Albert of Trapani (born Albert degli Abati; scn, Sant’Albertu di l’Abati; 1240 – 7 August 1307) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and a professed member of the

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

. He practiced great austerities upon himself to make himself poor in the spirit of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and went out preaching and evangelizing; he was known for working and maintaining a positive relationship with

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

as well as for his powers of healing. The saint was likewise attributed for the 1301 lifting of the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

that could have seen hundreds die from starvation had it not been for his intervention. His beatification received approval in 1454 from

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV, Po ...

and he was canonized sometime later in mid-1476; some sources suggest that

Pope Callixtus III Pope Callixtus III ( it, Callisto III, va, Calixt III, es, Calixto III; 31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458), born Alfonso de Borgia ( va, Alfons de Borja), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 April 1455 to his ...

canonized the saint on 15 October 1457.

Life

Alberto degli Abati was born circa 1240 in Trapani as the sole child to the nobles (of Florentine origin) Benedetto degli Abati and Giovanna Palizi. His father served as an admiral in the fleet of Frederick II of Hohensautfen. His parents - who married in 1214 - were sterile and promised that if blessed to have a son he would be consecrated to the Beata Vergine Maria del Monte Carmelo. In his childhood his father had thought of arranging a marriage for him but his mother was able to remind her husband to adhere to the vow the couple made that he be consecrated to the Lord. He received his education from the

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

and around this time set his heart on commencing his ecclesial studies for the priesthood so as to serve

and his fellow man and woman. He entered the

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

in 1258 to join the order before his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

in Trapani and his transfer to the order's house at Messina and he served as a mendicant preacher to the Sicilian people. He worked alongside

and converted some while collaborating with others and tending to their needs. He served from 1280 until 1287 as the provincial for Trapani and as the provincial for Messina from 1287 until 1296 when he was named as the provincial superior for the Sicilian region of his order; he held that position until his death a decade later. He sometimes practiced exorcisms. He often mixed bitter wormwood with his food and drink to make them less pleasant to the taste and to mortify his sense of taste. He once saved three Jews from drowning near

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...

and once cured a Jewish boy from

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

Sciacca Sciacca (; Greek language, Greek: ; Latin: Thermae Selinuntinae, Thermae Selinuntiae, Thermae, Aquae Labrodes and Aquae Labodes) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily, southern Italy. It has vi ...

. The lifting of a

at Messina is attributed to him. In 1301 the town was under siege and blockaded after Duke Robert of Calabria entered. He responded to the pleas for succor and went on to celebrated

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

as a plea for the deliverance of

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. Once he finished three ships loaded with

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

ran the blockade thus saving Messina from

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, dea ...

as Duke Robert lifted the siege. He died at a convent in Messina. Tradition records an argument between the faithful and the priests regarding plans for his funeral since the faithful wanted to celebrate him as a saint while the priests wanted a normal

Requiem Mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

. The argument ceased when

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

appeared siding with the people confirming the late friar as a confessor of the faith. His remains were moved at one stage either in 1309 though most sources suggest it was done in 1317. The

Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church is a Roman Catholic church in Dublin, Ireland maintained by the Carmelite order. The church is noted for having the relics of Saint Valentine, which were donated to the church in the 19th century by Pope Gre ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

contains some of his

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

. His liturgical feast sees a relic of the saint dipped into the water of Saint Albert's Well (in Agrigento) and the Carmelites say that those who piously use the water receive healing of mind and body, through the intercession of Albert. His flask that contained wormwood is in Corleone and the stone he used as his pillow is in

Petralia Soprana Petralia Soprana ( Sicilian: ''Pitralìa Suprana'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,630 and an ...

. His

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

is contained in a silver statue crafted in the 1700s (the engraver Vincenzo Bonaiuto did this) for the saint's altar in the Trapani Marian basilica after being moved from Messina.

Teresa of Ávila Teresa of Ávila, OCD (born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada; 28 March 15154 or 15 October 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer. Active during th ...

and Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi had strong devotions to him. Battista Spagnoli composed a Sapphic ode in his honor and a gate in Messina was named after him in 1623. Vincenzo Barbaro and Theodore de Aquis were just two of some who wrote biographies on the late saint. There are sources that suggest

either canonized or beatified him through verbal consent on 15 October 1457 but it is believed for the most part that

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

approved the canonization in a papal bull signed on 31 May 1476. It is likewise believed that

beatified him in 1454.

References

External links

Saints SQPN

New Catholic Encyclopedia

Catholic Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert Of Trapani 1240 births 1306 deaths 14th-century Christian saints 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Carmelites Carmelite saints Italian Roman Catholic saints People from Trapani Sicilian saints Year of birth unknown

Life

See also

References

External links