Francis of Paola

ON ST. FRANCIS OF PAOLA,

Founder of the Order of the Minims.

IN THE YEAR 1507.

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.

Francis of Paola, Founder of the Order of Minims (St.)

BY AUTHOR D. P.

§ I. Most ancient Acts, whence & how here brought forth.

[1] A paradox to the most holy Order of the Fathers

Preachers, equally new & pleasing, was

to read on March 7 of our day, that about to treat

of the Life & miracles of St. Thomas Aquinas,

after many & those illustrious Writers, we were promising

we would select the first foundations of all, About this Saint more ancient monuments, &

those not yet published in print. If this month of April we should do the same

about St. Francis of Paola, might we not by

right and justly hope that we shall enter similar favor

with the Professors of the Religious Order instituted by him? We hope indeed:

although between that effort of meriting well of the disciples

of the Angelic Doctor, & this labor, by which to the sons

of St. Francis of Paola we strive to prove our effort, one

thing differs; that those monuments about St. Thomas

(which less carefully preserved in the Order were counted among lost things)

were found in foreign cabinets, & we restored them by postliminium

to the same Order: but these

about St. Francis, all we report as received from the Archives

of the Minim Fathers themselves, kindly communicated to us we give. through the mediation of R. P. Philip de Mesemacre,

in the year 1668, when we began to prepare these for the press,

Provincial of his Order through Flanders-Belgium. He indeed

not at all content with that help, which by himself he could bring

to the construction of this treatise; also with the Most Reverend

Father General of the Order, Fr. Sebastian

Quinguet, at Rome he acted, that with encyclical letters to all

the Provincials he commanded to be transcribed & sent all things, which to

the matter would seem to contribute. The Provincials obeyed the command,

&, as each could, so they sent what they had

in their subject convents legitimately deposited.

[2] First, & most sought by us, were the Acts of the processes,

for informing the business of Canonization in the Roman Curia,

formed at Cosenza, Tours, & in various towns of Calabria:

which all (since to the rest of the Writers about the same

Saint they either exclusively or chiefly gave light) we have thought

to be given here. Lacking the Legend, written 6 or 7 years after the Saint's death: To these Acts could have been prefixed the Greater

Legend of B. Francis of Paola, compiled by R. P. Lawrence

of Clavigny, of the Order of Minims,

within a few years after the holy man's death; as the Governor &

Praetor of the land of Regina in Calabria & the whole University

of the same town testifies, in his letter to Pope Leo X

in the year 1516: after namely the same Lawrence in the year

1512 present had heard the depositions of sworn witnesses, as

the same epistle states. That Legend could, I say, have been prefixed,

not indeed as more worthy by weight of faith & authority, but as

more orderly in form & manner of history. But that in seeking it

oil & effort would be lost, the highest diligence of the writers

of the Order in this century makes certain, with which all things about their

Founder they have investigated, yet found no indication of that Legend,

except in the aforementioned epistle of the Reginenses.

[3] Therefore the care of seeking this Legend in Calabria being omitted,

we shall give another, perhaps of greater simplicity, but we have one made 4 years before by an eyewitness of many things, but in no

less faith, written in France four years before the death of the Saint,

by an Anonymous disciple of the Saint himself, & of most of the things

that he recounts an eyewitness, as far back as the year

1460 & earlier, as is clear from num. 22. He in the year 1502

beginning the treatise, to embrace memorable things of some

good servants of God, living in

great austerity, in the first place about Fr. Francis of Paola

wrote in the French language what we have most faithfully translated into Latin.

But whether about the others, as at the beginning he had proposed, he wrote

anything, we are still ignorant. Certainly, if he wrote,

it is something the Order of Minims vehemently laments, that so excellent

has perished, by the carelessness & negligence of the Elders. But that not

only the first two chapters (after which under a new title in the MS.

of Brussels the narration is continued) but all the rest, before the new Rule was introduced, approved in 1502, were written,

before the death of the Saint (inasmuch as making no mention of it or of

the marvels following it) indeed that the writings

were at the beginning of the year 1502 noted above, is first demonstrated

from this, that in num. 43 speaking of that Rule, which

Alexander VI had approved in the year 1492, he says it

was approved, as it is preserved to the present day:

which he would not have said, if before writing there had been known

to the Order another Rule, presented to the same Pontiff by

St. Francis, & by him, in the year 1502, XIII kal. June

approved. The same is confirmed from the time of the Convents founded

in France, most of which are here named

erected up to the said year: but after this no more recent

foundation is mentioned. And yet great was the reason, that

the author at num. 50 praising at length the Bishop of Grenoble's

most favorable will toward the Order, shown in building a Convent

with him, should also have mentioned the Toulouse

convent, begun by the same in the year 1503, if anything

about it he had known when he was writing. Finally about Susanna, only daughter

of the Duke of Bourbon, speaking at num. 44, he would not have written simply,

who is still living; but would have said, who is now

Duchess of Bourbon, if he had written even a year later,

when with Peter Duke of Bourbon dead, he left the whole inheritance

to his daughter.

[4] Furthermore about this so evident truth we must not doubt,

either because in the imperfect past tense the author mostly speaks,

as we are wont to speak of a dead person, He had a beard

& hair moderate: He was of fairly full body, &

other things of this kind: or because at the beginning of the third chapter, he

who before was read named by no other title than that of good man or good Father,

therefore the title of Saint is not added. is called Saint, For it could very easily happen

that with the Canonization accomplished such titles

were added in transcribing: & this use of the past tense

seems to have been familiar then to the French, speaking of an absent man,

although still living; as will be clear from what is brought

forward below from Comineus. Indeed that our author not only

in 1502 wrote, but also ceased to live, we altogether

believe: for how otherwise would he not have taken care to add anything of the things,

which after the said year happened, as in the course

we shall often note.

[5] The name of the author various have sought. Author of this Life. Francis Victon, in

the Prologue to the Latin Life of this Saint, professes to

have reached it by the strongest conjectures; but says he will not reveal it:

perhaps lest he should increase faith in the aforesaid MS. Life, which,

because someone had produced it against him, he did not wish

to be held of great authority. We will modestly refute at its place

the censure proceeding from a certain prejudice of a more

agitated mind; doubting nothing that if on some more grateful occasion this Life

had been brought forward, & in the manner we are wont

weighed & illustrated, it would have earned great applause from the whole Order,

& been received with open arms, as a monument

most worthy of all acceptance & faith: as of such it seems

they also use, who have attacked it with precipitate censure,

rejecting nothing else from it, than a few

things not pertaining to the history of the Saint, but to the secular

state of the Kingdom of Naples. Hilarion de Costa,

in his similarly preface, says there are some, who think the author

was John de Milazzo: it was not John de Milazzo, but to this one a writing

far different, & still to be found in Naples, ascribe

Isidore of Tuscany & Francis de Longobardis: of whom

this one from an MS. which he says is preserved under the name of that John,

received certain epistles ascribed to the Saint, as though he had dictated them

to Virgins in the house of Peter de Lucena, to the King

of Naples Ferdinand, to the Knight of Navarre, & to

Lord Bandricourt: the other took from the same the vision,

by which the insignia of Charity was divinely attributed to the new Order: nor one of the companions going to France,

of all which nothing is touched in this history we praise.

Nor can we receive what in the cover of the Brussels MS.

is read, that the compiler of this life was one of those Fathers,

who with the blessed Father came into France: for he who in other matters

so often appeals to the faith of his own eyes, would not have omitted

to do the same in chapter 5, where this journey is treated of as from another's relation,

& much more sparingly than would have befitted an eyewitness.

[6] Indeed I think it matters little, by what name

he was called, but with what faith he wrote. But this

should not be undermined by certain errors, into which

the author slipped about things, which after the Saint had left Italy

happened at Naples, & which only by common rumor

could learn a man withdrawn from the world, & in some convent of Picardy

or Champagne leading a hermit's life. but from the first ones beginning the Order in Calabria. For what wonder, if

such a one, so many years absent from Calabria, did not follow an altogether

accurate history of those tragedies,

by which the family of the Kings of Naples was tossed?

Shall he therefore be believed less in those things, which either by

his own sight he knew, or by the relation of those who had seen themselves? But he

must have been not only one of the companions, but one of the first companions

of St. Francis, beginning his Order in Calabria: for

num. 4 speaks thus, as one who had known more familiarly

the Sacristan, Steward, & other Brothers of the convent of St. Mark,

under whom as a boy Francis had lived, & num. 22 he says he was

years brought into France, does not seem likely to have written

in French rather than in Italian at so advanced an age

and more unfit for learning foreign languages, unless he himself

then many were, had joined himself to St. Francis: perhaps Frankish by origin. which could also be the reason

for his being recalled to France when already old. Furthermore he who will consider

that the greater Legend of St. Francis, which we have said

was written by Lawrence of Clavigny, was not produced

among the documents collected for the Canonization (perhaps

because the author had already died, & could not confirm by the faith of an oath

what he had written) will not be surprised that this Life too,

whose author we have shown to have predeceased the Saint himself,

was either passed over or unknown to those, who with a single process

at Tours thought themselves abundantly instructed to obtain

the cause in the Roman Curia. But in that Process

almost only men of Tours were heard, & a few of the Brothers

then staying in the Plessis convent near Tours: although

in other places of France also, where the Saint had founded

Monasteries of his Order, & many witnesses of his miracles were living,

informations could have been taken. Yet it is said

in the Appendix, that this little book was produced before

Pope Leo X. But if done, it was done after November 18

of the year 1518. For up to this day

we have accurately noted all things, which were done in the Roman

Curia; but the other things that were done in the same cause

up to May 1 of the following year, when the Pontiff gave

the sentence of Canonization, lie hidden in obscurity.

[7] It remains that we explain how this little book seems to have been preserved

to our times: for what was shown to us from the Archive of the Brussels

convent MS. & from which copies were communicated to other

writers before us, does not yet have the age of a hundred years. whose sheets were transcribed separately.

I observe therefore, that within the cover of that little book are read

written these Latin words: Life & miracles of St. Francis

of Paola, founder of the Minims, in French:

which lest perhaps it should perish, through these four volumes

of St. Jerome we have scattered covering-wise, to

the glory of the Lord God & his Saints, as I read,

God as witness. These words are an indication to me, that the autograph

sheets, in appearance cheap & easily perishable, by

some one, I know not where found (perhaps at the time when in Rome

the matter of the Saint's canonization was being handled) seemed worthy

not to perish. But that the finder might obtain this more surely,

since the poverty of his convent could offer him nothing more suitable,

he thought it fitting to use the leaves of larger or even

parchment paper, afterwards gathered into one MS. which were empty before & after the four volumes

of the works of St. Jerome under the cover itself: whence them again,

with such notice, we now have gathered; & whence he likewise had them,

who perhaps sent them translated into Latin to Rome, to be shown

to the Pontiff. But he who gathered these in the Brussels

MS., seems also to have appended the Appendix,

as in the same French idiom he added the Rule, for the Brothers,

and Sisters of the third Order proposed by the Blessed Founder.

§. II Testimony of Philip Comineus about the Saint while still living.

[8] He who gathered the afore-praised Life of St. Francis, in the manner we have explained,

& transcribed it, besides the Appendix & the Rule, which he subjoined to the Life,

added also the testimony of Philip Comineus; which because we know is

to be greatly valued by all who have known the credit, condition,

& age of Comineus; therefore we bring it forth here,

given by us into Latin from the original French, as this is found

in the said Brussels transcript, Testimony of Philip Comineus about the Saint while still living, with comparison however first made

with the Paris edition of the year 1552. For no faith is to be placed

in the heretical interpreter of Comineus, John Sleidan,

in this very place where the appellation of holy man given

to Francis is treated, who omitting and altering some things, declares

his bad faith & hatred of sanctity, proper to his sect.

So then the most faithful author himself about Louis XI

wrote: Among the men famed for fame of sanctity

he summoned to himself from Calabria a certain one, Fr. Francis

of Paola by name, commonly

called for the sanctity of life, le Saint homme, the holy Man: to whose

honor also he who now reigns (Charles

VIII namely) ordered to be built a monastery at

Plessis-lès-Tours, in compensation for a chapel, which

was near Plessis at the end of the bridge.

The aforesaid hermit at the age of twelve years

had entered a certain rock, & had remained there until

the age of forty-three years or thereabouts,

until that very hour when the King summoned him

through a certain steward of his, because at about 43 years old he came into France, going there

in the company of the Prince of Tarentum, son of the King

of Naples: for he was not willing to depart without

the permission of the Pontiff & of his King: which indeed

was great prudence of that simple man, who

had erected two monasteries in the place where he dwelt.

Never had he, never since he began that strict

life, eaten meat, fish, eggs,

cheese, dairy or any fat: a man of the greatest austerity. nor do I believe

I ever saw a man living, who lived more

holily, & in whom it more appeared that the Holy Spirit

was speaking through his mouth. Nor was he

it was enough for him in his Italian language to make himself

admirable.

[9] This hermit passing through Naples, was honored &

visited as much as some great Apostolic Legate, At Naples & Rome held in greatest esteem. both by

the King & his sons, & to them

spoke as a man brought up in a court. From there

he passed to Rome, & there was visited by all

the Cardinals, & on three occasions had audience

with the Pontiff, alone dealing with alone, &

was bidden to sit near him in a fine chair, for three

or four hours, as often as he approached the Pope.

It was indeed a great honor to a person of such small

condition, so prudently to reply, that all

wondered at him. But the Most Holy Father granted

him to institute the Order, called of the Hermits of St.

Francis. Thence he came to the King, who received him

as if he himself were the Pope: on his knees before him

prostrating himself, that he would deign to prolong life for him:

but he answered what a wise man should reply.

Often I heard him discussing before the current King,

& full of God's spirit. where there were the Nobles & Leaders of the kingdom,

indeed recently two months ago: but he seemed divinely

inspired about the things he spoke & admonished;

otherwise he could not have so aptly discussed the matters he was treating.

He still lives, & thus could still change for better

or worse: wherefore I forbear

to speak more of him. Some laughed at the coming

of this hermit, whom they called Saintly Man

with the common people: but they had not inspected

the thoughts of this wise King, nor had they seen those

things, which had given them occasion.

[10] Thus far Comineus, according to the said edition in book 6

of his Commentaries chapter 8, at the year 1481;

not in which the Saint came into France, but in which the King took care

to have him summoned: since the very departure of the Saint from Calabria

pertains to the following year. But Comineus finished his History

in the year 98 of the same century, & died in the year

1509. Somewhat timidly indeed, following the faith of the Brussels MS.,

for the name of Robert (which is read commonly in the printed editions, indeed

& in the MS. of the year 1526 cited by the author of the Paris edition)

I retained the name of Francis of Paola: Did Comineus name Robert for Francis? yet I retained it: both

because that Comineus is treating of this man is evident, & because his Spanish

interpreter & commentator Don John Vitriano

was pleased to read it thus, perhaps following some more sincere & more ancient MS.,

such as we are confident the writer of the Brussels booklet followed.

Others feign other causes for the changed

name in Comineus, which Francis Lanovius in

the General Chronicle of the Order of Minims touches on, & rejecting them

concludes, that it could easily have crept in to a courtly man this error,

since there was in the same court a certain Fr. Robert of the Order of

Preachers, also dear to the King for the sanctity of his life.

He could have added that it should not seem surprising, if the true

name of the hermit of Paola was less known even to the courtiers

themselves; since he was called not by his proper name, but by that of Holy Man,

or Good Man, le bon homme, le Saint

homme. I suspect, that in Comineus's autograph there remained

he was not at leisure to seek it more carefully, or it did not come to the writer's

memory: which gap copyists have filled of themselves;

one rightly, another wrongly; & this one indeed has had more

copyists of his example so corrupted.

§ III. On later Writers of the Life of St. Francis.

[11] Synopsis of the Life is had in the Office throughout the Octave, From the processes made for informing the business of Canonization

& brought to Rome, James Simoneta,

Auditor of the sacred Palace & afterward Cardinal &

Bishop of Pesaro, collected a certain synopsis of the Life, &

in the Relation made before Leo X recited: which Relation

afterwards to Clement VII (as Lanovius testifies)

so pleased, that he willed the whole to be transferred into the Ecclesiastical

Office: which was done thus, that divided into parts, it fills

the Lessons of eight days, which at the second, as

we call it, Nocturn are recited. Another synopsis of the life

not dissimilar is contained in the Bull of canonization itself. & in the Bull of Canonization, But

since this is extant whole in Surius, that in the said Lanovius

to be read, we thought neither to be reprinted here. After

these the next place may be given to Gaspar Passarelo of Monopoli,

at Valencia in Spain in the year 1571 elected General Corrector,

who from the Processes, Relation, likewise another by author Gaspar Passarelo, & aforementioned

Bull, & certain proper monuments, & also from that

Life, which David Romaeus among the Lives of the Neapolitan Patrons

had recently published in the said year 1571, & David Romaeus, &

himself composed a new one; which recently published we have received,

through the kindness of P. Philip vander Beken, he who the Triad

of holy Francises, Seraphic, besides the encomiastic treatises of various authors. Angelic & Apostolic,

or of Assisi, of Paola, Xavier, began to subject

to the press, a distinguished book & most apt for explaining

to the people the praises of the man of God he published at Antwerp

in the year 1663; in which way before him at Lyon had first done

our Theophilus Raynaud, in the Triad of Patriarchs published by him,

containing the encomia of the holy Founders, Bruno

the Carthusian, Francis of Paola & Ignatius of Loyola.

[12] And these indeed in Latin mostly, as also Benedict

Gononus among the Lives of the holy Fathers of the West; afterwards many wrote the Life: &

several others, whom with Hilarion a Costa, to be praised below,

on p. 409 & following it will be allowed to see enumerated. Indeed

R. P. Francis Victon, of the Order of Minims through

Savoy & Piedmont Vicar General, & himself

great-grandnephew through a sister of St. Francis, what he had previously published

in French, he rendered into Latin, & from the faith of ancient monuments

corrected & illustrated, & published at Paris

in the year 1667. Who, as also other writers of the Order, vehemently

commend the effort & zeal, in drawing out a fuller Life of the holy

Father from Italian MSS., bestowed by Paul

Regio, Paul Regio in Italian, created Bishop of Vico-aquense or Vincensian under

the metropolis of Sorrento in the year 1583; & this Italian

Life we have subjected to the press again & again.

We have also a Life, published once and twice in French by Claude

du Vivier, Provincial of the said often Order through Belgium;

& two other shorter ones published in Spanish, one at Barcelona

from various authors, by Fr. Matthias Oliverus in the year 1645; others in French & Spanish.

the other at Madrid in the year 1651 by Fr. Matthew de Pinedo, from

the General Chronicle of the Order by Lucas de Montoya, in the year

1619 printed: such also, & perhaps more corrected, could be excerpted

from the Latin Chronicle of the same Order by Fr. Francis Lanovius

printed at Paris in the year 1635. Whom all as it was easy for us

to consult, whenever the matter seemed to demand; so it seemed superfluous

laboriously to seek out the rest, whose books

in Italian, French, Spanish, German languages written

about this Saint, the afore-named Hilarion praises & enumerates, with pages cited,

through his great-grandmother Magdalene d'Alesso,

in the genealogical order sixth from the Saint, son of Catherine

Chaillou.

[13] but with more accurate zeal Hilarion a Costa; He indeed in the French language wrote an Abbreviated

Image of the holy Founder, or a compendious history of his life, death

& miracles, & published it at Paris in the year 1655

printed; & five years later having obtained notice of our work,

directed his to us most humanely and benevolently. But

this epitome is for the favor of the simple, looking almost only at piety,

described with an elegant & easy style: but that it might be worthy

to please the more erudite also, it has added in the margin

curious scholia, with faithful citation of the chief monuments

whence he received anything. Besides the same Hilarion

has a collection of historical proofs, in the manner now in use among the French,

from unpublished hitherto diplomas of Pontiffs & Kings

& other similar instruments, & in the same collection he embraced

some more illustrious fragments from the Processes: which since

they greatly pleased us, we could not & would not rest before

we obtained them whole. The same

Hilarion prefixed to his epitome a chronological table, meditating a fuller work, which death cut off;

for the easier understanding of the history he treats; but from

Lanovius's chronicle tumultuously compiled, without examination

of chronological characters, upon which he must lean

who presumes to define what was done in what year. But if

the most diligent man, naturally inclined

also to know chronological difficulties, could have perfected his great

work of two volumes, which on the life & death of the Saint he was preparing,

to be collected certainly from the same monuments we are now about to give;

not, as in his first little work lightly touched upon, but

individually & verbatim weighed: many things without doubt, with those

not well agreeing, in the Lanovian and hitherto received

chronology of the Order he would have detected & corrected; which

prevented by death he left to us to emend & illustrate.

[14] as also Louis d'Attichy. The general history of the Order of Minims

Louis Doni d'Attichy, afterward Bishop of Riez & then

of Autun, wrote in the French language; &

what in it he had described of the Founder's life, he wished to augment

with many miracles & notable things & to give separately

to light in a great volume, unless to his effort also death

had intervened. The general history itself or rather panegyric

we have: & because scarcely any new light could we draw

from it, we suspect that work, even with second thoughts

polished, would not have been greatly profitable to us.

I pass over mentioning the rest, whom we have not seen,

& whom with Hilarion it is allowed to read enumerated, & come

to Fr. Isidore of Tuscany of Paola, who is latest

in time; & lastly in Italian Isidore Tuscan but in abundance of matters & prolixity of style first,

has sweated in this arena, & to the Most Eminent Cardinal Bernardino

Spada, in the year 1658 at Rome printed, dedicated a very thick

volume, in the Italian language: into which he gathered all those

things, which partly among other authors were had dispersed,

partly still lay hidden in MS. processes, partly from new

& most accurate investigation through all the Provinces could be had;

in this one thing less cautious, that he was too credulous to preceding

writers, nor took care to observe the characters of times commonly

available in the processes, & while he labored

not to omit anything, without further discussion he received some things,

to the more prudent writers of his own Order not sufficiently

approved; & specifically those suspected, or more truly spurious,

prophetic epistles to Simon de Limena.

[15] We from all give a supplemented, history, We from the authors hitherto named have gathered

Paola; from which it will appear, not only how many things could have been

known about this Saint, if in all the places, in which at some time

he either dwelt, or as a guest of a few days or hours

acted, inquiry had been made with equal diligence, when there still

were those who could testify: but especially from this our

labor it will appear, how from chronological principles,

before all to be established from the faith of more ancient monuments,

all history depends, both of the Saint himself & of

the Order instituted by him: it will likewise appear into what grave

& palpable errors it was necessary for them to fall, who from

the year of Francis's birth once wrongly established wished to deduce

foundation on which they were building, nor anxious to

at the Lydian stone of all history, namely the faith

of eyewitness & contemporary witnesses, to explore

the assertions of later writers. Of John de Mylazzo

(who himself also, as we indicated above, is asserted by various

to have written something about the Life of his master the Saint) we say nothing;

because the writing, except from the writing attributed to John de Mylazzo, which under

his name is held at Naples, we could not see; although

to obtain it for us labor was bestowed by the afore-named Minim Fathers.

It is credible that no other cause for this difficulty

was than that the Neapolitan Fathers themselves,

having examined it more accurately, judged it pseudepigraphal

and not to be committed to public light. Certainly those few things, which

from this writing we have elsewhere received, offer no slight

occasion of so suspecting, & prove it to be of no great moment.

LITTLE BOOK

On the Life & Miracles of St. Francis,

Written by one of his disciples, four years before the Saint's death, from a French MS. of the Brussels Convent.

Francis of Paola, Founder of the Order of Minims (St.)

BY AUTHOR A COEVAL DISCIPLE FROM MSS. G.

PROLOGUE OF THE AUTHOR

[1] Whatever things were written, were written for our instruction,

With what intention that through patience &

through the consolation of the Scriptures we might have hope. Rom. 15, 4.

These are the words of the holy & glorious Paul, writing to

the Romans: according to which I have proposed in the present treatise

to describe certain things worthy of memory, to

the glory & praise of the Creator & of the most glorious virgin

Mary mother of God; moved & led to this, that

our successors may better be able to persist in good

works, & resist vices & sins; instructed by good

examples, which here will be recited, of certain good

servants of God, living in great austerity

& abstinence: as will more fully here be reported.

And first we will recite the excellent life of the good

Brother Francis of Paola, & with what faith he writes these. Father & Founder of the Order of the Minim

Brothers: then other things consequently,

both as I myself saw them, & also as

I heard & knew through the relation of Religious & other

good & faith-worthy persons;

supported by the help of the Creator, without whom nothing good can either

be done or thought.

CHAPTER I.

Birth of St. Francis, his adolescence: & the beginnings of his monastic, then eremitic life.

[2] There was in Italy a certain venerable Father, Francis

of Paola by name, born in the year

of grace 1400 [37] a or thereabouts, in the town of Paola, situated in the province

of Calabria. His father was Jacob b de Salicone,

his mother was called Vienna: Born after a vow made to St. Francis, who although they were

seculars, yet led a religious life. For when,

living together for a long time, they produced no offspring

from themselves: they invoked the help of God & his

Saints c of Assisi, entreating them with bitter tears,

& doing great alms & frequent fasts

for the love of God, that he would deign to grant them a progeny:

which if it should be male, they proposed to offer the same

to God, to serve him throughout their whole life.

God heard them, & gave them a handsome son:

who when he was born d was lacking one

eye; with a similar vow he receives the health of his eye: which a little later was the occasion of a miracle,

for immediately his devout mother, somewhat

troubled by the outcome, gave herself to prayer;

invoking the help of the glorious St. Francis, & at the suggestion of the midwife promising,

that the said infant, if he should also receive the light of the other

eye, would wear the habit of St.

Francis for one or more years, as he should be piously

affected: at once he obtained the integrity of his eyes,

as if he had never had any defect in them.

Wherefore each parent glorifying God,

& giving thanks to him & to St. Francis, imposed on their son

the name of Francis e, as one through whose intercession

they believed him to have been granted to them by God. But his

good mother nourished him at her own breasts, that

she might infuse into him good character together with the milk.

[3] The same moreover & her husband Jacob, considering

that by giving effort to children f they profited

little; lived together for the space of thirty g years in the vow

of chastity, by parents devoted to rare piety without carnal commerce, which is of no use:

& according to the example of the holy Apostle Paul

tried to subject the flesh to the spirit, with fasts,

vigils & abstinences macerating it. Indeed

Jacob every night used to go around the churches

of deserted places around the city of Paola, scourging himself

with disciplines, & visiting them through the darkness.

The same ate no fruits: & when to him anything

was offered for food, he did not receive it before

he knew whence it was; saying with that just Tobias,

that it was lawful for no one to eat or receive something

of another, acquired by theft or robbery. But to his mother

God showed such grace, that he revealed the day of her death

twenty years before.

[4] The said Fr. Francis nourished by such parents,

from his very infancy did nothing, which seemed worthy of

reprehension: but he grew daily, as

in age, so in wisdom & good morals, before

God & men: offered to the Franciscans in the convent of St. Mark, so that all who saw him vehemently

admired, & within their hearts

thought, that in future time he would become a great

man. When he had reached the age of h thirteen years,

admonished of the vow made by his parents,

he wished to fulfill it without delay.

Wherefore he was led by his parents to the convent of St.

Francis in the city of St. Mark k, where his mother

had dedicated him, & being in his thirteenth year, as

said, he devoutly received the habit there: & with farewell

said to his parents, he remained among the Brothers;

humbly serving them & God, he lives a life of the greatest austerity, doing all the services of the convent,

as the sacristan, steward & others

relate. Often also to gather wood & to beg

for the Brothers he went: devoting nonetheless the greater part of the night

to prayer, before the Crucifix or some image of the Virgin

Mother of God or of St. Francis. In the same

year of his age, having given up his shirt, stockings & all

other garments, he retained only one tunic of coarser

cloth, & began to eat only foods of Lent, although

others ate meat. And

this manner of living to the year of the present

writing, of grace 1502, he

kept: all these things in such tender adolescence observing

by the help of God, to whom nothing is impossible.

[5] The Religious wondered at his constancy, nor were

they themselves only in that respect to love of God & himself

devoutly stirred; his year of devotion completed, but also the Bishop l of the place;

so that he desired to see him & to speak with him. But

because God had chosen him for greater things, with his year

of devotion completed, he wished to depart. When this counsel of his

became known to the Brothers, they tried by persuading

& praying, even with tears, poured out from the sense of tender grief,

to obtain that he should remain with them, &

whatever he should desire they promised him they would do. But

to them humbly excusing himself the servant of God Fr. Francis,

denied that he could obey them: because

this would not be according to the will of God.

So he said farewell to the Brothers, & having set his course through Assisi,

reached Rome, about to visit the holy places.

There when he had found a certain Cardinal m with a great

retinue & splendor, he pilgrimages to Rome & Assisi: boldly Francis

admonished him, that neither Christ nor his Apostles

had followed such pomp. Which

Cardinal, considering the constancy of him admonishing,

Do not, he said, son, be scandalized; for if we did otherwise,

the Apostolic order would be despised by seculars & held cheap

in some way.

[6] returning thence to Paola, The good Father further went on to visit the hermitages

& places of pious religious, after the example

of St. Anthony, observing the virtues of each.

And since he now had resolved to lead a solitary life,

he betook himself to a certain place of his father's possession,

about a mile and a half distant from the city of Paola;

& there he remained for some time, with his father & mother supplying

the necessary food for him. But feeling himself

impeded by the frequency of those passing that way back and forth,

from attentively serving God; he withdrew

from there to another altogether solitary place granted to him

by a certain n kinswoman: where having found a mattock,

he began to dig the earth, & made a small dwelling

for his poor little body.

Then, with the help of his parents, he built

there a beautiful chapel with three little cells: he begins the beginning of the eremitic life. & for a long

time in this place he kept himself, without other dwelling,

devoting himself to fasts, prayers & penances.

But as Fr. Balthasar de Spino told me, in

both laws a Doctor, & Confessor o of Pope

Innocent, the good Father persevered for four years,

eating nothing but raw herbs gathered from the fields:

which is not wondrous indeed, since God can work even greater

things in his Saints. But many

of diverse states visited him for counsel,

both about matters of conscience & in other causes; nor

did they return except with solace. Thence God,

beginning to make his servant wonderful, worked

miracles, which it would be too prolix to recount all:

yet some for the consolation of the devout &

his beloved we will here narrate.

ANNOTATIONS.

a Since

by the carelessness of the old copyist there is missing in the Brussels MS. the rest

of the number, we have preferred to supply the gap from a more probable & below almost

evidently to be demonstrated opinion, than from the more received, but false, opinion to mark the year 1416.

is written in the Interrogatory, before the Cosenza Process proposed by the Apostolic

Commissioners: nor can we assent to those who try to persuade,

that there were two branches of one & the same family, Name of St. Francis's family. of whom to one from the author Alexis the cognomen remained de Alesso, the other from Bartolus or Bartolillus (which are diminutives of the name Bartholomew) retained as distinctive surname, with B changed into M. Nor do we approve those who write Martotilla: for we think it is a diminutive from the word Martore, which

is the appellation of a rustic man among the Italians, as the authors

of the Vocabolario della Crusca teach; it also signifies an animal,

esteemed for the price of its skin, which the Latins call Martem, the French Martre. Whence therefore here the name de Salicone? I once

suspected, because that word means a tall willow, that this of the house

which Jacob inhabited at Paola was the insignia; or that some

village of the Paolan district was so called, whence he himself was born; & the

surname was more commonly used than the proper name of the family

was. Afterwards I began to fear that the author, with various relatives of the Saint

both in the Order & outside

knowing, all from the family de Alesso or Alexius

(by which name in Sicily is a place & perhaps also in Calabria some) believed to have been of the same name as the Father of St. Francis, & wrote in French des Aleçons, which without the legitimate distinction of syllables obscurely expressed in the autograph, the copyist corrupted, & wrote de Salicone.

c SS. Francis & Clare.

Secretary of King Alphonsus, either brother or full cousin of Jacob,

took up the boy from the sacred font, & imposed his own name on him: yet I would not

first affirm this without a witness.

f Who

will say this is demonstrated, that the pious spouses, after Francis's birth, did not

even for the smallest time continue to labor for begetting children, until

another offspring was born to them? Will not these things be sufficiently true, if

after some years of mutual intercourse, when nothing more

was conceived, they decided to cease from the futile use of marriage? & that they also

confirmed it with a vow?

g Say

until about the year 1470; after which & after his wife's death Jacob could still

have survived some years, buried by his son's hands at Paola.

h Written

indeed in the Brussels transcript was 15: but that it should be read 13 a marginal

note warned: & this is proved from num. 9 below, where it is said

that the Saint, when he began to live alone, was 15 or 16 years old. Others say he entered the monastery at the age of 12: but these count fully completed years.

in almost the very navel of nearer Calabria, 15 miles from Paola. There

to the Minor Brothers a convent, built at public expense, in the year

1517 passed into the possession of the Observants, as Gonzaga testifies. The writer

of this transcript, a Frank or Walloon, to whom this city was unknown, but who knew

the Marches, one of the Italian regions; where the author had written, de S. Marc, he read & wrote de la Marque, an enormous mistake.

of February in the year 1446; & held it until the year 1484. To this one

therefore, not to Louis Imbriacus, prior to Antony & Godfrey,

pertains the matter, done about the year 1450, according to our calculation.

created in the year 1426, & slain in the Hungarian War in the year 1444: following their

own opinion about the age of the Saint. From our opinion, if this Cardinal

of the Title was the one of whom we here treat, he must have been William Ugonis de Stagno, from Archdeacon of Metz made Cardinal, in the year 1449, & in the year 1455 buried in his church of St. Sabina.

at the time, when he stayed at Rome at St. Anastasia for expediting

the business of the new Order. Whence the same Innocent in the Bull of the year 1488 calls

him our familiar & friend. We wonder that the said Bull

is missing in the Bullary of the Order, when Fr. Isidore says, that its original

is preserved in the Paolan convents. But Fr. Balthasar himself was the first

Priest of the Order, as from the Bull of Bishop Pyrrhus is easy to observe.

