The Spiritual Gift of Invisibility

Saints Who Became Invisible in the Presence of Witnesses

Mar 24, 2009

Many Catholic Saints had the ability to become invisible to perform works of charity or to engage in private prayer when the crowds would not leave.

Most of the time, the phenomenon of saints becoming invisible occurs so that a saint may disappear from a crowd to perform a work of charity or to pray privately when the crowds of people just won’t give the saint the necessary privacy.

There are numerous saints who are believed to have possessed the gift of invisibility.

St. Francis of Paola 1507

St. Francis of Paola was known as "The Miracle Worker" during his lifetime because he possessed many profound miraculous gifts.

While visiting the governor of Bormes, St. Francis of Paola left the palace to proceed to the city gates and leave with his companions. But crowds of people swarmed around him.

According to historical reports, the people all wanted to tear a piece of his habit off of his body. And as they did, the pieces miraculously filled back in. But after this had gone on for quite some time, St. Francis of Paola, uncomfortable with the adoring crowd, just disappeared. He was found some time later by his companions outside the city gate waiting to proceed on their trip.

St. Gerard Majella 1755

One day in the monastery, St. Gerard Majella had received permission to enter into a day of retreat, contemplation and prayer in his cell. An hour or so later, his superior needed his help and sent another brother to go get him. But when he arrived, St. Gerard Majella was nowhere to be found. This happened several times as everyone in the monastery searched every nook and cranny to find him. They finally realized that St. Gerard would most assuredly show up at Holy Communion so they waited to see him then.

As expected, at the time Holy Communion was to be celebrated, he immediately became visible again and got up to attend The Holy Mass.

Father Paul of Moll 1896

Known as "The Wonder-Worker of the Nineteenth Century," a book has been written about this little known man who was considered a saint in his own time but has not yet been canonized – Father Paul of Moll (1824 – 1896), by Edward van Speybrouck.

In Thielt, a working woman experienced on more than one occasion observing Father Paul praying inside the church. Each time, she would see him for a time and then he would simply disappear. When she wrote to him to ask if she had actually seen him praying in the church and then disappearing, he replied with a simple, “Yes.”

Others Known to Have the Spiritual Gift of Invisibility

As it is an unusual gift, not many were known to have it. Among them known were St. Clement Mary Hofbauer and St. Martin de Porres.

The copyright of the article The Spiritual Gift of Invisibility in Catholic Saints is owned by Marilynn Hughes. Permission to republish The Spiritual Gift of Invisibility in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.