Arcangelo Placenza da Calatafimi (

Calatafimi Calatafimi-Segesta, commonly known as simply Calatafimi, is a small town in the province of Trapani, in Sicily, southern Italy. The full name of the municipality was created in 1997 and is meant to highlight the presence within its territory of th ...

, 1390 – Alcamo, 24 luglio 1460) was an Italian

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

and Preacher: today he is venerated as

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

by the Catholic Church.

Biography

Born at Calatafimi, (province and

Diocese of Trapani The Italian Catholic diocese of Trapani is in Sicily. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Palermo. History Trapani was subject to the see of Mazzara, from the Norman Conquest until 1844, when the diocese was created. Its first bishop was t ...

), at about 1390 in the local noble family of the Placenza, he left his paternal home and went to live in a cave, near the church of Santa Maria del Giubino, where we experienced frequent apparitions of the

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, who would appear him over a cypress while he was praying. After the news of the apparitions and miracles spread, the place became increasingly frequented by believers, and relatives tried to persuade him to give up his intentions. In search of meditation, Arcangelo moved to Alcamo, where he cared for sick people in the old hospital of Sant'Antonio, which he restored after a period of neglect. In his free time he retired in a cave near the present Chiesa di Santa Maria di Gesù (Alcamo)Francesco Maria Mirabella, Cenni degli alcamesi rinomati in lettere, arti, armi e santità, Alcamo, tip. Gaetano Surdi, 1876. to pray and do penitence. After the suppression of

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

s in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

by Pope Martino V, he became a friar of the Minor Order of Observants in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, of 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 ...

of Santa Maria di Gesù. After becoming 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 particu ...

, the Blessed Matteo Guimerà from

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 ...

, his immediate superior, gave him the right to open new

s: Arcangelo returned to the hospital of Sant'Antonio in Alcamo, to open a

. He was also was elected provincial Vicar of his order and devoted himself to

preaching A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

. He lived in the

of Santa Maria di Gesù in Alcamo until his

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

on 24 July 1460. His body is kept in an ebony

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

placed above the altar of Saint Conrad, in the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Gesù. Pope Gregorio XVI proclaimed him

blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

, thanks to the various

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

s attributed to him, on 9 September 1836.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Placenza da Calatafimi, Arcangelo Italian beatified people 1460 deaths 1390 births 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests

Biography

See also

References

Sources