The Bilocation of St. Alphonsus
The Bilocation of St. Alphonsus
A crippled and suffering saint visits a dying pope from his armchair
St. Alphonsus Marie Liguori (d. 1787) suffered. He was abandoned by all but one man in the first order he founded, and was tricked into signing a revised rule for the second, the Redemptorists, leading to his deposition and replacement by Pius VI. His reforms were often resisted, and he was persecuted by his own family. His body was so twisted by arthritis that he couldn’t raise his head enough to eat, and had to feed himself through tubes. Eventually his illness left him paralyzed, and near the end of his life he suffered a profound depression.
And yet the great man left behind a lasting legacy and a reputation for brilliance, sanctity, and good cheer. He was missionary priest devoted to the improving the condition of the poor and reforming the church. When he found slack priests and an ignorant population, he created order and offered education, discipline, and hope. His intelligence (he earned canon and civil law degrees by age 16) shines through in his theological works, particularly on moral theology, and contributed so much to our understanding of the faith that he was declared a Doctor of the Church.
His biographies are marked by visions, prophesies, and miracles. Alphonsus was said to cure a fever by making the sign of the cross over the sufferer, and his clothing was carried around Amalfi during an epidemic, curing all who touched it. People who came to him for confession and counsel noted that he could read their souls, and often foretell their futures.
The curvature of his spine was so severe that his chin permanently touched his chest, making him look like a body without a head from behind. One biographer quotes a doctor as saying, "Nothing but a miracle could have prevented this curvature from taking away respiration altogether."
These claims embarrassed him as he tried to embrace humility. He dismissed the idea of his sanctity and power, saying "If I were a saint, and if I knew how to work miracles, I should cure myself, who am so crippled and worthless."
And yet there are several reports from people who knew him that he did work miracles, one of the most notable being bilocation: the ability to appear in two places at the same time. For example, he was seen both preaching a sermon and hearing confessions.
But his most notable bodily dislocation came as Pope Clement XVI was dying, possibly from being poisoned. From The Life of St. Alphonsus Liguori (by a Member of the Order of Mercy, 1886):
On the 25th of August [1774], he again wrote, saying: " I hear from various quarters that the Pope is in sorrow, that he is shut up and does no business. Let us pray to God to deliver him from this profound melancholy."
On the morning of the 21st of September, Alphonsus, after having ended Mass, threw himself, contrary to his custom, into his arm-chair; he was cast down and silent, he made no movement of any kind, and never articulated a word. He remained in that state, all that day and all the following night. The servants, seeing the state he was in, did not know what was going to happen, and remained up,
and at the door of his room, but no one dared enter it.
On the morning of the 22d, he had not changed his position, and no one knew what to think of it. However, when the day became further advanced, he rang the bell to announce that he intended to celebrate Mass. At this signal, all the people in the house hurried to him with eagerness.
On see ing so many people, the Saint asked what was the matter, with an air of surprise. " You have," they replied, "neither spoken nor eaten any thing for two days, and you ceased to give any signs of life."
"That is true," replied he, "but you do not know that I have been with the Pope, who has just died." Ere long, the tidings of the death of Pope Clement XIV was received; he had passed to a better life on the 22d September, at seven o'clock in the morning, the very moment when Alphonsus came to himself.
Bilocation is widely reported across cultures, religions, and times, with the most famous modern case being Padre Pio. Jimmy Akin tackles the subject from both a faith and reason perspective in episode #212 of Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World.
St. Alphonsus, pray for us.
