The feast day of St. Cajetan is celebrated on August 7. He was born in Vicenza, Italy, in 1480. St. Cajetan is the patron saint of the unemployed.
Even as a child Cajetan was very devout. He studied at Padua becoming a lawyer. He then was ordained a priest in Rome working for the Roman Curia. He joined the Oratory of Divine Love in Rome, which was devoted to charity and piety.
At the age of 42, he founded a hospital for incurables in Venice. He served the sick and the poor. St. Cajetan along with three friends decided to bring zeal back to the clergy. They founded an order known as the Theatines. They focused on reforming the clergy. After the sack of Rome they escaped to Venice when their house was ruined in 1527. Members of his order took a strict vow of poverty, depending entirely on Divine Providence rather than on income.
One Christmas Eve when Cajetan was passing the Church of St. Mary Major, the Holy Child appeared to him and the the Blessed Virgin laid the child in the Saints arms filling his soul with joy. He had many visions in his life and was known for being in a state of ecstasy during prayer. He miraculously cured many who were sick including a man whose foot was to be amputated due to gangrene. After telling the man to trust in God and ask for the intercession of St. Francis, he kissed the foot , rebandaged it and made the sign of the cross over it. The following day the foot was healed.
St. Cajetan died in 1547 after receiving the last sacraments. Many miracles were attributed to him after his death.
St. Cajetan was canonized by Clement X in 1671.
There is no road to Heaven but that of Innocence or Penance.
Quote of St. Cajetan
August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary