06/08/2026
On Monday, June 8 the Church celebrates the memory of our Capuchin brother Blessed Nicholas of Gesturi, who served the People of God in Sardinia in the early 20th century.
He was a quester, begging for food and provisions for his brothers and for the people of the community. He also took care of the poor and the sick in that region, always with loving kindness.
A reflection on Blessed Nicholas is below.
Blessed Nicholas of Gesturi, pray for us!
The saint we celebrate today, our Capuchin brother Blessed Nicholas of Gesturi, was popularly known in his town as “Brother Silence”, and why’s that? Simply because he hardly said anything. It’s not that he was a hermit- not at all, he was many times with the people of the town, especially the poor and the sick, but he never said anything he did not need to say.
Being a good Capuchin, he knew very well the importance of contemplation in the spiritual life and so he spoke only when necessary- anything else would distract him from his loving attention to his God and to God’s people. Ironically, of course, this contemplative spirit drew many people to him, who wanted to speak to this man of faith so that they could grow in their lives of faith and get closer to the Lord themselves. But he still treasured whatever opportunity for silence he could get.
Silence is a such a rare commodity in today’s world but is something that we need to foster, for our own sanity and especially for our lives of faith. So take some time to shut off everything and just be silent and be able to hear the Lord, who is always trying to break through that noise in our lives and just get us to know that He is present to us and that He has things to say to us all the time, if we would just listen.
