Many episodes could be told. Even the detachment, he practised his profession with, surprised and edified everybody. How many acts of true charity, of generous renunciation to win the soul of some rich patient, or of self-sacrifice and almsgiving to alleviate the sufferings of the poor!

A young man, who for many years had ignored God’s claims, was suffering from a tumour of the stomach. Professor Moscati, after having visited him, declared it to be incurable. He did not take any fee, but, in exchange, begged the young man to return to the Church. The invalid shortly afterwards asked for and received the Sacraments, declaring later that he took this decision because he had been strongly impressed by the generous kindness of the Professor and his convincing words, so full of faith.

A poor worker, who was said to be tuberculous, went to Moscati. After having examined him, he found that the patient was not suffering from that malady. "You are not yet tuberculous," he said, "you have an abscess in your lungs, caused by an illness in youth. Pray to Our Lady and go to the Sacraments."
Following this treatment the worker was cured. When he went to the Professor to pay his account, the latter refused any fee, saying, "If you wish to pay, go to Confession, for it is God who has cured you." Our Lord granted him a special consolation as a reward for such charity.

In February 1927, Professor Bianchi, Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, very well known to scientists and politicians, but not a practising Catholic, was giving a lecture to an academic meeting at the University and was receiving the acclaim of his admiring listeners. Suddenly he felt ill and fell. Many people surrounded him, proposing remedies, but in vain.
Professor Moscati felt himself sought out by the dying man's eyes, and approached him, urged by the wish to save this soul. He immediately sent someone to call the Parish Priest. In the meantime, bending over Professor Bianchi and holding before him a Crucifix, Professor Moscati suggested to him that he should recall his sins and repeat the short prayer: "My Jesus, have mercy". The priest, arriving shortly afterwards, had barely time to administer Extreme Unction, for death was prompt in cutting short that life.

"Your uncle was saved" - wrote Cardinal Ascalesi to Bianchi's niece - "because he found himself near to such a missionary as Joseph Moscati."

Writing to that same niece, Moscati said, "I still feel the impression of that look which sought me out, among so many people. Moreover, Leonard Bianchi knew well my religious feelings, having known me since I was a student. I ran to him, suggesting words of penitence and faith, while he tightly clasped my hand, being unable to speak... I did not want to go to that lecture, not having been to the University for some time, but that day a superhuman force, which I could not resist, urged me to go."

The poor, homeless, and priests were his favourite patients, and he would never accept any fee from them; what annoyed him most was discussion by the patient's relations about his fee. He would reply, brusque yet gentle, "Have done with this talk of money. The important thing is that I should visit the invalid!"
Once his colleague Prof. Napoli asked him why he had refused a fee from a rich patient who was very ill and an unbeliever too, Moscati replied, "I will convert him. To have a soul saved will be the greatest reward that I could wish for." In fact, shortly afterwards that patient died a Christian death. Regarding the poor, there are many anecdotes about his disinterestedness and his charity. We will quote just a few.

Having examined in Amalfi all the patients presented to him, he refused payment from all of them, and to those who asked why, he replied: "These are working folk. What do we have we that it has not been given us by Our Lord? Woe to us if we do not make good use of God's gifts!"

Studio of Doctor Moscati

In Castellammare the fellow workers of a railwayman, who lived in a squalid lodging, called him in. He examined the sick man carefully, explaining to the relatives his serious condition, then prescribed remedies, encouraging all those present to have faith in his cure, and advised them to call the Parish Priest at once, "Because - he said - one must attend first to the salvation of the soul and only then to that of the body".
Meanwhile the poor railwayman’s companions gathered together in a corner of the miserable room, collecting the money to be offered to the Professor. Guessing what they were doing, he approached and said, "Since you, scraping together part of your hard earned money, have come to the aid of your sick friend, I also wish to associate myself with your humanitarian action, and to contribute my share to this charity action, so that by means of this sum the invalid may be able to afford the necessary remedies", and he gave them some money.
All those present, surprised and admired, fell at his feet, trying to kiss his hands, but he escaped and left the hovel hastily.

