My Heart Rejoices: Preparing for the Canonization of Bartolo Longo

As the day of Blessed Bartolo Longo’s canonization approaches, I find myself overwhelmed with joy, gratitude, and awe. His story has always spoken to me—not simply as history, but as a living witness of the limitless mercy of God. A man who once wandered far from the Church, he became, through the Rosary, a true apostle of Our Lady and a builder of one of the greatest sanctuaries in Christendom.

What moves me most is that Bartolo’s life shows that sanctity is not reserved for the already-perfect, but for those willing to let grace transform them. He gave his days to repairing what sin had torn apart: teaching the Rosary, serving the poor, and raising up a spiritual home for countless souls in Pompeii. In him, I see the concrete proof that God’s love is stronger than any past mistake.

As I prepare for his canonization, I feel called to renew my own devotion to prayer and mercy. It is a reminder that holiness is not a distant ideal but a call addressed to each of us, here and now. Through Bartolo Longo, the Rosary resounds again as a weapon of peace, conversion, and healing. My heart rejoices, because in his elevation to the heavens, I glimpse once more the radiant truth: mercy triumphs, grace abounds, and the path to heaven lies open. Blessed Bartolo Longo, ora pro nobis.

In celebration, we offer this Novena prayer:

All-powerful and merciful God, in Blessed Bartolo, a promoter of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, you showed a wonderful example of holiness and of charity for needy children and orphans. Through his prayers, may we learn to see Christ your Son in our neighbors and to love him through them. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen