Tommaso da Cori (4 June 1655 - 11 January 1729) - born Francesco Antonio Placidi - was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 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 ...

who lived as a hermit for much of his religious life. He gained fame as a noted preacher throughout the region where his hermitage was located and for this became known as the "Apostle of the Sublacense". His beatification was celebrated under

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

on 3 September 1786 and was beatified two centuries later 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 ...

on 21 November 1999 under

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Life

Francesco Antonio Placidi was born to poor parents on 4 June 1655 in

Cori Cori or CORI may refer to: * Cori cycle, the metabolic pathway where lactic acid produced in the muscles is converted into glucose in the liver * Cori (lunar crater) * Cori, a crater on Venus * Cori (name) * ''Cori, de Scheepsjongen'' (''Cori, the ...

near

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In his childhood he was dubbed "the little saint" due to the recognition of his personal holiness. He earned a living as a shepherd as he grew up. Placidi was pious and soon became aware of the

that had come to the town. Both his parents had died at the time he turned fourteen and was therefore his task to take care of his two sisters and to find them husbands. Placidi had a strong devotion to

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

and so after seeing his sisters married off chose almost at once to enter

consecrated life Consecrated life (also known as religious life) is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more exacting way. It includes those in institutes of consecrated life (religious and se ...

as a simple friar and entered the Order of Friars Minor at the

convent 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 ...

of Santissima Trinitá in 1665 while commencing 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 ...

on 7 February 1667. He underwent his theological and philosophical studies in

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 1683 - following the successful completion of his studies - 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 ...

to the priesthood (he celebrated his first

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

Velletri Velletri (; la, Velitrae; xvo, Velester) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring com ...

) and was at once appointed as the assistant

master of novices 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 ...

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

. He soon became aware of the

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

life which was re-emerging in the order during that period and so joined a hermitage in Civitella (present Bellegra) where he lived until his death except for a brief period of time in which he was the

guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

of a hermitage he founded in

Palombara Palombara Sabina ( Romanesco: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy. Main sights * Savelli-Torlonia Castle, built from the 11th century by the Ottaviani, a branch of the Crescentii family of Rome. Antipope Innocent ...

modeled after the one in Civitella. Fra Tommaso followed the model of hermit life that

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

had established in that he did not remain enclosed within the hermitage but would instead go out preaching in the small villages throughout the region. He became known for his simple and clear manner of preaching the messages of the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and came to be called dubbed as the "Apostle of the Sublacense". He became known during his lifetime as a man of deep contemplation on the Gospel and often spent the night in the convent's chapel in silent meditation. Placidi died in peace in his sleep at the beginning of 1729 in Civitella.

Sainthood

The sainthood process commenced on 15 July 1737 under

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 ...

in which Placidi was titled as a

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

while a previous decree issued on 18 April 1737 allowed for the cause to commence and start on a diocesan level. The writings of the late friar received the approval of theologians assigned to assess them on 14 December 1771 and an antepreparatory committee later approved the cause sometime later on 22 February 1774; this allowed for a preparatory committee to do the same on 12 March 1776 as did a general congregation of the

Congregation of Rites The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by '' Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it had its functions reassigned by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 1969. The Congregation was charged with the ...

on 28 July 1778.

declared the late friar to be

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

on 1 August 1778 upon the confirmation that he led a life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...

and later approved two miracles attributed to the friar on 4 October 1785 - this allowed for the pope to preside over the beatification in

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

on 3 September 1786. The pope issued a decree for the cause's resumption a decade later on 4 May 1796. The third and final miracle needed for sainthood was investigated and validated under the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...

before receiving the approval of a medical board on 29 January 1998. Theologians approved it on 29 May 1998 as did the C.C.S. on 19 January 1999 at which point

issued definitive approval to the miracle on 26 March 1999 and canonized the friar in

on 21 November 1999.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPNSanti e Beati
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tommaso da Cori 1655 births 1729 deaths 17th-century Christian saints 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests 18th-century Christian saints 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Beatifications by Pope Pius VI Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Franciscan saints Franciscan hermits Franciscan beatified people Italian Friars Minor Italian hermits Italian Roman Catholic saints Italian Franciscans People from the Province of Latina Venerated Catholics