth was animage of Our Lady of the Rosary,
a painting Bartolo acquired withthe help of a Dominican priest,
when it arrived in Pompeii on ahumble cart carried through the
dusty streets, the villagersgathered, their weary faces
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alight with something like hope.
This image, though not amasterpiece by worldly
standards, became the heart ofthe chapel.
Bartolo enshrined it above thealtar, and almost overnight
whispers of miracles began tospread, healings, answered
prayers, hearts turned back toGod.
The chapel, now the sanctuary ofthe Blessed Virgin of the
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Rosary, grew into a pilgrimagesite, a testament to the power
of conversion and theintercession of Mary.
Bartolo's efforts didn't stop atstone and mortar.
He knew that true restorationmeant rebuilding souls.
He founded schools for the poor,orphanages for the abandoned,
and a confraternity dedicated tothe rosary, weaving a community
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of faith around the shrine.
Each bead prayed, each childtaught, was a brick and a
spiritual edifice far greaterthan any physical church.
Through this work, Bartolo wasnot just salvaging a chapel, he
was becoming apostan an apostleof the rosary, a living witness
to the transformative grace ofGod through Mary's hands.
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Miraculous healings and thespread of devotion.
In the wake of Bartolo Longo'sprofound conversion, the once
wayward soul became a conduitfor miracles that would ripple
through the hearts of thefaithful.
The rosary, that humble stringof beads and prayers, turned
into a lifeline for the peopleof Pompeii, where Bartolo had
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settled to rebuild his life.
He didn't just preach devotionto our lady, he lived it,
breathed it, and watched as theimpossible unfolded before his
eyes.
Stories began to murder.
To Kurus emerged whispers atfirst, then bold testimonies of
healings that defiedexplanation.
A child bedridden with a feverno doctor could break, rose
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after a novena to the Virgin ofthe Rosary, a mother, barren for
years, cradled a newborn, afterentrusting her sorrow to Mary
through Bartolo's guidance.
These weren't just anecdotes,they were sparks that ignited a
wildfire of faith.
Bartolo, ever the meticulous manshaped by his legal training,
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didn't let these accounts driftinto mere folklore.
He documented them, ensuring theauthenticity of each miracle,
knowing that skepticism wouldfollow.
But the evidence was undeniable,and the people of Pompeii, once
mired in despair andsuperstition, began to turn
their faces toward the light ofMarion devotion.
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The shrine he founded, thesanctuary of Our Lady of the
Rosary, became a beacon, notjust a building, but a living
testament to the power ofprayer.
Pilgrims trickled in, thenpoured in, drawn by the stories
of grace that seemed to seepfrom the very stones of the
place.
This wasn't a passive movement.
Bartolo rolled up his sleeves,organizing rosary
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confraternities, teaching thepoor to pray, and even
establishing schools andorphanages under Mary's
patronage.
He understood that devotionwasn't just about personal
salvation, it was about liftingup a broken community.
The rosary became more than aprayer, it became a revolution
of the heart, spreading farbeyond the shadow of Vesuvius.
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Letters arrived from distantvillages, then from across
Italy, begging for images of OurLady of Pompeii for prayers, for
a piece of the hope Bartolo hadunearthed, and with each story
of healing, each lifetransformed, the devotion grew,
binding the faithful in a chainof grace that stretched across
oceans and generations.
A legacy of transformation,Bartolo Longo's call to us all.
(29:16):
As we reflect on theextraordinary journey of blessed
Bartolo Longo from the darknessof a satanic priesthood to the
radiant light of an apostle ofthe rosary, we're reminded that
no soul is beyond redemption.
His story, steeped in divinemercy, isn't just a historical
footnote, it's a livingtestament to the transformative
power of faith.
(29:37):
At Journeys of Faith, we'reinspired by such miracles of the
heart, and we invite you to walkthis path of discovery with us.
Bartolo's conversion teaches usthat even in our deepest
struggles, the Blessed Mother'sintercession and the grace of
God can lead us home.
His devotion to the rosarybecame a lifeline, a beacon for
countless others to follow.
(29:58):
We encourage you to explore.
Explore these sacred mysteriesperhaps by joining us on a
pilgrimage to Marian Shrines ordiving into our resources on the
lives of saints like BartoloLongo.
Through retreats, books, anddigital content, Journeys of
Faith is here to guide yourspiritual growth grounded in the
rich tapestry of Catholictradition.
Let Bartolo's life inspire you.
(30:21):
Step into your own journey offaith today.
FAQs about blessed BartoloLongo.
Who was Bartolo Longo?
