BOCA RATON | The 2022 canonization of St. Titus Brandsma has left an indelible mark on people in the Diocese of Palm Beach. From the terminal cancer diagnosis for a beloved priest serving in the diocese, to the countless intercessory prayers prayed to then-Blessed Titus for the priest, to his healing and the diocesan investigation that supported the miraculous nature of the healing, it’s safe to say that St. Titus and the diocese are permanently linked.
However, perhaps because the discovery of Carmelite Father Michael Driscoll’s skin cancer and intensive prayer campaign began 20 years ago, knowledge of St. Titus Brandsma’s life and legacy seems to have fallen off. Father Driscoll hopes to boost awareness of and devotion to St. Titus by serving as spiritual director during a May 13-22, 2025, pilgrimage to the Netherlands and Germany.
“What we’re trying to do, first of all, is stir up interest in the life of Titus Brandsma and for people who might be interested in following in the footsteps, you might say, of this great hero in the church,” said Father Driscoll, who was a longtime pastor of St. Jude Parish in Boca Raton, where he still lives. “I’m a little bit disappointed in the fact that, despite all the facts prior to his canonization, so many people never even heard of him.”
For those who are unaware, St. Titus was born Anno Sjoerd Brandsma in the Netherlands in 1881 and became a Carmelite priest, theologian, journalist and author who opposed and spoke out against the anti-Jewish laws being passed in Nazi Germany before World War II.
“He was arrested when Germany invaded the Netherlands and told that he would be allowed to live a quiet life in a monastery if he would announce that Catholic newspapers should publish Nazi propaganda,” according to a Vatican News report when his canonization was announced in 2021. Father Titus refused and was imprisoned, then finally sent to the Dachau concentration camp.
“At Dachau, he was known for his outreach and care for the prisoners and became an example and source of hope to those with whom he was imprisoned. He even forgave his captors for his imprisonment,” wrote Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito in an Aug. 26, 2022, Florida Catholic column after celebrating Mass on the first feast of St. Titus Brandsma, who was given a lethal injection in Dachau on July 26, 1942.
“On the occasion of his execution, St. Titus gave his rosary to the woman who administered the injection and encouraged her to use it even though she had forgotten how to pray,” the bishop wrote. “She had turned away from the Catholic faith and later expressed that it was through the intercession of St. Titus that she came back. The saint’s final words, ‘Let your will, not mine, be done, O Lord,’ made a lasting impression on her.”
When Father Titus was beatified (declared Blessed) by St. John Paul II during a November 1985 Vatican Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Father Driscoll was in attendance.
One of Terence Driscoll’s (Michael is his religious name) high school teachers in Middletown, New York, was a Dutch Carmelite priest who lived in the Netherlands when Father Titus was arrested by the Gestapo. The priest told his students a lot about Father Titus. Little did young Terence know the role that Father Titus would play in his life.
In 2004, when Father Driscoll was pastor of St. Jude, he contracted a deadly form of melanoma skin cancer on his scalp and neck. After undergoing 11 hours of surgery and radiation treatments, he knew that the prognosis was not good. His type of metastatic melanoma usually comes back with a vengeance in two to five years, most often in a different area of the body.
A month before his surgery, Father Driscoll was given a relic of then-Blessed Titus that consisted of a small piece of the future saint’s clothing. Touching the relic to his head and neck, Father Driscoll began to pray in earnest to Blessed Titus, asking him to intercede on his behalf and seek relief from the melanoma, if it be God’s will.
With encouragement from Bishop Barbarito and many other friends of Father Driscoll, an army of prayer warriors started appealing daily to God for a healing. A prayer group met every morning after Mass at St. Jude. Then, after several years of regular medical checkups, his doctors pronounced him free of all signs of the melanoma.
After Carmelite leaders in Rome gave their approval, the Diocese of Palm Beach began an investigation into the alleged miracle in 2016. Witnesses to all aspects of the case were interviewed, focusing on the specific prayers to Blessed Titus. The evidence was compelling that linked the requests for intercession to the cure. An extensive report of nearly 1,300 pages was prepared and sent to the Vatican.
On Thanksgiving Day 2021, word came from the Holy See that Pope Francis had approved the miracle that would advance Blessed Titus to sainthood. The canonization Mass was held May 15, 2022, in St. Peter’s Square, with Father Driscoll again in attendance. He is now 82 years old and celebrates occasional Masses at St. Jude, St. Joan of Arc and St. John the Evangelist parishes in Boca Raton.
Father Driscoll has been writing and talking about the miracle that has prolonged his life, and he is grateful to be able to continue his priestly ministry. He periodically is asked to pray for cancer patients and sometimes is visited by people who request to be blessed with his St. Titus relic.
“We are truly blessed to have a miracle occur within our diocese through the intercession of St. Titus Brandsma,” wrote Bishop Barbarito in August 2022. “He is a great example to all of us who are living the Christian life in our daily lives as God calls us.”
The local Carmelite priest also has been advocating to have the church recognize the Dutch saint as the modern patron of journalists, especially those in Catholic media. A patron saint is a special protector or guardian over areas of life, including occupations, illnesses, churches and causes. That recognition would shine a light on the preaching and writings of St. Titus that have been collected and are available online, Father Driscoll said.
“I know the Dutch journalists are very anxious for him to be declared as a patron saint of modern journalists and writers, and they’re trying to push the cause in Holland,” he said. “I just thought maybe in this pilgrimage to sites dear to him, we will hear a lot of the people in Holland, especially about their devotion to Titus Brandsma.
“I have done a couple of writings on it and trying to spread that, but I was surprised at how many priests haven’t even heard of him, let alone know his life,” Father Driscoll added. “So, I thought going to these places, we would find a little bit more information about him, stir up our devotion to his intercession and see how he has affected people, especially in his homeland.”
To read Bishop Barbarito’s column referenced in this article, visit www.thefloridacatholic.org/dioceses/palm-beach/st-titus-brandsma-a-saint-special-to-our-diocese/article_4fdd93ce-24df-11ed-b3b7-5719aa2828f8.html. To learn more about St. Titus Brandsma, go to https://www.ru.nl/titusbrandsmainstitute/. The pilgrimage to the Netherlands and Germany, led by Carmelite Father Michael Driscoll, will be from May 13-22, 2025. For a detailed itinerary and pricing, visit www.faithfultravels.org or call Suzanne Taskowitz at 305-481-4533.
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