Often, so as not to embarrass poor people, after having treated them free of charge, he would surreptitiously leave money behind. Thus, one poor woman found 50 lire folded in her prescription, another one found 500 lire under the pillow; another one was healed in the hospital at his expense, etc.

He always preferred to treat the most needy. One day a rich and noble Neapolitan man came to him, beseeching him to visit his mother, who was ill. The Professor refused decisively, and to the man’s surprise observed, "She is very rich and can easily call in another professor. Today I must go to a poor priest in San Giovanni a Teduccio."
"And if I accompanied you first to San Giovanni, would you come afterwards to my home?" asked the man. "Willingly, for you will be taking part in a good work".

He knew perfectly all the narrow lanes and alleys of old Naples, where, for the most part, his poorest friends lived, and he threaded his way through them with an assurance that surprised others, but that for him was the fruit of a long custom. How many episodes became known, and how many others had as only witness his Guardian Angel, and the eye of God!

Even more than elsewhere, this complex figure, both scientist and believer, had as his field of action the school and the hospital. After a few years, he became centre of attraction for scholars, because of his bewildering mastery of the sciences, his imposing moral uprightness, and a rare spiritual greatness. Around him, students, colleagues, young graduates became more and more numerous. Gradually their admiration transformed into profound respect, into enthusiasm, into devotion and filial affection.

The austerity of science was relieved by his moral vision of life: the sadness of human transience, the flight of souls to heaven. In those lessons among those wards, Joseph Moscati wished to form not only clever doctors, but also enlightened, strong souls. He wished to be a true teacher.

Prof.Moscati among his students

One day, visiting with his pupils a badly deformed woman, he turned to them and said, "Look, it is a thousand times better to contemplate this poor woman, who cannot help her deformity, than admiring some modern women, beautiful in appearance, but corrupt and vicious..."

When he had to perform a post-mortem, after having approached the mortuary slab, he was used to remaining some minutes in silent contemplation of the Crucifix, then looking compassionately at the corpse, he often exclaimed: "That’s the end of Man’s pride! Hatred, wealth, revelry, and then... This is what we are! How much death teaches us!"

Among his students, he felt as at home like with his spiritual family, and enjoyed it. As well as the abundant richness of his heart, he communicated to them wonderful thoughts on God, on Divine Providence, on virtue and mutual love. He was so happy when his pupils accompanied him to Holy Mass, stayed with him and afterwards went home with him.
"In contact with him - says one of them - we were overcome by the irresistible fascination of his goodness, and not only did we drink of the inexhaustible fountain of his doctrine, but we were drunk with the sweet perfume of gentleness and goodness which emanated from his pure candid soul".

And another one, "He was not only the master, but the father, and the treasures of his scientific knowledge, united to the moral precepts which he implanted in us day after day, bound us to him with a devotion which we shall cherish now and always".
And in one of the funeral orations: "You have always been for us a brother amongst brothers; we felt you to be our Master only when we perceived that you had created something in us, which, though not a living reality because of our lack of will power, was certainly a powerful yearning after that which is good, precious and beautiful."

As well as the journey he made in 1911 to Vienna and Budapest at request of the Government, he made another to Edinburgh in 1923. At first, he was undecided whether to accept this task. He disliked leaving his family and he was rather reluctant to abandon, even for a short time, his patients. He was only persuaded by his sister's insistence and his confessor’s advice and blessing.

His language knowledge, artistic taste and the profound appreciation that he had for all forms of culture and science made these journeys enjoyable for him, and a rich source of food for his intellect and his soul. However, his first thought on the arrival in a town was to seek a Catholic church, and then to visit the hospital where he sought information concerning recent researches and the latest methods of therapy, and where he visited the beds of sick Italians, to whom he offered generous help.

On his return from Edinburgh, he visited Lourdes, where he received great interior consolations.

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E-mail: moscati@gesuiti.it