Sebastian Maggi (1414–1496) 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 let ...

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 partic ...

and a professed member of the Dominicans. Maggi also served as the confessor to both

Girolamo 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 ...

and

Catherine of Genoa Catherine of Genoa (Caterina Fieschi Adorno, 1447 – 15 September 1510) was an Italian Roman Catholic saint and mystic, admired for her work among the sick and the poor and remembered because of various writings describing both these act ...

.Blessed Sebastian Maggi
(Acta Sanctorum)

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...

beatified him on 15 April 1760.

Life

Sebastian Maggi was born in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

to nobles in 1414. He is related to Bishop Berardo Maggi who was also the Duke and Count of Brescia. Maggi began his work in 1429 when he joined the

Order of Preachers 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 intelligence was noticed and he later received a master's degree in theological studies. He rose through the ranks and became the superior of several religious Dominican houses. He practiced corporal mortification and was strict in discipline. He would often tell his subordinates: "When you have committed a fault, come to me, not as prior, but as your father. If you will not have me as a father, you will find me a severe judge."Dominican Saints 101: Bl. Sebastian Maggi
He appointed the monk

to the position of novice master and set that famous Florentine friar on his own path to fame. In his time he was regarded as one of the greatest preachers in the Italian state. Pope Alexander VI chose Father Maggi to investigate revelations that Savonarola claimed were given to him directly from

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. Savonarola appealed the choice and believed that Sebastian - as Vicar-General of the Lombard Congregation - would be biased and try to take over his recently emancipated "

San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Saint Mark's Square, that was never admin ...

" facility in

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

. Alexander VI, however, had already decided to give the facility back to the Congregation, making Sebastian Savonarola's canonical superior. Michael de la Bedoyere, ''The Meddlesome Friar and the Wayward Pope'', p. 150-153 He died in 1496. He is buried at the Dominican " Santa Maria di Castello" complex in

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

. In 1963 his remains were still found to be incorrupt.

References

External links

Saints SQPN

Santi e Beati
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maggi, Sebastian 1414 births 1496 deaths 15th-century venerated Christians 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Beatifications by Pope Clement XIII Dominican beatified people Italian beatified people Italian Dominicans Religious leaders from Brescia Venerated Catholics Venerated Dominicans