Ludovico Morbioli (1433 - 9 November 1485) was an

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from

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

who led a dissolute life before adopting a life of repentance. Morbioli was married but separated from his wife after experiencing a sudden religious conversion in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

during a grave illness - he forever wandered the streets preaching on penance and the need for personal mortifications. His use of a white habit has given rise to misconceptions that he was part of the Carmelite Order when he was not. Morbioli's beatification received full approval on 24 October 1843 after

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He ...

confirmed the late penitent's longstanding and enduring local 'cultus' - or popular veneration.

Life

Ludovico Morbioli was born in 1433 in

to Francesco Antonio and Agnes Morbioli as one of six children (five males and one female). He led a dissolute life of vice that included drinking and other forms of pleasure-seeking. Morbioli married Lucia Tura - the daughter of Giovanni who knew Morbioli's father. In 1462 he relocated to

where he was stricken with a serious illness which prompted him to be taken to the Canons Regular of Saint Salvatore for aid and in order to recuperate. It was during his time of recuperation that he underwent a profound spiritual crisis that challenged him to the core and resulted in his determination to make a radical change to his own life - one of penance for his earlier misdeeds. He returned to Bologna sometime in 1470 in order to start a life of penitence with austerities he would undertake as a particular penance. He separated from his wife and put on a plain shirt - hence being confused for a Carmelite - and then put on a white one with a cross on his chest that he wore all the time. He preached penance and self-mortification to the people that he encountered and he would often go with those condemned to the scaffold for merciful comfort and solace. He visited Modena and Ferrara on a mule and travelled with a cross in his hands. He slept on the pavement and in other places like the homeless did and he let his hair become wild and his beard grow. He spent his last months in a basement that he transformed into a cell like those in

convents 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 C ...

. Morbioli fell ill and refused each kind of relief to help him recover but his refusal led to his peaceful death on the basement floor on 9 November 1485. His remains were interred in the Cathedral of Saint Peter but could not later be relocated in its restoration that took place under Cardinal

Gabriele Paleotti Gabriele Paleotti (4 October 1522 – 22 July 1597) was an Italian cardinal and Archbishop of Bologna. He was a significant figure in, and source about, the later sessions of the Council of Trent, and much later a candidate for the papacy in 1590, ...

from 1566 until 1597. His remains have not been uncovered.

Beatification

The beatification process commenced under

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in Januar ...

in 1654 after being titled as a Servant of God while Cardinal Girolamo Boncompagni inaugurated the process; this process never completed and the cause was suspended despite such a popular 'cultus' - or popular veneration - to the late Morbioli.

References

External links

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morbioli, Ludovico 1433 births 1485 deaths 15th-century venerated Christians 15th-century Italian people Beatifications by Pope Gregory XVI Italian beatified people People from Bologna Italian venerated Catholics