Bartolo Longo was a nineteenthcentury Italian lawyer who
underwent a profoundtransformation from a life
steeped in darkness to becominga fervent Catholic and an
(30:41):
apostle of the Rosary.
Born in 1841 in Latiano, Italy,he is best known for his
tireless devotion to the VirginMary and for founding the shrine
of Our Lady of the Rosary inPompeii.
Beatified by Pope John Paul IIin nineteen eighty, Bartolo's
life stands as a testament tothe power of redemption and
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faith, a story that resonatesdeeply with those of us at
Journeys of Faith who seek toshare the transformative
journeys of the saints.
What was Bartolo Longo's lifelike before his conversion?
Before his conversion, BartoloLongo lived a life far removed
from the light of faith.
Raised in a devout Catholicfamily, he drifted during his
(31:25):
university years in Naples,immersing himself in the secular
anti-clerical culture of thetime.
His search for meaning led himdown a troubling path marked by
disillusionment and a rejectionof the church.
It's a reminder of how even themost lost among us can be called
back, a theme we explore oftenin our pilgrimages and media at
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Journeys of Faith.
How did Bartolo longo becomeinvolved with Satanism?
During his time at university,Bartolo became entangled in the
occult, a dark undercurrent ofthe spiritualist movements
popular in nineteenth centuryEurope, seeking answers beyond
the church, he was drawn intosatanic practices and even
(32:09):
became a priest in a Sataniccult.
(33:03):
Who influenced Bartolo Longo'sconversion to Catholicism?
Key figures played a pivotalrole in Bartolo's return to the
Catholic faith.
A friend, Professor VincenzoPepe, urged him to reconsider
his path, while a Dominicanpriest, Father Alberto Redente,
provided spiritual guidanceintroducing him to the healing
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power of the rosary.
Their influence, combined withBartolo's own longing for peace,
mirrors the communal support wefoster at journeys of faith
through our events andpilgrimage experiences.
How did Bartolo Longo discoverthe power of the rosary?
Bartolo's discovery of therosary came as a lifeline during
(33:45):
his darkest hour.
Under Father Redente's guidance,he began praying it and found in
its rhythm a profound connectionto the Virgin Mary.
He later recounted a moment ofdivine inspiration when Mary
herself spoke to him, saying, Ifyou seek salvation, promulgate
the rosary.
This moment reshaped his life, apersonal encounter with the
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divine that we at Journeys ofFaith cherish in the stories of
the saints we share.
What role did the Virgin Maryplay in Bartolo's life?
The Virgin Mary became thecornerstone of Bartolo's renewed
faith.
After his conversion, hededicated himself to her, seeing
her as his spiritual mother andguide.
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Her intercession, he believes,saved him from the abyss, and he
spent the rest of his lifespreading devotion to her
through the rosary.
This deep Marian devotion is atthe heart of many of our
pilgrimages at journeys of faithas we lead the faithful to
shrines where Mary's presence isfelt so strongly.
What miracles are associatedwith Bartolo Longo?
(34:50):
Bartolo's life and legacy areintertwined with miracles,
particularly those attributed tothe intercession of Our Lady of
the Rosary in Pompeii.
Countless healings andconversions have been reported
by pilgrims visited visiting theshrine in Nise, shrine
Yesherumshine Adu Shrine hefounded.
(35:11):
While Bartolo himself is notcredited with performing
miracles, his work created asacred space where the
miraculous became commonplace, aphenomenon we've witnessed on
our own journeys of faith, toursto Marian sites.
How did Bartolo Longo promotethe rosary?
Bartolo became a relentlessadvocate for the rosary,
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believing it to be a powerfulweapon against evil and a path
to salvation.
He wrote numerous books andpamphlets on its importance,
organized public devotions, andestablished the confraternity of
the Holy Rosary.
His most enduring contributionwas the construction of the
shrine of Our Lady of the Rosaryin Pompeii, a beacon of hope and
prayer.
(35:55):
At Journeys of Faith, we echohis mission by encouraging
personal devotion through ourresources and retreats.
What is Bartolo Longo'sconnection to the city of
Pompeii?
Bartolo's connection to Pompeiiis both physical and spiritual.
After his conversion, he movedto the Valley of Pompeii to
manage property for a noblewoman.
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There, amidst poverty andspiritual neglect, he felt
called to rebuild not just theland but the faith of its
people.
He founded the shrine of OurLady of the Rosary, turning a
forgotten corner of Italy into aglobal pilgrimage destination.
His work in Pompeii is apowerful example of renewal, a
theme we celebrate at Journeysof Faith as we guide pilgrims to
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sacred places of transformation.
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