Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene (6 October 1480 – 7 August 1547), known as Saint Cajetan (), was an Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer, co-founder of the
Theatines. He is recognised as a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
in the
Catholic Church, and his feast day is 7 August.
Life
Cajetan was born in October 1480, the son of Gaspar, lord of
Thiene, and Mary Porta, persons of the first rank among the nobility of the territory of Vicenza, in
Veneto[Butler, Alban. ''Lives of the Saints'', Vol. VIII, 1866]
/ref> Region.
His father died when he was two years of age. Quiet and retiring by nature, he was predisposed to piety by his mother. Cajetan studied law in Padua, receiving his degree as '' doctor utriusque juris'' (i.e., in civil and canon law) at age 24. In 1506 he worked as a diplomat for Pope Julius II, with whom he helped reconcile the Republic of Venice.[Keating, Joseph. "St. Cajetan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 15 April 2013]
/ref> But he was not ordained a priest until the year 1516.
With the death of Pope Julius II in 1513, Cajetan withdrew from the papal court.[ Recalled to Vicenza by the death of his mother, he founded in 1522 a ]hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
for incurables there.[Foley O.F.M., Leonard. ''Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast'', (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.), Franciscan Media]
By 1523 he had established a hospital in Venice, as well. His interests were as much or more devoted to spiritual healing than the physical kind, and he joined a confraternity in Rome called the " Oratory of Divine Love".[ He intended to form a group that would combine the spirit of ]monasticism
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...
with the exercises of the active ministry.
Theatines
A new congregation was canonically erected by Pope Clement VII in the year 1524. One of his four companions was Giovanni Pietro Carafa, the Bishop of Chieti, elected first superior of the order, who later became pope as Paul IV. From the name of the city of Chieti (in la, Theate), arose the name by which the order is known, the " Theatines".[ The order grew at a fairly slow pace: there were only twelve Theatines during the ]sack of Rome in 1527
The Sack of Rome, then part of the Papal States, followed the capture of the city on 6 May 1527 by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor during the War of the League of Cognac. Despite not being ordered to storm the city, wit ...
, during which Cajetan was tortured by the Spanish soldiers of Charles V who had mutinied.[Mullet, Michael. ''The Catholic Reformation'', Routledge, 2002]
The Theatines managed to escape to Venice.[
There Cajetan met Jerome Emiliani, whom he assisted in the establishment of his Congregation of Clerks Regular. In 1533 he founded a house in Naples. The year 1540 found him in Venice again and from there he extended his work to Verona.][ He founded a bank to help the poor and offer an alternative to usurers (who charged high interest rates).]["St. Cajetan", Catholic News Agancy]
/ref> It later became the Banco di Napoli.
Cajetan died in Naples on 7 August 1547.[ His remains are in the church of San Paolo Maggiore in Naples; outside the church is Piazza San Gaetano, with a statue.
]
Veneration
He was beatified
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
on 8 October 1629 by 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 ...
. On 12 April 1671 Cajetan was canonized.[ Saint Cajetan's ]feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
is celebrated on 7 August.
Jesuit missionary Eusebio Kino
Eusebio Francisco Kino ( it, Eusebio Francesco Chini, es, Eusebio Francisco Kino; 10 August 1645 – 15 March 1711), often referred to as Father Kino, was a Tyrolean Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer and astronomer born i ...
in 1691 established the mission San Cayetano de Tumacácori in honor of Cajetan. It is now Tumacacori National Historical Park in Arizona.
He is known as the patron saint of Argentina, the unemployed,
See also
* Theatines
* Sant'Andrea della Valle
Sant'Andrea della Valle is a minor basilica in the rione of Sant'Eustachio of the city of Rome, Italy. The basilica is the general seat for the religious order of the Theatines. It is located at Piazza Vidoni, at the intersection of Corso Vittori ...
References
External links
"Pope Francis' Message for the Feast of Saint Cajetan", ''Zenit'', August 7, 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cajetan, Saint
1480 births
1547 deaths
People from Vicenza
Founders of Catholic religious communities
Catholicism in Argentina
Christianity in Buenos Aires
Thiene, Cajetan Count of
16th-century Italian lawyers
16th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests
Theatines
Beatifications by Pope Urban VIII
Canonizations by Pope Clement X