Pope Leo XIV just made an uncanny move in his decision to make an ex-Satanist a saint.
Pope Leo decided to canonize prior Satanic priest Bartolo Longo, according to PhilSTAR Life. Longo was an Italian lawyer who had quite an unusual spiritual journey.
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Longo recommitted himself to Catholicism and renounced Satanism prior to his death in 1926. Longo originally raised up in Catholicism, but left the faith and became an atheist.
After this departure, he became a Satanic priest where he spent years of his life locked into depression and darkness. However, he then experienced a spiritual transformation and came back to Catholicism. Longo devoted himself to the church following this conversion and promoted the use of the Rosary.
Longo was not the only saint Leo canonized. Leo also canonized Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan, who was a Catholic archbishop that died during an Armenian Genocide in 1915. Maloyan stood boldly for his faith during this time when the Ottoman Empire overtook the area as he refused to give up Christianity for Islam. José Gregorio Hernández became a saint was well, being known for his faith and contributions to others as a “doctor of the poor” along with Peter To Rot who ministered to others during World War II and was eventually caught and murdered in 1945.
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The pope also canonized three women as saints of the Catholic faith as well. Maria Troncatti was a nun, nurse and missionary who shared the gospel with the Amazonian people of Ecuador. Vincenza Maria Poloni was a nun who started the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona that achieved this high honor while María del Carmen Rendiles Martínez also started the Servants of Jesus of Venezuela despite having been born without her left arm.
The canonization of these saints comes after Leo canonized the “first millennial saint,” Carlo Acutis, dubbing him as “God’s influencer.”
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the upcoming book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment.