CHAPTER II.

Beginnings of the Paolan convent: Virtues of St. Francis: miracles wrought in the said convent.

[7] Many therefore, having heard of his holy life,

sent farewell to the world, A convent is built with the Bishop favoring, desiring to adhere

to him & to lead a solitary life. To receive these

the first Paolan convent began to be built,

with the good Bishop of Cosenza

greatly helping & encouraging: who himself first placed

the first stone in the foundation, & solemnly placed a Cross

in the place, a & gave many notable privileges to the said

good Father, Fr. Francis of Paola, throughout his whole

diocese. The fact was confirmed by Pope Sixtus,

at that time Bishop of the holy Roman see,

giving him the power of clothing & receiving

to his habit whomever should devoutly ask him, &

of prescribing to them a form of life, & doing other things,

which are contained in the Bulls given thereon: all

by the care of Fr. Balthasar above mentioned, whom

the good Father had sent to Rome. The noble men & women

of that region were borne with such

reverence toward him, with noble men & women laboring. that they obediently received all his words:

& many noble matrons promoted the convent to be

built, not only with their means, but also

with their hands; carrying stones within

silken & satin garments, that they might show the

servant of God pleasing service: He indeed

admonished them, to keep the faith of marriage inviolate,

& exhorted them to every practice of piety.

Indeed he also began to be author to them,

that they should cut off the garments flowing from behind & other

superfluity: they themselves counted themselves blessed,

that they could labor at the building of the convent.

[8] Cheerfully he received those who were asking the habit

of religion from him, Francis preceding all his own by the example of life, & prescribed to them a mode

& form of living in poverty, chastity, obedience,

& Lenten fare through their whole life:

& according to the counsel of the Apostle to Timothy,

was to them in every thing an example of virtue. 1 Tim. 4, 12. More than

six others he labored, fasting daily nonetheless,

& eating a little something toward evening, only

that life might be sustained. Always with bare feet he walked,

nor did he ever drink wine: & slept

little, that he might be at leisure for more extended prayer. His bed

was a hanging plank of rough wood: although mostly,

he lives in the greatest rigor; either standing or with only the middle

of his body reclining, he would take sleep. On fish at all

he did not feed: nor except very late did he eat a little

of legumes, although Lenten foods of any kind

he permitted his Religious. In brief

that I may conclude many things, he led a life so austere,

that none of his Religious could ever

follow it. Never did he either shave his beard

or cut his hair: haircloth was for him instead of a linen shirt:

throughout the whole time of Lent & holy Advent

& on the Vigils prescribed by the Church,

he fasted mostly on bread & water.

[9] Virginity always unviolated he preserved, as

pure & whole according to the flesh, he advises to flee the company of women: as an infant

constituted under his mother's milk. Of women, especially religious

& those who profess a greater zeal for devotion,

he avoided the company, & to his Religious especially

as things to be fled he commended, as though they were

vipers. But he said that both women & money

attract to concupiscence; & the servants of God much

more harmfully than any other things burn. Wherefore

also in his Rule he forbade money to be handled,

nor did he himself ever touch it from the fifteenth

or sixteenth year of his age, from which namely he began to lead

the eremitic life. Of such great humility he was, that to others

to be subject as minister than to preside as master he preferred;

with humility, & served each one with the accustomed works of charity.

Endowed with admirable modesty of mind, of the simple

& slender rather than of the great he frequented

conversations, nor did he prefer the rich to the poor, or the noble

to the rustic in esteeming; but exhibited himself equal

to all, without acception of persons.

In prudence in his actions he excelled with such singular virtue, & excels in prudence.

that no one marked anything in him worthy of reprehension,

although he had many rivals, & ensnarers

intent on deceiving him. Indeed he is well preserved,

whom the Lord guards, to whom no one ever

could resist. His father, whose deeds were mentioned above,

he receives his father among the Oblates. he received to himself & buried with his own

hands; when between the same hands he had delivered his

spirit, toward evening with compline finished ceasing

to live in these words, Ave Maria. Indeed for a long

time he had served the Religious in the habit & condition

of Oblates, b & broken by old age, & full of good

works rested in peace, & was buried in the Paolan

convent.

[10] Entering the furnace of burning lime When this convent had begun to be built,

the good Father had taken care that a furnace should be

built for cooking lime; which already loaded, when

the fire beneath had burned for a night

and a day, with its vault failing,

the stones resting on it began to sink.

In that crisis summoned the good Father, who then perhaps

was staying in his cell, heard the furnace perishing:

he came to it, to see what was being done, & commanded

all to withdraw to take a little collation.

They obeyed, & alone with the keeper of the furnace

the Father remained. he restores the ruin: But nor did he long stay there; yet a little

after returning, he saw the good Father coming out

of the furnace, which as before he found whole.

The good Father therefore said to him: Put in wood.

But this miracle many have narrated: especially

the very keeper of the lime-making testifies to the same truth.

At another time it happened that with him through a forest

journey was had by a certain familiar of his & good friend,

called Master Anthony de Donato, he heals a crushed knee, when a stone

rolled from the ridge of the mountain so forcefully struck

the knee of the said master Anthony, that it broke it.

Sympathizing therefore with his friend so injured the good Father, imposed his hands

on the crushed knee: & soon the said Master Anthony

had it as sound as the other.

[11] At another time the good Father walking through a forest,

found a tender deer: he gives a tame deer to the hungry: which when some

tried to catch, he forbade it to be touched, & himself cut off

of being caught, fled to the convent into the

chamber of the good Father, & thereafter followed him

wherever he went, even to the church, licking his garments;

& fawned on him as her defender, to be known

from the afore-cut tip of the ear. But it happened

at one time that the workmen hired for the uses of the monastery

had nothing to eat: therefore they asked

that deer from the good Father; who overcome by their

prayers, unwilling granted what was asked: its skin

to this day in memory of the thing is

preserved in the Paolan convent. while praying at night divinely illumined. When the aforesaid

Anthony de Donato was spending the night in the Paolan convent,

on a certain night he rose from his bed to pray, & met

the good Father, who said to him, For

charity return to your chamber. He obeyed:

but soon unquiet, to know for what reason

the good Father had ordered him to return, again went outside;

& saw the valley, in which the good Father was, wholly

aflame & illuminated: whereupon seized with great

trembling, he obtains speech for a mute. quickly he returned to his chamber

his own. At another time when the aforesaid Anthony was in the same

convent, at sunrise there came a certain mute

from the neighborhood of a little town called Contursy c: on the night

following the arrival of the mute & his parents,

the good Father rose, & led him to the church;

where having lit several candles when he had poured forth

prayer, the mute recovered his speech; & was commanded,

as soon as it dawned, with his parents to return to his homeland. d

[12] At another time, he drives away a swarm of wasps unharmed, when the cells of the Brothers of the Paolan

convent were being built, the same Brothers were bringing

stones: but in the very place whence the stones were being taken,

they found a swarm of wasps: which when the stones

were moved flying up, with such noise rushed

upon the Brothers, that they fleeing at a run sought

the good Father; about to narrate the event to the same, who then was doing the work of a mason.

He therefore came himself to the place in which were the wasps,

& ordered all the Brothers to go away.

They went, to obey: but I N. behind

the door remained, to explore what he was doing. But I saw,

that he gathered all those wasps, & bore them

to the forest near the convent: which thereafter were not

seen. More wonderful also is what I append.

Fish were once brought in a wicker basket, he revives dead fish.

& they were found dead: but on that day had come

the Bishop of Cosenza; the good Father therefore said to him

who had brought the fish: Opportunely you have come: let us go

& wash them, that we may place them before the Lord Bishop.

They went therefore both to the fountain, which is

within the convent, & when they began to wash those fish,

the first which the good Father seized with his hand for washing,

returned to life, e & let go lived many

years afterwards.

which he gave to Fr. Balthasar, to read it,

& to signify briefly f to him the contents of what was read.

With the letter read, the aforesaid Brother went into the kitchen:

& there found the good Father, who held above

the hearth a frying-pan full of oil for frying fish:

to whom Fr. Balthasar said: What are you doing? my Father?

Fish, he replies, for you I am frying. But Balthasar:

Already, he says, it is all burnt, remove it from the fire.

The good Father obeyed, & with the frying-pan placed on the ground, he put his hand

into the oil most vehemently boiling, without

any harm or burning. likewise into boiling water, It also happened that to

the convent there fled someone having committed a homicide seeking

asylum, & there fell sick. The good Father

willed that he should be cared for diligently, & came himself to prepare

an almond potion for him. And when

almonds to be peeled he had put into boiling water;

into the same water he put his unharmed hands, & took

the almonds from thence.

[14] he handles burning coals. At another time there came to the good Father a certain

Religious of the Order of St. Francis, Fr. Anthony

called g Scotet, & said to the good Father, that

he did ill giving to the sick apples, pears & other things

of that kind; since they ought to be committed to doctors

to be cured: but he himself was also sick.

Therefore the good Father led him to the hearth, & with his hands

taking burning coals: Receive, he said, Brother,

that you may be warmed: for it is necessary that God's will be done:

& he felt neither burning nor heat. At another also

time, when the Brothers in the Paolan convent were occupied

in digging earth, where at present the greater

altar stands; when the dinner hour came, alone

in the place the good Father remained. he appears adorned with the Papal tiara. But dinner finished,

first returned a certain Brother Nicholas called Nostheto;

& approaching the good Father,

saw him occupied in the place, having on his head

the Pope, which shone most beautifully

from various colors. Which seeing, he was amazed;

& went away; & to another Brother, named Florentinus,

what he had seen he explained. They returned therefore to the place

both together, & again saw the same vision:

wherefore returning the said Brothers called one

of the Oblates, Fr. Angelus de Saracena; & again

they three, the same vision seen, full of stupor

withdrew.

ANNOTATIONS.

b Isidore adds,

that Jacob was buried with his wife in the church of the Paolan

convent, & that there was a great gathering of the people at the funeral. That Jacob

was entombed there, seems to us quite probable: about his wife one may well

doubt, whether she could be buried there, having died before the Order was

judged approved, & so had the right of burial.

d Isidore,

with many circumstances & words on both sides ornamenting the matter in book 1

chap. 20 says, that the youth obtained from his sterile parents with much prayer,

was mute until age 14; & he seems to make him the same as the boy,

of whom below num. 20.

f Hence

also it appears that Comineus rightly said, that the Saint was wholly unlettered;

& what we shall say elsewhere, that for writing epistles he always needed

another hand.

& say that at Amantea in his homeland in the convent of St. Bernardine he died in the year 1470. &

both alive and dead was famed for miracles: wherefore they also attribute to him

the title of Blessed, & Arturus du Monstier inscribed him in the Franciscan

Martyrology on November 24. Gonzaga adds: Who wishes to know the wonderful works done by

this blessed man, let him consult the Life of B. Francis of Paola,

& he will satisfy himself abundantly. But we do not know, about what Life

Gonzaga is speaking: for neither in this nor elsewhere anything about Anthony

have we read, which was connected with his honor.

CHAPTER III.

Other virtues of St. Francis & Miracles: health restored to various sick persons.

[15] The good Father above-named, a Francis of

Paola, had a beard & hair of moderate length,

neither short nor too long: Most robust habit of body & those,

as said, always unshorn. He was of fairly

full body & of robust nature: although

he was of altogether stupendous abstinence,

he was not however at all weakened: but in face bore a rosy color,

as if he were eating daily delicate foods.

The grace of God therefore was known shining in him: for who seemed

fat outside, inside had only bones.

The likeness of St. Anthony was reflected by the lineaments of his face.

Vain glory & hypocrisy above all vices he

fled: not weakened by labors of abstinence. & therefore he had his fasts,

abstinences & prayers in secret; so that very few

noted them, except those who ministered to his bodily

necessities. To himself austere, to others liberal

& humane was he, & very circumspect in all

his actions. To all he was benign & gracious,

to seculars equally as to his Brothers: nor did any one

come to him for the sake of counsel or solace, but departed joyful,

& fully consoled by his reply.

Sick ones healed, as below will more fully appear b …

[16] To his Religious Brothers he sometimes with a terrible

face appeared like a lion, gentle toward sinners, & with words & threats

struck terror: yet in deeds himself was sweet

& benign, especially toward the humble & contrite.

But he showed himself so terrible

solely for this, to keep others not delinquent in fear:

for those delinquent, when accused

by others, he bore lovingly & excused the absent;

nor was he excessive in exacting punishment. The obstinate,

if he could not win them otherwise, with gentle words

& easy manner he tried to bend. & his adversaries, He loved more

those who persecuted him, & to them showed signs

of special love, rather than to others, who seemed

to praise & magnify him. Of no one ever

did he speak ill: but if he knew any to lend ears

to detractors, he pursued & rebuked them

most keenly. For he hated the vice of detraction, &

detractors he fled, he does not tolerate detractors; was wont to excuse those of whom

another spoke ill, but to exaggerate praise

of whatever another attributed, nor did he

more willingly hear than speeches favoring another's

commendation. The name of charity he always had

in his mouth saying: Let us do by charity this or that;

Let us go by charity. Nor wondrous: for out of the abundance

of the heart the mouth speaks.

[17] he greatly honors sacred things & Priests. He was most tenderly affected toward the Most Holy Sacrament

of the Altar: & often was present at all Sacrifices,

as many as were done in the convent: nor would he ever have omitted

to be present at Mass, to be said at the first rising of the day.

In great honor also he held Priests,

& their hands with the Sacrifice finished he frequently kissed.

He attended carefully to the lights of the church,

& to other things concerning the divine office.

Through woods & brambles with bare feet he walked, as

they testify who accompanied him in Italy,

of whom none ever saw him plucking out

thorns, or removing anything else troublesome to his feet:

indeed they also admired him at one time

passing unharmed through a bundle of brambles, which the oxen

refused to tread on. he makes a little wine suffice for many: It happened once

that he was in the aforementioned forest with many others,

for the love of God gathered, for doing some necessary

work: who after grave labor

undertaken for the convent, having nothing wherewith

to quench their pressing thirst; & among others was

one, called Master Anthony, having only so much

wine in a flask, as could be enough to refresh two men

once; the good Father asked from him,

whether he had no wine in the flask? A little,

he said, for myself. Then the good Father: By

charity, give it to me: & having received the flask,

he first ordered him to drink, then all the others:

whom satisfied, yet there remained wine in the flask.

And this miracle Master Anthony himself

narrated to me.

[18] Great & wonderful things the good Father worked,

by the help of the grace of him to whom nothing is impossible. often for eight days, For

besides that he fasted daily, he often remained

shut up in a chamber without any bodily refreshment,

which indeed any man could note,

for eight days, & sometimes twelve more or less.

The above-named Fr. Florentinus, who saw the crown

afore-mentioned, affirms & says, that in

the very beginnings of the Paolan convent, the good Father for

his cell, once he remains fasting the whole Lent. without that of food or drink anything

in it he was known to have. During this time the Paolan

citizens, thinking him dead, came frequently to

the said cell, wishing to break it open. Which

when at some time they set about doing, he was compelled

the good Father to show by some sign, that he was still

alive: & thus the citizens quieted; & with them also

the Brothers, full of no small stupor, withdrew.

[19] he heals very many sick; It is to be known moreover that the creator of all things

God, on account of the prayers & intercession of the good

Father, has healed very many suffering in diverse ways,

for instance from fistulas, fevers, pains of head & other

members. he heals very many sick. But it would be impossible to enumerate all

so cured: some however,

of whom special notice has come to us, here to note

we shall not be reluctant. The Prince of Bisignano, otherwise

called Count of Claromonte of the county of the noble

King of France, and among others an epileptic boy, had a son suffering from that

ill which they call St. John's, & which when it invades

the patient (for it is not always, but commonly through lunations

wont to rage) makes him fall, cry, wail,

foam, & do other things similar to the disorders of demoniacs:

which boy commended to the good Father,

was also at once healed. A certain man was so deprived

of the use of his limbs, that for a long time upon two

staves, a paralytic man, as on a litter, he had to be carried: who

when he spoke to the good Father, & he responded to him,

suddenly was strengthened in all, & whole into his house

returned, with no one sustaining him. But I, who

write these things, conversing with the man himself, heard

him affirming to me, that this miracle truly had befallen

him.

[20] A certain Chaplain, Lord Matthew by name,

coming from a town called c Rossano, & a deaf woman; a day and a half's

journey from Paola, narrated to the aforesaid good Father,

that in that town there were two sick women & of these

one deaf, whom to his prayers he wished

commended. The good Father replied: This to the deaf,

& that to the other take. And he said again: the deaf woman indeed

will be healed, & a little after relapsing into her former infirmity,

will again recover whole health: but that other woman,

because of defect of faith, will not be able to convalesce.

And this narrates the aforesaid Lord

Matthew, an upright man, & he says, that it so altogether came about

as the good Father had foretold. When that good Father

was in the Coriolano convent, he leads a poisoner to penance, he saw a woman,

who for a full eighteen years abstaining from the Sacrament

of Penance, had brought death to very many

infants, & had decided to make away with more others

in the same way. But as soon as the good Father

saw her (although before she had been neither seen by him nor

known from another's report) he said to his companion, Fr. Anthony

of St. Agatha: know that that woman has done much

evil. But she a little after sought the conversation

of the good Father, & was sharply rebuked by him, saying;

Are not enough for you the evils which you have committed, unless you commit more

and graver than the first? Then using harsher

words, at last he subjoined: By charity, go,

confess. And at once the wretched woman confessed publicly

her worst will, such as the good Father had said,

& amended her life thereafter.

[21] We had a convent in a place called d

Messilasson: to the castellan of this place in one of his legs

there came such an infirmity, a wax candle blessed by him cures a leg about to be cut off. that the doctors had deliberated

that the leg must be cut off, lest the whole

man perish. He therefore sent to the convent, as to a

universal refuge; & asked that for him the Brothers

pray God, & would transmit to him something suitable for fostering

his devotion toward the good Father. They sent

him a candle blessed by the good Father: which the sick man

binding within bandages to his leg, & trusting in the prayers of the good

Father, went to bed. Then awakened at midnight,

he found his leg entirely healed,

& the miracle was narrated to me by the said Brothers. Many

other miracles also the merciful

God, moved by the merits of his faithful servant, through such

candles has worked, by bringing aid to sailors in peril,

to women in childbirth, & to others, whom it would be long

to enumerate.

[22] he predicts offspring to two women on being entreated: A certain woman, of advanced age, who

had never been able to conceive offspring, came to the good Father

saying: I grieve much, because by God's grace

I possess many riches, but offspring, to whom I might leave them,

none have I procreated. The good Father replied:

By charity, God will provide for your sorrow. She indeed

on whom she imposed the name of Francis; & the matter, as it happened,

she narrated to me. Likewise also many other women, through

the prayers of the good Father, rejoiced that children were given to them by God.

For the same cause the Prince of Salerno

sent a messenger to the good Father even into France;

from whom as soon as a response was reported,

the Duchess conceived, & brought forth a son in due time

happily. e At Poitiers also Matthew Couple

said to the good Father, that he was in great sorrow, because

his wife bore no children: but as soon

as the husband returned home, the wife became pregnant,

& was made a mother; as Matthew himself told

Fr. Matthew of Barsigny at Tours.

[23] he heals two bitten by a serpent: A certain Brother bitten by a serpent came

to the aforesaid good Father, & showed him the ill which

he was suffering. Then the good Father replied to him:

We have a privilege from God, that no serpent

or any venom can harm us. At another time

the servant of a certain shipwright, master Sanctus of

Lochino, when he was in the forest, & was cutting wood for building

ships, received a bite of a serpent; & directly

going to the good Father, showed him his wound:

which seen, the good Father bound his finger

with the bark of a green withy, & said, Go away. And shortly

the aforesaid servant was healed, & told me what

had happened to him. likewise a leper. At another time the son of a certain Greek Priest,

by name Fabritius, from the town of Rossano

came to the aforesaid f convent, covered

with leprosy, & there remained a long time. But I

Brother N. found him there, when I went there to seek the habit:

but when I returned to receive the same habit,

I saw him perfectly healed, except that through his whole

body were seen the traces of the sores;

& he was cured from every infirmity.

[24] more than 20 years earlier he predicts his journey into France: It is little doubt, that for more than twenty years,

before the aforesaid good Father passed

into France, he often said to his religious, of whom

I Brother N. was one, that we were going to

of the inhabitants, nor ours be understood by the natives.

To whom we said: Why then, good Father,

do you wish to go there, where we shall neither understand others, nor

be understood by them? But he replied. Such

will be God's will. And this I, as said, heard,

& is notorious, & so often repeated by him, that

the Brothers turned it into laughter, & held it for

of the prediction, as appears manifestly: wherefore piously

we can believe in him was the spirit of prophecy,

as will more fully appear from what follows. When

sometime the good Father was at Naples, there was in the same place

of Otranto g wounded in the hand by a javelin, so that after

the wound was cured two fingers of the same hand to raise

he could never. he heals one with contracted fingers. This one at the time of Mass addressing

the good Father, found himself healed beyond hope.

At the same time a certain kinsman of the aforesaid noble

from the retinue of the Prince of Salerno, called

Lord Vespero, & paralytic, speaking to the same good

Father, in all his members was suddenly restored.

Of this miracle the witness is the Legate

lead the good Father into France: & a paralytic. as

already twenty years before had been foretold by the same.

ANNOTATIONS.

volume began to transcribe, under this new title: Compendium of the Life of the same Blessed Father Francis of Paola. But we have shown above, that the titles of Blessed & Saint were by no means used by the first author.

since it is certain that the Saint never was at Padua in Lombardy, &

from the adjuncts it is clear that it is here a matter of some place in France, we have judged Padou to have crept in, by the writer's error, for Poictou.

convent: for the author has not yet mentioned another. Besides

it was fitting that the youth was received in the first of convents;

since, as we shall show below, the second convent is 20 years later

than the first.

CHAPTER IV.

The rest of the Saint's deeds in Italy: possessed freed, dead raised.

[23] Nor only to other sick persons did the Creator of all things

God confer health through his merits:

Gravely injured after many days he suddenly recovers, but also sometimes to himself. For when

the Paolan convent was being built, it happened that a great

bundle of wood fell into a certain valley so unhappily,

that striking the good Father from behind, it dislocated the hip-bone

forward from its joint. The workers

seeing this, who with too great force had let

the bundle slip down, ran in haste, & the good

Father lying on the ground & like to dead finding,

lifted up carried him into the aforementioned convent.

To whom the good Father said: By charity, it is necessary

that Brother Body remain thus for thirty or

forty days: & so it was done. But when

the said limit had come, in the middle of the night so violently

was shaken the cot, in which the Father was lying, that

in it he could not remain. Therefore he raised himself … &

from that time was whole: & this vision a witnesses

the aforesaid Angelus who saw. He lifts up a bundle of wood that had fallen, At another time in the same building

was rolled down into a valley, nor could fifteen men suffice

for raising it: the good Father therefore said to the workers

& others present: By charity, go to breakfast,

& afterwards return. They went, & returned,

as he had ordered: & saw the bundle all raised &

placed on the very level of the road, as they themselves testified.

[24] When near the same convent coals

were being made, unhurt he treads on fire, & with earth thrown in the pit was being obstructed,

the flame of the same pit as if through small holes in manifold ways

was breaking out: which to press down the good Father,

put his foot successively on each hole, saying

to Fr. Florentinus afore-mentioned, who was present: Hurry

here to heap up earth: which he did in order,

until all passage for the flames was shut up. He had ordered

the good Father that those coals be made for

utensils of the convent. At another time a certain secular

youth, dwelling in the convent, was accused by his companions before the good

Father, of having eaten new figs, which they call

colombine. Which when the accused denied; he puts his arm into boiling lye,

the good Father called him to himself, & led him to the kitchen,

where then a kettle of boiling lye over the fire

was hot; into which, with his garment drawn back from his arm,

he immersed his very arm, & said to the youth: What

I do, do you also; confident that if you have not eaten

the figs, you will be no more harmed by the boiling lye

than I. But the boy seeing the miracle fled terrified,

& the matter, as it happened, both himself & the said Fr.

Florentinus narrated to me, & through the whole Paolan

convent it is a most well-known history.

[25] & he carries burning coals with bare hands. Likewise when in our convent of Paterni at some time

the good Father was staying, he descended from his cell,

which was at the end of the garden, even to the kitchen of the Brothers,

placed at the other end of the same garden, as great an interval

as in one shot an arrow shot by a crossbowman

could measure: & there, after the evening sign

to salute the Virgin Mary, knocking at the door,

he asked for fire, from him who opened to him

Brother, called Ietro. He entering, took

two pine shavings, & between them burning coals;

wishing so to hand them to the good Father: but he took

the coals alone with bare hands, & ordered the Brother to bring back the wood

to the kitchen. Ietro obeyed, & soon followed

the traces of the good Father; to observe what with that

fire at last he would do. By his faith he swears,

that the venerable Father never let the burning coals slip,

but carried them with his hands into his cell:

& that he had often done similar things at other times.

[26] It is to be diligently noted, that before

the good Father paid the vow, for the restoration of his eye

made by his mother, to her sleeping twice

appeared a certain Religious, & waking her said:

Go, tell father & mother, that the vow for you

made without delay they fulfill: & they did so, as

said above. It is also to be known that, when

first the good Father had begun to build monasteries,

very many envious men with the King of Naples, b Duke of Calabria,

& the Hungarian Cardinal so prevailed, Brought into disfavor with the King of Naples

that they rendered the minds of the said Lords most alienated

from the good Father: so that the Cardinal

himself expelled the Brothers from the convent of c Castelli-maggiore,

& adapted it to his own dwelling. Which indeed little

favorably befell him: for before that year

was out, he was poisoned at Rome, in the time

of Pope Innocent.

[27] The same Cardinal's d father, the King of Naples,

sent the captain of one trireme with great retinue,

that he might bring the good Father violently taken to him; the captain who had come to seize him,

with a malevolent mind indeed, not devotion impelling.

This one when he had come to the convent of Paterni,

in which then the good Father was staying, the dismayed

Brothers said to him. Flee from here, Father; behold

they are here, by the King's order, to seize you.

To whom the good Father replied: By charity, if

thus God will, they will seize me: but if not, none

of men will be able to harm me, & having said this to the church

he betook himself. Then the captain asked where was that hermit:

& some saying he was in the forest, others in the church,

there was great running about of those seeking the good Father,

nor could they find him. At last someone,

namely Anthony afore-mentioned, who work of

some kind was doing in the monastery, indicated the place.

The captain, who with a resolute mind had come, to fulfill

the unjust command of the King, to carry him off captive; softens him by mere sight;

as soon as he saw the good Father, was so softened,

that, as though having lost all strength, he threw himself at his

knees; & with great trembling &

humility narrated to the man of God, what had been commanded him

by the King, & promised himself to be in his

power.

[28] The good Father received the suppliant kindly, & said

that the King's faith was slight, & predicting divine vengeance to the King, & therefore

to the captain himself it would little profit that he should adhere to him.

But he sent to the King a wax torch, & another to the Queen,

likewise to the Duke & Duchess, & commanded

to say to them in his name, that unless they corrected their life and morals,

they were to be punished by God: which also came to pass.

[For in the year e 1494

the King of Naples died, & had as successor

his son the Duke of Calabria: who

died in exile, leaving as successor of the kingdom, as he fled,

his son Ferdinand II, whom the Noble King of France

Charles Valois, eighth of this name, in the year

95 expelled from the kingdom, & all

Italy subjugated. After whose departure from Italy

Ferdinand restored to the kingdom, (such as afterwards followed) a little after

dies, leaving no heirs from himself. To him

succeeded Frederick II, Prince of Tarentum,

his uncle, son of Ferdinand the first, prudent &

vigorous: who restored the Neapolitan kingdom by his prudence.

However after the death of King Charles,

which happened on the Saturday before Palm Sunday,

in the year 98 of the said century, Louis

Duke of Orleans succeeded the same Charles] & with the Duchy

of Milan subjugated he led the Duke himself f captive

into France: & a little after again subjecting the whole

Italy g to his power, he also led King Frederick

with him, in the year 1501. not without a miracle renewed he dismisses. h And thus all reigned a little while,

according to the prediction of the good Father. But worthy

of memory is, that the same good Father

would not let the captain, who had been sent to seize him,

depart without taking a refreshment; & to this

end ordered to be sought one wine cup of French

measure, from which without any emptying of the same cup

more than forty men drank:

but also from two loaves of bread, which he had ordered to be placed before them,

there remained fragments as large, as those very loaves

had been whole. With admiration at which prodigies

astonished the captain & companions, glorified

God, & with healthy fear returned each to his own

business. i

[29] Often the demons speaking through the mouths of the possessed,

the demons complain of being restrained by his presence when they were brought before the man

of God, threatened Italy, that they would destroy it,

as soon as he had departed from it. Signally,

when a certain woman, possessed by a devil, was

brought before the good Father; the demon cried out with horrible

vociferation, that that wicked bearded one,

& worn-cloaked root-eater, hindered him.

And the good Father asking, who he was, A whole

Legion, he said. Again the Father: Where are your companions?

In a nearby, the demon replied, forest, where often a great

number of crows is seen. But whither are

they going? the Father inquired. They are sent, said the demon,

to overthrow Italy. from overthrowing Italy, Then the Father: But what

keeps them? To whom the demon: They can do nothing, as long as

you remain here: for the great humility which is in

you, hinders us: but when you have departed, we will do what

long ago we hoped to do. Further inquiring the Father

asked, who had made him so bold, that

this wretched creature of God he had dared to invade &

to occupy. I, the demon replied, did not seek

her: but she trampled on me, & so I entered

her body: which is so convenient to me, that I cannot go

out from thence.

[30] The man of God said to him: Begone, by charity; &

leave this wretched girl in peace. & at the command of the man of God are expelled from the possessed. But whither

do you wish me to go? replied the demon. To that place,

said the good Father, which from the beginning by sinning you deserved.

I will go, said the demon, from here within three days.

And the Father: Go, he said, in the name of the Lord already

now, without delay & loss of time. Through the eyes,

the devil asked, so that I may take one away?

By no means, said the Father; neither harm this creature

of God: I will not that indeed & forbid it. But the demon: Grant me

something however. Then the good Father commanded, that

he be given two glass flasks. He however not even

thus wished to go out, but by cavilling mocked the good Father:

who at last, like one vehemently angry, seized the girl

by her hair, powerfully & efficaciously commanding the devil,

to let go that body. Which at once he did,

& the girl remained like dead; until the good

Father comforted her, ordering food & drink to be given,

& she returned whole. But how Italy

was afterwards all destroyed, all know. as also one incubus, & many others:

[31] Another girl by an incubus demon was most grievously

vexed by day and by night: whose parents exceedingly sad at the misfortune

of their daughter, & not knowing what remedy

or whence to seek, at last remembered the good

Father, & informed him of their affliction.

He sent to their house two Brothers,

who should say to the devil, that he should go away, nor

any longer be troublesome to the wretched girl: thus commanded the man

of God. They went, & when they fulfilled the commands obeyed

the demon, & left the girl wholly healed from fear

of the man of God. Many other possessed also, speech is restored to a mute,

by the prayers of the man of God were freed. To him also

was brought one mute from birth: whom

with his parents leading into the sacristy, there

he lit three candles, & with these applied to the wall,

commanded the parents, to remain there with their son,

until those candles were consumed; he himself meanwhile to

prayer composed himself. But presently one of the candles

fell, & the mute with clear voice cried out, that the candle

had fallen; & then sufficiently readily began

to speak: but the good Father, from zeal to avoid vain glory,

silently departed.

[32] & life to the dead, Much more prodigious is, what religious

some & seculars various worthy of faith testify &

confirm; that namely two dead men through the merits of the Holy

man were resurrected. The first of them was a certain kinsman

of his, whom when he was exhorting to embrace the religious

state, & his mother k by every endeavor

was turning him from that thought, at last

he died. The mother came weeping & wailing to the monastery,

& complained to the good Father of the untimely death

of her so dear son: he ordered the body to be brought

to the church of the convent for burial. This done,

when the Office was chanted, & the Brothers wished

to inhume him; the good Father forbade them

to do it, & ordered all to withdraw to their cells

& to sleep; for night was coming on. who with his mother's assent becomes religious. With all having departed,

the good Father took the body of the dead man & carried it

to his chamber, & there that same night

the dead man was revived to life by God, on account of the prayers of the good

Father. Then when morning was made the mother came, about to weep

for her son, as she thought, buried: to whom the good Father, if your son,

he said, you should see alive, would you suffer him to become

For that I hindered him alive from being so, I repent from my heart.

Then the good Father gave him his own habit,

& so led him into the church to his mother: who together with

those standing by glorified God, & thenceforth with greater reverence

followed the good Father.

[33] The second raised was one of the workmen

of the monastery, likewise another dead man is raised, who for God's love freely gave

his work. This man when by a fallen beam from on high had been overwhelmed

& killed, the remaining workmen anxiously ran

to the man of God, saying it was to be feared, lest

the kinsmen of the dead himself, opulent men, trouble

should cause them, as authors of his death, no slight,

though they were innocent. Then the good Father

ordered the well-encouraged to depart, & leaving the corpse

in the place where the unhappy one the falling beam had overwhelmed,

thence rushed away to three bowshots, with such

swiftness, that he seemed to be borne like a whirlwind, & vanished

from the eyes of those, who secretly tried to explore

what he was doing. But suddenly returning to the corpse,

he lay over it for some time, then

imposed on it certain herbs, collected from the mountain to which

he had withdrawn. But soon with such ease

the dead rose, as though from sweet sleep he had been

awakened, as to this day

they relate who were present. And these

things indeed suffice about the things done by the holy man through the grace of God

in Italy: it remains to commemorate those

which were done in France.

ANNOTATIONS.

Naples & Salerno; & says the Minims were expelled thence in the year 1480:

but it appears that five years later, in the very one in which the Cardinal died, this

was done; since three years before the Saint had departed into France: but that

this is here reported anticipatively, is for the connection of the argument, to

manifest the malevolence of the Cardinal toward Francis.

which mistake because it cannot be attributed to a man who lived in Calabria, when

those Princes most of all dominated, I judge must be ascribed to a careless copyist.

