Saint Giuseppe Moscati: Doctor of the Poor

This is the compelling and inspirational true story of a twentieth-century doctor and saint. Giuseppe Moscati, born of an aristocratic family in Naples, Italy, devoted his medical career to serving the poor. He was also a medical school professor and a pioneer in the field of biochemistry, whose research led to the discovery of insulin as a cure for diabetes.

Moscati regarded his medical practice as an apostolate, a ministry to his suffering fellowmen. Before examining a patient or engaging in research he would place himself in the presence of God. Moscati treated poor patients free of charge, and he would often send them home with an envelope containing a prescription and a fifty-lire note. He could have pursued a brilliant academic career, taken a professorial chair, and devoted more time to research, but he continued to serve his beloved patients and to train dedicated interns.

By the witness of his example, he taught his many medical students to practice their profession in a spirit of service, saying that "suffering should be treated not as just pain of the body, but as the cry of a soul, to whom another brother, the doctor, runs with the ardent love of charity. . . [The sick] are the faces of Jesus Christ, and the Gospel precept urges us to love them as ourselves."

Antonio Tripodoro S.J., a Jesuit priest, has been a leader in promoting devotion to Saint Giuseppe Moscati since his canonization in 1987. He has taught philosophy and history, and is the editor of Il Gesll Nuovo, the official publication about devotion to Moscati. He is the author of the books Giuseppe Moscati: Il medico santo di Napoli, and Preghiere in onore di san Giuseppe Moscati, a collection prayers. He carries on a worldwide correspondence regarding devotion to Saint Giuseppe Moscati.