Josep [Oriol] was born in 1650 into a poor family, but because of his piety and dedication to his home parish of Santa Maria del Mar, clergy taught him to read and write and unknown benefactors enabled him to attend college and acquire a doctorate in theology.
Ordained to the priesthood in 1676, he began to enjoy a lifestyle of ease until an encounter with a poor man caused him to abandon his materialistic ways. He began living in a tiny room, slept little, fasted constantly and dressed so poorly, he was ridiculed on the street.
During a pilgrimage to Rome, Pope Innocent XI personally appointed him as canon of a central Barcelona church, where he continued to live simply, caring for the poor, hearing confessions and acquiring a reputation for facilitating miraculous cures.
Definitivament… mai seré Sant. Però felicitats a tots els Oriols 😉
