blessed john of rieti

Blessed John is an example of a spiritual maturity reached in a short time at a youthful age.

John Bufalari was born at Castel Porziano in the diocese of Amelia (Terni), Italy, at the beginning of the fourteenth century and entered the Augustinian Order in his early youth at Rieti. He was the brother of Blessed Lucy of Amelia. His brief life as a friar was marked by simplicity, cheerfulness, innocence, and great devotion to the community. He made himself the servant of all and expressed his great fraternal love in the simplest and most ordinary of tasks, such as caring for the sick and attending to the guests of the monastery. He spent much time in prayer and was always eager to serve the Masses of the priests of the community regardless of their number.

There is a collection of stories written about John which express his purity of intention and devout religious spirit. Once when he left the community garden it was evident that he had been crying, and, asked the reason for his tears, he remarked: “Because I see how the plants, the trees, the birds, and the fruitful earth obey God, and yet men and women, who are promised eternal life for their obedience, transgress the commands of their creator. This makes me sad at heart.”

John died at the age of seventeen at Rieti, and his remains are preserved in the former Augustinian church of Saint Augustine in that city. His memory is observed by the Augustinian Family on 2 August.