Angelo da Furci (1246 - 6 February 1327) 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 ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

. He was a friend and student of

Giles of Rome Giles of Rome O.S.A. (Latin: ''Aegidius Romanus''; Italian: ''Egidio Colonna''; c. 1243 – 22 December 1316), was a Medieval philosopher and Scholastic theologian and a friar of the Order of St Augustine, who was also appointed to the ...

and served as Prior Provincial of the Abruzzi branch of the congregation. The recognition of his "cultus" (or popular following) allowed for

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

to preside over his beatification on 20 December 1888.

Life

Angelo da Furci was born in 1246 to Adalitto and Albazia. The couple was childless and begged for the intercession of

Saint Michael the Archangel Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), a ...

for a son. During his childhood he was sent to a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

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 Anglic ...

where his maternal uncle served as the

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

. He received his education there at the convent of Cornaclano until the death of his uncle in 1264, which prompted him to return home; he completed his philosophical and literary studies with high results. Adalitto fell ill in 1265 and revealed to his son the truth about the circumstances of his birth while suggesting that his son become a member of the

; his father died not long after. The death of his father solidified his decision to do so but he did not seek admission straight after since he remained at home with his aging and despairing mother in order to care for her. In 1266 he left his home and requested permission to join the order while starting his period of novitiate and making his profession. He underwent theological studies until 1270 when he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood. He was then sent to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1271 for further studies where one of his teachers was

- the latter became a close friend as well. The priest earned a Lector's Degree in 1276 and then taught theological studies back in Abruzzo for 5 years. Officials made the unanimous decision in a meeting of 1287 to elect him as Prior Provincial of the Abruzzese branches of the order and he refused at first before Clement of Osimo required him to accept the nomination. He proved competent and became well-known for his evangelic zeal and his uprightness as well as being noted for his gentleness of spirit. He was also a skilled orator. The priest also renounced episcopal appointments to the sees of

Melfi Melfi ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,768. Geography On ...

and

Acerra Acerra () is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, about northeast of the capital in Naples. It is part of the Agro Acerrano plain. History Acerra is one of the most ancient cities of the regio ...

that

Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV ( la, Nicolaus IV; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292), born Girolamo Masci, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be ele ...

offered to him. He retired at the age of 81 due to his declining health and died not long after in 1327. His remains were later transferred in August 1808.

Beatification

His beatification received the approval of

on 20 December 1888 in approval of the "cultus" (or popular devotion) to the late priest.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furci, Angelo da 1246 births 1327 deaths 13th-century venerated Christians 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests 14th-century venerated Christians 14th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Augustinian friars Beatifications by Pope Leo XIII Italian beatified people People from Chieti University of Paris alumni Venerated Catholics Italian expatriates in France