Humilis of Bisignano ( it, Umile da Bisignano) (26 August 1582 – 26 November 1637) was a
Franciscan friar
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
who was widely known in his day as a
mystic and wonderworker. He has been declared a
saint by the
Catholic Church
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 ...
.
Life
He was born Luca Antonio Pirozzo in 1582 in the city of
Bisignano
Bisignano ( Calabrian: ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Cosenza, part of the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is situated on hills in the Crati valley, between the Pollino and Sila National Parks. The town has historically been ...
in the region of
Calabria, the son of Giovanni Pirozzo and Ginevra Giardino. He grew up a very religious child and was known to be often at prayer, attending
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 eleme ...
daily and receiving
Holy Communion as often as was permitted, a rare practice during that era. He was noted during his youth as an exemplar of humility, in keeping with the
religious name he later adopted, as a result of his literally turning his cheek after being brutally slapped in the face in the city square.
About the age of 18, Pirozzo felt called to enter a
religious order, but, for various reasons, did not do so until 1609. In that year, aged 27, he felt called to enter the Reformed Friars Minor, a branch of the Order following a more severe way of life, who had a community at the medieval Convento di Riforma (Friary of the Reform) in his city. He was admitted that same year as a
lay brother
Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...
into the
novitiate of those friars which was located at
Mesoraca in the
Province of Crotone
The province of Crotone ( it, provincia di Crotone) is a province in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It was formed in 1992 out of a section of the province of Catanzaro. The provincial capital is the city of Crotone. It borders the province ...
, at which time he received the
religious habit and was given the name by which he is known. After overcoming various difficulties during that year of probation, he was allowed to profess
religious vows as a full member of the Order on 4 September 1610.
Humilis had been known to experience
religious ecstasy
Religious ecstasy is a type of altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness, frequently accompanied by visions and emotional (and sometimes physical) euph ...
since his childhood. After his admission to the Friars Minor, he was assigned the various domestic tasks entrusted to the lay brothers among the friars. His superiors in the Order also repeatedly subjected him to many tasks and challenges to determine his character and the validity of these supernatural experiences. Although illiterate, he was found able to explain clearly some of the deepest doctrines of the Catholic faith to officials of the church, even the
Inquisitor
An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literall ...
of the kingdom.
Known for his gentleness and innocence of mind, Humilis came to earn the great respect of his fellow friars. He was chosen by
Benigno de Genova, the
Minister General of the Friars Minor (1618–1625), to be his companion for his
canonical visitation to the friars of southern Italy and Sicily. After this, Humilis was summoned to
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 ...
, where he served as a respected adviser to
Pope Gregory XV as well as
Pope Urban VIII. During this period, he lived primarily at the Friary of
San Francesco a Ripa
San Francesco a Ripa is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Francis of Assisi who once stayed at the adjacent convent. The term ''Ripa'' refers to the nearby riverbank of the Tiber.
History
The origins of this church are related to a Fr ...
.
Humilis returned to his native city many years later, where he died in 1637. He was interred in the cemetery of the friars at the friary in his native city.
Veneration
The cause for Humilis'
canonization was begun in the mid-17th century. He was declared
venerable
The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism.
Christianity
Cat ...
by
Pope Pius VI in 1780 and beatified in 1882 by
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 ...
. He was declared a saint by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in 2002.
Saint Humilis of Bisignano
at Patron Saints Index
References
External links
*
Site sur San Umile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Humilis Of Bisignano
1582 births
1637 deaths
People from the Province of Cosenza
Italian Friars Minor
Franciscan mystics
Miracle workers
17th-century Italian Christian monks
Canonizations by Pope John Paul II
17th-century Christian saints
17th-century Christian mystics
Italian Roman Catholic saints
Franciscan saints
Canonized Roman Catholic religious brothers