Pietro Delfino or Delfin, O.S.B. Cam., (born at

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

in 1444; died 16 January 1525) was an Italian

Camaldolese The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona ( la, Congregatio Eremitarum Camaldulensium Montis Coronae), commonly called Camaldolese is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermita ...

monk,

patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

scholar, theologian, abbot, and

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

of his

religious Order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...

Life

Pietro Delfin was a patrician of Venice, member of the famous Delfin family, one of the oldest noble families in Venice. Pietro entered the Camaldolese Monastery of St. Michael, which was located on the island of

Murano Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was on ...

in the Venetian Lagoon. In 1479, he was elected abbot of the same community. The following year he was made

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

general of the Order, based at

Camaldoli Camaldoli () is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Poppi, in Tuscany, Italy. It is mostly known as the ancestral seat of the Camaldolese monastic order, originated in the eponymous hermitage, which can still be visited. The name was derived from ...

in the region of

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

. He held that office until the year 1513 when he resigned in favour of

Paul Giustiniani Paul (Paolo) Giustiniani (1476–1528), born Tommaso (Thomas), was a Roman Catholic clergyman who reformed the Camaldolese order of monks. In 1510, he joined Camaldoli Camaldoli () is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Poppi, in Tuscany, ...

, whom he had invested with the Camaldolese habit in 1510. Delfin was the forty-sixth prior general from

St. Romuald Romuald ( la, Romualdus; 951 – traditionally 19 June, c. 1025/27 AD) was the founder of the Camaldolese order and a major figure in the eleventh-century "Renaissance of eremitical asceticism".John Howe, "The Awesome Hermit: The Symbolic ...

, the founder of the Camaldolese, and he was the last elected for life--the office after him being held for three years only. From 1481 to 1508, Delfin was proposed to serve as bishop of Venice on five occasions, but refused them all. On four occasions he was also proposed to serve as Patriarch of Aquilea, but refused again. He was also presented with the cardinalate in two occasions, but respectfully declined to the Pope to continue serving the camaldolese order. Delfin was one of the main opposers to Savonarola, but still promoted the reform inside the Catholic Church which would lead to the Council of Trento.

Works

The letters of Delfin, which number more than 4,000, are addressed to other religions and other orders and to various secular dignitaries, contain accounts of contemporary events in his own Order and the Church in general. A collection of his Latin letters was published at Venice in 1524. Several others that had been omitted in the Venetian editions were included later in Martène's "Veterum Scriptorum amplissima collectio". The "Apothegmata Patrum" and the "Dialogues" on

Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...

are still unedited.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: * MARTENE, ''Veterum Scriptorum et monumentorum ecclesiasticorum et dogmaticorum amplissima collectio'', III, 915.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delfino, Pietro 1444 births 1525 deaths Camaldolese Order Italian abbots 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians Italian Benedictines Benedictine abbots Benedictine scholars Benedictine writers 15th-century Venetian writers Republic of Venice clergy 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians 16th-century Venetian writers 16th-century male writers