For in the year 1497 the noble King of France Charles Valois, eighth of this

name, expelled the King of Naples from his kingdom, & all Italy subjugated.

But the King of Naples, dead in exile, had as successor his brother the Duke

of Calabria, who himself also a little after died; & to him succeeded

his son Frederick, prudent & strenuous, who the kingdom of Naples

by his prudence recovered. However after the death of King Charles, which

happened on Low Sunday, Louis Duke of Orleans succeeded the same

Charles. That the error must be excused we have shown above: but what if the place was added by him who added the Appendix?

h there

in the year 1504 this Frederick died, & in the Plessis convent,

as he had provided in his testament, was laid, leaving his son Ferdinand after him,

who from three wives bore no offspring.

in the Paolan archive) permitted the foundation of monasteries to be prosecuted,

& even called the Minims to Naples, with the Saint having gone into France.

k I would not

without a witness, of whom none is adduced, affirm, that this mother was

Brigitta, wife of Anthony de Alesso: for this would too much prejudice the stronger

cause, maintaining, that the wife of Anthony was the full sister of the Saint himself.

CHAPTER V.

The man of God's passing into France: the things done there with the Kings.

[34] As the man of God long before had foretold

it would happen, At the request of King Louis, that he & his Brothers must

migrate to a region, whose language they would not understand,

so it happened: for Louis Valois

King of France, son of Charles VII, & father of Charles who

acquired the Duchy of Brittany, having heard of the holy man's

fame, sent various legations to the King of Naples,

that he might obtain the said holy man. But

when this one would by no means consent, the aforesaid King

Louis supplicated Pope Sixtus, then holding the Apostolic

See, & with Pope Sixtus commanding he sets out, to deign to send the holy man to him,

hoping from him some relief of the diseases

with which he was afflicted. To which petition

the Pope assenting, sent a double mandate to the good Father,

that he should transfer himself into France: & of these Pontifical

Briefs I myself saw one in the Tours

convent. Wishing therefore to obey the Pope's command

the good Father, set out on the journey, & passed through Rome

to ask the Pontifical blessing; & so into France.

There, as the King Louis's Legate narrates,

so great was the pressing of men & women, desiring to see the holy

man, he has a great crowd meeting him everywhere. that to him by land

or sea to come was most difficult. But from everywhere

the sick were brought to him to receive health:

& the multitude of those desiring to approach was almost innumerable,

because so many brought back health from him;

& each one striving to receive from his clothing,

from his hair, or from the things which he used or had touched,

something, & for devotion's sake carefully guarding it;

until, as they snatched, nothing more

was left to the man of God.

[35] It happened moreover that a good Roman matron,

came about to ask some monument for fostering piety from him,

but when he had already departed, a man insulting him the pious

woman, for some solace of her grief, took a little

of the hay of the bed, on which the holy man had lain

taking sleep; & devoutly bringing it home,

placed it on the table. Seeing this her husband,

began to laugh at his wife's, as he thought, madness;

calling her foolish, seized the aforesaid hay,

& carried it to the latrine, with his wife praying in vain.

Moreover having relieved his bowels there, when he wished to use

that hay to wipe his body, the very hand in which the hay

he held stuck to that body with it; nor could

he draw it back to himself, before he had reached

the good Father, from the penalty divinely inflicted he frees. who had proceeded no small part of the way.

But as soon as he sought & received his blessing,

the hand was restored to its uses, &

the man returned to his own, more than ever before

confirmed in the fear of God & his Saints. A certain goldsmith,

living at Grenoble, told me,

that he had seen a fountain, which the said good Father had caused

to rise in a place, where before no water could be found:

which those who drink to this day are healed

from fevers.

[36] A certain merchant of Provence, who was in the retinue

of the French Legate, leading the man of God, narrates, he remains invisible to those wishing to disturb his prayer:

& the Legate himself confirms the same, that turning aside from the journey

the man of God to a certain church for the sake of prayer,

remained there so long, that the Legate tired of the longer delay

ordered him to be sent for. And when they who were sent said

he could not be found, the Legate himself with the rest

of the retinue went to the church. And he nowhere

appearing, all suspected that he had fled,

& vehemently astonished, began to cry out,

that they would be accused of death before the King. But one

of his order, a Religious, Berthold

indeed as soon as the man of God had completed his prayer,

by God's will he was seen before the great altar,

where so long he had in vain been sought.

[37] He refuses to accept what the King offers When passing through Provence, Dauphiné &

Vienne & Lyon territory,

by his prayers very many sick were being healed;

until they happily arrived at Plessis-lez-Tours,

where they found the noble King of France

Louis, who with great honor

& joy received the good Father. But wishing

to act cautiously & shrewdly, because by many

he had been deceived under the appearance of sanctity, he decided by various

ways to test the power of the servant of God. A little

time therefore after his arrival, he sent to him a sideboard

furnished with golden & silver vessels, that the good

Father might use them, gold and silver cups, saying, that all these he would give to his monastery.

But the man of God, recognizing his fraud,

sent them all back; & ordered to be said to the King, that he would do better

by restoring the things of others, than by such sideboards furnishing with gold

& silver vessels: & that by no means

was it fitting for a poor hermit to have silver utensils,

nor did he require anything other than wooden cups.

Then the King ordered a great multitude of tin vessels

to be offered to him: but nor would the good Father receive those.

[38] a golden image of the B. V., Not content with these experiments the King tempted

him by another means, & sent an image of the Virgin Mother of God

made from purest gold, valued at seventeen thousand

ducats; entreating that he would accept it,

& use it for fostering his devotion.

But the good servant of God replied, that the affection of his devotion

was borne not toward gold, but toward the Virgin Mother of God,

who with her son reigns in heaven. To the King's

messenger he said, that he had a paper image,

& that it amply sufficed for him. Nevertheless the King

sent it back three times, & asked

that he would either accept it for his own uses, or bestow it

on the poor. But this also the good Father refused

to do, saying that the King had his almoners,

through whom it was fitting to distribute such

alms. But that beautiful & precious image

was afterwards given to the Canons of Plessis,

who did not think it should be rejected.

[39] a great number of gold coins, Thirdly at last the King tempted the man of God, & that

at the instigation of a certain physician of his, Lord James b Potier

called, President in the court of the Parliament of Paris, &

arbiter of all secrets & business of the regions;

who envied the servant of God vehemently, & tried

to supplant him by whatever reasoning he could.

But what does worldly prudence avail against the Spirit

of God? The King therefore alone with him alone dealing, brought

to him a cap full of gold coins, & said to the good Father

secretly: Come, good Father, boldly take this: for no one

will know; & with it you will take care to have some convent

built for your Brothers at Rome. But

taught & led by the divine Spirit the good Father,

as dung repelled the offered gold, & against

the King cried out, to restore to those whom formerly unjustly

he had despoiled. & finer fish: So confounded the King withdrew from him. When

the King therefore saw, that through avarice, which is the root of all

evils, he could not overcome the man of God;

he wished to try, whether more through the vice of gluttony he could

succeed. Therefore many times he sent baskets

full of large fish, saying: if he himself did not wish to eat them,

they would be for the use of his companion. But the good Father

neither would permit his companion to eat them, but

ordered him to be content with small & cheap herrings.

[40] and so proved to the King Thus that wise man overcame all the King's cunning:

who thence knowing of how great integrity

the man was he had received, so gradually began to be affected toward him, that

one who before had been like a rapacious wolf & had done innumerable

evils, when he was still Dauphin waging war

against his father; & who made King many

regions had desolated, & had occupied the Duchy of Burgundy

after the death of Charles Duke

of Burgundy killed at Nancy; through the good

Father's prayers converted, was made mild as a lamb, & so

great grief conceived of his sins, that before

the good Father stripping himself of his garments, with sharp disciplines

& lashes he chastised his body, converts him into another man, mostly

using his counsels in such things. This conversion of the King

pleasing to the source of all goodness God,

from this world called him to a better life,

& so fell asleep in the Lord the King with the other Kings

his predecessors, with Charles the Dauphin his only son

& heir of the kingdom left after him: leaving also two

daughters, of whom one was Lady of Bourbon, the other

Duchess of Bar: but all at the end of his life to the servant of God

he commended, & takes care of his children after he is dead: asking that for them he would pray

the Lord. Which he indeed did very diligently,

very solicitous that they might be kept in the fear of God.

But the Dauphin, after he was made King, had great

affection of devotion toward the good Father,

& took care to have two convents built for him,

about the year 1400 c 90,

one near Plessis beside the King's palace,

the other at Amboise; & he established an annual pension

of a thousand francs, has King Charles favoring him, for the sustenance of the Brothers

to be in the said convent. But King Charles

was an eminent zealot of Religion, & greatly labored

to reform ecclesiastical discipline, a Prince of

the best nature, full of humanity & piety: indeed

who was liberal & bountiful toward the poor & pious places;

& was wont often to visit the man of God, for him & his

Brothers zealously provided necessaries, & our

Religion he augmented greatly, & the Religious

loved as his own sons, & in more difficult matters

often sought counsel from the man of God.

[41] The desolation of Brittany, long before it happened,

the man of God foresaw: he predicts the desolation of Brittany, for which that he might meet by every possible means,

the Breton marriage to treat not

did he refuse, sending for this purpose two of his Religious

with letters to the King d & the Duke. And now

the matter was almost concluded, when the devil, the author

of all evil & discord, dissolved treaties coalescing

well. And indeed the iniquities & sins of the Bretons,

of which now the measure was full, were the chief

impediment of the said concord; which demanding

the Creator of all God, not willing the death of the sinner

but rather that he should be converted and live, wished

to punish them mercifully. Although the good

Father could then effect nothing, the King's marriage with a Breton, yet he foretold

that it would happen that the King should take as wife the daughter

of the said Duke of Brittany: which also happened. For after

the King had depopulated Brittany, he betrothed

to himself the only heir & daughter of the Duke: who as soon

as she came with the King into France, she went to the good

Father to visit him. He indeed said to both,

that that marriage had coalesced too late: but to the Queen

he signified, that she would bear three males &

one daughter, who would do great things, if the King

& Queen should diligently keep the commandments of God: but if not,

that the trunk & branches of the useless vine

were divinely to be cut off. Nor less came to pass than he had predicted:

for the Queen by King Charles bore three children,

all of short life; but by King Louis,

who succeeded Charles, one daughter f.

[42] At the time when at St. Aubin the battle was fought,

for twenty-two days shut in his chamber he contained himself

the good Father, victory & safety for the King he obtains by prayers. content with only two four-denarius loaves

of bread & water for drink:

& therefore piously it is believed that through his prayers was obtained

for the King victory. Similarly, at the time of the conflict g

at Fornovo, the good Father shut himself up without

any sustenance of life: because he knew in spirit

that the King was held besieged by his enemies, the Venetians,

Lombards, Italians, & others. Nor undeservedly is it believed

that the good Father prayed God to rescue the King from

the hands of his sworn enemies; & by the common consent

of all it was said, that it seemed an evident miracle,

that from such great danger the King had escaped. On the more solemn

feasts of the Church also he would shut himself in his chamber,

eating nothing, & speaking to no one through seven

or eight days.

[43] At the time when he had proposed the Rule to be approved,

by which he prescribed to his own abstinence from meats, the devil's fraud detected,

the devil transformed himself into an Angel of light, &

said to him, that God willed, that the Rule be conformed

to the Gospel of St. Luke, & that it be permitted to the Brothers

to eat whatever was placed before them. By this announcement

deceived the good man, at once designated two

of the Brothers, who for this cause should go to Rome h to

Pope Innocent. But these when they were already girded for the journey,

& had staves in their hands & wallets on

their shoulders, he establishes the Rule of Lenten food: the good Father ordered them to stay: for God

had revealed to him, that his first purpose, of permitting only

Lenten foods to his Religious, was best:

& in this manner much later the Rule was approved,

Pope Alexander, in the year 1492.

Often at night a great tumult & noise was heard

in his chamber, as of chariots running about, often he is beaten by demons:

& of men dragging after them huge

chains: after which not rarely wounded

was found the man of God, as I myself sometimes saw him.

But it is credible, that the demons,

as through the mouths of various energumens they confessed,

many times beat him: whence it happened, that those

conscious of these diabolic disorders, feared

to dwell near the chamber of the man of God. At another time

it happened that the man of God was sick so gravely, that the Brothers

feared he was about to die: they persuaded him therefore to receive Holy

Communion. sick near death he foretells his speedy recovery. Who replied to them: Be not

anxious, for we shall all communicate on Thursday next:

which was the feast day of that Most Holy Sacrament

itself, which also came to pass. For he approached with

the others to the altar quite whole. But however

gravely he was burdened with infirmity, never did he permit

any bodily medicine to be given to him, content with the help

of God alone.

ANNOTATIONS.

but this doctor was dear to the King, because of his excessive desire of prolonging life, that, by Comineus's testimony, he assigned him a monthly pension of 10000 crowns,

beyond the stipend of the Presidential dignity,

is 90, which year of that century Hilarion assigns to the Amboise convent,

& in the preceding year he says the Plessis was founded. The change of one letter

must be pardoned to the copyist, rather than to him who wrote in the margin,

that for six should be read seize, that is 16; for so

would be noted the year 1496, about which other convents, for instance Branco curiense

& Gianensis, founded by others the chronicles mention.

e In the year

1491, December 6, in the third month after the death of Duke Francis, the sixth after

the battle of Saint-Aubin fought on July 28, in which the Bretons were defeated, the French

were victors.

but a whole decade younger than Claude, & so born long after these things were written.

She also bore two sons Dauphins, but anonymous &

extinguished before the ceremonies of baptism: at what precise time they were born,

we find nowhere: I would believe that they also were born after these things were written.

g Fornovo, a

town situated at the roots of the Apennines, eight miles from Parma: the battle

fought there in the year 1495, May 6, most fully describes Comineus, who was present,

book 8 chap. 5.

CHAPTER VI.

Miracles which the Saint did in France: convents founded in the same.

[44] The Lady of Bourbon, a because of the singular trust she had

in the man of God, complained to him, To the sterile Duchess of Bourbon

that she had no children & never had.

He indeed replied to her: Let this not be a care

to you Lady: for before I depart from France

you will bear offspring. And at another time writing back to the same Lady,

he inserted these words; Be diligent, Lady,

in returning thanks to the King of Kings, because offspring

you are soon to have. And when we said to the good

Father, that these things were not to be written without danger of creating scandal against

the whole Order, if it should happen otherwise; the good Father replied:

he promises a daughter: Let us permit God to do what

shall please him: & shortly a daughter was born, by name Susanna,

who even now b lives. Wherefore the said Lady

founded the Giemensian convent on the Loire

to the Order of the holy man St. Francis of Paola, in the year

1400 c 98. The Queen

also, Duchess of Brittany, when she was sick, he heals the Queen of France.

& with medicines applied nothing profited toward

health, commended herself to the prayers of the good Father, from

whom she received three apples. Which though the doctors forbade

to be eaten, saying that because of the utmost weakness

of her stomach they would bring death, she however ate them;

asserting with full faith, that those sent by him would not be harmful,

& she recovered her health shortly.

[45] Wax blessed by the same To conceal further his sanctity the man of God,

gave bread & blessed candles to the sick, whose

diseases by prayer alone he had cured, with the grace of God preventing.

But it was noteworthy, that the things sent by him

to the sick, were mostly contrary to the rules of medicine;

so that the healed might ascribe the benefit

to God alone, the true physician of bodies & souls. A certain

noble from the King's service, called Charles de Vio,

fell into a raging fever, & by its impelling force was doing

very many things, such ridiculous things as are wont to be done from

for a little piece of the wax candle blessed by the good Father, &

placed it on his forehead, praying God, that if the good Father

was a true servant of God, as was commonly reported,

he would deign to restore health to him. And he testifies,

the same noble, that at that very moment the pain was removed

from his head, as if someone had lifted off a cap: & that from then on

he was wholly well. Another noble, a Breton,

reports, that on a certain night there came upon his house a tempest

so horrendous, that he believed he & his to be perishing utterly:

but as soon as a candle, a tempest is stilled, blessed by the good Father,

he ordered to be lit, having confidence that

his blessings would obtain efficacy from God;

the whirlwind was dissipated like wind, whence ruin

he feared.

[46] women in labor are freed. Many pregnant women, among the pains & anxieties

of childbirth long tortured, with danger to their

life & that of the foetus, when such candles were lit,

& the Our Father & Hail Mary had been said five times, before

the candles were consumed gave birth to offspring, strong

& themselves strong, through the merits & intercession of the good Father:

& this happened so often in Italy, France & other

places, that the number of those thus helped cannot be counted. Another

noble Gregory de Vio, from the cohort of the Duke of Orleans d,

when in the Partenay conflict e at the

Pictones, a certain man struck has his life preserved. above his helmet was carrying one such

candle; a heavy stone, balanced from machines, fell on his head.

But whom his companions doubted not to be dead,

they were astonished to see him standing without wound:

he himself moreover after the conflict, moved by so evident a miracle,

renounced the world, & embraced the religious state.

[47] The Saint is seen lifted from the earth, The good Father was found once at Plessis

near Tours in the church, raised five or six cubits

from the earth: from which can be known the fervor &

sweetness of his prayer, when his spirit would raise his flesh upward:

for he was wholly Angelic, indeed Seraphic,

continuously lifting his heart & body to God. And

this Anne, Lady of Bourbon, daughter

of Louis & sister of King Charles, testified. handling serpents & fire harmlessly When the Plessis

convent was being built, he was sometimes seen

at night to take serpents, & carry them outside the convent precinct

without harm: but he was unwilling that either

they or any other of venomous animals

should be killed. Often also he was seen to carry

fire with his hands or in his bosom without burning, & to carry it

into his cell, in which however there was no fireplace:

at other times to remain in it through the greatest cold

without fire. But of the fire so miraculously carried

the witness is Fr. Giles of Bourges, & several other

Brothers most worthy of faith.

[48] The servant of God, advancing from virtue to virtue,

in a short space of time founded very many beautiful

convents of his Order in France, he founds many convents in France: by the command

of the Princes & with the help of the faithful: namely

at Tours, Amboise, Gien, f Paris, in g Château-Ebraldi

& h elsewhere. The Governor of Burgundy,

by name John de Baudricourt, had a rosary,

given to him by the holy man: but it happened by chance,

that when once his ministers undressed their master

of his garments, that rosary, which was wooden,

without their noticing slipped into the fire. a rosary received from him remains unburned. Now

when morning came his Lord sought his rosary,

nowhere could it be found, until the ashes

of yesterday's fire someone began to stir, about to build a fire:

then among them it was found, wholly

unharmed by the fire. Seeing this, that Lord increased

his devotion toward the holy man, & to his Order

built i a convent near his

Blois house in Champagne, in a place called Our

Lady of Bracquencour, distant from Langres

seven leagues, & four from Clairvaux.

[49] The sister of Fr. Matthew Michaelis, with the hope of conceiving

offspring long frustrated, one sterile is helped, with the aforesaid Brother interceding for her,

received from the good Father certain dried

herbs: then through his merits she bore a daughter, whom

for preserving the memory of the benefit she wished to be named

Francisca. & another mad. A certain man of Amboise, brought his wife,

mentally disturbed, to the good Father: who

commanded her to recite the Lord's Prayer with the Apostles' Creed:

but on the following day she appeared whole.

The General Prefect of Picardy in the time of King Charles

the eighth, the Amiens convent is founded Lord de Sandricourt, with his wife,

because of the great devotion they had toward the holy man,

were the authors of the Amiens convent

to be built, in the year 1498.

[50] The Bishop of Grenoble, called Alemand,

sprung from a noble stock among the Dauphinese of la Val,

came to the holy man, & at Amboise

with him not without great difficulty having conversed about

his business, from him most consoled he withdrew. His grandsons

they ate bread blessed by the man of God, were

freed: wherefore the Bishop, & the Grenoble one: conceiving great

devotion toward him, chose him as his spiritual

Father, & founded for him a convent near

Grenoble, where he then was staying. But the devil, enemy

of all good, wished to hinder that foundation,

through his kinsmen & many others trying

to turn the Bishop from that counsel. But when

the demon saw that by this means he profited nothing;

he tried to destroy what the Bishop was undertaking: & caused

that the first ship, which carried stones for the building,

was submerged in the Isère, & itself & the stones

together perished: then he set fire to the bell-tower of the church.

But the good Bishop ordered a new one to be built, and in it Relics of St. Blaise are placed. & showed

his magnanimity in it. The same Bishop

in the aforesaid church, in the year 1499,

consecrated the right altar

of the chapels, in honor of St. Blaise: whose notable

Relic, namely a vertebra of the neck, hitherto preserved with

the body of St. Hugh, founder of the Carthusians,

on the very day of consecration there gave,

in the presence of D. Francis de Puteo the Carthusian, then

his Official, & the College of Grenoble, & other

honest men: & many miracles happen there upon

the sick, for which thanks are to be returned to God

& the virgin Mary, & the good father St. Francis of

Paola, & St. Blaise, & all the Saints of God.

[51] An energumen at Rome, in vain attempted with exorcisms, A certain woman from Dauphiné bore

by the man of God, & given to her by his Brothers,

at once put forth the same serpent healed.

The good Father had once sent to Rome two of the Brothers

for business of his religion, namely Brother

Anthony de Ponte & Fr. Peter Gilberti from the regions

of France. These when they had arrived in the city, they found

there an energumen from Picardy: who often

had been placed within that column l from which preaching

our Savior Jesus Christ in Jerusalem,

endured the insult of those saying to him, you have a demon:

often also she had been adjured by the Canons of St. Peter never

could she be freed. On a certain day therefore when

the energumen stood outside the column, the aforesaid Fr.

Peter Gilberti wished to try, whether the good Father were truly

which the man of God had given to him, placed it

on the woman's neck, & said: I command, on behalf of God &

of Fr. Francis of Paola our Father, that, at the name of the Saint she is freed from the demon. if he is a true

servant of God, as we believe, you come out of

this woman, nor be troublesome to her thereafter. He also

asked of the devil, whether he knew the good Father. But

he replied that he well knew that wicked bearded

& patched one: who was a great impediment to his business:

nevertheless that the same had beaten him excellently

& he had endured many troubles, which one upon another he would wish

to heap up, both through himself & through his very

Religious, to be led into this by his machinations: nor

would he rest before he himself from his begun & good

purpose should desist: for he was he who had expelled Adam

from paradise, & had so

cruelly beaten St. Anthony. At last however from the woman

the demon departed, threatening to the good Father & his Religious

many impediments not in vain,

such as afterwards he endured, not only from outsiders,

but also from his very own Religious m; so that he could say

with the Savior: Who ate my bread, magnified

against me his supplantings. Ps 40, 10 Captivity of the Cardinal is predicted to be freed.

[52] At the time when Cardinal Ascanius, brother of Louis

Duke of Milan, was held captive

at Bourges in France; the good Father commanded it to be said to him,

to be of strong mind, & that calamity to bear patiently

relying on God: for it would happen that he would soon be

restored to his n liberty. Which when it had happened, the benefit

received through the merits of the man of God gratefully the

Cardinal acknowledged.

ANNOTATIONS.

1491, & in the year 1505 married to Charles of Bourbon, died without children in the year

1521, as the Sammarthans have in volume 2 of the Genealogical History.

was taken & destroyed in the year 1486, in that war which the King had against

the Count of Dunois, against his will regressing into Gaul, as

Belcarius describes book 4 num. 30.

whose ruins, in the year 1493 given by the Knight Morliere, for building

within which convent Queen Anne understanding them to be too narrow, added various

estates, about which see Lanovius.

i In the year 1496.

placed next to the Gregorian chapel in the Vatican Basilica, formerly near

the very confession of the holy Apostles, stood above some part of a triumphal

arch, as John Severanus describes it, in the sacred

memoirs of the 7 churches on page 108. now however it is moved, as also certain others from other basilicas, monuments of sanctity not sufficiently certain.

treachery of his own, came into the hands of the Venetians, & from these was delivered

to King Charles. But in book 9 num. 42 he says, that the Ambasian Cardinal,

aspiring to the Pontificate, after the death of Alexander VI in the year 1503, reconciled Ascanius to the King, brought out with that hope two years before from the tower of Bourges (where for some years correct to months he had been in custody), & took care that he be honorably treated.

EPILOGUE

The title of Glorious Saint here at the beginning assumed, &

other things following persuade, that the author of this epilogue

is different from him who wrote the Life before the Saint died:

for here as of a dead man it is treated, when

there is indicated the multitude of those coming & bearing vows to the sepulcher,

& the custom of visiting the tombs of Saints is praised.

[53] Whoever you read the acts & miracles of the glorious

Saint Francis of Paola, here noted, Thus far the writings merit belief if you

wish to argue & impugn them, saying that they are not

sufficiently approved, & that if you had seen them

yourselves you would believe them; we reply to you, that those who have never

been at Rome or at Jerusalem, do not delay

to believe that Rome & Jerusalem truly exist.

If our Lord Jesus Christ had not concealed his divinity,

his most holy Mother her virginity, the Saints

of Paradise their sanctity,

it would have been easy for the devil to hinder the work

of our redemption, to disturb the devotion to the Virgin Mother of God,

& to infest the angelic conversation of very many Saints

men & women of God. The Saints chosen by God,

taught by Jesus Christ, as long as they live in this

exile, solicitously avoid vain glory: as

St. Gregory says, he desires to be plundered who a treasure

openly carries in the way. Therefore the Wise man admonishes:

Shut up alms in the heart of the poor, although they are not signed by a Notary's hand:

& in the Gospel it is said, Let not your left hand know what

your right hand does. Ecclus 29, 15, Matt. 6, 3 Let us consider how many hermits

living on the roots of herbs alone, chose their dwelling

among the wild beasts of the woods: who when by their prayers

& merits they obtained from God health for the languishing poor

or sick, did not seek in those

desert places Notaries: but it was enough for them that

the poor healed gave thanks to God, nor rarely

inculcated to the same what Christ the Lord enjoined on the leper

healed, & elsewhere after his Transfiguration

on his disciples John, James & Peter, Tell

no one the vision. Luke 5, 117, Matt. 17, 9

[54] St. Augustine affirms, carnal miracles

are so much less than spiritual, yet more than these spiritual miracles are to be esteemed. as earth is less

than heaven: & much more is to raise

body naturally tends again to corruption:

but a soul, led back to the life of grace,

tends to the life of glory, never to end.

Let us therefore consider not only the carnal, but also

the spiritual miracles of the man of God, in his Religious,

living with such austerity & abstinence: for often

it happened, that those who in the world had led a life

flowing with delights indeed diabolical, to

Angelic morals betook themselves, entering the desert

of penitence.

[55] the corporeal ones were in all the elements, But because carnal men think carnally,

& he who is of the earth speaks of the earth, consider, if

you please, the virtues & miracles of the man of God; & manifestly

you will see that all the elements served his commands.

Fire indeed, when he entered a burning

lime-kiln & restored it, as above is said,

& flaming coals, & boiling oil

with bare hands he carried or received, without any trace

of harm or injury, as testimony of his innocence.

Water too, when it laid down its tempests,

at the call of those who saw themselves placed in present danger

of shipwreck, & lit candles blessed by him:

in which his excellent power appears. Very many

breathed on by pestiferous airs, from the troubles of epidemic,

fevers, & other contagious diseases,

have been healed. Sterile women have obtained happy

conceptions, & births of sons & daughters.

To lepers & incurably ulcerous has been restored

the integrity of their flesh, to mutes speech has been given; ruptures,

fistulas, wounds in legs & other members healed:

bread & wine, when necessity demanded, abundantly

multiplied: the weak have obtained the power of walking,

serpents & demons cast out of bodies;

the dead finally raised; whom afterwards through God's grace

living a long time one could see walking,

speaking, drinking & eating, because

they had invoked his aid.

[56] & in necessities of every kind. Candles blessed by him & thrown into flames,

extinguished the fires of houses: the same stilled thunders & tempests,

freed women in labor from desperate births, & themselves

as well as rosaries & little cords & other things likewise consecrated

by his prayers, were salutary to many in peril

by land and sea. Others speaking with him, others commending

themselves to him, others carrying some of his things,

others placing their trust in him, from diverse

dangers & troubles have been rescued, in wars, in battles,

from prisons, from tribulations, by land and sea.

How many through him enriched with great virtues, instructed

in good morals, have been led to contrition of sins & the way

of salvation! Infinite are the things he has done beyond the order

of nature in miracles on creatures: from

which is known the presence of God, in his servant

exercising excellent power. Whoever in him

place firm hope, & what daily are necessary

for salvation for God's honor through his intervention ask,

rejoice that they obtain grace & salvation: & this was clear

in so many honest persons, mostly in desolation, who having obtained

consolation through his merits, afterwards came in great

number to offer their vows as a sign of gratitude. But if all

those who truly experienced in themselves & their own the efficacy

of his prayers, on both sides of the mountains, gathered from

various nations, were all presented in one before you,

about to make you more certain of the truth; impossible

would it be for you to receive distinctly the depositions of all

or to hear them.

[57] But here someone might ask, Why are not all

those heard, not all have been heard, who implored his aid?

But the answer is ready, that many languish

corporeally that they may live spiritually, whence also Paul

said: When I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Cor. 12, 10. And thence

it appears that a greater good in all things is intended by God:

for, as the Master of the Sentences says, God permits

& the devil contrives that we be afflicted with various afflictions & tribulations,

temporal and bodily,

either that we may be humbled, proved, & merit, or that

from sins we may be cleansed chastened. Wherefore as often as we run to the sepulchers

of the Saints, to ask some

grace; they look into the divine Word,

& know the end intended by God, & his will:

to which if we would ask things pleasing & salutary to us,

it is credible indeed that they would certainly be granted: because they were not expedient for all. but because often

we prefer corporeal & temporal things to spiritual & eternal

goods, therefore unheard we are rejected.

He who asks the Papacy, kingdom, empire, monarchy of this

age, does not desire even the smallest portion of divine & true

joy: wherefore our Lord

Jesus Christ, seeing that his disciples often

asked from him earthly things neglecting heavenly,

reproved them, saying, Hitherto you have asked nothing:

as if saying, Ask things salutary for your soul,

namely eternal life, & you will receive &c. John 16, 24.

[58] We believe prudently that the man of God St. Francis

of Paola had the faith of the Patriarchs, in this

that he deserted his fatherland & kinsmen, as

another Abraham, to whom it was said, Go out of your land

& from your kindred. We can judge that he

had the spirit of the Prophets: [epitome of the virtues on account of which the Saint deserves to be numbered with the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles,] for many

future things he foretold, & often, when imminent

calamities of the Church, namely wars, famine or pestilence

he foresaw, he was overwhelmed with copious tears.

It is clear that he had the zeal of the Apostles: in

all things he sought God's honor & the salvation

of wretched sinners. His austere conversation,

was salutary preaching to us all: in this moreover

he seemed always intent, eating little

& resting little, that he might pray & labor much. He willed

& ordained by his Rule, that his religious

should sleep only on hay & straw, as

Christ the Lord placed in the manger among the beasts.

A haircloth was almost perpetual to him;

disciplines & other macerations of the body frequent;

fasts & vigils excessively prolonged. With the poor

& with others afflicted in body or spirit he sympathized

most tenderly, & greatly grieved that so many sinners

impiously & impurely led their lives, & at last

suffered the losses of eternal life: seeing how

the same blaspheme Jesus Christ & again crucify him,

mortified with whole heart & body he bore continuous

martyrdom. It is also clear by the aforesaid, that

the man of God must be numbered among the holy Confessors:

Confessors, for his prayers & supplications were full

of power & vigor, so that through them very many sick

were healed, some corporeally deceased were led back to life,

many spiritually extinct to grace were led back.

But because from his first infancy he led an Angelic life,

he must also be numbered among the Virgins, Virgins. who before

the King of Kings & the Virgin of Virgins sing sweet-sounding hymns

& songs. Finally with the ornaments of all the virtues

the Almighty so adorned him,

that he can justly be called according to Ecclesiasticus,

A vessel of solid gold, adorned with every precious stone,

& to him can be applied this of the Psalmist, The Lord

has magnified his Holy One. Ecclus. 50, 10, Psalm 4, 4

APPENDIX.

Added after the Canonization.

[59] Repeated recapitulation of virtues. This little book, which was produced before the most holy Father,

Pope Leo of that name the tenth,

about the life, fame & miracles of the servant of God; & so many

& so wonderful things, such as are contained here; & others

not at all embraced in these, which the Creator

God did & does daily through the prayers & intercession

of his faithful servant; convince that the man of God in the gift

of rare devotion excelled, to the astonishment of all,

whoever have seen or read this little book. For the law

of nature, of scripture, & of grace he tried

to observe perfectly; with heart & mouth loving

& honoring God, & with whole mind & soul

attending to his service & obedience.

The moral, cardinal & theological virtues he graciously

possessed. Generously as well as gloriously he sought

the beatitudes promised to the holy Patriarchs &

Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors,

Virgins, Eremites & Anchorites. Like another

Elias or John the Baptist, the world, flesh, demon

victoriously he supplanted; praiseworthy in boyhood,

fervent in charity in adolescence, honorable in

youth, much amiable in his old age, & in all

the time of his life vigilant. * Ninety years thus

he spent in penitence, so that, ever better & from virtue

to virtue unceasingly advancing, he persevered

in all devotion & zeal of holy religion.

Which religion indeed is to good religious like an earthly paradise,

in which the man of God so lived, that from thence

he ascended to the heavenly Paradise, there without end

to reign with the King of Kings & Virgin of Virgins,

Angels, Archangels & all the saints,

Amen.

* Concerning the age of the Saint see what is to be said below.

INFORMATIVE PROCESSES FOR THE CANONIZATION.

From the authentic original MSS.

Francis of Paola, Founder of the Order of Minims (St.)

PREFACE OF D. P. THE COLLECTOR.

