Matteo da Gimara, OFM (c. 1376 – 7 January 1450) was an Italian Catholic prelate and a professed member of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

. He served as the

Bishop of Agrigento The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Agrigento ( la, Archidioecesis Agrigentina), in Sicily, was elevated to archiepiscopal status in 2000.

from 17 September 1442 until his resignation in mid-1445. He was forced to resign due to clerical opposition to his tenure and rumors spread against him forced this resignation. Matteo was noted for his concern towards the poor as well as for his preaching abilities; he was known to have preached in various Italian cities and had support from

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

who was a benefactor. ''(in Latin)'' He also preached across

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

on several occasions being close to the monarch (he is alleged to have Spanish origins) before returning to the Italian peninsula to preach and assume his episcopal duties. He was honored for his saintliness in life and death, which later led to

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...

approving his beatification on 22 February 1767.

Life

Matteo Guimerà was born in

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 ...

sometime in 1376 and is said to be descended from a Spanish line. It has been debated that his name is Matteo de Zizilia due to an entrance record into the

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= 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 150 different nat ...

dated 30 July 1394 while other

hagiographers A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

have suggested that he was named after his grandfather with the surname Sciascia; others suggest Limbeni is his surname. He was sent to Bologna for his theological studies and later to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

where 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 va ...

as 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 ...

in 1400. He joined the Order of Friars Minor either in 1391 or 1392 at the San Francesco d'Assisi convent before making his

religious profession In the Catholic Church, a religious profession is the solemn admission of men or women into consecrated life by means of the pronouncement of religious vows, typically the evangelical counsels. Usage The 1983 Code of Canon Law defines the te ...

in 1394. It was after his ordination that he was tasked with preaching in

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

and then served as a

novice master In the Roman Catholic Church, a novice master or master of novices, lat. ''Magister noviciorum'', is a member of a religious institute who is responsible for the training and government of the novitiate in that institute. In religious institutes f ...

from 1405 until 1416 (he returned home in 1417). Per King Alfonso V he returned home in the hopes of meeting Saint Bernardino da Siena; the two were said to have met at the order's

General Chapter A chapter ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings. Name The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the read ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

in 1418 to which Matteo encouraged and began aiding Bernardino in his Franciscan Observance movement. He also served as the order's provincial vicar from 1425 until 1427 and then as the order's commissioner general for the Sicilian Province from 1432 until 1440.

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...

allowed him in 1425 to establish three convents for the Franciscans and he and Saint Giovanni da Capistrano defended their friend Bernardino before the pope when Bernardino was accused of being a

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

in relation to his devotion to the Sacred Name; Bernardino was acquitted of all the charges leveled against him. This accusation was voiced at the end of

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

in 1426 which prompted Matteo and Giovanni to rush to Rome to plead their case before the pope. Matteo also founded convents in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

and Barcelona during the time he spent in Spain from 1427 until 1428 but returned to his homeland where he founded a convent in Siracusa in 1429 and the convent associated with the church of Santa Maria di Gesù at

Caltagirone Caltagirone (; scn, Caltaggiruni ; Latin: ''Calata Hieronis'') is an inland city and ''comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administ ...

later in 1432. He returned to Spain in 1430 when Queen Maria of Aragon asked him to help make peace between her husband

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...

(the

King of Castile This is a list of kings and queens of the Kingdom and Crown of Castile. For their predecessors, see List of Castilian counts. Kings and Queens of Castile Jiménez dynasty House of Ivrea The following dynasts are descendants, in the ma ...

) and his brother. King Alfonso V of Aragon held him in such high esteem that he helped to secure Matteo for a nomination to an Italian bishopric;

appointed him in a papal bull on 17 September 1442 as the

Bishop of Agrigento The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Agrigento ( la, Archidioecesis Agrigentina), in Sicily, was elevated to archiepiscopal status in 2000.

. This came after he preached for Lent in 1428 in Valencia and left for the Italian peninsula in April 1430 after concluding his preaching in Tarragona. Matteo was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

to the episcopate on 30 June 1443 and set to work to reform clerical standards and to aid the poor in his diocese. His consecration was postponed for several months due to his own opposition to the appointment; he accepted at the pope's insistence and in obedience to him. His care for the poor led some disgruntled clerics to claim that he squandered ecclesial goods for his own benefit. He in fact renounced all ecclesial proceeds to the poor but kept what was needed for him and for the well-being of the diocesan staff. But the disgruntled clerics who opposed him sought to remove him from the diocese and claimed he was engaging in carnal relations with a woman in order to force the pope to take action. He was tried in a papal court but was found innocent; Eugene IV restored his bishopric to him (the pope was a consistent benefactor for Matteo) but the bishop resigned his see even though the allegations were disproved. It is said that Bernardino's counsel also helped him in his decision to resign. The pope provided him with a

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

following his resignation as a consolation. Matteo died following a brief illness 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 ...

on 7 January 1455 and was interred in the Santa Maria di Gesù church.

Beatification

beatified Matteo on 22 February 1767.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gimara, Matteo da 1376 births 1450 deaths 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Sicily 15th-century venerated Christians Bishops appointed by Pope Eugene IV Franciscan bishops Venerated Catholics Italian Friars Minor