THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT CAJETAN Founder of the Theatine Fathers and Patron of Gamers Feast Day: August 7
"If you want Christ to love you and help you, you must love Him, and always make every endeavour to please Him. Do not waver in your purpose, because even if all the saints and every single creature were to abandon you, He will always be near you, no matter what your needs may be."
Are you losing your job during the pandemic? Are you always wasting your money because you're bad at banking? Are you losing some stuff due to pulling a better gacha? This priest and founder is the one who solve all of your problems. This is Cajetan, nicknamed the 'Hunter of Souls', and is well-known as the patron saint of the unemployed, bankers, and gamers.
He was born Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene, in Vicenza, Veneto, Republic of Venice (now in Italy) on October 1, 1480, and is the son of Gaspar, lord of Thiene, and Mary Porta, persons of the first rank among the nobility of the territory of Vicenza in the Veneto region. When Cajetan was two, his father died. Quiet and retiring in nature, he was predisposed to piety by his mother.
Having obtained a doctorate in law and receiving a degree as doctor utriusque juris (both civil and canon law) from the University of Padua at the age of 24, and he spent two years as a senator in his hometown. In 1506, he worked as a diplomat for Pope Julius II, with whom he helped reconcile the Republic of Venice. But he was not ordained a priest until 1516. With the death of Pope Julius II in 1513, Cajetan withdrew from the papal court. Unsatisfied by that kind of life, he pursued his vocation in Rome, where he was ordained in 1516. Recalled to Vicenza by the death of his mother he founded in 1522 a hospital for incurables there. His interests were as much or more devoted to spiritual healing than the physical kind, and he joined a confraternity in Rome called the 'Oratory of Divine Love'.
A new congregation was canonically erected by Pope Clement VII in the year 1524. One of his four companions was Giovanni Pietro Carafa, the bishop of Chieti, elected first superior of the order, who later became pope as Paul IV. From the name of the city of Chieti (Theate in Latin), arose the name by which the order is known, the 'Theatines', commonly known as the Congregation of Clerics Regular.
They were committed to teach catechism, to assist the poor, and reform the clergy. They were known as Theatines in honor of the bishop of Chieti who joined them.
The order grew at a fairly slow pace: there were only twelve Theatines during the sack of Rome in 1527, during which Cajetan was tortured by the Spanish soldiers of Charles V who had mutinied, and they managed to escape to Venice, where they opened new houses. There Cajetan met Jerome Emiliani, whom he assisted in the establishment of his Congregation of Clerks Regular (Somascan Fathers). In 1533, he founded a house in Naples. The year 1540, found him in Venice again and from there he extended his work to Verona. He founded a bank to help the poor and offer an alternative to usurers (who charged high interest rates), and it later became the Banco di Napoli.
The reason why Cajetan is the patron of gamblers is this story. His connection to gambling is obscure. Popular lore says the people would ask him for a favor, and bet him a rosary that he couldn't come through. Since he always came through, he was able to get people to pray more.
Worn out by his restless apostolate, St. Cajetan died peacefully on August 7, 1547 at the age of 66. Advised by his physician not to lie in a hardboard but on a mattress, he replied: 'My Savior died on a cross, allow me at least to die on wood.'
Cajetan is beatified by Pope Urban VIII in 1629 and canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671. The Jesuit missionary, Eusebio Kino, who in 1691, established the mission San Cayetano de Tumacácori in honor of Cajetan. It is now Tumacacori National Historical Park in Arizona.
