Feast masses will be offered in several churches around the country Sunday, Sept. 18, in honor of Italian saint and Franciscan mystic Saint Joseph (San Jose) of Cupertino, the patron saint of people with mental handicaps, students, examinees, and air travelers.

The DLSU Medical Center Pastoral Care Services in Cavite invites the faithful to pray before the ex carne relic of the venerated saint which will be exposed during the 7:30 a.m. mass at the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary Chapel and at 12 noon at the Saint John Paul II Chapel.

At the San Sebastian Parish in Lumban, Laguna, the image of St. Joseph of Cupertino will be on display for public veneration. Votive masses in his honor will be offered. Prayers and blessed pencils and ball pens will be given out for free.

In Quezon City, the San Jose de Cupertino Center for Special Children in La Vista, Loyola Heights, a school for children with special needs, was built and placed under his patronage.

Church officials encourage the Catholic faithful, the youth, in particular, to pray for Saint Joseph’s intercession during examinations and when facing difficulties in school.

Born on June 17, 1603 in Cupertino, Italy, St. Joseph was said to have been slow-witted and was believed to have a learning disability. Over the years, he grew in holiness and faith and was, according to stories, prone to miraculous levitation and intense ecstatic visions.

He entered a Franciscan friary and was ordained priest in 1628. He led a life of poverty and prayer and was a great devotee of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because of his gift of healing and purity of heart, he attracted large crowds of followers in his lifetime.

He died on Sept. 18, 1663, and was canonized by Pope Clement XIII on July 16, 1767. His life has been made into a movie entitled “The Reluctant Saint,” as well as into a comic book, “The Flying Friar,” and a children’s book, “The Little Friar Who Flew.”