Matthew Carreri, ( it, Matteo Carreri; ca 1420 – 5 October 1470) was a Dominican

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 ...

noted for the "austerity of his life." He was the spiritual instructor of

Stephana de Quinzanis Stephana de Quinzanis, TOSD (variant spellings include Stephanie, Stefana; also, Quinzani) (1457 – 2 January 1530) was an Italian sister of the Third Order of St. Dominic, stigmatic and mystic. She was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1740. ...

, and like her, an alleged

stigmatic Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Stigma ...

Life

He was born Giovanni Francesco Carreri in the city of

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 ...

some time around 1420.The source for this name was in Spanish, and gave Matthew Carreri's original name as ''Juan Francisco''. It may be reasonable to assume then, that, being Italian, his name would be ''Giovanni Francesco''. He took the name Matthew when he entered the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

. His later success as a preacher was inarguable, attributable to the significant time he spent in spiritual exercises and meditation between preaching. Butler's ''Lives of the Saints'' One of the major events in Carreri's life was his capture by a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

corsair A corsair is a privateer or pirate, especially: * Barbary corsair, Ottoman and Berber pirates and privateers operating from North Africa * French corsairs, privateers operating on behalf of the French crown Corsair may also refer to: Arts and ...

, while on a voyage from

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

.For an account of this story in Carreri's life, se
Mores Catholici, Or, Ages of Faith
by Kenelm Henry Digby (pp. 347-348). When asked to explain their purpose for being on board the ship, Carreri spoke up so forcefully and convincingly, that the captain set him and the two friars accompanying him free. The friar then saw that the pirates were still keeping a woman and her daughter captive, planning to sell them into slavery in Algeria. He proposed to the captain that they keep him in their place. So shocked was the pirate captain by Carreri's willingness to sacrifice himself, that he freed all five captives. Carreri was a very close associate of a noted Dominican tertiary,

, in her youth. He was responsible for her

catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

, and predicted that she would be his "spiritual heiress." The meaning of this statement was illuminated when Stephana also began to experience pains similar to Carreri's, which, according to those concerned, were the result of his devotion to the Passion of Christ. Carreri's

hagiography 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 migh ...

states that on 5 October 1470 he asked his superior for permission to die, and upon receiving this, he died.

Veneration

In 1482,

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

authorized the solemn transfer of Matthew's

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s and allowed formal liturgical celebration of Blessed Matthew Carreri's ''cultus''.

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carreri 1420s births 1470 deaths Clergy from Mantua Italian Dominicans Dominican beatified people 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Italian beatified people Stigmatics 15th-century venerated Christians