Andrea Corsini (30 November 1302 – 6 January 1373 or 1374
miracle hunter, 2015) was an Italian

Catholic 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 ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

and professed member 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 ...

who served as the

Bishop of Fiesole The Diocese of Fiesole ( la, Dioecesis Fesulana) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Tuscany, central Italy, whose episcopal see is the city of Fiesole. Fiesole was directly subject to the pope until 1420, when the archdiocese of Florence was created a ...

from 1349 until his death. Corsini led a wild and dissolute life until a rebuke from his mother moved him to go to the Santa Maria del Carmine church where he resolved to join the Carmelites 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 ...

and

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

. He exercised various roles in the order, until reluctantly he accepted his episcopal position. In order to accept that position, he imposed greater

mortifications Mortification of the flesh is an act by which an individual or group seeks to mortify or deaden their sinful nature, as a part of the process of sanctification. In Christianity, mortification of the flesh is undertaken in order to repent for s ...

upon himself than that required by the order, and dedicated himself to the plight of the poor. Devotion to the late bishop became so profound after his death that miracles were reported at his tomb. The longstanding and popular devotion to Corsini led to Pope Eugene IV confirming his beatification on 21 April 1440 and

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

canonizing him as a saint on 22 April 1629.

Early life

Andrew Corsini was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

on 30 November 1302 into the noble and illustrious

Corsini Corsini is an Italian surname. The Corsini family is a princely Florentine family. The emperor Charles IV created the head of the house a count palatine in 1371; the marquisate of Sismano was conferred on them in 1620, those of Casigliano and C ...

family,Duffy, Patrick. "St Andrew Corsini (1302-73)", ''Catholic Ireland'', 4 February, 2012
/ref> one of twelve children born to Nicholas Corsini and Peregrina (some sources suggest Gemma) degli Stracciabende. He was named in honor of

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

whose feastday it was. Before his birth, his parents dedicated him to God, under the protection of the

Blessed Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

."St. Andrew Corsini", Faith ND
/ref> He was wild in his youth; extravagance and vice were normal to him and it pained his devout mother. His parents severely rebuked him for his behavior, and he resolved to amend his ways and try to live up to their expectations. He went to the Carmelite monastery at the Santa Maria del Carmine church to consider what course to take and despite the entreaties of his dissolute friends, decided to become a friar.

Carmelite friar

Corsini joined 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 ...

in Florence in 1318 for his

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

and began a life of great mortification. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1328 and said his first Mass in a hermitage so as to avoid the customary family celebrations. Corsini began preaching in Florence, and was then sent for his studies to the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and later to

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, where he resided in with his cousin Cardinal Pietro Corsini. He returned to Florence in 1332 and was chosen as prior of his convent. He became known as the "Apostle of Florence". In 1348 he was appointed as the order's Tuscan Provincial during the General Chapter meeting in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

Bishop

On 13 October 1349, Pope Clement VI appointed him

. Upon learning of this appointment, the reluctant Corsini went into hiding. An inscription on his tomb states that "he was snatched from the Carmel to the church and the miter of Fiesole". This perhaps gave rise to the legend that he fled, and that a child discovered him at the charterhouse at Enna, and he later accepted the nomination as bishop as the result of a vision. He redoubled his austerities as bishop, wearing a hair shirt and sleeping on a bed of vine-branches. At

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

, just northeast of Florence, he gained a reputation as a peacemaker between rival political factions and for his care of the poor. Pope Urban V sent him to

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 ...

as a

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

to heal the breach between the nobles and the people. "His family connections made him acceptable to the nobility and his life of poverty endeared him to the poor and he did succeed in bringing peace." Corsini appointed two vicars to aid him in governing his diocese, and enforced discipline amongst the diocesan priests. A number of miraculous healings were attributed to his intercession."Saint Andrew Corsini", Sanctoral
/ref> It was reported that in 1372 or 1373, as he celebrated Midnight Mass on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

, that the

appeared to him and told him he would leave this world on the Three Kings' feast. It came to pass that he fell ill on

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

night and died as foretold, on 6 January 1373 or 1374.And today we celebrate... Thursday January 9 Saint Andrew Corsini a father to the poor
aleteia.org, Silas Henderson His remains were moved to Florence in the evening of 2 February 1374 and were later found to be

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their ...

upon exhumation in 1385. The location of his burial was damaged in 1771 but his remains were left undisturbed.

Veneration

Miracles so multiplied at his death that Pope Eugene IV permitted a public devotion to him, although it was not confirmed until later. Pope Eugene IV beatified Andrew Corsini on 21 April 1440. Among the miracles attributed to Corsini's intervention was the Florentine victory over the Milanese at the

Battle of Anghiari The Battle of Anghiari was fought on 29 June 1440, between the forces of Milan and the League of some Italian states led by the Republic of Florence in the course of the Wars in Lombardy. The battle was a victory for the Florentines, securing F ...

on 29 June 1440. Petitions were lodged in 1465 and 1466 to

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...

requesting the canonization, and the pope appointed a commission to investigate the matter, though it came to no conclusion.

canonized Corsini on 22 April 1629. In 1675 after his

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

the members of the Corsini house had the Corsini Chapel built in the Carmelite church of Santa Maria del Carmine as a more suitable resting place for his remains.

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII ( la, Clemens XII; it, Clemente XII; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the ...

- born Lorenzo Corsini - erected in the Roman Basilica of Saint John Lateran a magnificent chapel dedicated to his kinsman. In 1702 or 1703 a statue in his honor was commissioned and placed along the colonnade in

Saint Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Bot ...

References

; Attribution

External links

Santi e Beati

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corsini, Andrew 1302 births 14th-century Christian saints 14th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 14th-century venerated Christians Bishops in Tuscany Carmelites Carmelite bishops Carmelite saints

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

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