Tommaso Bellacci
Blessed Tommaso Bellacci | |
---|---|
Born | 1370 Florence, Republic of Florence |
Died | 31 October 1447 (aged 77) Rieti, Papal States |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | 24 August 1771, Saint Peter's Basilica, Papal States by Pope Clement XIV |
Feast | 31 October, 25 October (Franciscan orders) |
Tommaso Bellacci (1370 - 31 October 1447) was an Italian member of the Third Order of Saint Francis.[1]
Bellacci was a butcher and became a religious after turning his life around from one of sin to one of penance and servitude to God.[2] Bellacci travelled across the Middle East and the Italian peninsula to preach and administer to people despite not being an ordained priest.[3] His beatification was celebrated in 1771.[4]
Life
Tommaso Bellacci was born in Florence in 1370 in the neighborhood of the Ponte alle Grazie. His parents came from Castello di Linari in Val d'Elsa.;[3]. He became a butcher like his father. During his youth he got into a good deal of trouble on various occasions, and led such a wild and dissolute life as an adolescent that parents warned their sons to keep their distance from him.[2] Persuaded by a friend to change his ways, he tried to enter a religious order but found strong resistance to being accepted.
Bellacci was accused of having committed a serious crime in 1400 that he in fact did not do and so he wandered the streets of Florence until he met a priest who listened to Bellacci and took him in and helped clear his name.[2] The incident shocked him so much - coupled with his appreciation of the priest - that he shed his life of sin and decided to live a life of total penance and service to God. He joined the Third Order of Saint Francis in Fiesole[3] under the spiritual guidance of Friar Giovanni da Stronconio and became noted for keeping vigils and fasting.
Bellacci was very particular in keeping to a literal interpretation of the Franciscan Rule. As novice master, despite not being a priest,[1] he led by example. He became part of the Observant reform and in 1414 accompanied another friar to Naples to introduce the Observant practice in the Franciscan houses there. He remained in Naples six years, preaching and helping to spread the reform.[5]
He founded friaries in Corscia[2] Pope Martin V called him to preach in the northern cities against the "Fraticelli" who were a group of heretical Franciscans and was also made Vicar General at the pope's behest; he and Albert Berdini of Sarteano in 1438 were later sent to the Middle East to cities such as Damascus and Cairo in order to promote the reunification of the Eastern and Western Churches when he was over 70.[3] Alberto had to leave due for back home due to his ill health which left Bellacci on his own.[4]
He attempted to travel to Ethiopia but the Turks captured him three times. The Florentine merchants helped to secure his release the first two times. The third time he was again captured and suffered enslavement and persecution for several years.[6] Pope Eugene IV helped secure his release.[3] He returned home in 1444 and spent his time in a convent in Abruzzo until 1446. He was known for his diet of water and vegetables.[1]
Bellacci died in Rieti while on a visit to Rome to visit the pontiff. He planned to ask him for permission to return to the Orient.[2] His remains were relocated in 2006.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Blessed Thomas Bellacci from Florence". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Blessed Thomas Bellacci". Saints SQPN. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "St. Thomas Bellacci". Cook's Info. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Blessed Thomas of Florence". Ecumenical Franciscan Order. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ^ Cerulli, Enrico. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Vol. 7, (1970)
- ^ Rogers, Francis M. The Quest for Eastern Christians, University of Minnesota Press, 1962, p. 40 ISBN 9781452912639
External links
- Saints SQPN
- v
- t
- e
Stages of canonization: Servant of God → Venerable → Blessed → Saint
- Gabriel
- Michael in the Catholic Church
- Raphael
- Anatolius
- Anthony of Kiev
- Athanasius the Confessor
- Chariton the Confessor
- Dominic
- Edward the Confessor
- Francis of Assisi
- Francis Borgia
- Homobonus
- Lazarus Zographos
- Louis Bertrand
- Maximus the Confessor
- Michael of Synnada
- Paphnutius the Confessor
- Paul I of Constantinople
- Peter Claver
- Salonius
- Sergius of Radonezh
- Theophanes the Confessor
- Pio of Pietrelcina
- Gregory the Great
- Ambrose
- Augustine of Hippo
- Jerome
- John Chrysostom
- Basil of Caesarea
- Gregory of Nazianzus
- Athanasius of Alexandria