Copies of these, at the request of Fr. Vitonus. These Processes, which served as foundation for almost all

writing about St. Francis of Paola,

Francis Victon, of whom in the Commentary

mention was made, had taken care at Rome from the originals

to have transcribed about the year 1625, &

had brought to Paris. When we had learned this from the Preface

of Fr. Hilarion a Costa, we suggested to R. P. Philip de Mesemacre,

before mentioned, that it seemed fair that according to his zeal toward

the holy Founder, for the common consolation of the Belgian Province

& the instruction of this our work, another copy

should be transcribed, which preserved in the Brussels archive,

would make monuments of such great dignity & authority common

also to these parts, & thus less exposed to the danger

of irreparable loss, the more transcripts of them

existed. The counsel pleased the most humane man, & he took care

for it to be faithfully carried out, through the Reverend Fathers of the Paris Convent:

who at once brought forth four MS. codices each

fortified with the subscription of a public Notary, with this formula which follows.

Copied at Rome, & collated with the originals, In the name of the Lord. Amen. The present copy was extracted

from its proper original, shown me,

by R. P. F. Bernard Mathalin, of the Order of Minims

of St. Francis of Paola in the Venerable Convent

of the Most Holy Trinity of Monte Pincio in the City; with

which collated by D. Lauretus Lepor, one

of the young men of my office public Notary, he

asserted to agree: in witness whereof etc. Given at Rome from

our houses, in the year from the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

1657, Indiction X, on the 20th day of the month of September,

in the Pontificate of the Most Holy in Christ

our Father & Lord D. Alexander by divine providence

Pope VII, in his third year.

& notarially authenticated, ✠ So it is for D. Sebastianus Cesius, Notary of causes of the court

of the Most Em. & Rev. D. Cardinal vicar, Ovidius

of Auhilli Sabinus, Roman citizen, public Notary,

& Administrator of the office of the said D. Cesius.

But of the legal authority of these, namely Sebastianus Cesius & Ovidius of

Auhilli, Martius, by Divine compassion Bishop of Albano,

S. R. E. Cardinal Ginettus, Vicar of our Most Holy Lord Pope, & Ordinary

Judge, gave certification, subscribing

to the authentication of each codex

by the hand of Bernardinus Reivetanessi, signing for D. Lauro

Pino Notary on September 27.

at Paris faithfully transcribed. That the transcripts, whence we have received these, agree

with the authentic, which is preserved in the convent of Minims

of Paris at the royal place, taken

from the Roman original, made proof by subscribing,

on September 26 in the year 1668, at Paris

in the aforesaid convent, Fr. Francis

de Varregge Provincial of the Province of France, & his

colleagues Fr. Claude du Puys, & Fr. Anthony Iaul,

for two codices: but for two others, Fr. Cornelius

Francis de Varregge Corrector of Paris, Fr.

Francis Bosquillon, Fr. Ambrose le Cointe.

AMIENS PROCESS.

FROM MS. AMIENS PROCESS.

[1] At Amiens in 1513 one is heard, Francis de Haluin Bishop of Amiens,

created in the year of the Lord 1502, when he was in his 20th

year of age, & until the year of the common era

1537 Pontiff of that city; to Stephen Bishop of Paris,

ordered to inquire into the Life & miracles of St. Francis of Paola,

gave distinguished effort; when by his delegation,

in the year 1513, on the day June 13, brought to him & received,

he received the depositions of witnesses, professing to speak truth

on the aforesaid under previous oath, as he

prefaces in his own epistle; although only of one witness, but most worthy

of all faith, depositions are found in that writing; which

destined for Rome, before 1517 on day October 17 judicially

produced & approved, was, through the legitimate recognition

of the hand & Episcopal seal, & of the Notarial D. Brisetti. We place,

this deposition, though last in time, who later in time is here placed first, before all the others:

because this one witness declares more than all the rest,

about the beginnings of the holy life, & the manner of living which St.

Francis kept, until he crossed into Gaul; which others,

as below will be clear, touched more briefly, all intent

on narrating the miracles of this great

Thaumaturge. The tenor of the aforesaid deposition

(as in the course of the Roman examination it is described verbatim

on the named day) is such.

[2] This one sprung from Paterni, The noble man Anthony de Gerane of Felline,

of the city of Paterni, diocese of Cosenza,

born in the parts bordering Calabria,

of his age 58 or 60

years, on the day June 25, deposes, that many times

with Fr. Francis of Paola in the convent of the same

place, for the space of seven years (until at the instance

of the Most Serene King of the French Louis XI & by the precepts

of Pope Sixtus IV he transferred himself into the kingdom of France

to stay) he had converse. first he got notice of the Saint from fame, But

that he, when in his 20th or 25th year of

his age, first had notice of him,

on the occasion of rumor & fame, namely by the reports

of his meritorious works, sprouting & flourishing

in the region & parts of Calabria; & also of his virtuous

works & miracles sent down from on high, on account

of the merits & prayers of the said Fr. Francis: which indeed

reports he heard referred from the mouth of his father, mother,

& friends of his, & very many others,

to whom from an early age the miracles & virtues of the same

Fr. Francis were known. testifying to his in solitary life

[3] He also says that common voice & fame has flown

(as from very many most worthy of faith he received

in the province of Calabria) that the aforesaid de Paola, from his tender

years, had left his father, mother & kinsmen,

& sought deserted places; in which, beneath

an enormous a rock, a certain cave

for a long interval of time he inhabited, worldly

men & their conversations greatly

spurning, & his body in every kind of eating herbs

macerating. He also says, that

when certain ones of that region had brought some foods

to him, out of regard for his poverty; he quickly fled, singular abstinence,

& left those deserted places. They

however, believing that he ate such things, left the same foods

behind. But seven days following having elapsed,

what they had left they found without any corruption:

because he never used meats: whence

the rumor was strong that he was a second after John the Baptist.

[4] & austerity. Moreover he says he received from some, that the aforementioned

de Paola, when he had left his paternal houses, from that

time was never clothed with linen cloths,

but clothed with coarse & rough cloth, made of black

wool, in common speech in the said parts called b

arbaso. Night & day persevering in his prayers

in the same garment, with bare feet & head

walking, he passed his life. He also used,

for practicing prayers both verbal & vocal,

only c patriloquia, commonly called the crown of our Lady. as he afterwards knew by sight.

But in the following years he perceived, whatever

of the manners & life of the aforesaid de Paola he had heard,

contained truth. He finally says that the aforesaid

de Paola, by divine (as it is said) providence inspired,

after many days his body in

the afore-described cave he had macerated, decided a little

after to build at the foot of the cave a certain house

of moderate habitation, with certain lay Brothers,

who with him, on the occasion of the same meritorious works

had joined themselves, & led the life of hermits there.

At last the same de Paola seeing many

mortals living by his features & austerity &

by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he saw a monastery built, weeping their sins; began a certain monastery

near the aforesaid house, which

he called the church of d Jesus-Mary.

[5] Which monastery since it stood at the foot of the house

& dwelling of the said Fr. Francis & converted

Brothers, a certain part from the peak of the mountain

seemed to fall downward, to the detriment & destruction

of the same temple. a rock about to fall from above Which seeing the workmen

& artisans, with loud voice under these words cried out:

Father, Father: the rock is broken, & is coming

to destroy your monastery. At which cry

the same de Paola coming out of his cell, & with bent knees

before a Crucifix near the church,

& prostrate with face bent to the ground, God with his accustomed

prayers he entreated. Which entreaty

thus made, the stone itself, downward most greatly

tending, firm & stable there remained.

And a little after the same de Paola taking a staff, sustained by the Saint's staff,

fixed it on the sides & beneath the rock, as if

to prop it he had wished: in which position indeed it long remained.

Wherefore not a few of the provinces of Calabria, Naples

& other places, & very many of the city of Cosenza,

when they saw the aforesaid rock thus suspended,

quickly took their steps: the witness himself saw

the station of that rock. However afterwards it was

divided, & applied to the convenience of the construction

of the same monastery. At which miracle's announcement

many, both Priests & lay persons,

seized by devotion, & by that miracle many moved to his following, deserting the life of the worldly,

adhered to his works; & so greatly observed holiness

& holy days, that, if any

brought anything of meat or cheese there to be eaten,

quickly they found it filled with worms:

wherefore they were compelled to use the foods in the aforesaid monastery

commonly eaten.

[6] Wherefore the inhabitants of the place of f Paterno,

knowing the maceration & austerity of the body of the same de Paola,

he attests invited to erect a convent at Paterno, gathered together, & concluded

to entreat the same de Paola, that he would wish a certain convent

in the aforesaid city to be built: which with many &

varied intercessions he accepted. Whence with some

religious, into a certain small chapel, existing outside

the walls of the city of Paterno (in which certain Brothers,

in the parts of Italy commonly called Brothers of discipline,

were dwelling) he entered: & there to the workmen

& artisans, to have found all necessaries by miracle; a small staff in his hands

holding, he enjoined, that in three places they should dig the earth:

which they did, & in one place they found

stones, suited for building & making lime,

in the second sand, & in the third water; which

never had appeared in that place. The disputes

also of the nobles of the said place, on the occasion of the partialities

of Italy, he pacified.

[7] At last he says, that on one of the days a certain noble

of the country had come to the convent of Paterno, that

he might see the same de Paola, & had tied his mule in the square near

the monastery. But she being unloosed, the head of a boy crushed by a mule

threw a kick of the foot at the head of a certain youth,

named John Bonbin, son of Angel Bonbin, there

existing, & full cousin of the witness himself, so much

that g the brain of him descended through the ears,

& he was held for dead. Which seeing his father &

parents, with bent knees they said to the same de Paola:

Father, we have as certain, that if you will &

pray God, my son will be freed from the danger of death.

Who indeed de Paola moved with compassion,

before the image of the Annunciation weepingly

offered prayer: by prayer he healed; which done the same infant

he stroked: & touched began to move. Wherefore the same

de Paola said to his father: Do not be desolate, but trust

in the Lord, because to you & your son helping hands

he has extended. And afterwards the same father & others

brought the youth into the house (which very often the witness visited):

& twelve or fifteen days having elapsed,

as before, he recovered.

[8] Moreover he said that there was a certain James

Valentini, having as bride the sister of the deponent,

named * Sironica, dwelling in the place

of Paterno, building a certain house anew:

which house when it was being built, and another fallen from the roof of the house the same Valentini's

son, five years old, running through the squares

& upper parts of the house not covered,

fell down on the earth, & dashed his head;

so much that, as if dead, by no stirrings was he moved.

Which seeing his mother, having towards the said de

Paola a singular affection of devotion, weeping sought

the monastery of Paterno, & with bent

knees said: Father, I pray for the love of God, have mercy

on me, & entreat the Lord for a certain son of mine,

who just now has fallen from the boarding of the house upon a heap

of stones, & there lies dead. For I trust in

the mercy of God, that if for him you would pray, he will

preserve him & restore him to life. to have raised the dead, To whom replied

the same de Paola: Sister, have faith in the Lord,

& you will obtain help. Which heard, she returning home,

in which she had left the dead infant,

found him emitting sound. She indeed said

afterwards to the witness, that she did not believe her son would recover,

except by the intercessions & merits of the same de

Paola. Who the deponent, mother & other parents,

went to the house of Valentini, for the sake of seeing the boy

recovering, to whom they made clear the aforementioned.

[9] The witness also said, that this had so sprung up, that

came to the same de Paola, that they might

become whole. Who to some of them gave herbs,

to some biscuit & bread, & to others oranges,

giving a blessing: by which the languishing

were relieved. On the occasion of which the surgeons of the region

of Calabria, moved by rancor & hatred because of gain,

joined themselves together, that they might oppose as unseemly things of that hermit,

as they said. For doing which

indeed skilled in letters, that he might rebuke him with all his powers,

they deputed. After whose deliberation's

conclusion, the same Scotet, although with the cold being strong,

taking his steps toward the same de Paola, with some

threats & agitated speeches attacked him,

saying: By whose authority do you heal diseases,

& to them giving herbs & other foods bestow

Which heard, but that this one seeing the miracle sought pardon:

the same de Paola seeing him mad & trembling on account

of cold, entered the convent,

& bringing him a great firebrand said:

Warm yourself a little, & afterwards I will reply to you

to what you have said to me. Which said the same Scotet,

refreshed by the ardor of the Holy Spirit, prostrated himself on the ground at

the feet of the same de Paola, wishing to kiss the same,

saying, as much before religious as before secular

persons; Father, Father, badly reproaching

your sanctity & austerity I questioned.

O how illustrious the region of Calabria! Blessed indeed are they

who in your devotions & prayers place their trust.

Which sanctity afterwards the same Scotet

by preaching promulgated.

[10] to owe his own life also to Francis, He further says, the witness, that he being married had so atrocious

an affliction of disease, that by three or

four surgeons he was being given up for dead. Whence his parents

ran to the same de Paola: who said:

Be stable & firm in the Lord, for quickly your brother

will recover, & to them he gave an orange

with biscuit, that the patient should eat. Wherefore they departed,

& as soon as they entered the house, they found

the languishing one, relieved of his disease & saying, I am hungry.

Whence with brow not wrinkled, but cheerful, they offered

the apple with the biscuit to him. After which indeed

fruit taken step by step, fifteen days having elapsed,

he found health. Which indeed recovered,

he visited the same de Paola, & with him for

five or six days stayed: & he believes that

he recovered with his aid, & not otherwise.

[14] Then he says, that Fr. Francis of Paola,

although he never gave himself to letters, who having never been taught letters, knew how to read; yet holy

Scripture he would allege, argued, gave

solutions, & in other statements was greatly engaged:

he also said the Office of B. Mary, the seven Psalms,

Vigils of the dead, & Canonical Hours: whence

many were led to admiration. And six years preceding,

before he was to go into France, the said

de Paola said to the witness himself these words: Angel, my

friend: the time is approaching, when we must

go into a far-off region, whose language we will not understand,

nor they ours: because thus is the will

of God.

[11] Lastly he said, that a certain John Pignon,

born of noble family, with a word he stilled a tempest; with the same de Paola in

his [son] coming, the thunders & whirlwinds of the seas

grew so much, that the master of the ship & other sailors

believed they would suffer shipwreck. Wherefore seeking out

the same de Paola enclosed in a certain little cell, &

narrating their dangers, said: Unless with God's help

& your supplications intervening, we shall certainly

be shipwrecked. Which hearing the same de Paola

said: Excellent! Christ to the port of salvation us will

lead. Which said, they found the sea tranquil &

sweet to their wish, by his intercessions.

[12] The same witness finally says, that when the deceased

Lord d'Aubigny from Calabria into France

returned, he revealed the secret of the witness himself. the same accompanied him: whence remembering

the said de Paola, he wished to go that he might visit him

in the Plessis monastery near Tours, &

the confederations between them previously had to renew: who said

to him; Angel, my friend, by charity, three days there are

that I saw you coming. And after many words' agitations

he said to him: It is worth the effort for the safety

of your mother (whose death the witness was ignorant of, but afterwards

by letters was made certain) to pray God. And many

other things to him, to all save God unknown, he revealed:

wherefore he believes him beatified, with God &

his Saints reclining. And more he does not know.

ANNOTATIONS.

* or Veronica?

COSENZA PROCESS

FROM MS. COSENZA PROCESS.

[1] A double example of this Process exists; one, in

which the depositions of the Witnesses are described as given

& received in the Italian language, From double MS. but teeming with Calabrian

idioms; the other, in which the same in the Latin idiom are published.

We lastly so use, that the first also we have

before our eyes; faithfully about to note, if anything less happily

by the translator rendered we should observe: whose

attestation also & other things bearing on the same, from the Latin codex alone,

at the end we give.

CHAPTER I.

Pontifical mandate, & Interrogatory proposed to the witnesses to be examined.

[2] To our venerable Brother the Bishop of Cariati, Julius II, having understood the merits of St. Francis, &

our beloved son the Cantor of the Church of Cosenza,

Pope Julius II.

Venerable Brother & beloved son, greeting & Apostolic

blessing. Our beloved son Robert,

Presbyter Cardinal of the title of St. Anastasia, has

recently exposed to us, that the late Francis of Paola,

so in morals, religion, conversation approved

& acceptable to God was, that he founded a certain Order,

through which the Professors of it for the time,

that the Lenten life always, & a certain

Rule ordained by him & a way of living he instituted to be kept,

& the confirmation of this institution

he obtained from us & our Predecessors;

& on account of the exemplarity of his life & the odor

of his good fame, & the devotion of the people & miraculous

conversation, of happy memory Sixtus IV, our Predecessor

& according to the flesh our uncle, for

the request of Louis King of the French of famous memory,

commanded him, to transfer himself to the kingdom of France &

to present himself to the sight of the same King;

& by the faithful of Christ, in the said & the Spanish kingdoms,

& the parts of Germany & Sicily, Calabria & Apulia,

many houses of the said Order, in rather sumptuous work,

have been built & constructed; & by his

prayers & merits the Most High has deigned to work very many miracles,

as by the testimony of very many worthy of faith

it can be taught, about whose death,

because of their old age, there is doubt.

[3] He institutes a Commissary for examining these But since the General & Professors of the said Order

desire the aforesaid witnesses, lest because of their

death the truth perish, to be examined concerning these, & their

depositions to be reduced to public form; We inclined to the supplications

of Robert himself the Cardinal, who bears singular devotion

toward the said Order, & of the General &

the aforesaid Professors,

to you, & any of you, by these present commit

& mandate, that about & concerning the fame & life

& miracles of the same Francis, done in his life, diligently,

faithfully, & prudently, by our authority

you inquire; & all things, which you shall find to be true, under

your closed letters, fortified with your seals, to us

faithfully relate or take care to send, notwithstanding

the premises & Apostolic constitutions & ordinations,

& other contrary whatsoever.

Given at Rome at St. Peter's under the Fisherman's ring,

on the day May 13, 1512, in the ninth

year of our Pontificate.

Balthazar Iverdus.

[4] On the 8th day of the month of June, John Bishop of Cariati. XV Indiction, 1512,

the present Brief was presented to the Reverend Lord

John Sarsalis of Cosenza, Bishop of Cariati

& Gerace, by Fr. Julian of Regina, Religious

of the Order of Minims: which above the head was received,

with all the reverence it deserved, & was opened

by the same Lord Bishop. Of which

presentation & opening was made & is a public

act, by me Sir Nicholas of Sproneri, Apostolic

Notary, in the presence of the undersigned witnesses

called, with present D. Peter de Regno,

D. Vincent de Regno, of the Cosenza diocese, &

the Noble Luke John of Surrento, & others. Of this

act, in which the Pontifical Brief is inserted verbatim, this

is the conclusion: Whence we (namely the above-mentioned Bishop of Cariati)

wishing, who about to make satisfaction of the commission, as we are bound, to proceed to the execution of the aforesaid

Brief, & to obey the Apostolic mandates,

to this that no one of its contents may be able to plead

ignorance, & to this that it may be known to all,

& that more easily about the life & morals, fame & miracles

of the said Francis, done in his life, diligent & faithful

information can be taken, & taken transmitted to the seat

Apostolic, according to the form of the said Brief; we have

caused the present to be affixed to the doors of the greater church of Cosenza:

& that those having notice of the life, fame &

miracles of the said Francis, may be able to appear before

us, & concerning the aforesaid according to truth

to bear their testimony, to the effect of the execution

of the said Brief. Given at Cosenza, on the 15th day of June,

XV Indiction, 1512.

[5] First, how the place of Paola is in

the province of Calabria: the interrogatory to be proposed to the witnesses he publishes. which province, & consequently

the said place, from one hundred or two hundred years, & so long

that there is no memory to the contrary, has been Christian,

& has lived & now lives under the faith & religion of Christ,

& for such has always been held.

II. Likewise how in the said land of Paola was born Jacob

Martolilla, father of the said Fr. Francis: who was

Christian & baptized; & lived his whole life

under the Christian faith & religion, & for such

was held.

III. Likewise how in the said land of Paola was born Lady

Vienna, mother of the said Fr. Francis: who likewise

was Christian, & her whole life lived under

the Christian faith & religion, & for such was held.

IV. Likewise how between the said Jacob father & the said

Vienna mother, Christians as above, was contracted

legitimate marriage, according to the use &

custom of the holy Roman Church, by words of the present:

& the whole time they lived, peacefully &

quietly lived in the said marriage, & for legitimate

spouses were held, kept, & reputed.

V. Likewise how from the said spouses, in the said matrimony

constantly living, was born & procreated

the said Fr. Francis, legitimate son: who was

educated by the aforesaid, & for their legitimate

son was held & reputed.

VI. Likewise the aforesaid Jacob & Vienna, father &

mother, with the said Fr. Francis born & procreated,

their legitimate son as above, as good Christians, in

the said land of Paola made him be baptized, imposing

on him the name Francis, & made him confirmed:

who Francis for baptized & confirmed,

as above, & Christian was held, kept & reputed.

VII. Likewise how Fr. Francis in his adolescence

& infancy always lived honestly, canonically, &

as a good Christian stood in the land of Paola, erecting

many monasteries.

VIII. Likewise how he living, lived in such way,

& thus: & this was his life.

IX. Likewise how in his life he did such & such

a miracle.

X. Likewise how he was, is, & is of such fame, & the whole

time he was in the province, & also after

he departed.

[6] On these articles interrogated the undersigned witnesses, What to most of the articles the witnesses replied? what they answered

is so noted, that in the first days of the examination instituted

the answers were committed to letters, of some to each, of many

to most of the articles: which, after the 25th witness

was heard, is scarcely found done afterwards: nor indeed was it necessary,

since most agreed in one & the same simple

assertion of the same question. Therefore, with others omitted, to the three last

articles some, most to the ninth alone, many also

to the tenth replied. And these again, as far as the eighth

& tenth article is concerned, with the same words or

sense almost all. Wherefore for the sake of brevity at the first witness's

deposition we will refer all those things, which contained in the last articles

VII, VIII & X, so make immediately

to prove the sanctity of Francis of Paola, yet so that we should not need

by more frequently describing to iterate.

[7] Of the Catholic faith & upright life of his parents the witnesses

spoke almost generally; the X & XXV witnesses expressly affirm,

that Jacob de Martolilla, father of Fr. Francis, what about St. Francis's parents?

was always clothed in rough & coarse habit without a shirt,

& that he never ate meats, but only

Lenten food: & walked with bare feet;

after he had decided to follow & imitate the example of his son.

The other depositions to article IX contain only

the miracles, which in what order and with what words set forth & annotated

they were, we thus transcribe, that we may

avoid the superfluous iteration of the same matter; we also omit the assertion of the oath,

proposed to each witness; & the cause of knowledge, from which each

saw, how the rest are here ordered: was present & heard (for from hearsay alone only

one deposed anything) subjoined after each miracle,

always in the same terms: & since from the context itself the place of the wrought

miracle is known, this also we omit to note again:

indeed we also omit to mark the fatherland of the witnesses, content with having indicated

all to have been, as are noted in the titles of the Chapters, unless another

fatherland is expressed.

CHAPTER II.

Deposition of the first witness to the four last articles.

[8] Before the Bishop of Cariati & Notary sworn, Witnesses examined & received by the Reverend

Lord John Sarsalis of Cosenza,

Bishop of Cariati & Gerace, as

Delegate of the Apostolic See, by virtue of delegation

& commission made to him by the said Apostolic

See, on the fame, life & miracles

of the late Francis of Paola, Founder of the Order

of Minims, according to the contents & tenor of the power

attributed to him, for receiving & examining

the said witnesses on the aforesaid (as more broadly may be seen

in the Apostolic Brief) are the undersigned: who all

were received in the presence of the same Reverend Lord

Bishop, administering the oath to the witnesses themselves, &

their depositions are set down in writings, & at

length, as below by me D. Nicholas de

Sproverio de Rosis, Apostolic Notary, & for

the below specially deputed by the same Reverend

Lord Bishop Delegate, administering the oath

to the witnesses & examining them, & me

Notary writing.

Witness 1.

[9] On the 4th day of the month of July the Magnificent Lord Galazzo

of Tarsia of Cosenza, Baron & Lord

of the land of Bellomonte, Baron of Bellomonte praises the holy life of his youth, witness, under oath, with sacred

Scriptures touched, examined on the seventh said, that he

knew that Fr. Francis for many years in his adolescence

remained in the place, & always lived the best

perfect & most honest life, full of the odor of good

fame.

[10] Of these things depositing more fully the VI Witness, aged about

ninety-five, said he knew, that Fr.

Francis from early boyhood always lived honestly

& holily: & when he was thirteen years old,

his parents led him into the convent of St. Francis

of the city of St. Mark, in which they had vowed the said Fr. Francis

to make him stay for one year. (which another witness describes in detail) Who finishing

that year, in the very habit which he had brought from his house,

sent for his parents, & led them

to pilgrimage with him to St. Francis of Assisi & St.

Mary of the Angels. To whom returning from pilgrimage,

when he was near the land of Paola, the said Fr. Francis

stayed outside the land, in a certain hut.

And his parents being asked where Fr.

Francis had remained, replied: He has remained outside the land,

& wishes to become a hermit. And so when he was fourteen

years old, he began to build a monastery,

distant from the said land of Paola about one mile:

(which monastery with the church is adorned &

large) & he made it without any help,

except from those who for devotion's sake ran to him,

with whom he built it. And thence after

four or five years he began to clothe Brothers, with that

habit which he himself wore; teaching them to live honestly

& holily, to observe the Lenten life.

Moreover the witness himself knew, that, when that monastery

of Paola was perfected, another greater & more sumptuous

was built in Paterno, & another in Spezzano

grande, great places of the diocese of Cosenza, & another in Corigliano,

of the diocese of Rossano: & this, as the XI witness asserted,

without the help of Lords, but by alms alone.

[11] On the eighth the aforesaid D. Galazzo said

that in Paola & Paterno & Spezzano, & his good fame through the province, places in which

Fr. Francis himself built sumptuous monasteries,

flowed together almost every day infinite persons,

because of the good fame & miracles, with which

Fr. Francis was said to shine: & the witness himself

never saw anyone returning thence,

scandalized in anything about the life of the said Fr. Francis; indeed they returned

much satisfied & magnifying the virtues & prayers

of the said Brother, by whose intercession they had obtained their

vows. And this the witness himself knew,

because he twenty times visited the said Fr. Francis together

with his parents; & this, by reason both of fatherland & neighboring

barony.

[12] Adds the 5th witness, (others add the austerity of his life) that he was at Paterno when he saw about

two hundred men & women oppressed with diverse infirmities,

all of whom the said Fr. Francis made

to return content. But the 6th witness said, he knew, that

he lived holily, walking with bare feet, & ill clothed

(& this, as the 31st witness has, in winter & summer

time) & slept upon a certain board, having

to eat, except on some solemn days, with

the Brothers: & his food was some badly

cooked legume. The 9th witness said, he knew him

to have been abstemious from food & sleep: & among other things when the said Fr.

Francis was ill, he asked the witness himself whether

he had anything edible: who replied he had

with wild herb, like a deer. And the said

witness said to him: How do you eat herb

like a deer, when you are ill? And the said

Fr. Francis said to him, This herb is good, in

charity. Of the place: at Paola. Of the time: it is

the 40th year [ago].

Witness 1.

when formerly D. Jacob, his father, suffered an abscess

in the leg (which abscess his leg already

had consumed, & was putrid & foul) &

for its healing the said D. Jacob had brought all

the doctors & surgeons, who were in the city of Cosenza,

very famous; and they for three or four

months' time had treated the said leg, & always the said

sickness crept from bad to worse, with mortification

of the flesh & greatest stench, & there was then

living in the place of Mayda, in the province of Calabria, that his father's leg incurable

diocese of Nicastro; the said D. Jacob, with the late D.

Joanna his wife, went to Nicastro, where lived

the Marchioness a of Irrachi, daughter-in-law of Happy mem. King

Ferdinand I. Who having summoned D. Vincellus, commanded

him, that he would undertake the cure of the said abscess.

Who for seventeen or twenty continuous days

attending to the said cure, profited nothing; but that leg in

its usual mortification & stench persevered.

Wherefore the said D. Jacob departed thence, destitute of all

help of remedies, except that the said D. Vincellus ordered

him a certain washing of wine, for diminishing the stench,

which to the patient himself was the greatest annoyance; nor however

did he give any hope of health.

[14] The said D. Jacob therefore returning to Bellomonte,

his castle, shown to St. Francis, scarcely in the space of one day and a half

came to Paola, distant from Bellomonte

fourteen miles. And, as soon as at

the gate of the monastery he applied, in which the said Fr. Francis

dwelt (without any other entrance of the church or monastery,

which the pain he was then suffering in his leg,

forbade) he ordered the leg to be uncovered. At which uncovering

the said Fr. Francis coming upon it, with a face full of wonder

& compassion, the said D. Jacob he thus

addressed: This is a great thing: you ought to have

great faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And turning

to a certain little brother, he said. In charity, go,

& gather me as many leaves of the herb called horse-hoof,

which is a large herb; & take a little powder

in our cell. Which said, Fr. Francis himself, with certain leaves with powder from the cell applied, until

the return of the said little brother, behind the door of the church

before an image of the Crucifix poured out prayers. And when the little brother

had brought the powder & herb, the said Fr. Francis

approaching the said D. Jacob, said: Have

great faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, because I hope

he will do us a grace. And having made the sign of the Cross

over the abscess, he sprinkled on it a little powder,

& placed three leaves, & said to him. Depart

from here in God's grace, & bring with you these

leaves, & a little of the powder that is in this paper, & you will place

these two or three times on the abscess;

& have good faith in our Lord,

who will make you partaker of this grace. At which words

the said D. Jacob for joy wept.

[15] And when he had his leg bandaged, that he was suddenly healed, & had drunk

St. Lucito, where he slept, that by night he might

set out for Cosenza; because it was summer time,

& in the day intense heats flourished. Two

hours before light he mounted his horse: and when he was

at the top of the mountain he said to his wife & family, I feel no

pain, which at other times while riding

I was wont to have intolerable. And he said, I wish to try

whether I can place my foot on the ground. And

walking without annoyance & pain step by step, he placed

his hand on the abscess: and feeling no pain,

he struck his leg with a great blow, & said

to his wife Joanna: I am whole. And so

we returned to Cosenza cheerful, & the said D. Jacob

& his wife & family for certain asserted, that he had

recovered miraculously, because of the prayers & virtues of the said Fr.

Francis of Paola, & because of the faith & devotion

he bore toward God. with the surgeon approving the miracle: Afterwards Master Paul, a famous

surgeon, otherwise the doctor of the said sickness, admiring this sudden

& unexpected health, made experiment

of the said herb horse-hoof in various sicknesses,

of which he never saw any effect:

wherefore he confessed & proved, this to have been done

miraculously, because of the prayers of the said Fr. Francis. And

this from the cause of knowledge, because he was present, saw, & heard.

Of the time: it is the 34th or 35th year [ago].

[16] & that he knew the secret theft of one of his subjects: Likewise the witness himself knows, how Jacob

Roncus of Bellomonte of the Tropea diocese,

his vassal, wishing to set out for Paterno of Cosenza

diocese, where the said Fr. Francis dwelt & built

remembering, whether brother or son of his; wishing

to bring some gift to the said Fr. Francis, went

to a certain vineyard of a certain uncle of his, & gathered

fruits; & set out for the said place of Paterno, distant

twelve miles from the place where he had gathered

the cherries. And when he had met the said Fr. Francis, with bent

knees he asked him, that he would come to his aid in that

need of his; & offered the said cherries to Fr. Francis himself.

Who delayed a little, with indignant face

said: Go in charity, & restore the cherries to the master,

from whom you took them. At which terrified he knew

not what to reply. And the said Fr. Francis gave him

certain remedies, & he confused returned with the said

cherries, & the very Jacob Roncus narrated this to the witness

himself in Bellomonte.

[17] On the tenth he said, and that his miracles were celebrated everywhere. that Fr. Francis always,

first in Calabria & afterwards at Naples & in all other

places had good fame, & did

miracles, persevering from good to better: nor ever

did he hear any person murmuring

but all praising the miraculous works of the said Fr. Francis.

To these things similar many others said: some even with more prolix

words used on this Article. For all let the 64th witness,

who on the tenth similarly said, he knew, that he

had the fame of a holy man, & did many miracles;

so that the whole maritime shore & the inhabitants

in the mountains & in the province of Calabria ran

to him, for the obtaining of graces of salvation; & returned

all content: & came to him many

who were sick in their eyes & could not see; & Fr.

Francis himself would bow himself to the ground, & take a leaf

of some herb, which he found,

& place it on them; & at once they would say they were whole,

& he would do many other miracles: because of which also, as the

67th witness asserted, the villages of the jurisdiction of Cosenza processionally

came to him.

ANNOTATIONS.

of further Calabria. More about this Marchioness see below num. 177, where

you will understand that she had married Henry, the bastard of King Ferdinand, who by reason

of his wife was called Marquis of Gerace. See also at num. 120 of the Calabrian Process.

CHAPTER III.

Depositions of three Cosenza witnesses.

Witness 2

[18] On the 5th day of the month of July, Francis de Marco, familiar

of the late aforesaid D. Jacob of

Tarsia ... said that when the witness himself lived in

his service, his leg was healed, as above, as

he saw, was present & heard in Paola & in the mountain of St.

Lucito, which is distant from Paola six miles. It is

the 35th year [ago]. The son of the aforesaid Baron sick Likewise he said that when the said D. Jacob had

days had lost his speech; he sent the witness himself to Paola

to Fr. Francis, to say to him, that, if it were better

for his soul & that of his son who was sick, he should obtain

from God the grace of health: because he had

such faith in his prayers, that he believed him

about to rise, even if he had been dead for three days.

And so the witness himself went to Paola to the said Fr.

Francis, & expounded to him his injunctions. Who replied:

Would that God would make me worthy of obtaining

this grace! And he said to the witness himself: suddenly healed according to the Saint's prediction: From yesterday

until now twenty-four hours of our life

have passed. And he ordered that the said witness should take breakfast:

& the said Fr. Francis departing, for the space

of one hour was not seen. And the witness believes &

for certain holds, that he had gone to pour out prayers.

