Thomas of Tolentino ( it, Tommaso di or '; 8 April 1321) was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

who was

martyred A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

with his three companions in

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven taluk ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, for " blaspheming"

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

. His

relics 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 tang ...

were removed to Quanzhou, China, and

Tolentino Tolentino is a town and ''comune'' of about 19,000 inhabitants, in the province of Macerata in the Marche region of central Italy. It is located in the middle of the valley of the Chienti. History Signs of the first inhabitants of this favorab ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, by

Odoric of Pordenone Odoric of Pordenone, OFM (1286–1331), also known as Odorico Mattiussi/Mattiuzzi, Odoricus of Friuli or Orderic of Pordenone, was an Italian late-medieval Franciscan friar and missionary explorer. He traveled through India, the Greater Sunda Is ...

. He is now venerated as a saint by the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

, with his feast day on April 9.

Life

Thomas was born in

. in the March of Ancona within the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

around 1250 to 1260.. Becoming a

early in life, he developed a reputation for his strict adherence to its rule, particularly concerning his

vow of poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

. A fellow of St

Nicholas of Tolentino Nicholas of Tolentino ( la, S. Nicolaus de Tolentino, (c. 1246September 10, 1305), known as the ''Patron of Holy Souls'', was an Italian saint and mystic. He is particularly invoked as an advocate for the souls in Purgatory, especially during ...

and one of

Angelo da Clareno Angelo da Clareno (1247/1248 – 15 June 1337), also known as Angelo Clareno, was the founder and leader of one of the groups of Fraticelli in the early 14th century. Life Originally known as Pietro da Fossombrone, he was born about 1248, and ...

Spiritual Franciscans The Fraticelli (Italian for "Little Brethren") or Spiritual Franciscans opposed changes to the rule of Saint Francis of Assisi, especially with regard to poverty, and regarded the wealth of the Church as scandalous, and that of individual church ...

, Thomas was jailed twice for his excessive condemnation of luxury. After being released through the intervention of Raymond Godefroy, a new minister general who sympathized with the Spiritualists, Thomas traveled with

, Marco da Montelupone, Pietro da Macerata, and Angelo da Tolentino to

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

Lesser Armenia Lesser Armenia ( hy, Փոքր Հայք, ''Pokr Hayk''; la, Armenia Minor, Greek: Mikre Armenia, Μικρή Αρμενία), also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, comprised the Armenian–populated regions primarily to the west and n ...

in 1289. In 1291, its King Haython II directed him to return to the courts of

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 ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to seek help against his Muslim foes. His efforts to raise a new crusade were unsuccessful and he returned east, departing a second time to gather more missionaries. Returning with twelve companions in 1302, he worked in Armenia and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. He debated Armenian Christians he considered heretics at Sis in 1305 and participated in the Council of Sis that notionally reunited the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

and Roman Catholic churches in 1307. While in Persia, two letters dated 1305 and 1306 arrived from

John of Montecorvino John of Montecorvino or Giovanni da Montecorvino in Italian (1247 – 1328) was an Italian Franciscan missionary, traveller and statesman, founder of the earliest Latin Catholic missions in India and China, and archbishop of Peking. He convert ...

, the Franciscan missionary to China, and Thomas again traveled to Europe, delivering the correspondence to Rome in 1307. While there, he addressed a public

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

of the pope and cardinals, praising John's work in China and asking for assistance in developing his mission. He also discussed the matter with Clement V at Poitiers in 1308, after which an ecclesiastical hierarchy was established for the Roman Catholics in China. The pontiff named John archbishop of Khanbaliq (now within modern

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

) and seven Franciscan bishops and many friars were sent to join him. Only three of the bishops and a few friars, however, successfully completed the journey. Thomas seems to have then travelled a fourth time to Armenia and Persia. There is a gap until 1320, during which Thomas may have labored in India or China. In 1320, Thomas left from Hormuz with his fellow Franciscans Bl. James of Padua and Peter of Siena, the Dominican Jordan of Severac, and the layman Demetrio da Tifliz. A

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

, Demetrius was proficient at languages and served as the group's interpreter. A storm forced the party to land at

on the island of

Salsette Island Salsette Island is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra on India's west coast. Administratively known as Greater Mumbai, the city district of Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban District, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thane lie wi ...

near

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, en route and were greeted by local Christians of the Church of the East. Jordan left them to preach at Bharuch, reaching

Sopara Nala Sopara or Nallasopara (Pronunciation: aːla sopaɾa formerly known as Sopara or Supara, is a town within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The town lies in the Palghar district of Maharashtra, India and is governed by Vasai-Virar Municipal ...

(see Sopara in history) before he heard Demetrius and the Franciscans had been arrested.. The family with whom they were staying had fallen into a quarrel and the husband had beaten his wife. When she went to the

qadi A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...

to report this abuse, she had mentioned the four clerics as witnesses and they were called before him. Thomas, James, and Demetrius had gone to the court while Peter remained behind to look after their things. Having begun a discussion of religion, the qadi had asked them their opinion of

and Thomas replied bluntly that he was "the son of perdition and had his place in Hell with the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

his father". At this, the Muslims around the court called for their death for blasphemy.. Some accounts claim they were scourged and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

d before their execution by

beheading Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

on April 8, 1321. Peter was killed three days later.

Legacy

The local Christians may have buried Thomas and his companions but

Jordanus Catalani Jordanus (-), distinguished as JordanofSeverac ( la, Iordanus de Severaco; oc, Jordan de Severac; french: Jourdain de Séverac; it, Giordano di Séverac) or JordanofCatalonia ( la, Jordanus Catalanus; ca, Jordà de Catalunya), was a Catala ...

, arriving too late to save them, removed their bodies to the church at Supera with the help of a

Genovese Genovese is an Italian surname meaning, properly, someone from Genoa. Its Italian plural form '' Genovesi'' has also developed into a surname. People * Alfred Genovese (1931–2011), American oboist * Alfredo Genovese (born 1964), Argentine ar ...

youth. In 1323 or 1326,

passed through the region. Having learned about Thomas and his companions, he took their

with him to Quanzhou in

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

. Thomas's

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

he took with him to Khanbaliq and thence back to Europe, where he bestowed it on the Franciscan chapter in Tolentino in 1330. It was later moved to the town's cathedral by a Pisan merchant in the late 14th century, who erected a chapel there in the martyr's honor with the approval of Boniface IX. It is now kept in the central cathedral in a silver bust. Thomas and his companions have been unofficially reckoned

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 ...

since the 14th century. Jordan claimed to have miraculously healed the

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

of his Genovese companion with one of Thomas's teeth. Thomas's cult was approved by Pius VII in 1809 and again by Leo XIII in 1894.. He is venerated as a saint, sometimes together with his companions. as the FourMartyrsofThane, on April 9..

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography