Francesco Lippi (3 December 1211 – 11 December 1291) was an Italian

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 ...

professed religious 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 ...

. He lived his life as a soldier before suffering the loss of sight at which point his healing led him down the path of repentance and into the Carmelites. Lippi was beatified in 1670 after Pope Clement X approved Lippi's longstanding local 'cultus' (or popular devotion).

Life

Francesco Lippi was born on 3 December 1211 in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

to the nobles Matteo Lippi and Dorotea. He spent his dissolute adolescence as a soldier that indulged in vices and his outfit captured Sarteano from the Orvientani. But in that conflict he was blinded in 1261. He offered to change his life if he was healed which, according to tradition, occurred after requesting the intercession of Saint James. He travelled on a pilgrimage to Campostella and to the Basilica di San Nicola in

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

to visit the tomb of

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

. He also travelled to both Loreto and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Lippi listened to the preaching of

Ambrose Sansedoni Ambrose of Sienna was an Italian Dominican teacher, missionary and diplomat. Biography Ambrose was born at Siena on 16 April 1220, to the noble family of Sansedoni. When he was around a year old, Ambrose was cured of a congenital deformity, in ...

in Siena and was resolved to live the remainder of his life as a hermit and to do penance for his earlier life; he shut himself in a small cell and remained there from 1261 to 1266. Lippi entered 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 continued to live as a hermit. He experienced visions 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 the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

as well as seeing angels and experiencing the temptations of demons. He also possessed prophetic gifts. He died on 11 December 1291. Part of his relics were relocated to a Carmelite

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 ...

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

in 1341.

Beatification

The confirmation of the late Lippi's 'cultus' (or popular devotion) allowed for Pope Clement X to approve his beatification in 1670. His iconographical depiction includes a chain and a ball in his mouth which he used to practice silence.

References

External links

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lippi, Francesco 1211 births 1291 deaths 13th-century venerated Christians 13th-century Italian Christian monks Beatifications by Pope Clement X Carmelite beatified people Italian beatified people People from Siena Venerated Carmelites