Afterwards returning he said to the said witness: God has done us

about the first hour of the night) and when you shall apply

to D. Jacob, say, that he should be a good Christian.

And returning the witness himself to Cosenza, he found,

that at that same hour, in which Fr. Francis had

said to him he had obtained the grace, the said sick man

had spoken, who for five days had lost his speech,

& so had recovered. And the witness himself added,

that Fr. Francis gave him two roots of the herb

& two pieces of biscuit, which he should carry to the sick man.

It is the 37th year [ago].

[19] Likewise he said, that, when there was at Cosenza a certain

called Maurellus de Cardilla, likewise another, who leprous, contracted, mute had been brought, who for two years

had been a leper, & contracted in hands and feet,

& wholly black, & had lost his voice; the witness himself

with his other parents brought him to Paola.

Who when he had come to Fr. Francis, he regarded

him admiringly; & said that he should have

faith in the Lord, who would do him a grace of body

& soul. And so saying Fr. Francis for

the hand of the sick man, & he was whole in hands & feet,

so that he could excellently walk: & his voice was

restored to him perfectly. It is the 43rd year [ago].

Witness 3

[20] On the same day the noble John Bonbinus said,

that when the witness himself was a boy, a certain mule struck

his head with a kick: of the healing of whose wound there was despair, A youth whose head crushed by a mule

because no one was found who wished to treat him:

for the doctors said, they did not wish to treat a dead

man: & so the said witness was brought to the said Fr. Francis.

Who with bent knees asked a grace from God:

and when he had risen from prayer, he caused a letter to be written

to a certain doctor, Master Paul of

la Cava, a suitable & sufficient & famous doctor in Calabria,

that he would undertake the care of treating him,

because God would do him a grace. And so

he began to treat him, & the said witness was healed. Often

the said Master Paul had refused to undertake this burden,

because he thought him dead, like other doctors, despaired of by doctors is preserved,

saying that he had held the marrow of the head of the witness

in his hands, & that he did not wish to devote himself to the said treatment,

because it seemed to him impossible that this one

should recover. Afterwards often the said Master Paul said

to the witness himself: My medicines were not the cause of your

salvation, but first God & then the prayers of the said Fr.

Francis. It is the 33rd year [ago]. The same confirms witness

70, more distinctly explaining, how injured, he was three times

brought to Paterno to Fr. Francis; & first to be treated

sent to Anthony Saccus, a doctor there, then

to Cosenza where several sufficient ones were; who all, also

Paul himself, refused to undertake the treatment

of the desperate wound: because they judged it to be impossible.

[21] Likewise he said, that two years later a certain dog

inflicted five wounds on his leg, so much

that the very leg was gravely with abscess. & the leg wounded by a dog is healed. And so

the father of the said witness seeing that abscess, caused him

to be brought to the said Fr. Francis by a certain

servant. Who seeing the wounded leg, placed on the wounds

the marrow of elder, & sprinkled it with holy water,

& signed it with the Cross, & said: Go, because tomorrow nothing

will be wrong. And so on the following day he was whole as if never

he had had anything bad. It is the 32nd year [ago].

Witness 4

[22] On the same day, the noble Francis de Florio on

the eighth said, he knew, for seven or about

eight continuous months, during which the witness himself on account of the great fame

which the said Fr. Francis held, & of devotion,

assiduously visited him in the bailiwick of Paterno,

where then he was causing a monastery of Cosenza

diocese to be built. And among other times, when once he

visited him in the month of December, when it snowed & intense

colds flourished there (since they are mountainous places,

& the snow was deep to two palms) he found

the said Fr. Francis in the church, with bare feet & most poorly

clothed; namely in a torn habit upon his flesh:

he stood contemplating, & did not see the said witness

until he was before him, & said to him, Ave Maria:

because he was as if rapt. wont to sleep on a board, The witness himself also saw twice

the cell, in which the said Fr. Francis slept, in which

was nothing else except one board, & a tile on

which he reclined his head. The Brothers of his Order said,

that they never saw him eat, except in

the morning of Easter some beans with the Brothers, & the same

he did on solemn feasts. nor eat with others, And the witness himself saw

him walking with bare feet through woody, stony,

thorny & rough places (adds witness 57, carrying

beams, bushes, stones; nor were his feet

ever harmed in anything) & he worked with an iron hammer

from morning until evening; among thorns & filth he remains clean & unharmed. & yet he smelled

of sweet odor, & had hands softer

than any great lord: & continually

he was clothed in only that torn habit upon his flesh;

& his person had the odor of musk, & his hair

shone like gold. His feet, although

he walked with bare feet, were white, delicate, & beautiful,

as if he had always worn shoes (which same many others

later with almost the same words are found to have testified.) And wherever

he went, especially where there were waters, stones & rocks;

[23] On the ninth he said, that at that time when

the said Fr. Francis was building the monastery in Paterno

(it is now the 29th or 30th year [ago]) the magnificent D.

Loysius de Paladinis of Lecce, Auditor of Calabria royal Auditor of the province

of Calabria, one of those years fell sick in

the month of July or August, in the city of Cosenza: whose

infirmity lasted thirty-three days: & he had

in the treatment of the said infirmity three doctors,

who once held a consultation on the infirmity of the said D.

Loysius, & it was on Wednesday: & they concluded that

they should permit nature to take its course, & not give more

medicines. With this conclusion taken, on the following Thursday,

D. Catharinella, wife of the said D. Loysius, sent for

& sent him to Paterno to Fr. Francis aforesaid; by a remedy prescribed through the Saint, that

he would ask him in her name, that by his prayers

he would obtain from God the grace of salvation or health

for the said D. Loysius. And when the said servant on the same day

had returned, & the said D. Catharinella had asked him

what the said Fr. Francis had answered him; he said that he

had ordered, that they should roast two pieces of bread at the fire,

& afterwards dip them in vinegar, & pepper, cinnamon,

clove & ginger crushed place on the bread; through the contradiction of the doctors neglected, &

afterwards one of the said pieces of bread so prepared

they should place on the stomach, & the other on the back.

And when the said D. Catharinella had understood this, she caused

them to be called, & asked their opinion about this:

of whom one said, We are here three doctors,

who would begin to take care of nature; & this ignorant man wishes

to make these medicines? And so they were not

made.

[24] On the following Friday the said D. Catharinella called

the witness himself, & at last applied, on account of the familiarity he had with

the said Fr. Francis: & asked that he would go to him,

& ask that for the salvation of the said D. Loysius

he would pour out prayers: and so the witness himself set out for

Paterno. And when he had come there, he found the said

Fr. Francis alone: & as soon as he saw the witness

himself, with words somewhat disturbed he said: You come

for the business of D. Loysius. They did not wish to do

what I indicated to them. He who has not faith the less

can obtain grace. Go,

return with God, & cause to be done what I ordered, & let them have

faith in God, because they will obtain the grace. The said

witness without further words returned, & arrived

home on the said day, & at once reported the said words

to the aforesaid D. Catharinella. Who at once ordered the said

pieces of bread to be prepared; as the said Fr. Francis had said:

& placed them, in the manner above said, on the said D.

Loysius: who held the said bread thus until the morning

hour of Saturday, at which the same D. Loysius was well,

& raised himself in bed, & asked for food, & was

healed.

[25] Likewise he said, that some days later after

his convalescence, the said D. Loysius, when he wished to go

to Paterno to visit the said Fr. Francis, The Saint absent knows, that

he might give him thanks for the benefit of health received,

on a certain Saturday caused a certain Notary to be summoned,

Nicholas Bonbinus of Palerno, an upright man;

& asked that he would prepare for him a breakfast for

the day Monday, on which he wished to visit the said Fr. Francis.

And so the said Notary Nicholas having gone to Paterno,

at the day & hour prefixed prepared, & delayed

for the said D. Loysius before the place to which he wished to go:

& it was already noon. the delay injected in another's journey, Then going out the said Fr. Francis

from the place, met the said Notary Nicholas,

& said: You are waiting for D. Loysius: go to eat,

because being involved in affairs, not today, but tomorrow he will come.

And so the said Notary Nicholas returned home,

& on the following Tuesday the said D. Loysius, with D. Catharinella

& the witness himself & servants, set out for Paterno.

And when they were there, before they met

the said Fr. Francis, the said D. Catharinella said to the witness:

I ask you, when with D. Loysius we address Fr. Francis,

you behind the said Fr. Francis secretly cut off

for the cause of my devotion. And so, & the secret intention of the witness. when the said

D. Loysius & D. Catharinella were speaking with Fr. Francis

himself, & the witness himself placed behind the said Fr. Francis

wished to unsheathe scissors, that he might cut off a piece

of the said habit; Fr. Francis himself turning

to him said: Francis, devotion does not consist

in pieces of a habit, but in good works.

[26] first health of a sick boy, Likewise he said, that a month after

the convalescence of the said D. Loysius, a certain son

of his fell sick: wherefore the same D. Loysius having summoned the witness himself

asked, saying: Francis, you who have

that good foot, go to Fr. Francis &

commend to his prayers this son of mine.

And so the witness himself set out for Paterno to the said Fr.

Francis, & in the name of the said D. Loysius commended

the said son to his prayers. Who said: Say to D.

Loysius, that he should be a good Christian, & that he should minister

justice, & concerning his son fear not. And so the said

witness returned & reported the said words to D. Loysius: & his son

in four or five days was well. Who

again sent the witness himself to the said Fr. Francis,

that in his name he would ask, that he would have the son in

his prayers commended. And the witness

himself setting out for Paterno, then death he prophesies: as soon as he arrived there

found the said Fr. Francis: who before the witness

began to speak, said: You come because of the son of D.

Loysius: go, say to him that he should have patience,

because God wants him, & will provide him with others. The witness

himself returned & reported the said words to D. Loysius, & he

the son on the second or third day after these things died: & the said D.

Loysius afterwards had other sons, because his wife departed from

Cosenza pregnant.

[27] he drives away quartan fever: Likewise he said that he for eight months had labored

under quartan fever, namely from the month of September

until the whole month of April, at whose end

the witness himself set out for Paterno to the said Fr. Francis,

that he might ask him to have him in his prayers

commended, so that God would do him

the grace of health. And so the said Fr. Francis said to him:

When you depart & pass through a Locarum, take

two tips of b filidrissa which grows on

the trunk of an oak, & cause it to boil with chickpeas:

and when the fever paroxysm comes, drink that

broth, & be a good Christian. And so the witness himself did

the said remedy: & on the following day, when the attack

came, he took that broth: & at once he felt

no evil, & was most holy.

[28] Likewise he said, that in the month of December, when

he had gone to visit the said Fr. Francis, illiterate he preaches: he found him in

in Paterno, by one mile; whence he was causing

wood to be brought for the lime furnace; where were about

three hundred persons, men & women, to whom he preached

explaining the Gospel; although the witness himself knew

& understood, that the said Fr. Francis was not lettered.

The preaching finished he directed that people

with the wood to the place, & the said Fr. Francis remained

alone with the witness himself: who while speaking

said to him: Father, according to the spirit of God, which you

have within, what will be the outcome of the present wars in

Tuscany? he predicts the coming of the Turks: Who replied: Those wars will be reduced to nothing,

because they will be quieted: but I see the Turk entering

this kingdom. Indeed I have written to his Royal Majesty to

guard his own, & not to involve himself in others. In the following July

of the said year the Turk entered the kingdom,

& captured Otranto, & the Duke returned from Tuscany,

& those wars were quieted.

Witness 5.

[29] On the 8th day of July, Robert de Burgis, for fifty

years knowing the said Fr. Francis, to one earning his living by writing, & forty-eight

years before lodged in the house of his parents at Paola,

said, that, since he was a good writer of ecclesiastical books,

& exercised in the said ministry

of writing books, through the whole time of his life; there came upon

him a certain sickness in his right hand, because

of which he remained contracted & crippled, so that for

two years he could not write, nor by writing

seek his food: in which hand the mark still appears

of the grave sickness, which he suffered. Which sickness

seeing his wife, said to the witness: My husband, let us go

to Father Fr. Francis, to ask that he obtain

the grace of your hand being healed. And the witness himself, led

by the words & devotion of his wife, although he gave little faith,

with her set out for Paterno, where

the said Fr. Francis was; the contracted hand asked he restores, & they found him in the garden

under a certain great oak: & the wife of the witness himself

said: See, Father, how my husband's hand is

corrupted. I ask you, teach something, which

may heal it. And the said Fr. Francis, turning to

the witness himself, said: Show me your hand.

Which shown touching with his own hands, he said: It is a sin

that this hand is sick: it will still do many

good things. And with his wife insisting, that he would teach something

for the health of the said hand, he taught certain washings.

And so the witness himself returning to Cosenza that very evening,

on the following morning without any other washing or medicine

found his hand whole & clean; &

for great joy he rose in his shirt, to try

whether he could write, & he wrote equally well & perfectly

as before, & continued always well until

the present, since he is decrepit. And on the following day he returned

to the said Fr. Francis, that he might give thanks for the benefit

received through his prayers: & as soon as he

saw him, he began to laugh. And with the witness himself saying

that he had received the grace, he said: Go, sweep your

house, namely your conscience, & be a good Christian.

It is the 44th year [ago].

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER IV.

Miracles firmly attested on oath by two Paolan witnesses.

[30] On July 17, the Venerable Lord John

Antonachius, on the ninth said, entering a burning lime furnace he restores it; that

when Fr. Francis had begun the building of the monastery

in Paola, he made a certain furnace in which

lime was to be cooked. And when the furnace was loaded with stones &

kindled with fire, it was falling: & the ministers deputed for

cooking the said lime, knowing that they alone could not remedy

the fall of the said furnace, called the said Fr.

Francis saying, Father, come, because the furnace

of lime is falling. Who when he had come there, to the said ministers

said, that they should go to breakfast: and so he dismissed them &

remained alone. They returning found the said Fr. Francis

cleaning his hands, & the furnace completely

repaired, as if it had never been broken. Which

all the bystanders ascribed to a great miracle,

as the witness himself heard from the mouths of the said ministers.

Likewise the witness himself knows, that the said lime furnace was not

of such magnitude, that from it could have been made such

this to be ascribed to the prayers of the said Fr.

Francis.

[31] Likewise he said, that when once on a certain day he went

with his master to the church, which the said Fr. Francis

had built; for the purpose of saying Mass, he makes extinct firebrands burn by mere blowing. and when he did not

have fire; the witness himself asked from the said Fr. Francis,

whence he wished to take fire. Who replied: In

charity, see, because in those firebrands, which were in

the corner of the chapel, there will be fire. And the witness himself

went, & blew well on the said firebrands, & not finding

fire returned to the said Fr. Francis, saying: Father, there is no fire in

those firebrands. And he repeated, Indeed, in charity,

there is fire. And so the said Fr. Francis took those very

firebrands, which the witness himself had seen & blown upon:

which when he blew upon, at once the fire was lit;

& with the candle lit, he said Mass.

[32] Likewise he said, that when the said Fr. Francis was speaking

with a certain Presbyter, a stranger from beyond the mountains;

& said to him, he handles a burning firebrand unharmed; that a certain herb had a certain

virtue; the said Presbyter, as incredulous, replied

to the said Fr. Francis, saying to him: How do you know this

herb has virtue? To whom replied Fr. Francis:

Do you not know, that those who perfectly

serve God & observe his commandments, the very

herbs manifest their virtues. And so while talking

he led the said Presbyter to the kitchen, where Fr.

Francis himself seized a certain firebrand

of burning fire, & squeezed it strongly with his hands, & said

to the Presbyter himself: For what else is this fire

created, but to give obedience to man? And when

for some space of time he had held the said fire with his hands,

he put it back where it was before. And the said

Presbyter, seeing such a miracle, asked him, that he would clothe

him with his habit: which the said Fr. Francis refused

to do: but he said to him, that he should go to the place of St. Francis

in Cosenza, & there receive the habit & make profession

for one year, & afterwards return to him.

Of the cause of knowledge: because he was present, saw & heard.

Of the place: in Paola. Of the time: it is

the 43rd year [ago] or thereabouts.

[33] a mute to speak, Likewise the witness himself knows, that on a certain day, when

he was with the said Fr. Francis, in the place where he had begun

the monastery; & when he had designated the place, in which

he wished to make another furnace for cooking lime;

there was presented a certain one, who had never

spoken: whom the said Fr. Francis led into the church,

& said to him: Say, Jesus, three times. Who the mute said,

Jesus, the earth for the furnace to be built to subside, openly, & withdrew whole. On the following day they returned

with Master Anthony de Donato of S. Lucito,

that he might make a lime furnace: & they found that field

which for the said furnace Fr. Francis himself had designated,

by itself to have been depressed, so that it was not

necessary to dig a pit: & so they began to make

the lime.

[34] beans without fire to be thoroughly cooked. Likewise, while the said lime was being made, Fr. Francis himself

turning to a certain little brother, said to him: Go

& cook a fistful of beans, so that Master Anthony may

have breakfast. And the said little brother went & placed a pot

at the hearth upon ashes without fire, & forgot

to light the fire. And when the hour of eating came,

the said Fr. Francis led the said master

to the kitchen, with whom went the witness himself. And Fr.

Francis said, Take out these beans, so that Master Anthony may

eat: who & the said witness laughed, seeing

the pot without fire. And the said Fr. Francis approaching

the pot, uncovered it: & the witness himself

and the said Master Anthony saw that it was boiling: & so

he gave to eat to the said Master Anthony. And the witness himself

& Master Anthony approached the hearth, that

they might see the experiment: & they found the hearth alone

with cold ashes. Of the cause of knowledge, place

& time, as above.

[35] Likewise he said, how a certain John Brogno,

wishing to lift a certain cauldron, knowing in spirit someone poured over with boiling pitch, full of boiling

pitch, over a certain little boat, threw

over himself the said boiling pitch, not only on his face,

but also on his whole chest: so that whoever

saw him, said, that because of the said pitch

he would remain b with face disfigured. And so unanimously

they brought him to the monastery, which the said

Fr. Francis was building, distant from the place of this accident

by a mile. And when they had arrived, they found the said

Fr. Francis, who had prepared certain juices

of herbs for the remedy of the said patient. for one about to come to him he prepares a remedy. And he said, that

it was not possible, that to the notice of the said Fr. Francis

so quickly could the accident have come: but the witness

himself believes, that he had foreknown it from divine grace. And when

he had applied the said juices of herbs to his face & chest,

he kept him with him about eight or nine

days: after which he sent him away whole & polished, as

if he had never been injured & without any

spot at all. Of the cause of knowledge: because he saw, was present

& heard. Of the place: in c Paola. Of the time: it is

the 45th year [ago]. Moreover the witness himself believes, that the said

Fr. Francis died a virgin: because from boyhood he entered

the monastery, & always persevered in the life

holy.

Witness 7

[36] On the same day July 17, John de d Simeono

said he knew, that when he & master Dominic Virgo-pia

were in the monastery of Paola, which the said Fr. Francis

was building, said to the witness himself & master Dominic: He causes a lamp to be lit by itself.

Go, & say to Fr. Stephen, that he should bring

me a burning firebrand & a candle,

because I wish to light the lamp. And so the witness

himself & master Dominic went to the said Fr. Stephen,

& said that he should bring a burning firebrand

& a candle. And when they had returned to the said Fr. Francis,

he took the cord of the lamp, that he might let it down

& illuminate it. And when the said lamp was about the middle

of its descent, of itself it was lit, without

any candle or fire. And when the said witness & master

Dominic had seen this miracle, that by itself the lamp had

been lit; master Dominic said: O father,

see, because the lamp by itself is lit. And the said

Fr. Francis said: It is enough that you have seen. It is

the 60th year [ago].

[37] he heals one gravely injured from a fall, Likewise he said, that a certain one by name Casellus,

when he had fallen from a certain high place, struck his head on

he was half-dead. And Fr. Francis seeing him

to have fallen, ran & with his arms carried him into the church,

& sucked the blood of his head, & placed him

under the altar, & bound him with certain linen cloths; & at once

whole, as before, he returned home. Of the cause

of knowledge: because he saw & was present. Of the place & time,

as above.

[38] he receives bread divinely sent, Likewise he said, that when in the place, where Fr. Francis

was building the monastery, the witness himself also was laboring,

& there was greatest scarcity of bread, because in Paola

none was found; & he with other laborers

murmured, because bread did not suffice for them; the said Fr.

Francis came to them, & said: I believe that brother

body needs food. And when for the space of an hour

they had worked, the witness himself saw with the other workmen a

beast, with two sacks full of bread. Then

the said Fr. Francis having called them brought whence they might breakfast, &

in the evening gave them sufficient bread: & the said bread was,

as if it had then been taken out of the oven.

And the witness himself saw no one who had brought the said bread,

& so believes that it was brought there by divine operation.

Of the place & time, as above.

[39] the witness's cut knee he solidifies. Likewise he said, that when he had gone to prune vines,

he cut his knee, & his thigh swelled for him, so much

that for eight or ten days he could not walk

nor place his foot on the ground. Wherefore on a certain day he went

plainly & step by step to the said Fr. Francis, & showed

him the said swollen leg. And so the said Fr. Francis

placed a little ointment, & afterwards made him

sit at a certain sundial: & at the same hour

he was healed, & he sent him to carry wood, as

if he had always been whole. Of the place: in Paola. Of

the time: it is the 40th year [ago].

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER V.

Several witnesses examined on July 18.

Witness 8

[38] On the 18th day of the month of July, D. Margaret de Baccaro

said, Mouth & eyes distorted he restores. that when she was throwing water one

evening before the door of her house, she twisted her mouth & eyes,

so much that they almost had gone to the back of her head: and so

when the father & brothers of the said Margaret had led her to Fr. Francis;

as soon as he saw her, he said:

Take a little of that herb, which is before the monastery,

that he was building, which is called a cercimita,

& place the juice on her head, & afterwards the cooked leaves:

& the Lord God will grant her the grace of former health.

Which remedy done, on the same day she was healed

as before, without any injury or torment.

And the said witness holds for certain, that she was healed

because of the prayers & virtues of the said Fr. Francis, & not

because of the herb. Of the place: in Paola. Of the time:

it is the 40th year [ago]. The same had deposed before num. 35, the preceding

witness, & he says this Margaret was his niece,

& he saw the cure of the evil, which no doctors could aid.

Witness 9

[39] On the same day master Dominic de Virgopia

said the same, that above num. 34 John de Simeone: of

the time saying it is about the 55th year. Likewise he said that

when the said witness was coming from Paterno with the said Fr. Francis, A wooden torch changing into a wax candle,

whence they had come from taking the place for the building of the place,

which at present is built, & they were returning to Paola;

they departed at night with a lit torch, which

the witness himself carried, with another companion who is deceased.

And the said Fr. Francis carried a piece

of torch without fire, & surrounded it with a certain

thread & placed it on his chest. And when they were passing through

Tazzano b a farm of Cosenza, they found there a certain

woman, who for three days could not give birth.

And asked by a certain widow that he would come to the aid

of the needs of the woman in labor, he placed his hand on his chest

where he had placed the torch; & drew out a candle:

so that the witness himself holds for certain, that the torch,

which he had placed on his chest, was changed into a candle:

since the said witness did not see Fr. Francis himself

placing a candle on his chest, he helps the woman in labor. nor further did he see

the torch which he had placed. Which candle he gave to the said

widow, & said: Go & place this candle over

the woman in labor, because at once she will be freed. And so

the said Fr. Francis & the witness himself departed, & came to

Paola at night. It is the 40th year c thereabouts.

[40] Likewise he said, that when two men were working in

the monastery, those whom the earth overwhelmed he saves: which he was building, & were digging a certain

earth; scarcely had they dug three steps, when the very field

fell, & covered those two workmen. And when

that earth was great, it could not be known, by what

way they could be helped, who were already held for

dead: and so they called Fr. Francis. Who when

he had come, seeing the said earth over those workmen, said

to certain others that they should dig in two places

where he himself showed: and so while digging they found

both workmen whole. d Which the witness himself

& all the others reputed as a great miracle, considering

the quantity of earth, which had fallen upon them.

Of the place & time, as above. Likewise he said, that

when a certain wall of the monastery was being built, by the sign of the Cross he sustains a falling wall: of which

day, when he was there with many people, it seemed

that the whole wall would fall. Which the said Fr. Francis

seeing, said, Jesus; & made the sign of the Cross: & the wall was

firmed as at present appears.

[41] Likewise he said, that the witness himself, when on a certain day

he was laboring in the monastery to bring water for

making the earth watered; the said Fr. Francis was laboring

beneath the witness himself. And when the witness himself was compelled

to push down a certain great stone, he said

to Fr. Francis himself to depart, because the stone could

do him great harm. a stone falling from on high he receives unharmed: And Fr. Francis himself

said to him, that he should attend to his work, & permit

the stone to fall. And when the said witness repeated this often,

& he did not wish to depart, the said stone fell &

struck the foot of the said Fr. Francis, so that the witness himself

believed, that Fr. Francis himself had been made

lame in foot or leg, & crying ran toward

him. And the said Fr. Francis said to him, that nothing

bad had happened to him: & he showed him his foot whole &

polished, which the witness himself believed him to have half broken.

Of the place: in Paola. Of the time: it is

the 40th year thereabouts.

Witness 10

[42] On the same day July 18, Bartolus de Perri, of

the land of Paola, said, He heals the eye of an ox: that when the witness himself had

an ox, whose eye was corrupted & all white,

so much that for a whole month it saw nothing; he led

him to the said Fr. Francis before the monastery

of Paola: whom when he had seen, he looked at the ground, & said

to the witness himself: Take a little of the herb, which is here

before the place, called e tuffa; & place a little of the juice

of the said herb on his eye; & the grace of health will be done

to him. And so the witness himself, taking the juice of the said herb

that he might put it into the ox's eye, the ox was so terrified

that he believes no juice reached the said eye: &

on the same day it was healed, as if it had never been sick.

Of the place: in Paola. Of the time: it is

the 40th year [ago].

[43] to one death to another health he foretells. Likewise he said, that when he had two sick brothers

in Paola, he set out for Paterno, where the said

Fr. Francis dwelt, & narrated to him the infirmity

of his brothers: to whom he replied: One of your brothers,

whose name is Lucas, will obtain from

the Lord the grace of health: but the other whose name

is Nicholas, God will call to himself. Go, because the said Lucas

will be whole: but to Nicholas say, that he should clean

his house, namely his conscience. The witness himself returning

to Paola, found the said Lucas whole: but the other,

namely Nicholas, on the fifth or sixth day after died.

It is the 35th year [ago].

Witness 11.

[44] On the same day Lucas de Perri of Paola, said,

that his mother about to give birth, To the son anxious about his mother in labor three days & nights continuously

was in labor, & for one day & night lost

her speech: & the midwives, whom he had as two

assisting at her birth, held her for dead. Wherefore

the witness himself weeping went to Fr. Francis, & said:

Father, my mother cannot give birth, & is

almost dead: for the love of God give some remedy,

& ask God for her deliverance. and to him often going and returning in despair, To whom the said Fr.

Francis replied: Do not weep: go with

God, because it is not yet time for giving birth. And so the said

witness returned home, & found his mother not

speaking: & the midwives asked him,

what Fr. Francis had said. The witness himself replied,

that he had said, it was not yet time for giving birth.

Which heard the midwives said: She is dead,

we no longer need time. The said witness returned again

to Fr. Francis himself, & said to him: Father,

my mother is almost dead: in charity, give some remedy.

To whom the said Fr. Francis replied: Go,

because from here within an hour she will give birth. And so the witness himself returned

home, & was again questioned by the midwives,

what the said Fr. Francis had said. To whom he replied

that he had said, that there still remained an hour until the time

of birth. The midwives replied: She is already dead:

we need no hour or other time. at last he says she had given birth. The said

witness returned to Fr. Francis weeping, & said: Father,

my mother must by now be dead. To whom Fr. Francis

replied: In charity, do not weep: go, because

she has already given birth to a daughter. And so the said witness returned, & found

his mother had given birth to a daughter, & had overcome the pains

& dangers. And the witness himself believes the said Fr. Francis

knew this from an Angelic vision & not from elsewhere:

because the witness himself then assiduously to the place of the said Fr. Francis

from his house went, & no one ever met him

on the way. Of the place: in Paola. Of the time: it is

the 40th year [ago].

[45] Likewise he said, that when he had a dried up thigh,

which they said was sciatica; a withered thigh and when by many

women he was treated; he never could be healed,

& lay in bed for three months, & spent money

& many goods on the said women. And when

by no pact could he recover health, the mother of the witness himself

carried him on her neck to the place where Fr. Francis

dwelt: for the witness himself could not only not walk,

but not even place his foot on the ground.

And they found the said Fr. Francis above the monastery digging

as soon as he saw them, he said: Go, wait for me

in the place. They went, & waited for the said Fr. Francis

in the place. Who when he had come, placed on the fire

to boil: with which warmed he washed the thigh of the witness himself,

& it seemed to be cold, like a rose: & on the following day

he was found whole, as before. Of the place &

time, as above.

Witness 11

[46] On the same day July 18, D. Bella, wife of the late

John Brogni, said, what above num. 35 about

her husband drenched with boiling pitch through face & chest,

is narrated. Likewise she said, that when the witness herself in

her arm completely, so that the bone had leapt out. And when

for eight continuous months she had it treated by certain doctors,

there remained a certain piece of bone,

which could not be extracted: & therefore she did not recover,

because she could not freely use her hand. Wherefore she sent

who then was at Paterno; & had the case exposed to him,

which had happened; & how there had remained a piece

of bone, which could not be extracted by doctors;

& that she was still injured in hand, because she could not

raise it. To whom the said Fr. Francis sent a certain

plaster, which she should place on the ill: which in the evening

placed, on the following morning she found that piece of bone

extracted, & the hand healed, & free

from all injury. It is the 33rd year [ago].

Witness 12

[47] On the same day, the Noble Bernardine Baldorius

said, that the mute, whom the said Fr. Francis had healed,

who had never spoken, he cures a mute. of whom above makes

mention D. John de Antonuchio, the 6th witness,

after he was healed, was the servant of the father of the witness himself,

whole & of most perfect speech, & served him

for two or three months. It is the 40th year [ago].

ANNOTATIONS.

they thought to have been truly dead: but Fr. Francis taking him in his arms carried him to his cell, & at once he was healed.

CHAPTER VI.

Other Paolan witnesses heard on the same day.

Witness 13

[48] On the same day July 18, Master Peter Genoese

said, He raises dead fish, that when a certain one from the place

Renda had come to Paola to the said Fr. Francis, whence

he was twelve miles distant & had brought certain

fish, caught in fresh water, suspended by the gills, & had given

them as a gift to the said Fr. Francis, he said: See,

how we hold these poor little ones captive.

And one by one removing them from the cord, whence they were held suspended,

he placed them in a shell of water: who when placed

at once began to revive in the water & to play.

Which miracle when the witness himself & other bystanders had seen,

namely that the dead fish were reviving,

they began to weep for joy. It is the 40th year [ago]

or thereabouts.

[49] he frees a possessed woman, Likewise he said, that when a certain woman from the land

of Regina, of the province of Calabria, of the Bisignano diocese,

for about one year possessed by an evil spirit,

& on account of his malefices bound,

had been led to the said Fr. Francis; he caused her to be led into the church,

& the evil spirit exorcised by him from the said woman

he cast out, & healed her, & she returned to Regina

made whole. Of the cause of knowledge: because he saw & was present.

Of the place & time, as above.

[50] Likewise he said, that when the witness himself with other workmen

was laboring in the monastery, a falling stone with the cross he stops, where there was a certain

precipice, whence a certain stone of the weight of three a

cantari was being pushed down; Fr. Francis seeing this,

& fearing great harm, which could be done to the men

who were below, with the Cross signed the said stone,

invoking the name of Jesus Christ: & at once

the stone was fixed on that very precipice, nor further

did it proceed. Of the cause of knowledge, place & time,

as above.

[51] candles by prayer he lights, Likewise he said, that when the witness himself had placed candles

on the altar, for saying Mass in the monastery which

he was building, which were not lit at the beginning of the Mass;

the said Fr. Francis kneeling before the said altar,

holding with his hands a lit candle, showed that

candle to the extinguished candles which were on the altar: &

at once they were lit; although from that one which was lit,

they were not kindled. Of the cause of knowledge, place &

time as above.

[52] & by the same he moves a huge stone from its place. Likewise he said, that when in the place, in which he wished

to build the monastery or dormitory, there was

could it be lifted; and when he had it broken by certain workmen,

it could never be either broken or

lifted: & when by a certain workman with a hammer it was struck,

his hand pained; & so he blasphemed the cord of St.

Francis. Wherefore the said Fr. Francis at once came

to the said workmen, & sent them to breakfast, & closed

the doors of the church, & remained alone there. And when

they returned from eating, they found the stone taken away

from there, & lying in the river which is above the said monastery;

& there remained only the pit. Seeing this

miracle, the witness himself & others held for certain,

that it was a true miracle. Of the place & time,

as above.

Witness 15

[53] On the same day July 18, Lucas Catarro, said

the same as the preceding witness num. 48, & adds of the fish already

revived, that they remained in that water for two or

three months: which the witness himself saw & was present.

Witness 16

[54] On the same day Anthony de Alexio b of Paola

said, that when he had a contracted arm,

so much that he could not extend it nor do

any exercise: and when for a month certain

washings & other remedies he had done, & yet could not

be healed: the witness himself went to the said Fr. Francis, who

many miracles in all persons was doing, & he found

him making a way, he repairs a contracted arm, by which one might come to the monastery

to be reached. And when he had seen him, he said: In

charity, you came too late to the monastery. In

charity, come to it more frequently. And so he handed

him a mattock, that he might use it for fitting the way: which with one

hand only he took (for the other he could not extend)

& he began to wish to use the mattock, & could not. And so

the said Fr. Francis said to him: Go, in charity, to

the monastery, in which is Fr. Francis of Majorana,

& cause a little water to be warmed, & return afterwards to

me. The witness himself therefore went to the said Fr. Francis of

Majorana, & had that warm water made for him; &

afterwards returned to where the said Fr. Francis was, & asked

from him permission: who dismissed him whole & unharmed,

as if he had never had anything bad. Of

the place: in Paola. Of the time: it is the 35th year c [ago].