- Cyril of Alexandria
- Cyril of Jerusalem
- John of Damascus
- Bede the Venerable
- Ephrem the Syrian
- Thomas Aquinas
- Bonaventure
- Anselm of Canterbury
- Isidore of Seville
- Peter Chrysologus
- Leo the Great
- Peter Damian
- Bernard of Clairvaux
- Hilary of Poitiers
- Alphonsus Liguori
- Francis de Sales
- Peter Canisius
- John of the Cross
- Robert Bellarmine
- Albertus Magnus
- Anthony of Padua
- Lawrence of Brindisi
- Teresa of Ávila
- Catherine of Siena
- Thérèse of Lisieux
- John of Ávila
- Hildegard of Bingen
- Gregory of Narek
- Irenaeus
Fathers
- Alexander of Alexandria
- Alexander of Jerusalem
- Ambrose of Milan
- Anatolius
- Athanasius of Alexandria
- Augustine of Hippo
- Caesarius of Arles
- Caius
- Cappadocian Fathers
- Clement of Alexandria
- Clement of Rome
- Cyprian of Carthage
- Cyril of Alexandria
- Cyril of Jerusalem
- Damasus I
- Desert Fathers
- Desert Mothers
- Dionysius of Alexandria
- Dionysius of Corinth
- Dionysius
- Ephrem the Syrian
- Epiphanius of Salamis
- Fulgentius of Ruspe
- Gregory the Great
- Gregory of Nazianzus
- Gregory of Nyssa
- Hilary of Poitiers
- Hippolytus of Rome
- Ignatius of Antioch
- Irenaeus of Lyons
- Isidore of Seville
- Jerome of Stridonium
- John Chrysostom
- John of Damascus
- Maximus the Confessor
- Melito of Sardis
- Quadratus of Athens
- Papias of Hierapolis
- Peter Chrysologus
- Polycarp of Smyrna
- Theophilus of Antioch
- Victorinus of Pettau
- Vincent of Lérins
- Zephyrinus
- Abda and Abdisho
- Boris and Gleb
- Charles de Foucauld
- Canadian Martyrs
- Carthusian Martyrs
- Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala
- Christina of Persia
- Devasahayam Pillai
- Dismas the Good Thief
- Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
- Four Crowned Martyrs
- Gerard of Csanád
- Great Martyr
- The Holy Innocents
- Irish Martyrs
- John Fisher
- Korean Martyrs
- Lorenzo Ruiz
- Martyrs of Lübeck
- Luigi Versiglia
- Martyrology
- Martyrs of Albania
- Martyrs of Algeria
- Martyrs of Cajonos
- Martyrs of Drina
- Martyrs of China
- Martyrs of Gorkum
- Martyrs of Japan
- 21 Martyrs of Libya
- Martyrs of La Rioja
- Martyrs of Laos
- Martyrs of Natal
- Martyrs of Otranto
- Martyrs of Prague
- Martyrs of Sandomierz
- Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War
- Martyrs of Zenta
- Maximilian Kolbe
- Óscar Romero
- Pedro Calungsod
- Perpetua and Felicity
- Peter Chanel
- Pietro Parenzo
- Philomena
- Saints of the Cristero War
- Stephen
- Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
- Titus Brandsma
- 17 Thomasian Martyrs
- Thomas Becket
- Thomas More
- Three Martyrs of Chimbote
- Ulma Family
- Uganda Martyrs
- Vietnamese Martyrs
- Valentine of Rome
- Victor and Corona
- Zanitas and Lazarus of Persia
- Adeodatus I
- Adeodatus II
- Adrian III
- Agapetus I
- Agatho
- Alexander I
- Anacletus
- Anastasius I
- Anicetus
- Anterus
- Benedict II
- Boniface I
- Boniface IV
- Caius
- Callixtus I
- Celestine I
- Celestine V
- Clement I
- Cornelius
- Damasus I
- Dionysius
- Eleuterus
- Eugene I
- Eusebius
- Eutychian
- Evaristus
- Fabian
- Felix I
- Felix III
- Felix IV
- Gelasius I
- Gregory I
- Gregory II
- Gregory III
- Gregory VII
- Hilarius
- Hormisdas
- Hyginus
- Innocent I
- John I
- John XXIII
- John Paul II
- Julius I
- Leo I
- Leo II
- Leo III
- Leo IV
- Leo IX
- Linus
- Lucius I
- Marcellinus
- Marcellus I
- Mark
- Martin I
- Miltiades
- Nicholas I
- Paschal I
- Paul I
- Paul VI
- Peter
- Pius I
- Pius V
- Pius X
- Pontian
- Sergius I
- Silverius
- Simplicius
- Siricius
- Sixtus I
- Sixtus II
- Sixtus III
- Soter
- Stephen I
- Stephen IV
- Sylvester I
- Symmachus
- Telesphorus
- Urban I
- Victor I
- Vitalian
- Zachary
- Zephyrinus
- Zosimus
- Agabus
- Amos
- Anna
- Baruch ben Neriah
- David
- Elijah
- Ezekiel
- Habakkuk
- Haggai
- Hosea
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Job
- Joel
- John the Baptist
- Jonah
- Judas Barsabbas
- Malachi
- Melchizedek
- Micah
- Moses
- Nahum
- Obadiah
- Samuel
- Seven Maccabees and their mother
- Simeon
- Zechariah (prophet)
- Zechariah (NT)
- Zephaniah
- Agatha of Sicily
- Agnes of Rome
- Angela of the Cross
- Æthelthryth
- Bernadette Soubirous
- Catherine of Bologna
- Brigid of Kildare
- Catherine Labouré
- Catherine of Siena
- Cecilia
- Clare of Assisi
- Eulalia of Mérida
- Euphemia
- Faustina Kowalska
- Faustina and Liberata of Como
- Genevieve
- Hiltrude of Liessies
- Joan of Arc
- Kateri Tekakwitha
- Lucy of Syracuse
- Maria Goretti
- María de las Maravillas de Jesús
- Narcisa de Jesús
- Patricia of Naples
- Rosalia
- Rose of Lima
- Teresa of the Andes
- Teresa of Calcutta
- Trasilla and Emiliana
- Ubaldesca Taccini
- Josephine Bakhita
- Catholic Church portal
- Saints portal