Andrea dei Conti (1240 - 1 February 1302) 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 let ...

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 partic ...

and a professed member of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

who was also a member of the noble house of

Conti di Segni The counts of Segni ( it, Conti di Segni, la, de Comitibus Signie, also known as ''Conti'' or ''De Comitibus'' for short) were an important noble family of medieval and early modern Italy originating in Segni, Lazio. Many members of the family ac ...

. The priest was best known for his humble life of solitude in which he was subjected to demonic visions and attacks though his faith in

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

saw him emerge time and time again as the victor. He lived his life in a small grotto in the Apennines. Conti was the paternal nephew of

Pope Alexander IV Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death in 1261. Early career He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne (now in the Province of Rome), he ...

and is reported to be the maternal uncle or cousin - though related in some form - of Pope Boniface VIII in addition to being both the ancestor of

Pope Innocent XIII Pope Innocent XIII ( la, Innocentius XIII; it, Innocenzo XIII; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He is ...

and medieval pontiffs

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...

and

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

; he was also related to a total of five Italian cardinals from his noble stock. His descendant Innocent XIII approved the Franciscan's beatification on 11 December 1724.

Life

Andrea dei Conti was born into the noble house of

in 1240 in

Anagni Anagni () is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical and artistic center of the Latin Valley. Geography Overview Anagni still maintains the appear ...

to Stefano - the brother of

. His sister was the mother of Pope Boniface VIII or he and his sister were the future pontiff's cousins. In his adolescence he saw around him the world and its vainness and decided to live a life opposite to it in order to pursue the religious life. He renounced his wealth and left his father's castle where he sought refuge at the San Lorenzo convent in the mountains in the

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region. Conti became a hermit living in the Apennines and had routine visits and attacks from demons in a series of visions in which his ardent faith in

saw him emerge as the victor time and time again. It was in the mountains that he found a grotto and with the permission of his superiors made his abode there; the cavern he lived in was so narrow and low that he had to kneel or bend over when inside due to his tall height. Pope Boniface VIII wanted to elevate his relation to the rank of cardinal in one of the two consistories of 1295 but he declined the offer in order to cite being inadequate for the position and citing his love for solitude and the contemplative life. This meekness left such a profound impact on the pope who expressed his desire to outlive the Franciscan so that he could canonize him as a saint. It also seemed that his example of refusal was one of the reasons that Boniface VIII decided to convoke the 1300 Jubilee Year. Conti was diligent in his contemplation of spiritual matters and dedicated himself to self-education of the sacred sciences while also being the author of a treatise on the veneration of the Madonna that his contemporaries treasured - the text no longer exist. On one occasion he was far too ill to eat and so a friend bought him a plate of roasted birds to assuage his illness; Conti was too distressed to see the slain birds that he made the sign of the Cross over them and - it has been said - bought them back to life. He died in 1302 in the Mount Scalambra hermitage he dwelled in near

Piglio Piglio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about east of Rome and about northwest of Frosinone, offering a panoramic view on the valleys of the Sacco and Aniene rivers. History It ha ...

and his remains were interred in the church of San Lorenzo at the Mount Scalambra convent. His tomb was damaged in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

bombings on 12 May 1944 and his remains were later reinterred in that same church on 8 February 1945 after repairs were made.

Beatification

The beatification for the late Franciscan came on 11 December 1723 after the late priest's descendant

ratified his local 'cultus' - otherwise known as popular devotion - and thus approved his beatification.

References

External links

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conti, Andrea dei 1240 births 1302 deaths 13th-century venerated Christians 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests 13th-century Christian mystics 14th-century venerated Christians 14th-century Christian mystics Beatifications by Pope Innocent XIII Franciscan beatified people Franciscan hermits Franciscan mystics Franciscan writers Italian beatified people Italian Franciscans People from Anagni People from the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital Venerated Catholics