The son of humble farmers, Martin Baylon and Isabel Yubero, Paschal was born on May 16, 1540 in Torre-hermosa, Aragon, Spain.  He was the second of six children.  They named him Paschal because he was born on the vigil of Pentecost.  From the age of 7 until he was 24 he worked as a shepherd of a flock of sheep.

His love for the Eucharist was so great that the owner of the sheep said that the best gift he could offer the boy was to permit him to attend the Holy Mass some day during the week.  From the field where he was tending the sheep he was able to see the belfry of the local Church.  Some times he would kneel down and adore the Blessed Sacrament from afar. 

One day, while the priest was saying the prayers of consecration, the other shepherds heard him yelling, “He is coming here! There He is!”  He fell on his knees.  He had seen Jesus coming in that moment.  The Lord appeared to him on several occasions in human form or as a luminous star. 

From his childhood he undertook hard penances, like walking without shoes over stony paths.  When a sheep would go into a neighbor’s field, he would pay for out of his own salary for the grass that the sheep had eaten. 

Joining the Franciscans
At the age of 24 he entered the convent of the Friars Minor (Franciscans) of Alvatera.  At the beginning they would not accept him because of his lack of education.  He had learned to read a little in order to pray the little office of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, which he always carried with him while he was tending the sheep.  His favorite prayers were to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and The Blessed Virgin Mary. 

The Franciscans assigned him humble duties.  He was a porter, cook, an errand-runner, and sweeper. 

His free time was dedicated to Eucharistic adoration, done on his knees with the cross in his arms.  He spent many hours of the night before the Blessed Sacrament. He continued his adoration late into the night and in the morning was in the chapel before all the other brothers. 

He spoke little, but when he was speaking of the Holy Eucharist the Holy Spirit would inspire him.  He was always happy, but he never felt as content as when he was attending Mass or when he was able to be awhile in prayer before the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.  Upon arriving to a town, he went first to the Church and stayed there for a good amount of time, adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on his knees. 

On one occasion, a religious brother leaned out the window and saw Paschal dancing before an image of the Blessed Virgin and heard him saying, “Lady, I cannot offer you great qualities, because I have none, but I offer a peasant’s dance in your honor.”  The religious could see that the Saint was bursting with joy.

Paschal composed beautiful prayers to the Blessed Sacrament.  The Archbishop San Luis de Rivera, upon reading them exclaimed, “Simple souls like this one gain the best places in heaven. Our human wisdom is worth little when it is compared to the divine wisdom that God gives to the humble.”

Paschal was sent to Paris to participate in a general meeting of the order.  On the way he defended the Eucharist against the heresy of a Calvinist area, for which he was almost killed by a Huguenot mob.  He was glad that he had the honor to suffer for his fidelity to the Lord and did not complain.  Although Paschal scarcely knew how to read and write, he was capable of expressing himself with great eloquence about the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  He had the gift of infused knowledge.  His teachers were amazed at the precision with which he responded to the most difficult theological questions. 

They dedicated this verse to him: Regarding the given infused knowledge,
"Being ignorant still you are a Doctor, Prophet and Preacher, accomplished in Theology”

He was known for his humility and love for the poor and afflicted.  He was famous for his miracles and his gift of carrying souls to Christ.  Martin Crespo relates how the Saint had freed him from his determination to get vengeance on the assassins who had killed his father.  After hearing a sermon regarding the Passion on Good Friday, his friends were exhorting him to forgive them.  He remained unmoved.  Then Paschal took him by the arm, took him aside, and said, “My son, did you not just see the presentation of the Passion of Our Lord?”  “Then,” writes Martin, “with a look that pierced my soul he said to me, ‘For love of Jesus crucified, my son, forgive them.’ ‘Yes, Father,‘ I replied, bowing my head and crying.  ‘For the love of God I forgive them with all my heart.’ From that moment, I did not feel like I was the same person.”

When he was dying he heard a bell and asked, “Why is it ringing?”  “They are at the elevation of the Holy Mass.”  “Oh, what a beautiful moment!”, and he died at that exact moment.  It was May 15, 1592, the Sunday of Pentecost, in Villareal de los Infantes, Spain. 

His funeral Mass was with an open coffin and at the moment of the double elevation, all those present saw his eyes open and close two times.  His body, even after his death, manifested his love for the Eucharist.  There were so many people that wanted to say goodbye to him that his body was exposed for three days. 
Many miracles occurred after his death as well.

He was beatified on October 29, 1618 by Pope Paul V and Canonized October 16, 1690 by Pope Alexander VIII.  He was declared the patron of Eucharistic Conferences and Eucharistic Associations by Leo XIII in the apostolic exhortation Providentissimus Deus, from November 28, 1893. 

Prayer:

Dear Saint Pascal: obtain for us from the good God an immense love for the Most Holy Eucharist, a very great fervor in frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament and a high esteem for the Holy Mass.  

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