Likewise he said about the falling lime furnace, & by Fr. Francis with the workmen

dismissed repaired, as above num. 30, and concludes:

And so the said lime was cooked, & sufficed for two

other lime furnaces, so great a building with it

was built. In the cause of knowledge: because he saw &

was present. Of the time, from which the said monastery was

built.

Witness 17

[55] On the same day Jordan Carincella of Paola, on

the ninth, he heals a woman from the falling sickness, omitting others, said, that when his wife was suffering

from falling sickness for about three or four months,

they set out to the said Fr. Francis, to ask from him

at the monastery, they found the said Fr. Francis before

the door; to whom they exposed the infirmity, which the said

wife was suffering. And the said Fr. Francis led her into

his cell, & gave her two figs, to eat,

& a little wine: & at once she was whole. Of the place: in Paola.

Of the time: it is the 40th year [ago] thereabouts.

[56] he illuminates a seven-year blindness, Likewise he said, that when a certain blind man of seven

years, because of the fame of miracles, which the said Fr. Francis

assiduously did, from Amarantia a place of the province

of Calabria, had come to him, & entered the church;

he found there the said Fr. Francis, who signed him with the Cross.

Afterwards kneeling during the celebration of the Mass he cried out:

Mercy, mercy. For seven years

I have not seen, & now I see the Body of Christ. And so

he was healed, & returned as if he had never been

blind. In the cause of knowledge, because he saw, was present &

heard. Of the place & time, as above.

[57] a leg crippled Likewise he said, that when there came upon the witness himself

place it on the ground; one morning he went to the said Fr.

Francis, & said: Father, I ask, give me a remedy

some: because with this leg I cannot walk.

And the said Fr. Francis replied: You were a bad

son: because yesterday with your mother with words you contended;

but beware lest you do this more. And it was true,

that on the preceding evening he had quarreled with his mother: he makes him carry a huge beam.

and the witness himself holds for certain, that no one had

told him, & that by divine inspiration he knew it. And so

having summoned him he led him to a certain beam,

which a pair of oxen could not have moved, & said:

In charity, bring this beam to the monastery.

The said witness replied: How can I

carry so great a beam: especially when I am lame in one leg?

Replied the said brother Francis: Take

it, in charity: because you will carry it. And so the said witness

taking the beam carried it to the monastery without any

difficulty, & was at once healed in the leg. Of

the place & time, as above.

Witness 18

[58] On the same day July 18, Nicholas Carusus

said the same as witness VI num. 30 above adds

that that lime furnace, miraculously repaired by Fr. Francis,

before it began to fall, for a whole day & night

had burned: & that he & others returning, found

it firm, so that it seemed new.

Witness 19

[59] On the same day Marinus Sisamis d said, that

when he had a pair of oxen, Fr. Francis said to him:

In charity take your oxen, & let us go to get

in the Petrizi river: & it was already the hour of

Vespers. And the said witness said: How do we wish to go to get

this timber of the bell tower, since it is night? Replied

the said Fr. Francis; Let us go, in charity: because

there remains to us time for return. And so they went

to the place where the said timber was, & found it

in a certain river, & it was impossible for the two themselves

to take that timber from there & bring it to the plain,

because it was too large. Wherefore the witness himself

said: Father, alone he carries it to the plain, we two cannot this timber

now lift, & lead to the plain. Replied

the said Fr. Francis: Go, in charity, & make

bindings for binding the said timber. And so the witness himself

went to make the said bindings: and when he had returned,

he found Fr. Francis to have carried that timber into the plain,

& to have pierced it: which the said witness led with his oxen

to the monastery, which the said Fr. Francis was building:

& they arrived there in the space of two hours.

And the witness himself believed that he could not return

by night: which 10 men could scarcely have done, and he said the aforesaid timber was of such

magnitude, that scarcely ten men could have

lifted it from the earth: & he alone brought it to the plain

he alone led. Of the place: in Paola. Of the time: it is

the 40th year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 20

[60] On the same day July 18, Nicholas Angelus

de Perromezio of Paola, said, he heals an eye injured by an ox, that when he &

deceased, were working when they wished to yoke oxen;

that all judged him to remain blind in that eye.

And when the witness himself was leading him to the monastery,

where the said Fr. Francis was, he found him

on the road with certain Brothers, who were fitting the way.

And as soon as he saw them, unaware & not

seeing the accident which had happened, he said: You have been released

from today's labor. And seeing the wound of Bernardino,

he said: Have patience. In charity, come

with me to the place. And the said witness with his suffering brother

went with the said Fr. Francis to the monastery:

to which when they had come, he bound his eye with linen

cloth, & they returned to Paola. On the following day,

when they had returned to the said Fr. Francis, he saw him again:

& he was whole better than before, & returned to

plowing. It is the 38th year [ago].

[61] Likewise he said, that when the witness himself had gone to gather

certain plums in the place of a certain neighbor

of his, he fell from the plum tree: & wounded by a fall. from which fall he received

And when the said witness was going home, he found

the said Fr. Francis on the road fitting the way. Who

when he had seen the witness himself, said to him: Were the plums sweet

to you? Another time do not consent to brother body.

Not yet had the witness himself spoken anything of such a case,

but he believes that he knew by divine inspiration.

And he led the witness himself to the monastery, & placed

the wound with linen cloth, & dismissed him. And to the returning

witness himself on the following day he placed the same

powder, & in the evening he was made whole, & free from

all injury. It is the 40th year [ago].

ANNOTATIONS.

quantity of weight, which according to the variety of places is variously estimated:

but they give an example from the history of Marco Polo, calling the greatest ships,

which carried 4000 cantars. Below num. 124 it is said, that a stone,

weighing one cantar, scarcely ten men could have lifted from the earth.

b Taking

the age into account, I judge that this Anthony had for his namesake a son

or a nephew from a brother, who was the husband of Brigitta, sister of St. Francis.

c In the year

certainly 1477, immediately following upon the Paterno foundation begun:

for that it is a matter of Paterno is indicated by that of the road led; of which again

both in the Processes in more than one place, & in the Supplement num. 14: &

the time most excellently agrees with our chronology.

CHAPTER VII.

Other depositions of Paolan witnesses.

Witness 21.

[62] On the same day July 18, Andrew of Saint

said, From disease of the kidneys he frees the witness that when he suffered a certain disease

in the kidneys, so much that he could not raise himself;

and when he wished to walk, he crept on hands on the ground;

on a certain day step by step he came to the temple of St. Francis,

where the said Fr. Francis was; & found him in

the middle of a certain river breaking stones. And as

soon as he saw the witness himself, he said to him: In charity, take

this hammer, & strike this stone four times.

Replied the witness himself: How do you wish I take the hammer,

when I cannot? Replying Fr. Francis

said: Take it, in charity; because you will be able. And so

the said witness step by step took the hammer, & struck

the stone, & thence within two days was made whole,

as if he had never been sick. Of the place, in

Paola. Of the time, it is the 40th year [ago].

[63] Likewise he said, that when he had a sick son,

placed in danger of death; and to him his dying son he preserves he went with the sick one

to Fr. Francis, to have some remedy.

To whom when they had come, he said to them: Go

to that fountain, in which find a crab & bring

it to me. They went to the said fountain, found

having taken the crab placed it in the hands of the sick one,

& he was made whole, & returned home as if he had never

been sick. Of the place & time, as above.

Witness 22

[64] On the same day July 18 John Petruzio a omitting

others, he illumines a blind woman, said he knew, that the daughter of Anthony Catalani, by name

Julia, had been blind seeing nothing at all.

And when the said Fr. Francis had departed, & had gone to Paterno,

the witness himself set out with the mother & paternal uncle

of the said daughter to Paterno, & they carried with their arms the said daughter

even to the place of the said Fr. Francis, whom they asked

that he might obtain a grace for the said daughter. The said Fr.

Francis was then in the garden, & was bending himself to the ground,

about to take leaves of a certain herb: which when he had placed on the eyes

of the said daughter, at once she was healed & restored to her former

sight. It is the 35th year [ago].

[65] an incurable knee Likewise he said, that when the witness himself suffered a sickness

in his knee, so grave that he could not

walk; and he wished on the following morning to go to Cold-river,

distant from Paola eight miles, where

he might have some remedy made for himself by a certain doctor

dwelling there (who doctor first in Paola had seen the sickness,

& it had seemed to him so grave, that

he was stunned & cried out, I do not wish to cure this sickness)

and the witness himself wished still to ask him that he should undertake

this cure; on the same morning a certain one in the name of Fr. Francis said to him,

that he should not go to that doctor, but to Fr.

Francis himself. And so he went, & showed the sickness to Fr. Francis:

who placed a certain herb, which pigs

eat; & said: Have faith in God: & so he recovered

in the space of a few days. Of the time, as above.

[66] Likewise he said, that when the witness himself was sick

to death, since in Paola he knew no one, & cures a mortal disease he sent

Francis was. Who the messenger announced to him that the witness himself

was dying. The said Fr. Francis sent him to eat;

and when he had returned, he said to him: Go, in charity:

because God has done a grace to the said witness. And at that very

hour, in which the said Fr. Francis had said to the messenger, that

the Lord had done him a grace, the said sick man was healed

in Paola. It is the 40th year [ago] b thereabouts.

Witness 23

[67] On the same day July 18, Lucas Zandella of Paola

said, about his blind niece Julia, what above num. 64 narrated

his road companion John Petruzius; varying in this that

he says he does not know, what Francis took from the earth, with which

he anointed the girl's eyes: but concludes, And the witness himself together

with her mother & others (namely John Petruzius & Andrew

Jaconius, whom this witness also names as a road companion)

returned joyful & content with the grace received, & the said

Julia afterwards married in Paola. Likewise he said, that by

the same John his paternal uncle, sick to death, as said

in the preceding num., sent to Paterno; he heard he was to be healed,

& found him healed. Likewise he said, he removes pain in the back. that when he had given

him pain in the back, he went to Paterno to the said

Fr. Francis. And when he asked for a remedy for the aforesaid

pain, the said Fr. Francis related to him what around

the said vineyard he had done, & enjoined him to retract everything,

& he was healed from the said pain. It is the 35th year

[ago].

Witness 24

[68] On the same day July 18 Andrew of Rossano

said, that when he was a shoemaker, & served the Professed of

that house in his trade, he predicts the scarcity of grain, & was a good friend

of the said Fr. Francis: on a certain evening after Vespers

he was called by the said Fr. Francis to the monastery. To

whom when he had come, Fr. Francis said to him: Provide

yourself with grain for the present year, & likewise

for the future for seed. The witness himself replied: Grain

is of such cheap price that it is scarcely valued: a tumulus

is bought for fifteen grains. Replied the said Fr.

Francis: Do what I tell you. Wherefore the witness himself

bought grain: & in the following year a tumulus of grain

was being sold for six Carlins. Of the place: in Paola.

Of the time it is the 40th year [ago]. Likewise he said that many times

he predicted to him certain future things, which afterwards he saw, he cures an injured breast. as

by the said Fr. Francis had been told him. Moreover he knows

that his wife was sick in her breast, which no

doctor could heal: & going to the said Fr. Francis,

after the imposition of I know not what, she was made

whole. Of the place & time, as above.

Witness 25

[69] On the same day Anthony Migliarisius said, that

when the witness himself had set fire to certain dry hedges, where

his field was; & the said fire was so strongly kindled, he extinguishes a fire with bare feet,

that that whole territory was in danger

of burning; the said Fr. Francis, who was a little distant,

ran, & with bare feet extinguished the fire, saying

to the witness himself, that there was danger that by that fire that whole

territory should be set on fire & destroyed. Of

the place: on the mountain of Paola. Of the time: it is the

fiftieth year & more. Likewise he said about the miracle

of the falling lime furnace, as the above written witnesses

said, because he was present & saw.

Witness 26

[70] On the same day John Biunda said, that when

the witness himself had a stepdaughter, he heals a mad girl. & she once drunk from a certain

vase; she twisted her eyes, & began to cry

out & be mad, & to send forth foam from her mouth, so that

scarcely four men could hold her. Wherefore

the witness himself & other stepsons of his led her to Paterno

to the said Fr. Francis. To whom when they had come,

he began to speak with the said stepdaughter, & sprinkled her

with holy water, & at once she was restored to her former health,

& returned to Paola whole. It is the 35th year [ago].

[71] Likewise he said that when a certain stepson of his,

by name Nicholas, had caused a certain

great timber to be made, he helps lift a timber, that he might make from it the program c of a small boat:

and the witness himself with three or four others & a pair

of oxen could not lift the timber from the earth, & he was

near the monastery which the said Fr. Francis was building;

the said Nicholas went to the monastery, that he might find

someone to help him; & found no one except

Fr. Francis. Who was asked by the said Nicholas,

what he was seeking. Who replied, that he was seeking someone,

who would help him in lifting a certain timber.

Who the said Fr. Francis said: Let us go: because since no one

else is present, which many scarcely could have raised. I, in charity, wish to come. Replied

the said Nicholas: Although you alone come, yet

we cannot lift that timber. Said Fr. Francis:

Let us go, in charity, because we will be able. And so

they went where the said timber was, & he alone applied

his hand, & the aforesaid oxen alone began without

other help to walk, & drew the timber

aforesaid. It is the 40th year [ago].

[72] Likewise he said, that when the witness himself was in the monastery

with the said Fr. Francis, he frees one possessed: there came a certain man

from a certain castle called Arena, of the Squillace diocese,

distant from Paola two days' journey, who was vexed

by an evil spirit, & by seven or ten men

strongly bound (because he did many evils) was carried.

And when he was presented to the said Fr. Francis, he said

that they should loose him. They replied: If we loose

him, he will do many evils: & they doubted about

such loosing. Seeing which the said Fr. Francis,

approaching him loosed him, & he remained firm:

& afterwards he gave him three dried figs, to eat:

& a little after he led him with himself to a certain

river, placed on a height: & they returned afterwards

together, each loaded with wood for the building of the said

monastery: & from then the said possessed was healed,

& returned home with most perfect sense & whole.

It is the 40th year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 27.

[73] On the same day July 18, Peter Cistarus said,

that when he was cleaning a field, an injured eye, a certain ear of grain struck

his eye, so much that he could see nothing;

& he went to Paterno, where the said Fr. Francis was, asking

him to heal his eye. And the said Fr. Francis,

turning to a certain Brother, said: Go,

& gather a little of the white herb, namely wormwood:

which, when you are at Paola, crush into powder & place

on his eye. And the said witness replied, Father, it is

not necessary that I carry this herb with me from here,

because at Paola we abound in the said herb. Replied the said Fr.

Francis: I will that you carry this, & have good

faith, & go with the Lord. The witness himself departed,

& before he arrived at Paola, placing nothing on his eye,

he was restored to his former health. It is the 30th year [ago]

or thereabouts.

Witness 28

[74] On the same day Nicholas de Bernardo of Paola,

said he had a small son, & he heals a dying boy, who was placed in

danger of death: whom the witness himself carried to

the said Fr. Francis. Who as soon as he saw him,

signed him with the Cross & dismissed him: & at that very hour

at once he was healed. It is the 40th year [ago] or thereabouts.

ANNOTATIONS.

a The name Petruccio

the following testimonies uniformly have & according to those we corrected,

what in this place was wrongly put, in the Italian MS. Stutzio, in the Latin Sevezio; & again in both, according to Witness 23, Cichuzo.

I depart altogether from the words of the Latin translator; I leave to those more skilled in the Calabrian language free judgment about that conjecture; willing to gladly receive from elsewhere

the genuine interpretation of the said words, which the Roman Notary could not attain.

CHAPTER VIII.

Continuation of the Paolan Witnesses of the same day.

Witness 29

[75] On the same day July 18, Francis de Rogato

said, that when there was born in him a certain

abscess in the throat, Of superstition rebuked, on a certain day he found a certain

upright man of Paterno, who saw this abscess

born, & made upon it certain incantations,

& taught him a certain remedy with reeds,

which he should afterwards cover with earth. And when he could not

be healed by that remedy, he went to the said Fr. Francis:

who when he had seen him said: O, in charity, you

have erred, in that you gave faith to the remedy of reeds. Which

the witness himself very secretly & with no one knowing had done,

& believes he knew it by divine inspiration.

And he sent him to a sufficient doctor at Cosenza:

who seeing the said abscess, doubting of death,

was unwilling to involve himself in that treatment. he causes a dangerous abscess to be cut. The witness himself returned

to Fr. Francis himself, & narrated how

the doctor refused that treatment. Wherefore the said

Fr. Francis caused another doctor dwelling at Paterno

to be summoned, to whom he said that the said abscess should be cut.

The doctor replied: I do not wish to cut it (because it is dangerous,

since it is in the throat) unless your paternity

applies his hand. Wherefore the said Fr. Francis signed

with his finger the place, where the abscess ought to be cut, & commanded

the doctor to cut there: which he did &

he cured: & within the space of a few days he was

healed. And the witness himself holds for certain, that he was healed

on account of the virtues & prayers of the said Fr. Francis, & not

on account of anything else: because the doctors were unwilling

to cut the abscess, unless the said Fr. Francis should apply his hand.

It is the 35th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[76] Likewise he said, that when the witness himself committed

most secretly certain vices, he reveals secret sins which he believed no one

except God alone & himself knew, & had gone once to

the said Fr. Francis; he said to the witness himself: In charity, beware

of such vice: for if you continue, a bad end can

befall you. Which hearing the witness himself, was stupefied,

& holds for certain that he knew it by divine inspiration.

Of the place & time, as above.

[77] Likewise he said, that when the witness himself once set out

for Paterno, where the said Fr. Francis was, & conversations held on the road, with

three other young men; during the journey one desired

eighty, a fourth I know not what similar: & they were

in this discourse. And when they had come to Paterno,

as soon as the said Fr. Francis saw them, he said to them:

In charity, it would be better that during the journey you would say,

the Our Father & other prayers, than that

you should seek worldly things: for one of you wished a hundred,

another two hundred ducats etc. It would be better for

you. Q. Which words when the said witness & his companions understood,

they were amazed & astonished, that the said Fr. Francis

knew how to report to them what during the journey they had said.

Of the place & time, as above.

[78] Likewise he said, that when certain beams were being made

at Paterno, where there were many oaks; & a secret theft, there came a certain

man from the village of a Mangani, which is under the jurisdiction of Cosenza,

& brought a basket full of figs, which he had gathered

from the fig tree of a certain neighbor of his. And when those he

presented to Fr. Francis, he said to him: In charity, you have erred:

because those figs are not yours, for you gathered

them from the tree of a neighbor: but since you have brought them

give them to these workmen. And he said to him: Beware

lest you do this more. And he returned full of shame:

for he believed no one had known it. In the cause

of knowledge he said: because he saw, was present & heard.

Witness 30

[79] On the same day July 18, Anthony de Zarlo, of

Paola, To an Arch-priest of Lattaraco said that when a certain Arch-priest of a certain

castle, b called Lattaracum, of the Bisignano

diocese, a relative of the witness himself, was suffering a certain

sickness in nose & lip, which is called cancer, so much

that it had consumed part of his nose & lip;

and he had it treated by various doctors for that sickness

about a year, nor could be healed,

indeed the evil was becoming worse; the said Arch-priest by the exhortation

of the witness himself came to Paola, where the said Fr. Francis

was. To whom when he had come, he presented himself to the said Fr. Francis.

Who having seen him, turning to a certain Brother

standing by said to him: the cancer, consuming nose & lips, he removes, Go, in charity: take

that cup, which is in my cell, in which is a little

substance. Who when he had returned with the cup, having taken

cotton he moistened it with ointment or that water which

was in the cup, & placed it on the nose & lip of the said Arch-priest;

& said to him: Go, in charity, & have

faith in the Lord, because he will do you a grace: &

tomorrow morning resolve in this monastery to say Mass.

The said Arch-priest departed & came to the land:

& at midnight he touched his nose & lip, where he was suffering

the evil; & he found all whole & without a mark,

as if he had never there suffered evil. He rose

in the morning whole, & went to say Mass

in the aforesaid monastery, & afterwards returned to the castle

Lattaraco whole & clean. It is the 40th year [ago]

or thereabouts.

[80] he heals pain of the neck, Likewise he said, that when the witness himself had a sister,

who for two months was suffering an evil in

her neck, so much that she held her head drooped on her knees,

nor could she raise her head, nor speak, nor by

various doctors treated could be healed, the witness himself led

her to the monastery of the said Fr. Francis. Who, as

soon as he saw her, said to the witness himself: Go, gather

is called Centaury, & bring it here: because I hope

the Lord, if you have faith, will do you a grace.

Which herb when the witness himself had brought, the said

Fr. Francis had it crushed with a stone, & afterwards with his hands

having placed it brought it near the nose of the said sick woman,

& said that she should strongly smell it. Which having smelled

she slept for an hour: afterwards awakened she raised her head,

& returned home whole & without any injury.

Of the place & time, as above.

Witness 31

[81] On the same day July 18, D. Peter de Polita,

said that, & a wounded eye: when a certain one, by name Bartholomew

Pecorarius, was cutting wood; a piece of wood struck

his eye, so much that the eye was covered with blood,

& he saw nothing with it. Whom the witness himself to the monastery

of Fr. Francis led: & they found him

before the door of the church. Who, as soon as he saw them,

said: O, you have come here beyond your will.

And the witness himself showed the eye of the said Bartholomew covered

with blood to the said Fr. Francis. Who placed on the eye I know not

what, & bound it with linen cloth, & made him

breakfast, & himself departed. After eating the said witness

unbound the eye of Bartholomew himself, & found

it clean & whole, & doing better than before: & he saw

with it as before without any injury: & returned home

whole & unharmed. Of the place: in Paola. Of the time: it is

the 42nd year [ago]. The same Bartholomew himself, below num. 99, & witness 43

confirming the same, thus more distinctly explains the manner of the cure:

And after eating he led him behind the monastery,

& unbound the said cloth, & made him

look at the sun which then was rising, & said: Do you see

now? Replied the witness himself: Father, I see. And he signed

him with the Cross, & dismissed him whole & unharmed,

& he saw with the said eye better than before.

[82] Likewise he said, that when the witness himself had gone with

Fr. Francis & ten other persons in a certain small boat, he moves a very heavy beam from its place,

that they might take a beam, which for the monastery

they had caused to be made in a certain place called c la Guardia;

and when they had come there, they led all the beams

from the wood to the sea, except one which was greater than the others

& placed in a more difficult location, so that it was impossible

for all together to bring it to the shore. Which

seeing Fr. Francis he said to them, to go to eat.

Who went to eat near a certain water

fresh, somewhat distant: returning they found

that beam among the others, & Fr. Francis

alone. Who asked, who had led that beam

there. He replied: which 10 men could not move: The grace & help

of God. And among other standers-by a certain Anthony

Bolotta more insistently asked, saying: We all

together could not draw this beam, & here no one

is except you alone: who therefore helped you,

to lead it here? And the said Fr. Francis replied,

that the grace of God had led it. And so

they took with themselves all the beams, & came to Paola.

Of the place: in Paola, & on the seashore of la Guardia

of Cosenza. Of the time: it is the fiftieth

year [ago].

Witness 32

[83] On the same day July 18, Nicholas de Jaquinta,

said, that when the witness himself went to a certain Notary,

Thomas Pissune, for the sake of learning; for healing a cancer

he had a certain brother, on whose face came

& they sent at once for a surgeon doctor.

Who when he had come, said he could not do anything,

unless he had a dove. And when the said dove,

neither domestic nor wild, in that land

could be found, because they were not there; the said Notary Thomas

went with the said witness his disciple to the monastery

of Fr. Francis himself: to whom they exposed their need,

& that they had come for the sake of having a dove.

Replied the said Fr. Francis: God will be able to provide.

And he began with the said Notary Thomas through the church

to walk. And when they had walked twice, he miraculously causes a dove to be brought. the third

time they were about to walk a cat came up with a dove in its mouth,

which it placed at the feet of the said Fr. Francis. Who having taken

it gave it to the said Notary Thomas, saying, The Lord

has provided. And the witness himself saw the said dove to have been

wild, nor could doves then in that monastery

nest, because the building of it was only just begun.

And the said Notary Thomas with the witness himself

returned home, bringing the dove: & the sick man

recovered. Of the place: in Paola. Of the time:

it is the 55th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[84] he heals the Arch-priest of Cosenza, Likewise he said, that when the Arch-priest of Paola

was sick, & had two doctors, one of Cosenza

& the other from the town of S. Lucito, who treated

him; seeing the gravity of his infirmity, had despaired

of his health, nor believed he could be healed.

Wherefore the witness himself went to the said Fr. Francis,

& exposed to him the infirmity of the said Arch-priest,

& how the doctors despaired of his health.

Replied the said Fr. Francis, that it was not yet

the time of his departure, & that for this time the Lord

would do him a grace: but say to him that he should well clean

his house, namely his conscience: say to him,

in charity, that he should well clean. And he led the witness himself

with him, & gave him two pieces of twice-cooked bread, &

two leaves of a certain herb, which he should carry to the said

sick Arch-priest. Which received he was whole,

& rose from bed unharmed & well. It is

the 42nd year [ago] or thereabouts.

[85] Likewise he said, that when two years after

this convalescence the said Arch-priest fell sick,

the witness himself went again to the said Fr. Francis, & afterwards predicts his death. & said

to him how the Arch-priest was again sick.

Replied Fr. Francis: O, this time he cannot

be excused from departing hence: the Lord wants

him. But go & tell him, that he should well clean

his house, namely his conscience: for the day before yesterday

he said Mass, nor had he well cleaned his house.

Say to him, in charity, that he should well

clean his house: for the Lord wants him, nor

can he this time refuse: let him therefore well prepare his conscience.

Returning the said witness consoled

the sick man himself, & exhorted him to the profit

of his salvation: who on the following morning from this life

migrated.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER IX.

The remaining Paolan witnesses heard on this day.

Witness 33

[86] On the same day July 18, Nicholas de a Chirico,

said, that when he with a certain ship,

laden with wine, He shows the death of an absent son to the father, was setting out for Naples; there came

them return to Paola. Where when the witness himself

descended to the land, before he went to Paola, he went

to the monastery, in which Fr. Francis dwelt:

whom he found before the door of the church. And as soon

as he saw him, Fr. Francis himself asked the said witness,

whence he came. The witness himself replied: We were setting out

for Naples laden with wine: & because of the tempest,

which came up, we turned back. And the said Fr. Francis

taking the said witness by the hand led him with himself to

his cell, & made him eat, & after eating

said to him: & promises other sons to be born: Nicholas, have patience: your son

has migrated from this life: for the Lord wanted him with

himself. Which heard the said witness began to weep. To whom

Fr. Francis said: In charity, do not weep: because

within a year you will beget two other male sons.

And the said witness returned home: & thence within nine

months his wife bore two twin male sons.

It is the 40th year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 34

[87] On the same day Jacob Carratellus said the miracle

of the falling lime furnace, he heals a diseased leg: & of the dead fish,

which revived, as the above witnesses

deposed: because he saw etc. Likewise he said, that

when for about fifteen years he had a certain

descent to his leg, he went to the said Fr. Francis,

& showed the leg, asking that he give him health. The said

Fr. Francis signed with his finger the diseased place in the manner

of a Cross, & afterwards placed a certain herb

called b nepitam & wild mint; & on the following

day he was whole, as he is even now. Of the place: in

Paola. Of the time: it is the 40th year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 35

[88] On the same day D. Polyxena Cingona said, that

when she once was in the monastery, which the said Fr. Francis

was building, he handles burning stones unharmed. she found him making a bath

for a sick man. And when he wished to warm the water of the said

bath, he placed certain stones in the fire:

which well lit & red-hot the witness herself saw the said Fr.

Francis with bare hands without any instrument

take; & they seemed to be true fire, so much

were they lit. And he carried them through the length

of the room, & placed them in the cauldron: & saw afterwards

that because of this the hands of the said Fr. Francis were nowhere

injured: but he carried those stones as if they had been roses. Of

the place: in Paola. Of the time: it is the 40th year

[ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 36

[89] On the same day July 18, the noble Jacob Carbonellus,

said he had a sister, by name c Claradomna: a contracted woman,

who in hands & feet was contracted, & for a whole

year could not stand on her feet, & one

gave her food, another drink, another in

bed placed her, & warmed her when rising. And

his parents for her health were very much afflicted,

finally remembering Fr. Francis, they rebuked

themselves, saying, Innumerable strangers from

the whole province come to the devotion of Fr. Francis;

& we, who have him in our home, have not gone

to him. Let us go & ask him, that with the Lord

for her health by his prayers he may intercede,

or himself take her: for we cannot hold her so contracted.

Wherefore the parents of the witness himself

the daughter, placed on the arms of a servant, brought by her parents to him, he heals. to the monastery

of Fr. Francis led: whom having found they asked,

that with the Lord for the health of his daughter he intercede,

or himself receive her. Fr. Francis replied,

that they should have good faith in the Lord. And they spoke

for some space of other things: & he sprinkled

her with blessed water, & on departing taught them,

that they should cook certain nettles, & to the hands of the sick

apply them. And when from the monastery to the land they were returning,

the sick woman asked to be placed down from the servant, who was carrying her, to

the earth, that she might satisfy natural necessity:

& she found that she could stand on her feet by herself; little by little

becoming better, she was healed, with the abovesaid

& every other remedy put aside. And the witness himself

deposes from the cause of knowledge, that he saw his sister,

as afore-mentioned, contracted, & afterwards

whole: & the miracle done about this by the said Fr. Francis

he has from the relation of his late parents,

because he himself did not go to the monastery. Of the time

it is the 37th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[90] One angry with the Saint Likewise he said, that when the late D. Francis

Carbonellus his father was living, he had often asked

the said Fr. Francis that he take a way, that the earth,

which he was digging from the monastery, which he was building,

might not impede the use of his mills, which

under the aforesaid monastery he had. And when he had always

had good words from the said Fr. Francis, on a certain day

the miller renounced the said mills to the said D.

Francis, saying, that he could not use them, because of

the earth which from the aforesaid monastery ran down. Which

damage considering the said D. Francis, went to

the said Fr. Francis very angry. And when he had arrived

at the monastery, he asked a certain Brother,

where was Fr. Francis. He replied, that he was

in his cell. And D. Francis said to the Brother,

that in his name he should call the said Fr. Francis, because

he wished to address him in the church. In his cell he hears Angelic song, And the said

Brother returning, said that Fr. Francis would come at once. And when

the said D. Francis had waited in the church for an hour,

& had sent again to the said Fr. Francis, & still he did not

come; angry he decided to meet him in his cell:

which cell was somewhat high, & so for its

entrance it was necessary to ascend three steps. And when

the said D. Francis was on the last step, he heard

certain songs & most sweet melodies, which he reputed

Angelic: & stupefied he stopped, that more certainly

he might hear them. And afterwards wishing to ascend the last step,

he heard the said songs & melodies continued: & stupefied

at once returned to the church, about to give

thanks to God for what he had heard. Amid those things

at once the said Fr. Francis came: and so is appeased. who wishing to exhort

him to patience for the things which about the mills had been done,

the late D. Francis replied

to him: Father, there is no need to speak of the mills:

do what is to be done by you, & let the mills

go to the sea. In the cause of knowledge, because he heard

from the mouth of his father, who was a noble old man & of good

life, & narrated it with greatest admiration

as soon as he arrived home. It is the 40th year

[ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 37

[91] On the same day July 18, the Noble Anthony Mendolilla,

said that when the witness himself, together with his teacher

& other disciples of the same age, By St. Francis appearing he is commanded to build a greater church. was

with Fr. Francis aforesaid in the church of his monastery,

of which church the wall was partly made; there came

what they were doing. Replied the said Fr. Francis

that he was building a church. Said that Brother: What

church is this, which you are building? for it is very

small. And the said Fr. Francis replied: How

do I wish to build it greater, when I cannot?

Replied that Brother: Do not worry: God will provide.

And he caused the made wall to be demolished, & designated

saying nothing: & it was unknown whence he came,

& whither he went: so much that the witness himself & all the others

believed, it was a man sent by God. And

after a few days came two from villages of Cosenza,

& gave a good sum of ducats & cattle

for the building of the said monastery. Of the place, in

Paola. Of the time, it is the 60th year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 38

[92] On the same day Anthony Caputus, said, that

when he had gone to his field, he stops pain of the ear & vomiting. that he might lead the sheaves of the harvest

to the threshing, there came a certain pain

under his ear, so much that on the ground as if dead he fell.

And when he had been carried near the land under the place of Fr. Francis,

& narrated to him the case which had occurred. And the said Fr.

Francis gave her a certain root, which she should

eat, & admonished that she should have faith in

the Lord. And when the witness himself had returned home,

he began to vomit with a vomit that seemed impossible: returning

again the above mentioned his aunt to the said Fr. Francis,

narrated to him the great vomit of the witness himself. And the said

Fr. Francis gave her a certain powder,

& said that she should give it placed in an egg to the sick one to

eat. Returning therefore to the sick one, she gave him

the powder to eat in the egg, & at once he was healed

from the said vomit & pain, & he holds for certain

that he was healed first by the power of God, then

by the prayers of the said Fr. Francis. Of the place: in Paola. Of

the time: it is the 45th year [ago] or thereabouts. Likewise concerning the miracle

placed above (num 52) namely that

Fr. Francis alone lifted from the ground a stone, which

scarcely ten men could have lifted, he said what

witness 14 concerning this deposed: because he saw & was present.

