Episode Transcript  

One

A Lost Son

Yesterday was the feast day of Saint Bartolo Longo but since he shares it with St. Faustyna, we will reflect on his life today. He was born in 1841 in a small town in the heel of the boot of Italy. His parents were devout Catholics and his mother instilled in him the habit of praying the Rosary. When he was only nine his father died. That wound ran deep. Restless and skeptical, he slowly drifted from the Church.

At seventeen he went to Naples to study law. The city at that time was a cauldron of anti-Catholicism and fascination with the occult. Séances, mediums, and secret societies flourished. In this environment Bartolo abandoned his faith completely and, seeking something beyond the ordinary, immersed himself in the occult. Curiosity hardened into devotion, and he soon became entangled in darker practices.

Eventually he was initiated into a Satanist circle. By his own admission he was “ordained” a priest of Satan after fasting and ritual consecration to a demon. He began presiding over ceremonies and preaching against God and the Church, calling them the true “evils.”

The effects were devastating. His health collapsed; depression, hallucinations, fevers, and insomnia left him broken. In this torment, he suddenly heard the voice of his deceased father urging him, “Return to God! Return to God!”

Two

The Way Back through Friendship

It was at this low point that the grace of God came to Bartolo in the form of a friend. Vincenzo Pepe was both a lawyer and professor of philosophy at the University of Naples, but more importantly he was a devout Catholic and a man of deep charity. When others avoided Bartolo, whose extremism and violent mood swings made him difficult company, Pepe drew near. He did not begin with arguments, condemnations, or warnings. He began with friendship.

Pepe spent time with Bartolo, listened to him, asked questions, and sought to understand him. This was no formula or quick fix, but sustained and patient friendship, the kind that builds trust and allows grace to work slowly and deeply. Through this genuine care, Pepe became a bridge. With persistence and compassion, he eventually invited Bartolo to meet a holy Dominican priest, Father Alberto Radente.

Fr. Radente was the perfect physician for Bartolo’s brokenness: steady, humble, and deeply consecrated to Mary through the Rosary. He did not sensationalize Bartolo’s torment, but offered the antidote: Christ, the sacraments, and Mary’s refuge. At first, Bartolo resisted when urged to go to Confession, fearing his sins were beyond forgiveness. But with Pepe’s encouragement and Radente’s persistence, he finally surrendered.

That Confession broke Satan’s chains at last. In that moment, God broke the devil’s power, poured His grace back into Bartolo’s soul, and welcomed him back as His child.

Three

Apostle of the Rosary

Even though God had forgiven him, Bartolo could not forgive himself. One evening, as he walked near the ruined church in Pompeii, he was overwhelmed by despair and nearly took his life. Later he wrote, “As I pondered over my condition, I experienced a deep sense of despair and almost committed suicide. Then I remembered that Our Lady had promised St. Dominic that: ‘Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved!’ Falling to my knees, I exclaimed: If it is true that you promised St. Dominic that whoever spreads the Rosary will be saved, then I will be saved, because I shall not leave this land of Pompeii without having spread your Rosary.” 

At that moment the Angelus Bells rang out and he understood this would be his mission: to begin with friendship and lead people to the Rosary and he became forever known as the Apostle of the Rosary.

Four

Make the Rosary a Meditation

Bartolo began catechizing the poor inhabitants of the area and teaching them the Rosary. But he did not want the Rosary to be a wrote saying of words while the mind wanders. For Bartolo, the Rosary was a school of meditation where we contemplate Jesus with Mary so that we become like Him.

St. John Paul II took up this same vision. He recognized that the traditional fifteen mysteries skipped over almost the entire public life and teaching of Jesus, so he added the Luminous Mysteries. Yet even twenty mysteries do not exhaust what we can meditate on while praying the Rosary. St. John Paul wrote, “Even with the addition of the mysteries of light, the mysteries of the Rosary do no more than outline the fundamental elements of the life of Christ…they should easily draw the mind to a more expansive reflection on the rest of the Gospel.” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae 29)

Bartolo understood the Rosary as a spiritual journey with two friends, Jesus and Mary. Spend time with them every day and, little by little, you begin to become like them.

John Paul II was so taken with this insight that he quoted Bartolo, “Just as two friends, frequently in each other's company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary…we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them.” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae 15)

Pope Leo XIV said Bartolo offered pilgrims “profound meditations” to save the Rosary from “mechanical recitation.” So don't merely say the Rosary while your mind wanders. Make the Rosary a meditation. Take the whole life and teaching of Jesus, meditate on it with Mary, and then make a resolution to put it into practice.

Five

Our Method

We all know that you can’t just go up to someone who wants nothing to do with Christ and the Church and say, “Hey, why don’t you try praying the Rosary!?” That’s why our method is friendship, good conversation and then the Rosary.

Why do we keep repeating this? Because no matter how often it’s said, people will always ignore the simple and obvious solution. Instead, everyone turns towards programs while avoiding the real solution.

If you want to help a loved one back to Christ, the solution is not a program. Pray for them. Offer sacrifice for them. Build a bridge of friendship and have good conversation. And when God opens the door – invite them to encounter him though prayer, especially the Rosary.

So, who can you invite to your house for a meal? Who can you get to know better? How quickly can you get them on your schedule? Do it now, do it immediately. Don’t wait. If you can’t find the time, make the time. Because this IS the method.

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