Witness 39

[93] On the same day July 18, the Venerable fr. Francis,

Prior of St. Augustine, He heals a cut foot, said that when he was a young lad,

he was sent by his Superior to gather wood in

the forest, & while cutting wood he struck his foot

with a great axe, & inflicted on himself a grave wound, between

the thumb & the next [toe] with great effusion

of blood. Who seeing himself so wounded & weakened

made from such effusion of blood, began to return; & he saw

Fr. Francis, carrying an axe on his shoulder,

who was coming toward the witness himself: he however seeing him

greatly rejoiced. attributing to obedience that the nerve was not injured. And when Fr. Francis

had come to the witness himself, he said to him: O fr. Francis,

you have shed much blood. The witness himself replied:

My Father, while I was cutting wood, I cut my foot,

as you see. And the said Fr. Francis taking the foot

wounded of the said witness said: See what holy obedience is:

for you wounded your foot with so great an axe,

yet did not cut any nerve, which no

barber with a razor could have done, but would have cut

the nerves. And this so well succeeded, because you satisfied

the obedience of your Superior. And so he took

certain herbs, which were in that same place, & placed

on the wound: & at once it was healed, & unharmed

he returned to his Convent. Of the place, in Paola

& in the forest. Of the time, it is the 40th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[94] he cures an abscess of the arm. Likewise he said, that when he was suffering an abscess

certain in his arm, so grave, that for

five days he could not sleep; he went to the said Fr.

Francis, & showed the abscess. And the said Fr.

Francis placed on the abscess certain powders,

which seemed to the witness himself to have been like rose

water, & at once he was restored to his former health. Of the place &

time, as above.

Witness 40

[95] On the same day July 18, the Venerable fr. John

de Andreotta, of the Order of St. Augustine, said that

the miracle of those whom the earth overwhelmed, was true,

as other witnesses deposed (num. 40) likewise about the Arch-priest,

suffering cancer in lip & nose, about which num.

79: because he saw, was present & heard, of place & time

as above.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER X.

Paolan witnesses brought on July 19.

Witness 41

[96] On the 19th day of the month of July, the Noble Polinus Pissonus,

said that when his late

father fell sick, by name Notary Thomas Pissonus, For his dying father

so much that the doctors had despaired of his health, & nothing

did he see with his eyes, nor could eat meats

ground nor distilled. And when he was about to deliver

his spirit to God, the said witness went to Fr. Francis, whom

he found speaking with his mother. And when he had seen

the witness himself weeping, he said to him: Why do you weep?

The said witness replied: Because my father is dying.

Said Fr. Francis: Do not weep. Do you know

the Our Father? He replied, I do not know. And, the Hail Mary? he bids children pray,

He replied, I know. And he said to the witness himself & to a certain girl,

who was with him, that before an image of the Crucifix,

before which he had made them kneel, they should say so much,

the Hail Mary, until he should return. Returning therefore

he brought three pieces of twice-cooked bread & apples, & gave them

to the witness himself to carry to his sick father, saying For this time

let him not fear: & say to him, that he should be a good Christian,

& have faith in the Lord. & heals him: And when the witness

himself had returned home, & had given to his father on behalf of the said

Fr. Francis those pieces of twice-cooked bread & apples; thence within

an hour he asked for food, & ate the pieces of twice-cooked bread &

apples; & thence within three or four days he was whole,

& rose from bed, & walked as before. Of the place:

in Paola. Of the time: it is the 35th year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 42

[97] On the same day Anthony de Aduardo, said that

when for three months he suffered a sickness, commanding the sick one to dig earth, called

cold evil, nor could any doctor

help him; the witness himself went to Fr. Francis,

whom he found throwing earth dug up, where at

present is built, & he had changed the bed of the river.

And the said witness said: Father, I already for three months

have suffered the cold evil, nor could I be healed:

I ask you pray God for my health. To whom the said Fr. Francis:

witness, I cannot because of the disease. And Fr. Francis said

to him] Come, in charity: do not worry: because you will be able.

And the said witness began to dig the earth for two hours.

Afterwards the said Fr. Francis gave him chickpeas, he restores him to health: as much as his fist

could contain, & a certain root, & said:

Go, & cause these to be cooked, & eat them: because the Lord

has done you a grace. The said witness departed, & had the said

foods cooked: which when he had eaten, at once he was healed,

so much that never afterwards did he suffer the said evil.

Of the place: in Paola. Of the time: it is

the 40th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[98] to an unlucky catch of tuna Likewise he said, that when a certain one, by name Notary

Peter Barba, had bought [the place & the power of catching

fish, which commonly in Paola are called b tonina,]

and when he had gone in the said place to fish, they were enclosing

the fish with nets; & afterwards when they were drawn out,

they were found outside the nets, so much that for a month they could not

catch any fish. Wherefore the said Notary Peter

Barba said to the witness himself; Go, I ask, to Fr. Francis,

& narrate this to him; & ask, that he pray the Lord, that

we may catch fish. with a blessing he helps. The witness therefore went to the said Fr.

Francis, & narrated to him how they could not

catch those fish. And Fr. Francis himself gave

the said witness a certain candle, which he should bring to Notary

Peter: & said, that he should have faith in the Lord,

because they would thereafter catch fish. And so the witness

carried the said candle to Notary Peter, & they went aboard the small boat

with the said candle, & made a catch of fish

so great that they could not draw the net,

& always thereafter caught many fish. Of the place

& time, as above.

Witness 43

[99] On the same day July 19, Bartholucius Pecoratus,

first narrated how his eye while cutting wood was most gravely injured by a leaping

splinter, was healed as above

num. 81. Likewise he said, that when the witness himself had gone to hear

Mass in the temple of St. Francis, he cures apoplexy: he was struck

by apoplexy, & at once lost his speech, & was almost

dead: & they burned his feet, nor did he feel

the fire brought near his feet. Wherefore they sent

someone to Fr. Francis, then at Paterno

staying; who to him the case, which had happened, narrated. Replied

the said Fr. Francis: God helped him, because on his right

knee he was kneeling: for otherwise more grievous things would he have

suffered. And he took certain things, which he sent to the witness himself,

saying: Go & bring these to him: because God has done him a grace.

And he returning placed those things upon the aforesaid

witness, & his speech was restored to him, & he was healed &

freed from the said infirmity: and the said witness knows he

had bent his right knee, as Fr. Francis

had said. Of the place & time, as above.

Witness 44

[100] On the same day the Noble Francis Sanctamus,

said, he heals the bite of a rabid dog. that when he was a boy of eight years, he met

so that it pierced it through; and it swelled

very much for him, so that he could not raise the arm.

Wherefore he went to the said Fr. Francis: who

as soon as he saw the said witness, said to him: Attend, in

charity, where has this accursed angel met this one.

And he called him to himself, & loosed the said arm

bound, & placed on the wound a certain gum,

& dismissed him, & in the evening made him drink that

gum placed in wine. On the following day he found himself

whole in the said arm, without any wound or mark,

better than before: & it seemed to the witness that the gum

was from cherry, which for this is worth nothing. Of the place:

in Paola. Of the time: it is the 35th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[101] Likewise he said, that when the witness himself had a certain son

sick for fifteen days, By the touch of B. Francis's garment & afterwards with

the infirmity lightened he had remained contracted in both legs, so much

that he could not rise nor in any way govern his feet,

& was half-dead; and after many remedies,

which from various they had learned, he could not be healed;

the brother of the witness himself said to him: Let us go & bring

the son to the house of St. Francis, where are the garments of Father Fr.

Francis: & let us place on him those, because perhaps God &

Fr. Francis will do us a grace. They went therefore to

the monastery of St. Francis, & brought the son there, near to death he is rescued.

& caused to be placed on him the tunic & other habits of the said Fr.

Francis: & at once the said son began to laugh, & said:

Permit me to go alone. And so they permitted him

to go; & he walked alone, & was whole as before: & they returned

praising God & Father Fr. Francis

for the grace, which they had obtained. Of the place in Paola.

Of the time: it is two years [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 45

[102] On the same day July 19, D. Perna de Segnorello,

said, that when she was sick in the eyes, The Saint an eye disease, so much that

she did not see; her mother led her to Fr. Francis.

Who was asked by the same mother for the health of her daughter,

took a certain herb, which was before him called

of the said herb she should place on the eyes. Which done, on the following day

she was entirely healed. Of the place, in Paola. Of the time,

it is the 45th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[103] Likewise she said, that when there came upon her a certain evil

in her head, an abscess on the head, called in those parts murus (which

is a kind of abscess) which made her whole face

& chest to swell; & her mother had led her to the said Fr.

Francis; he was asked by the same mother for the health of her daughter,

& when the infirmity was shown to him by her, said: This is

To whom the mother of the witness herself replied: Father, we cannot

do so many medicines: but, in charity, touch

her with only your habit, & she will be whole. And laughing Fr.

Francis placed on her his habit, & on the following day she was entirely

healed, as if she had never been sick. Of the place &

time, as above.

Witness 46

[104] On the same day July 19, D. Margaret Tudesca said,

that when the witness herself was sick in her hand, a useless hand, so much that

she could not lift it, nor could any doctor

heal her, she went to the said Fr. Francis, & showed

the said evil. Which when he had seen, he placed a certain

herb, & on that same day she was whole without other injury.

It is the 45th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[105] he heals a girl with a goiter Likewise she said, that when she had a certain daughter

of three months or thereabouts, who had a goiter hanging

from her neck, so large that it seemed a phial,

nor could she lift her head; & she had shown her to many

doctors, who could give no remedy; the said

witness brought her to the aforesaid Fr. Francis. Who seeing her

taught her certain medicines from herbs; & that

same night she was found whole & polished, as if

she had never had the said infirmity. Of the time,

as above.

ANNOTATIONS.

a These

or similar things were lacking in the very Italian autograph, omitted by the negligence

of the first copyist: & therefore the Roman translator was compelled also in the

Latin to leave the sense broken.

CHAPTER XI.

Last depositions of Paolan witnesses.

Witness 47

[106] On the same day July 19, John Varrachellus said,

that when he had a son of one year or

thereabouts, He cures a blind boy, he lost his sight so that he saw nothing, & his eyes

were whitened. And when he had been for two months so blind,

he brought the said son to Paterno, where then was Fr.

Francis. Who when he had seen the said son, placed two leaves

of a certain herb on the forehead of the said son, bound with a certain linen

cloth, & dismissed him. And when the said witness had departed from Fr. Francis,

& was distant from him by a bowshot;

the said linen cloth was loosed by itself, & fell to the earth,

& the said son recovered perfect sight, as

before: & his eyes were opened, & made bright,

as at present they are, & he sees most perfectly. It is

the 35th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[107] Likewise he said, that when the witness himself had a certain

brother, & two lepers: who for eight years had been leprous, nor

could any remedy for his health be found;

the witness himself led him to Fr. Francis: who kept

him for fifteen days in the monastery, & was perfectly

healed from the said leprosy, so much that the said sickness in him

no longer appeared: & he had clean flesh

like crystal. It is the 40th year [ago] or thereabouts, & the said

brother is now dead.

[108] Likewise he said, that when a certain other leprous

stranger, from Paola came to the said Fr. Francis, that he might

heal him; Fr. Francis made him secretly for some

days to stay in the monastery, & to be governed by the said witness.

Who although he was much consumed: yet by the said

Fr. Francis, after some days' secret stay in the monastery,

was healed from the said leprosy, & returned to

his homeland whole & polished. Of the place, in Paola. Of

the time: it is the fiftieth year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 48

[109] On the same day the 19th, Ambrose de Andreotta, said,

that when the witness himself was leading certain timbers from

the mountain, he lifts very heavy timbers out of a pit. & was near the land of Paola; the said timbers fell

into a certain deep pit: and the said witness

loosed the oxen, which were drawing the said timbers, & left them

there: because it seemed impossible, even if three or four

men had been there, to be able thence to extract them: & the said

witness returned to the mountain. In returning from the mountain to the land,

he found the said Fr. Francis in that pit, in which those timbers

had fallen; & he had extracted them alone from the pit, & had

carried them alone to the plain, which scarcely four

men could have done. And seeing the said Fr. Francis the witness

himself, he said to him: Behold, in charity, all the timbers

extracted from the pit: the oxen were in great danger.

And so the witness himself took the aforesaid timbers & led them

where he wished, which the witness himself holds to be a great miracle.

It is the 35th year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 49, Witness 50

[110] On the same day Anthony Pandarus said, that

when Lady Lucens, he learns in absence of murmuring about him: then Lady of the land of Paola,

had sent D. Nicholas Carbonellus, Notary

John de Micelli, & Peter Magnarinus to Fr.

Francis, to ask him that from Paterno, where he then

was, he would come as far as Paola; and the witness himself with the others

going on foot, & the aforesaid Notary John

grudgingly going to Paterno; began during the journey to speak many

things against Fr. Francis. And when they had arrived

at Paterno, the said Fr. Francis at once said to the said Notary

John: O Notary John, say your fault about those things

which during the journey you said. And the said Notary

was amazed to his great disgrace, that he had known those things

which on the mountain he had said. It is the 35th year [ago] or thereabouts.

On the same day Christian de Turchio, said the same as

the previous witness, because he was present & heard.

Witness 51

[111] On the same day July 19, the Venerable D. Jerome

de Baldorio, warty hands, Arch-priest of the land of Paola, said,

that when he had a sister, whose hands were

full of warts & almost consumed by them; those warts

were like ulcers, & she had had that disease almost

three years, so much that her parents, displeased with

that deformity of her hands, led her to Fr.

Francis. Who took her hands in his hands,

& said: Go & fast one Friday on bread

& water, & God will do you a grace. And she departed

thence, & on the following day without fasting or any other thing

she was healed, so that of the said evil nothing at all appeared.

It is the 40th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[112] & he cures a mute: Likewise he said that the witness himself saw in his father's house

who said to him that he had come mute to Paola, &

for him Fr. Francis praying made him speak & say, Jesus,

Jesus, as D. John de Antonachio above

(num. 33) deposed. And the witness himself saw the said Bartholus

openly & readily speaking, & he served his father for a long time.

Witness 52

[113] On the same day July 19, Nicholas de Mercurio

said that Fr. Francis predicted to him certain future things: of imminent ruin he warns,

for he admonished him not further in a certain place

to dig, & to depart thence, nor further to remain, otherwise

he would suffer. And when the said witness had departed thence,

at once there fell from the mountain a certain jagged rock,

so that, if the witness himself had remained in the place in which

he was digging, he would have been killed. And because of this the witness himself holds

him for a true prophet. It is the 40th year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 53

[114] On the same day the noble Louis de b Schemtemo

asserted the miracle, done in the daughter of his brother Francis de

Schemtemo, as the Father of the boy himself testified that above

num. 101.

Witness 54

[115] On the same day the noble Nicholas de Castello,

first affirmed about the great stone, which scarcely twenty men

could have lifted, lifted by Fr. Francis alone, as he himself

saw & others deposed num. 52. Likewise he said, that

when the witness himself had come with a certain trireme from the East

to Paola, & had been made deaf in both ears; he heals swelling of the ears:

his neck was swollen & his face, so much that he did not

feel whether he was alive or dead: & he suffered that sickness

for two months. And when he had applied many

medicines, ordered by various doctors,

nor felt any benefit from them; the mother-in-law of the witness himself

seeing this, placed him on a horse, & led him to

Fr. Francis, who was in the monastery one mile

distant from Paola. And when they had come there,

the said mother-in-law asked Fr. Francis to pray God for the health

of the witness himself sick. Who placed in the nose of the witness

himself his fingers, & held them for the space in which were said

two Our Fathers. In which time from the ears, which were

swollen, came out certain putrefaction, & was dissolved

that swelling; & before they departed from the said Fr. Francis,

he was healed & freed from that infirmity, so much that

he returned home restored to his former health. It is the 40th year

[ago] or thereabouts.

[116] Captured at Otranto by the Turks, Likewise he said, that when the news had come, that

Nicholas Picardus, kinsman of the witness himself, had been taken

by the Turks, in a certain land called c Otrentum; the witness

himself was sent by D. John Picardus, brother of the said Nicholas &

kinsman of the witness himself, to Paterno to the said Fr. Francis.

To which when he had come & had narrated the case which had happened,

Fr. Francis said to the witness himself: Do not worry about this

to labor, because the good Nicholas is dead, & has departed

from this world a Martyr; & as in this world content

he lived, so also in the other. Go to the Duke of Calabria,

who will make you recover his goods, nor wish

to know more. he asserts to have died a martyr. Wherefore the said witness returning to Paola to the said John

Picardus, narrating to him what the said Fr. Francis had said;

the aforesaid John went to the said Duke of Calabria,

& found the said Nicholas to be dead, as

Fr. Francis himself had said, & recovered the goods

which he had left. Wherefore the witness himself holds the said Fr. Francis

for a holy man: because he knew past and future things.

It is the 33rd year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 55

[117] On the same day July 19, Nicholas Pecorarius, said he

knew, that a certain man had come from a castle called Cold-river,

who was wholly contracted & deaf, he heals a contracted and deaf man, to

Fr. Francis. Who when he had come to him, led

him into the church, & left him lying in it:

and the said Fr. Francis entered the cell in which for

some space he remained; & afterwards returning to the church,

the said contracted & deaf one, taken by the hand,

he led into the cell. And at once he was healed in hearing,

feet & hands, & at that very hour he walked &

spoke. Afterwards he remained in the said monastery for three

or four months, & went about his business through the land

everywhere whole & unharmed. In the cause of knowledge: because he saw,

was present & heard. Of the place, in Paola. Of the time

it is the 43rd year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 56

[118] On the same day Anthony Malfittanus, said that

when once he wished to take a certain fish, and an injured finger. called in

those parts d trachina, it stung his finger: which swelled,

so that he believed he had lost the finger; & he had intolerable

pain. Wherefore he went to Fr. Francis,

who seeing the finger took it in his hands, & at once

it was healed, nor did he feel further pain. Of the place: in

Paola. Of the time: it is the 36th year [ago] or thereabouts.

ANNOTATIONS.

the Turks captured in the year 1480. Perhaps however not the very city, but some

town subject to the city is here understood: for that is hinted by the Italian terra, which

is said not of cities, but of little towns. Isidore describes at length,

how Nicholas vigorously attacked the city occupied by the Turks, & by

the same drawn into an ambush, was killed because he refused to deny

the faith. If these things rest on suitable testimony, I do not wish to repudiate them; nor also

what he adds, namely that on the same night Nicholas was born, on which the Saint

himself was brought forth with a happy birth: We wonder however how Isidore

saying this did not notice, that the simultaneous birth of both could not

be ascribed to the year 1416: for how then born, could he still have been in the year

1480 suitable for warlike labors?

it is of the size of a herring, & on each side from head to tail

is armed with a serrated spine, the first ones tending downward, so that from top

to bottom in an unoffended course of the hand it can be drawn, but in the contrary manner not without the greatest injury. In the Italian transcript it is Tranna.

CHAPTER XII.

Miracles testified by the inhabitants of the Castle of S. Lucito & two others.

Witness 57

[119] On the day July 20, the Venerable D. Charles de Piro,

of a S. Lucito a castle of the Cosenza diocese, To the Papal Commissary

Canon of Cosenza & Rector of the fourth portion

of S. John of the said castle, said that when there had come

the late Most Reverend Archbishop of Cosenza,

who was called Archbishop Pyrrhus,

(which Presbyter the witness himself reputed to be a Canon

& an authentic person, because he came with a good

household & good horses, & the said Presbyter or

Canon said, that the said Pontiff had sent him to the aforesaid

Archbishop, that he might understand & inquire into

the life of Fr. Francis himself) the aforesaid Archbishop

sent the said witness with the same Canon to Paola,

where then was the said Fr. Francis, & he wished to begin

the foundation of the church. And when they had come to Fr. Francis

the Canon & the witness himself, the Canon wished

to kiss the hand of the said Fr. Francis: who refused &

said, I wish to kiss your hand, who are

the said Canon was amazed, that since he was from

nor had seen Fr. Francis; yet he knew how to tell

the number of years in which he had celebrated. But

while talking they went to a certain small house,

where there was a fire, because it was winter. And when they had

come there, the said Canon began to test & reproach

the said Fr. Francis, & impute as a vice to his life,

saying: That life of yours is very austere, & therefore you do

it & can endure it, because you are a rustic: but

if you were noble, you could not do it. Replied

the said Fr. Francis: It is true that I am a rustic; &

if I were not, I could not do these things. & handles burning coals in his presence. And while saying

this, he bent down to the fire, which was great &

well kindled, & filled his hands with firebrands & burning

coals; & holding the said fire in his hands, he turned

to the Canon, saying: See, unless I were a rustic,

I could not do these things: & he showed the fire,

which he held in his hands. Seeing which the Canon

himself threw himself before the feet of the said Fr. Francis, seeking

to kiss the said feet & hands with great reverence.

And when the said Fr. Francis refused, the Canon himself

could not be satisfied in kissing the habit. c And so

the said Canon together with the said witness returned to S. Lucito,

where was the said Archbishop, to whom with great devotion

the said miracle he narrated. And the Archbishop himself

said, I wish to go to him, & place the first stone

in the church, which he wishes to begin: because he invited

me. It is the 45th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[120] he solidifies loose teeth. Likewise he said, that when there came upon him great

pain in his teeth, so that all were moved & seemed

about to fall, so much that when in the morning he celebrated Mass,

he believed they had fallen into the chalice;

he set out for Paola to the said Fr. Francis. Who when

he had seen the witness himself, before the witness himself said anything

to him, said: You suffer pain of the teeth: but you

did well, that you did not permit yourself to be conquered by the temptation

of the evil spirit, because this morning you said Mass. And he touched

with his fingers his teeth, & at once the pain withdrew;

& the teeth were firmed, better than before, so

that never afterwards did the said teeth pain him. It is

the fiftieth year [ago] or thereabouts.

Witness 58

[121] On the same day July 20, the noble John de

Franco, said, he raises a dead lamb, that when he had gone to a certain village

called Cold-river, a certain lamb was given to him,

which he placed behind his horse about to go to S. Lucito.

And during the journey, when the said lamb was dead,

there came to him a certain thought & he said to himself,

Now I would wish to see, if Fr. Francis would work this miracle,

that this lamb revive. During this thought

he progressed by a mile, & the said lamb began

to cry, & revived, & he carried it into his house

alive. It is about the 45th year [ago].

[122] Likewise he said, that when the father of the witness himself was most gravely

sick, he heals a dying man, so much that of his health it was despaired,

the witness himself sent a certain kinsman

of his by name Nicholas (because his father did not speak

& was laboring in extremis) to Paola to the said Fr. Francis,

that he might ask him, to pour out prayers

with God for the health of his father; promising that, if

he were healed, he would wish to supply wax to be lit for the use

of the monastery. And when the said Nicholas to the said

Fr. Francis had come, as soon as him Fr.

Francis saw, he said: Nicholas, I know for what you have come:

for John sends you for the health of his father.

Go & say, that the Lord has done him a grace: &

that for this time he should not fear death, because otherwise

you will find him than you left him. And the witness

himself believes, according to the relation of Nicholas, that at that

same hour in which Fr. Francis said these things, his sick father

asked for food, & sat up in bed, & began to eat.

And returning the said Nicholas found him sitting

& eating, as Fr. Francis had said to him:

& he was healed, & lived afterwards four years:

& the said witness gave wax to the monastery of Paola, which

he had promised. It is the 48th year [ago] thereabouts.

[123] he foretells another about to die, Likewise he said that when the sister of the witness himself, who

was a virgin, was gravely sick; the witness himself sent the aforesaid

Nicholas to Paola to Fr. Francis. To whom

when he had come, Fr. Francis said: O Nicholas,

I know for what you have come: for John sends you for

the health of his sick sister. Go, say to him that he should hold

her as if she had never been his sister: for the Virgin Mary

& St. Catherine call her. She cannot refuse

to go. Go, because quickly from this life she will migrate.

And the said Nicholas returning narrated these words to the witness

himself; & on the following day she died. Of the time,

as above.

[124] Likewise he said, that when the witness himself had gone to see

Fr. Francis, he makes a very great stone to be carried by one man, when the church was not yet built,

& there was only there a cell, in which Fr. Francis himself

dwelt; seeing him the said Fr. Francis said to him:

John, come, in charity, & let us each carry each

they went to one side of the river, & found

men could have lifted from the earth, And he said to the witness

himself: In charity, carry this stone, even to

the place where we wish to build the church. Replied

the witness himself: Father, how do you wish that I carry this

stone, which scarcely three men could carry?

Said Fr. Francis: Take it, in charity: for

you will carry. And he signed the stone with the Cross, & placed it

on the witness's neck: & he did not feel its weight, so light was it:

& he carried it to the place of the church. Of the time:

when the church began to be built.

Witness 59

[125] On the same day July 20, the noble John

de la Rocca said, that when he had vowed to go to serve

in his own person for eight days in the building of the monastery, by another

which Fr. Francis was constructing;

and when he had gone to serve, & the church was then begun; he found

Fr. Francis alone in the monastery, for all

the others had gone to the mountain to cut wood. The said

Fr. Francis therefore said to the witness himself: Let us go, in charity, to find

those who are laboring on the mountain, for here we are doing

nothing. Wherefore they began to go: and when they were in the middle

of the journey the said Fr. Francis said to the witness himself: Here ought

to be two beams, which on the previous day remained,

when the oxen could not draw them out: for they were

in a steep place. Let us go, in charity, let us draw

them to the plain. a very heavy beam, Then the said witness began to laugh saying:

Father, how do we wish we two alone to draw them out, if

the oxen could not? Replied Fr. Francis: O,

in charity, how little faith do you have? Said the said

witness: I have faith: place it therefore on my shoulders,

& I will carry. Fr. Francis therefore took

one beam, & placed it on the shoulders of the witness himself: the other

he took under his arm, & they drew both to the plain:

which seemed to the witness himself impossible

(for at least four men were necessary

that they might draw them out) & he holds this as a true

miracle.

Witness 60

[126] On the same day Salvator de Scano said, that

when the witness himself had gone one day early to the monastery, beans boiled without fire:

which then Fr. Francis was having built

in Paola, that he might signify to him how after

him were going to come many workmen about to labor in the said

monastery, & that he would have food prepared; the said Fr.

Francis said to the witness himself: In charity, put these

beans to cook. And when the witness himself began

to clean the said beans, he said to Fr. Francis himself: Have

meanwhile a fire lit. Replied Fr. Francis:

Do not worry. And when the witness himself had filled half a

pot with beans, Fr. Francis himself said: Go, put

this pot on the hearth. Who went & on the said hearth nothing

found except dead & cold ashes. Upon which

when he had placed the pot, he saw it at once boiling, &

the beans at once being cooked: & they fed that multitude

of men. Likewise he said the miracle of the lime furnace,

as others above deposed.

Witness 61

[127] On the 3rd day of August, the noble Pyrrhus Anthony

de Sica, of the Cosenza diocese, said, alone he turns a huge beam: that when a certain great beam

was being made & polished in the church of Paterno,

when they wished to turn the lower part of the beam above,

four men could not accomplish it:

& Fr. Francis himself alone turned that beam, as

the witness himself saw. It is the 33rd year [ago].

Witness 62

[128] On the day August 10, Venchius Pignatarus of Robeto,

said, that when the witness himself was at Gosinoregali, insipid melons

it was commanded to him by the Vice-roy, that he should go to capture

as a familiar of the Archbishop, because of a certain debt in

which he was held. And when he had gone to S. Lucito to capture

the said John, he found the Archbishop of Cosenza,

who was at S. Lucito. And when he had asked him,

where was the said John; the Archbishop replied that

he had gone to Paola to Fr. Francis.

The witness himself therefore set out for Paola to the monastery

of the said Fr. Francis, where he found the said John, whom

he ordered to come with him to Cosenza. And the said Fr.

Francis seeing the witness himself said: Do not depart,

because I wish that you eat. And he caused the table to be set

& two melons to be brought: which when they had tasted,

they found them very bad, so much that they could not

be eaten. And the said Fr. Francis asked John,

whether the melons, in charity, were good. by handling he makes sweet, Replied the said

John; Father, they are moderately good. And the said

Fr. Francis taking the said melon from another side

cut it with his hands, & said afterwards: Try now

the melon how it tastes. And he took the said melon

& ate, & found it of better taste

than sugar or cordial powder: so that the said

John took a certain piece of the said melon, saying

he wished to bring it to the Archbishop to S. Lucito.

Which when he had brought to the said Archbishop, &

had narrated the miracle, he tried a little of that melon,

& kept the rest in his chest: & in the morning

following, because of that miracle, he had Mass

celebrated. It is the 36th year [ago] or thereabouts.

[129] Likewise he said, that when there had died to him

had torn her face. And when they had gone to visit the said Fr.

Francis, who was at Paterno, as soon as them

he saw, he said to the witness himself: Why have you come here, in charity,

Venchius? Replied the witness himself: I came to visit

your Paternity. Afterwards the said Fr. Francis said

to the woman, who was torn in face: Why are you so mauled

in face? Replied the wife, There has died to me d a son.

Replied Fr. Francis, with face somewhat indignant:

What is he to you, for whom you are torn, if God

wanted him: for nothing to you did he pertain. It is

the 35th year [ago] or thereabouts.

ANNOTATIONS.

b Writers

of the Order make this Presbyter a Papal Chamberlain, by nation

Genoese, of the Adorno family: & Isidore adds that he himself left within his

writings, signed with a public instrument, the words then held with the Saint:

which instrument is said to be preserved still now at Genoa with a certain nephew of that Presbyter.

I would wish to have a transcribed copy, at least for the Supplement, to be composed after the work is finished.

c Asserts

Isidore, as from the said instrument, that the Saint asked about

the Genoese wars how long they were to last, replied about

sixty years; then Genoa would be restored to its liberty entirely: so

it happened, he says, in the year 1528, with the dissensions of the Adorni & Fregosi quieted, which had brought the commonwealth into the greatest danger.

d Someone

might suspect that this woman, because perhaps seeing herself sterile, had been to her husband

the author that he should seek offspring from elsewhere, which she might hold as

her own: & therefore deserved rebuke & punishment.

CHAPTER XIII.

The depositions of the Paterno witnesses begin.

Witness 63

[130] On the 3rd day of the month of December, in the 1st Indiction, in the year

1512, He preserves a dying woman, Guilielmus Turchus, of Paterno,

said, that when his wife was gravely ill and in her last extremity,

he approached Friar Francis, saying to him: Father,

I beg you, give me some remedy: for my wife

is dying. Friar Francis replied: Go, in

charity, and carry ten loads of stones to the construction.

The witness replied: How do you wish that I carry stones,

when my wife is dying? And he turned his back

to seek a physician. When he had not found one,

he returned to Friar Francis, and cast himself before his feet,

begging him to obtain the grace of health for

his wife. And Friar Francis said to him: Go with

God, for grace has been granted to your wife. And the witness departed,

and found his wife healthy. It is the 31st

year ago.

Witness 64

[131] On the same day Bernardinus de Florio said,

that when this same witness had gone with certain others to

cut wood for the monastery, he heals a cut leg, which Friar Francis

was building; an axe flew out of the hand of his companion, and wounded

the knee of the witness gravely, so much that it cut

his nerves, with a very great effusion of blood, and such

pain, that the witness himself felt he was dying. At once Friar

Francis was summoned: who, when he had arrived there,

called the witness by name, asking how

he was. The witness himself replied that he was dying: and when he

said this, Friar Francis laid his hand beneath the wound,

binding it. And at once the witness found

himself healed, so much that no scar of the

wound was to be found on his leg, nor any sign on the legging, nor

did blood appear. He thus returned home, healthy as

before. It is the 33rd year or thereabouts.

[132] he handles burning coals, Likewise he said, that at the same time when Friar

Francis was building the monastery in Paterno, there came

of the Order of Minors, to preach in Paterno: who

while preaching, in dishonest ways rebuked

and bit at the life and manners of Friar Francis.

And when on a certain day Friar Antonius had gone to

Friar Francis, and they were near the fire; Friar

Antonius began to rebuke the life of Friar Francis:

who, answering nothing, extended his hands to the fire, &

filled them with glowing coals. And turning to Friar

Antonius, and holding the said coals in his hands, he said: In

charity, warm yourselves. Seeing this miracle, Friar

Antonius, kneeling to the ground, venerated him

as a saint, and wished to kiss his feet. Now this

Friar Antonius, of the Order of Minors, was an upright man

of good life. As to the cause of knowledge, because he saw, was present

and heard.

Witness 65

[133] On the same day, the 3rd of December, Neapolus de b

Verallo, he reforms an inflamed nose, said that when Friar Francis once passed

by the house of this witness, and was going to fetch wood

and stones for the monastery he was building; he found

the wife of this witness before the house, with her nose greatly

inflamed, from which she was dangerously ill: and he said,

How are you, our sister? do not fear this sickness,

for it will be nothing. And he took I know

not what, which he was carrying under his habit, which appeared to be a

certain root, and laid it upon her, and on the following day

she was healed.

Witness 66

[134] On the same day Calvanus de c Plauredi said,

that when this witness had once gone with Friar Francis,

the said Friar Francis said to him, he foretells the loss of Otranto, Before

named by Friar Francis had come, news arrived,

that the Turk had taken Otranto.

[135] Likewise he said, that when this witness had his son

gravely contracted in both feet, he heals a contracted boy: he approached

Friar Francis, begging him to obtain

from the Lord the grace of health for his son; Friar

Francis instructed the witness, that he take

apply it to the feet and legs of the said son, and thus he would be healed.

When the witness had done this three times, immediately

the said son was wholly healed. It is the 32nd year

or thereabouts.

[136] Likewise he said, that when this witness at another time was

with Friar Francis in the forest, he prophesies a coming famine, for the need of the monastery;

all were speaking among themselves, Friar Francis said:

Sow not only all the fields which are wont to be sown,

but also the vineyards. The witness was amazed at

these words, because in that year grain was being sold

at a low price, namely a tumulus for eight grains, because

there was the greatest abundance of grain: but in the following

year a tumulus of grain was sold for twelve Carlins.

So much that the witness himself understood what

the words of Friar Francis, which he had spoken the preceding year, were

aiming at; namely to announce and prophesy

the famine of the coming year. As to place and time, as above.

Witness 67

[137] On the same day, the 3rd of December, Andreas Calestro

said, he cleanses a leper, that when there came to Paterno a certain young lad

who was a leper, who was said to be from Torano:

and when this leper did not recognize Friar Francis;

he was shown to him: at once kneeling before him,

he begged that he heal him. Friar Francis said to him:

Go and wash yourself in that water, which is before the place,

and afterwards remain with these other youths. And the bystanders

replied, that it was not good

that this leper should remain with the other youths.

Friar Francis himself replied: Do not be concerned:

for it will be nothing. And thus, when the said leper had washed,

immediately he was cleansed and healed of the leprosy. It is the

33rd year or thereabouts. He saw, was present,

and heard.

[138] Likewise he said, that when there came a certain woman,

who was said to be from Crotone, a paralytic; he cures a paralytic,

she was brought on a certain pallet to Friar Francis,

who was in the church before the altar: and as soon as he

saw her, he laid his hands upon her shoulders, saying:

Have faith in the heavenly Father, and rise and carry

stones to the construction of the monastery. When she delayed

rising, Friar Francis said to her again, Rise. And the said

woman rose at once healed, and began to carry

stones, and remained for some days in the monastery,

helping the construction, and finally put on the habit of Friar

Francis. As to the cause of knowledge and time, as above.

[139] Likewise he said, that when this witness had a wife

burning with fever so gravely, he drives off a fever, that her recovery

was despaired of, he came to the monastery to meet

Friar Francis: and the Friars said to him, You

cannot speak with the Father, for it is three days and as many

nights since he has appeared. And when they had said these

words, Friar Francis came: who, before

the witness said anything, said to him: Do you doubt

that our sister is to die? Do not doubt. And the witness

replied: Father, I doubt that she will die,

and that nothing can help her save the divine

power. Friar Francis therefore took a certain

root, very fine, which he carried under his habit,

and said to the witness: Go and place this root

at her nose, and at once she will be healed. And the witness

did so, and when the said root had been placed at her nose, she began

to sleep; and having awakened she found herself healed. It is

beyond the 30th year.

Witness 68

[140] On the same 3rd day of December, Pascinus Gattus

said, he moves a stone by a mere nod, that when Friar Francis wished to lead

water to the monastery he was building, and there were

with him many men, and among others this witness;

it was necessary for the water to pass through a certain place, where

there was a certain stone of immense size. And the witness

himself and other bystanders said: Father, if we touch

that stone, it will fall, and will bring upon the owners

damage of more than a thousand ducats: for the field

hung from it. And Friar Francis replied: Do not be concerned:

for the grace of God will be at hand. And as he said this

the aforesaid stone moved itself little by little, and was lowered

to the lower side, permitting free passage to the said

water. It is the 33rd year or thereabouts.

[141] he heals an injured eye, Likewise he said, that when this witness had a daughter

gravely sick in one eye, so much that she saw nothing

with it, and when with many applied remedies

she could not be healed; he approached Friar Francis

for the recovery of his daughter. Who instructed him that he apply a certain

herb to the eye: which when applied, at once after

two or three days she was healed. Moreover when this witness

once was gravely sick, Friar Francis instructed

him in the remedy of another herb, which when done at once he was

healed. As to the time, as above.

Witness 69

[142] On the same day, the 3rd of December, Fabricius Bombinus,

said, and the rigidity of the whole body: that when he was suffering a certain infirmity,

which made him stand upright and rigid,

so much that he could turn himself to no side; he approached

Friar Francis, and begged that he intercede

for his recovery. And Friar Francis said to him:

Go in charity, take a little of the herb called beet,

and crush it, and afterwards smell it: for God will make

you partaker of grace. When he had crushed it, after

smelling it, he was restored to his former health. It is

the 43rd year or thereabouts.

Witness 70

[143] On the same day, Fabianus de Senatore, said that he

knew first about the Toranese or Reginese leper of the diocese of Bisignano, two lepers

because he saw and was present, as above no. 137. Likewise

he said, that a certain nobleman of Cosenza, by name

Guido Liparetus, when he was consumed by the said leprosy,

came from Cacherno, where he was then dwelling, to Paterno

to Friar Francis, whom he begged to heal him.

And the said Friar Francis healed him: and the

witness himself afterwards saw the said Guido healed and smooth.

It is beyond the 30th year.

[144] Likewise he said, that when this witness was going to Cosenza,

of Calabria, and cures a paralytic, which is by the Adriatic sea; who

was contracted in hands and feet, and was bound upon a certain

beast, and had suffered that contraction

for twenty years or thereabouts as those who were leading

her reported; and they asked the witness,

whether Friar Francis was at the monastery of Paterno. And

the witness replied, that he was there. And when they had gone

to Friar Francis, the contracted woman was healed:

and on the return at another time they met the witness, who

asked them, whether they had obtained the grace. They

replied, that the devotion of Father Friar Francis had

healed her. Wherefore the said witness saw her return to

her home, healed and smooth. As to the time, as above.

Then he said the miracle of Ioannes Bombinus the boy,

struck by a mule, and sent to a despairing physician with a letter,

as the deposition of the one healed above at no. 20 contains.

[145] Likewise he said, that when a certain beam was to be placed

upon the door of the church of the monastery, he alone places a great beam; around

the placing of which more than a hundred men were laboring,

and finally worn out they could not place the said beam, and among them

was this witness; Friar Francis alone approached,

and with one hand placed the said beam upon the door.

[146] he frees one possessed; Likewise he said, that when there came a certain one from

Pedarchi, a village of Cosenza, vexed by an evil spirit,

who was doing great things, and could not be held

when he was vexed by the spirit; his kinsmen brought him

to Friar Francis. Whom Friar Francis for some

days kept with him, seeking that he should make him work

in the place of the building. And when he saw him persevering

in doing unseemly and most enormous things,

on a certain day he said to him: I will that today you come out of

the body of that poor little one. And at the hour of noon he led

him into the midst of the church. And when he had begun to command

the spirit to come out, the spirit replied that he was

content to come out. And Friar Francis said to him: How

do you wish to come out so as not to do harm? The spirit

replied to him, that he wished to come out in the manner of the wind. And the said

Friar Francis said to him: Come out in the manner of the

wind: but take heed that you do no evil. And when the said

spirit came out, there was a very great wind and lightning, so much

that all the windows were shaken and the church trembled.

And that poor man, from whom the spirit had departed,

remained on the ground almost dead; and afterwards rose, returned

to his home healed.

[147] he bestows life on a dying boy: Likewise he said, that when this witness was with

Friar Francis, there came a certain servant of Lord Rogerius

de Parise, a most famous Doctor, informing him how

the Lord Rogerius had a son sick

unto death, and was begging him to intercede for his

recovery with God. Wherefore the Friar bowed himself

to the ground, and took a leaf of a certain herb,

and gave it to the servant saying: Go and carry

this leaf to him, and you will find him healed: for the Lord

has granted him grace. And when he had returned to Cosenza,

he found the said son healed, and on the following day he rose

from the bed: and the witness understood truly, how

the servant himself, when he arrived, found the said

son healed: and afterwards the same witness saw him to be healed

and smooth.

Witness 71

[148] On the same 3rd day of December, Joannes Turchus

said, he cures a contracted finger. that when this witness was at Naples with Friar

Francis and the ambassador of the King of France, there was a certain servant

who had a contracted finger, so much that

he could not extend it. The aforesaid ambassador said this to

Friar Francis, and begged him for the recovery

of the said servant. Friar Francis said to him: Let him have faith in the Lord,

for he will obtain the grace. And when the said servant

had gone to the church to hear Mass, and had entered

the church, he began to sweat: and extending his hand to

wipe away the sweat, he extended the finger, and was

healed, as if he had never been sick. It is the 30th

year or thereabouts.

Witness 72

[149] On the same day Franciscus Cocus spoke about the glowing

coals handled by Friar Francis before Friar Antonius Scozetta,

as Friar Antonius himself reported to the witness, and another eyewitness

at no. 232; but he made no mention of the previous

persecution, only saying that after the sermon he went

to the monastery of Friar Francis, whom he addressed

saying: Some consider you an upright man, others

rather a herbalist: and therefore I would desire

to see some demonstration of your life. Likewise

he spoke about the one possessed who was freed, plainly as reported in no. 146,

and asserts that he saw and was present.

NOTES.

c Ibidem, Plantedi.

CHAPTER XIV.

Witnesses of Paterno heard on December 4th.

Witness 73

[150] Paulus de Porta said, that when he had been sick,

so much that he could not keep himself on his feet, He strengthens one weakened by disease.

taking up a staff he went to Friar Francis, who

had caused him to be called. And as soon as Friar Francis

had seen this witness, he said: Paul, we wish to go

together to the mountain, to carry certain beams for

the monastery and the church. The witness replied: Would

that I could go! for I alone would carry them all.

And the said Friar Francis said: Come with me,

for you shall go. And thus the said witness entered upon the journey with

Friar Francis without a staff, and felt himself healthier

and stronger than the others, all of whom he went before. It is

the 33rd year or thereabouts.

[151] departing into France he gives a bread, Likewise he said, that when Friar Francis wished to

set out into France, the witness said to him: Father,

in charity, you are setting out into France, and I do not know,

whether we shall see you any more: leave me something in

memory of you. And the said Friar Francis gave him

as a gift a certain small bread, which the witness

kept in his chest for five years, and the said chest

had the best fragrance because of the said bread. which one sufficed for many: When

those five years had passed, a severe famine came upon

the province: and when the witness, with his wife and family

of five persons, had not eaten bread for three days,

they remembered that bread: which taken

they ate, and it sufficed for all for an entire

day to satiety. It is the 28th year.

[152] Likewise he said, that when this witness had a daughter

laboring in her last extremity, he makes a dying girl survive for one year, he approached Friar Francis

for grace: who said: She cannot have

grace, because the Lord wishes her with him. The witness

replied: At least let her live for a year, and then

she would die. The said Friar Francis replied: I am content

to obtain the grace that she live for a year.

The daughter was thus healed, and after the year was finished

she died suddenly, nor did she pass the year by a single day. As to time,

as above.

[153] Likewise he said, that when he was carrying a beam for

the building of the church, he heals an injured leg: it fell upon the leg of the witness,

which it gravely broke. And the said Friar Francis caused

it to be anointed with oil, and on the following day he was healed without

any injury. As to time, as above.

Witness 74

[154] On the same day, the 4th of December, Rancius de Parisio

said, he cures one contracted, that when this witness on a certain morning was

contracted in hands and arms, so that he could scarcely raise them;

on the following day he approached Friar Francis, to tell

him of his need. And the said Friar Francis

led him to hear Mass: which having been heard

he gave him a certain herb, saying: Go,

boil this herb, and afterwards anoint the place of pain.

And the said witness taking the herb set it to

boil; and because of the pain which was afflicting him,

he did not wait for the herb to boil, as Friar

Francis had told him: but took the water which was

in the pot, and washed and wiped himself with it, and at once was

healed. It is the 34th year or thereabouts.

[155] he causes a huge stone to be moved easily, Likewise he said, that when he together with many

others and with Friar Francis had gone to fetch

certain beams for the building of the church; they found

on the way a certain great stone, which hindered

the passage of the beams. And the said Friar Francis

said, It is necessary to remove this stone from here. And the witness

himself and all the others replied: Father, it is impossible.

And the said Friar Francis said, it can be done.

They therefore took the said stone, and found it

light as a leaf: and in the rolling of the said stone it fell

upon the finger of one of the company, whose bone was

entirely broken. And when he cried out from the pain,

Friar Francis came, and wrapped it with a chestnut

leaf: at once he was restored to his former health.

It is the 33rd year or thereabouts.

[156] he halts another falling: Likewise he said, that when a certain stone through certain

huge cliffs was cast into the river, so much

that it was not possible to resist the force of that stone;

Friar Francis addressed the stone saying: Our

sister, where are you going? And the said stone at once was

fixed on the bank, and there remained, just as he saw. As

to time, as above.

Witness 75

[157] On the same day, the 4th of December, Sister Joanna

Caputa said, he restores a dying wife to her husband: that when she was in her last extremity

and had lost her speech; her husband approached Friar

Francis, begging him to obtain the grace of

recovery for her. And the said Friar Francis gave him

nose, for the Lord has granted her grace. Which

when he had applied to her nose, at once she began to speak, and

to feel better, and was healed. It is the 33rd year

or thereabouts.

Witness 76

[158] Docaria de Orrico said, that when she was

so much that she could not eat. And when

her father had applied to her cure many physicians

and various medicines, and she could not

be healed, and the mouth could not return to its place,

and once Friar Francis passed before the house of this witness;

her aforesaid father called him, and recounted

the case. Friar Francis said to him: Go,

in charity, take raisins and wormwood,

and make a poultice which you will place on her head:

and have faith in the Lord, and she will be healed. And when

he for making the poultice could not find

wormwood, and on the following day had devotion; she,

without any other remedy, found herself healed. It is

the 33rd year or thereabouts.

[159] Likewise she said, that when another time she was gravely sick

in the passage of the throat, the affected throat, she showed the evil to Friar

Francis: by whose mere gaze, without any other remedy,

at once she was healed. As to time, as above.

Witness 77

[160] Lady Nicolaa de Flore said, that when a certain

kinsman of hers, called Bellinus de Flore, a fever. was vexed

by a heavy fever, so much that his recovery was

despaired of; this witness approached Friar Francis; who instructed

her that she boil certain herbs, with whose water

the sick one was to be healed. Which when it was done,

the said sick man by drinking that water was healed. It is

the 33rd year or thereabouts.

Witness 78

[161] Lady Rindissana de Calendino said, that

when she had a daughter, so sick in one eye, a weak eye. that

she feared its loss, and had applied remedies

various and she could not be healed; she led her to Friar Francis;

who touching the eye with a hand dipped in holy water,

restored it to its former health. It is the 32nd year

or thereabouts.

Witness 79

[162] Lady Catharina Cappa said, that when a certain

woman, called a Maria Cappa, a demoniac, in Paterno vexed by

an evil spirit, was doing the most enormous things; as soon

as she was brought to Friar Francis, at once she was

freed by him from that spirit, and restored to her former health. As

to the cause of knowledge: because she saw and was present. As to time:

it is the 34th year or thereabouts.

Witness 80

[163] The venerable Sister Fina de Florio said,

that when she had a son sick, an abscess in the belly: having in

his belly a great abscess, so that his intestines seemed

to have come out; she approached Friar Francis, begging

him to obtain from the Lord the grace of healing for her

son: who gave her a certain herb, which applied,

at once he was healed. It is the 33rd year

or thereabouts.

[164] he separates stolen plums from others: Likewise she said, that when a certain stranger had brought

in a sack to Friar Francis certain plums, Friar

Francis seeing them set them apart, saying to him who

had brought them: These are from your possession, and these are not.

And that stranger said it was true: those plums were from

the possession of a certain neighbor of his: and this witness was

present and many others. As to time, as above.

Witness 81

[165] Lady Dominica de Velpando said, that when

there came a certain one from Motta de Porchia, he heals a head wound, with a great

wound in the head, who having been treated by many physicians

could not be healed, and despaired of his recovery;

he approached Friar Francis and was healed: just as she saw

and was present. It is the 33rd year or thereabouts.

[166] Likewise she said, that when a certain Fabianus de

Mantia had a cold abscess in the joint of his hand, an abscess of the hand

on account of which he felt immense pain;

he approached, crying out because of the pains which he was suffering,

to Friar Francis, seeking from him the grace of recovery. Who

when with his hand he had lightly touched the said abscess, at once

he was healed. As to the cause of knowledge and time, as

above.

Witness 82

[167] Lady Rosa de Yanne said, that when she had

an abscess on her cheek, and of the cheek: which from her mother's womb had

grown with her, and had grown so much that when she ate,

she had to hold the said abscess to one side with her hand;

and when Friar Francis had come to Paterno to build

the monastery; she approached him, begging him

to obtain the grace of recovery from the said abscess, which

no physician had been able to heal. And Friar Francis said to her

that she should put on a little salt: which put on, at once

she was healed. It is the 36th year or thereabouts.

Witness 83

[168] Antonius Mirenus said, that when there came

the fortress of Anzitola; and when she was surrounded, as is

customary, by the bystanders; the said demoniac

woman began to say: Behold my enemy.

And the witness and many others turned themselves, and saw Friar

Francis coming: who entered the sacristy giving

ear to no one. And on the following day, when the said demoniac

was in the church, some of the Friars of Friar Francis

tried to adjure the said evil spirit:

who said: I care not for all of you, but for Friar

Francis. Finally she was led to the sacristy,

where Friar Francis was with some nobles, namely

the witness and others; and he began to adjure the spirit,

and to speak and command him, that he leave the body of that

poor little one. And when the spirit replied many things to Friar

Francis, and was obstinate, he said he was

the spirit of a certain woman, who had died at the time

of the wars of Duke b Joannes, which twenty years

ago had been waged, and who had first been a prostitute &

of the worst life. And Friar Francis replied to her: Why

have you not confessed? for now you would not be damned.

At last after many contests, the witness himself saw

the said woman go out from the sacristy, and free: who

returned to her home. It is the 35th year or thereabouts.

[169] he knows where an absent person is to be found: Likewise he said, that when this witness at night

time was in a certain place, named All Saints,

distant about half a mile

from the monastery of Paterno, where Friar Francis was;

and when he needed the witness, he sent two

of his Friars to call him: to whom he said, Go,

you will find Antonius Mirenus in such a place. And the said

Friars found him there, just as Friar Francis

had said. So much that the witness and the said Friars

marveled greatly, that at night time the said Friar

Francis should have known where the said witness was; especially

since it was night, when the witness entered the said church,

nor was he seen by anyone. Wherefore they gave thanks

to God, and reputed Friar Francis for

Witness 84

[170] Loysius de la Porta said, that when he was sick

in his back, and had lain in bed for a month, back pain &

had been urged by some to approach Friar

Francis; the witness replied, that he could not

walk, nor rise from the bed. At last helped

by some, he approached Friar Francis, as

he could: who said to him that he should anoint his back with oil, in the evening,

when he went to sleep. Which done, in the morning

following the witness found himself healed; and at once went

to Friar Francis, to give him thanks for the restored

health. And the said Friar Francis said to him: My son, the good

faith which you had in our Lord Jesus Christ has healed

you. It is the 35th year or thereabouts.

[171] Likewise he said, that when this witness had

Francis gave him a certain leaf of the herb called

nepita, and at once he was healed. As to time, as above.

Witness 85

[172] Durabilis de Miele said, that when the witness's

arm was entirely broken, he solidifies a broken arm: he set out

for Paula, that by a certain surgeon who was there,

he might have himself treated; and on the way Friar

Francis met him, who asked him where he was going.

The witness replied, that he was going to Paula for the sake of treating

his arm, which was entirely broken, in which he felt

intense pain. And the said Friar Francis

replied to him, that he did not wish him to go to Paula: and he took

the arm, and laid his hand upon it, and said to him:

Go, for within the space of fifteen days you will be healed.

And at once the pain of the said arm ceased, and within fifteen

days he was entirely healed. It is the 35th year

or thereabouts.

Witness 86

[173] Matthæus Caputus said, that when he was

in Paula, where Friar Francis was, and was there having a furnace

of lime baked; he handles burning stones without harm: he saw Friar Francis

take with his hands a burning stone, which was in the furnace:

and carry it without any injury, where

there was other lime. It is the 40th year or thereabouts.

Witness 87

[174] Alexander Carusus said, that when he had committed

great pain of the belly: and when Friar Francis

passed before the house of this witness, he had himself carried

before the door, and presented himself before Friar

Francis, who was accompanied by many, who with him

were going for the need of the monastery. And when the witness

had exposed to him his pain and his need,

Friar Francis replied to him, take heed that you commit that

sin no more, and you will be healed: he restores health; and after the departure

of Friar Francis the witness remained healed. It is the 35th

year or thereabouts.

[175] Likewise he said, that when a certain brother of his labored

in his last extremity, and had been anointed with extreme unction, he preserves one dying:

and with a candle at the head of the bed was about to depart this

life; the witness approached Friar Francis,

and recounted the case. And Friar Francis said to him, Go,

have good faith in the Lord, and fear not

for his death. And he gave him certain confections,

with which he was to refresh the sick one. Which done,

the sick one was relieved, and within the space of a few days entirely

healed.

NOTES.

then in the year 1462 defeated at Troia in Apulia, shortly afterwards withdrew to France: which agrees perfectly with the chronology indicated here.

CHAPTER XV.

The remaining depositions of the Paternese witnesses taken on the same 4th of December.

Witness 88

[176] The noble Jacobus Curtus said, that when

he was at Figlino, To heal one laboring with dysuria a village of Cosenza; his kinswoman

by name Lady Angela, was sick unto death,

because she had not been able to urinate for three days.

And when the witness had gone to visit the said sick one, who

was destitute of all help from physicians; he exhorted

her that she have recourse to the devotion of Friar Francis,

and the sick one herself begged that he approach

Friar Francis, and obtain the grace of recovery for

her. And when the witness was going, he found Friar Francis

in the forest, where he was having wood cut. And before

the witness said anything, Friar Francis knew

how to say to him, he causes strawberries to be found in an unwonted place, that he needed him. And

the said witness replied it was true. And when he recounted his need,

Friar Francis shrugged his shoulders, excusing himself

and saying, that he did not know what he should do, for he was in

if he had been in the monastery, he would have sent her something for devotion.

And thus while he kept shrugging his shoulders, with

humility he extended his hands to the ground, and at the foot

of a certain oak he began to gather a handful of ripe

strawberries: and the said witness did not see the herb

which produces the said fruit, and is unaware that in the said place

there had ever been strawberries, nor did the land appear suited

for producing fruit of this kind. And having made the said

little bundle he sent it to the sick one by a certain servant, that she

might receive it in devotion. Which received when

she had eaten, at once she urinated and was healed. It is the 34th

year or thereabouts.

[177] he foretells the death of Henry of Aragon: Likewise he said, that when this witness on a certain day

was in Paterno with Friar Francis, there came a certain

messenger of the illustrious Lady Polyxena de a Ragona, informing

Friar Francis, how the illustrious Lord Henry

of Aragon her husband was sick with pain in his side.

And the said Friar Francis replied, that in this matter he

could do nothing, because God wished Lord Henry

with Himself. But lest he should seem not to reply to so great

and three or four days later the witness understood

that the said Lord Henry was dead. As to time,

as above.

Witness 89

[178] Joannes de la Porta said, that when this witness

was one of the workmen, he repairs a bruised hand, who many were breaking stones

for the construction of Friar Francis, one workman with a certain

iron bar, weighing ten rolls, struck the hand

of this witness: which and all its bones he entirely broke,

so much that the witness from the great pain fell to

the ground. Which Friar Francis seeing ran up, and took

the hand of the witness, and applied oil taken

from a lamp. And at once he was healed, and felt

no further pain: and at once returned to his work,

and broke stones with the others. It is the 35th year or thereabouts.

Witness 90

[179] he frees from stomach pain: Angelus Curtus said, that when he had held

stomach pain for five days, and could find

no remedy; leaning on a staff, in the way he

could, he stood before Friar Francis. Who, before

he said anything, said: That pain has greatly afflicted you.

And the said witness replied: Father, it has brought

me almost to death: I beg you, help me.

And the said Friar Francis replied to him: It will be nothing: go

and drink that water, showing him the water which was

before the monastery, which he had led there.

And when the witness had drunk that water, at once he

was freed and healed of the said stomach pain, nor did it

vex him any more. It is the 35th year or thereabouts.

Witness 91

[180] Joannes Calindinus said, that when he was sick

in his eye, so much that he saw nothing with it, and was almost

deprived of the pupil; he approached Friar Francis, he heals from an eye defect, who

applied a certain wax, and at once he was healed, entirely

unharmed. It is the 33rd year or thereabouts.

[181] and from the disease of cancer, Likewise he said that when this witness had cancer

in his foot, which had consumed all his nerves;

he approached Friar Francis: who applied a little alum,

and at once he was healed. As to time, as above.

[182] Likewise he said, that when this witness was in the forest

with Friar Francis, he warns of a serpent to be fled: for cutting wood for the furnace

of lime for the monastery; and when this witness had

labored a long time, he wished to step aside to the foot of a certain tree,

for a certain need of his. Whom when Friar

Francis had seen going, he rebuked him saying, do not

go, for at the foot of that tree there is a certain poisonous

serpent. Wherefore the said witness remained: and when they said these things,

the said serpent came out, exceedingly horrible

and deformed, and the witness and others killed the said

serpent.

Witness 92

[183] Bellinus de Flore said, that when he had such fever

that the physicians despaired of his recovery; from the point of death

and on Sunday being without all sense, with extreme unction

had been anointed; and black cloths were prepared,

which are accustomed to be borne for the mourning of the dead;

and he had remained until Thursday, possessed of no

sense; and on the same day was about to render his spirit to God,

and the physician had said to his people, that they should look to his soul,

for on the following day at the ninth hour he would die;

and the said physician departed, despairing of his recovery; the kinsmen

of this witness approached Friar Francis, telling

him that the physician had despaired of the recovery of the sick witness,

begging that he obtain from the Lord the grace of recovery

for the witness. And the said Friar Francis replied:

Take from the river an eel, and its

broth when cooked give him, rescued to his father, and do not doubt of his recovery.

And the said kinsmen of the witness were not able

to catch an eel, but caught a trout. And he replied:

It is good enough, and give him the broth.

And the said witness, having drunk the broth, recovered

his senses; and within the space of a few days was healed.

It is the 35th year or thereabouts.

[184] Likewise he said, that when he was carrying in his arms a son

of his, who that day had been sick; he foretells the death of a son: Friar Francis met

him, who was going to cut

wood for the lime furnace; and the witness

begged him for the recovery of the aforesaid son. Friar Francis

replied to him: This is the tenth, which our Lord

wishes from you: and thereupon within a few days the said son died. As

to time, as above.

Witness 93

[184] Salernus de Brunacio said, that when his whole

body was spotted with putrid ulcers,

from which he was afflicted with great pain, he heals ulcerous hands: so much

that he was fit for no work; he approached Friar Francis,

and showed his hands full of those putrid ulcers,

saying, so is my whole body. And

the said Friar Francis enclosed the hands of the sick one within his own

hands, and afterwards touched the whole body of the witness:

who from the said sickness was freed and healed.

It is the 33rd year or thereabouts.

[185] Likewise he said, that when this witness with many

others had gone to carry a beam, he alone lifts a very large beam: for the construction of the monastery;

all those together were not able to lift that beam

from the place where it was. And Friar Francis

arriving there, alone easily lifted it and carried it. Moreover

Friar Francis, when he was lifting the said beam, he walks through brambles unharmed, with bare

feet walked through certain brambles, and the said

witness and others who were present called out to him, saying:

Father, do not walk through these brambles, for you will hurt

your feet. He nonetheless walked through the said brambles,

without any injury to his feet. As to time,

as above.

[186] Likewise he said, that when this witness had a son,

horribly swollen in face and eyes, he cures a swollen boy: he led

him to Friar Francis: who offering him an apple,

at once healed him. As to time, as above.

Witness 94

[187] Alexander Caputus said, that when this

witness in the monastery, he heals pleurisy which Friar Francis was building at Paula,

was working; pleurisy came upon him, which

for a whole day and night had so occupied

him, that he believed himself about to die. And the said Friar

Francis offered the witness food, and afterwards

at the foot of a tree made him sleep, with a bundle of nepita

under his head: and at once he was healed. It is the

40th year or thereabouts.

[188] and a serpent's bite; Likewise he said, that when this witness with Friar

Francis had gone to a certain forest, which overlooked

the monastery of Paula; a certain poisonous serpent

bit one of the monks of Friar Francis in

the toe: Who with tears and outcry ran

to Friar Francis, imploring his help. Who

bound the wounded finger with a certain reed, called broom,

and he was healed. But when the witness

and others who were present did not believe it had been a bite, but

to be healed (because the finger had so easily been healed by itself) nor

was it attributed to a miracle; on the following night

the said finger swelled, and the said monk approached

Friar Francis again, imploring his help.

And the said Friar Francis said: This has been done

because yesterday they did not believe. And the said finger's

swelling passed, and he was healed. As to time,

as above.

[189] he foretells death to a strong young man: Likewise he said, that when he was in Paula with

Friar Francis, there came a certain strong and well-

disposed young man, and said to Friar Francis: Father, there is

born on my neck a certain abscess. And

Friar Francis said, When I summoned you, you would not come:

go, drink, and depart with the Lord. And when

the young man himself had departed, the said Friar Francis said

to the witness: See that a small sickness places a man under

the ground. And on the following night the said young man, healthy,

robust and strong, died. As to time, as

above.

Witness 95

[190] Carolus de Calindino said, that when on a certain

day he was digging stones with Friar Francis, he halts a falling rock by a word, a certain

great stone was falling with such force, that if

it had reached the bottom, it would have killed the father of the witness,

and caused other damage. Wherefore Friar Francis

seeing the said stone falling with such force, commanded that

it not move: and thus the said stone in its swifter descent was

fixed, and there stood, as the witness himself saw. As to

place: at Paterno. As to time, it is the 32nd year

or thereabouts. Likewise he said, that when this witness was

with Friar Francis and twenty others in the forest, he makes a scanty provision suffice for many. where they were making

beams for the monastery, and all were hungry;

he appeared with two loaves, and gave

them to Friar Francis: who offered them to the witness and

his companions: and all twenty ate of them to satiety,

and still left over leavings. As to place and

time, as above.

Witness 96

[191] Joannes Pipe said, that when there came a certain

one vexed by an evil spirit, he frees a demoniac. called Petrus de Baglia-Pedachi,

to Friar Francis; he kept him

with himself for some days. And on a certain day the said witness

heard Friar Francis saying, I will not that you remain

here any longer, but I will that you go out, and go

into the depth of the sea. And thus the said witness returned on the following

day, and found him freed from the said spirit and

healed. It is the 33rd year or thereabouts.

Witness 97

[192] Bernardinus Puglanus said, that when this

witness with his master had set a fire in a certain forest,

that he might sow there; the said fire with great vehemence

was directed toward the wood, which Friar Francis had caused

to be cut for the monastery, which were near

the forest, where the fire was. Which fire Friar Francis seeing, he restrains a fire creeping farther,

being directed as above, said to it: In charity, burn

what is yours, and do not occupy ours. And when

he had said this, without any other help the said fire ceased,

nor did it advance, but retreated. It is the 35th

year or thereabouts.

Witness 98

[193] Nicolaus Ruffus said, that when there came

in his eye, to Friar Francis; as soon as he

saw him, he applied holy water to the eye, and at once

he was healed. As to the cause of knowledge, because he saw

and was present. As to time, it is the 33rd year

or thereabouts.

Witness 99

[194] Adrianus Mirasius said, that when he had

he went to Paula, to inform the father of the said daughter.

And when he was near the monastery of Friar Francis, he was made

to meet Friar Francis: who understanding

the cause of his coming, said that he should not fear death:

and gave him three wild cucumbers, to bear them for devotion

to the sick one. And he returned to Paterno:

and when he had given the said cucumbers to the sick one,

at once she was healed. It is the 40th year or thereabouts.

Witness 100

[195] Andreas Carusus said, that when Friar

Francis had brought a certain water b to the monastery, he removes the cause of a lawsuit

private persons were taking the water

which went out from the said monastery, and leading it

to their possessions: so much that on a certain day there arose

among them a violent contention. And when Friar

Francis had understood that contention was arising over the said

water, he entered the monastery answering nothing, making the water vanish: &

on the following morning it was announced that a hole had been made,

through which the said water entered, and never again

appeared. As to the cause of knowledge, because

he saw and heard. As to time: it is the 33rd year

or thereabouts.

[196] Likewise he said, that when this witness had been sick

about two months, he cures from a grave disease and was suffering a descent into

his legs and arms, so much that he could not lift them

nor do anything with them; and had applied many

remedies, nor could he recover; and when this witness

wished to go to a certain country place called Domnici, where there was

the witness's sister said this to Friar Francis: who informed

the said witness, that he should not go, he is forbidden to approach physicians. but have faith in

the Lord, and on the following Sunday (which was c Easter

of the resurrection) he would be able to go to hear Mass. Wherefore

the said witness did not go: and when the night of Holy Saturday came,

about midnight he began to sleep. And when

in the morning he awoke at the hour of Terce, he found

himself healed, and went alone to the church to hear Mass,

just as Friar Francis had told him. As to time,

as above.

NOTES.

CHAPTER XVI.

Witnesses heard at the beginning of the year 1513. Conclusion of the whole Process.

Witness 101

[197] On the 19th day of January, in the 1st Indiction, 1513, Lord

Nicolaus Castagnarus de Coriglano, He causes lime to be found in a place otherwise unfit, of the diocese of Rossano,

said, that when Friar Francis had come

to Corigliano to build a monastery there,

and wished to make a furnace for baking lime, he went

to a certain place unfit for producing stones

for making the said lime. And the said Friar Francis

said: Dig here, for the Lord will provide. And

while digging they found stones for making

lime, which they made in great quantity, and built

the monastery. As to the cause of knowledge: because he saw and was

present. As to time: it is the 30th year or thereabouts.

[198] and a few figs to suffice for many: Likewise he said, that on a certain day there were more

than three hundred men, making an aqueduct, &

that they might lead it to the monastery, which Friar Francis

was building, and the said Friar Francis had a string

of figs, and gave them to those three hundred men,

who were satisfied, and still figs remained.

the coming of those from beyond the mountains to the kingdom.

Witness 102

[199] On the same day Loysius Romæus de Corigliano

said, he brings water from a distance, that when Friar Francis had come to Corigliano,

to have completed the monastery which in the said

land he had begun, and there was no water there, but it was much

distant from the monastery, the said Friar Francis, by no industry

or human ingenuity but miraculously, brought a certain

water, distant from that place by four miles,

to the monastery. one loaf feeds 30 workmen, Moreover the witness himself knows,

that on that day when those men were about to lead the said

water, two women of the said land brought

two loaves to certain nobles, who had gone

to help the said Friar Francis: of which one those nobles

and the men who were working in leading the said

water, with Friar Francis absent, who had gone to the forest,

ate. And when Friar Francis had returned,

he said: You do well, who have taken recreation:

and you have done well: and still, by the grace of God, there is

enough for all. And he took that loaf which had remained;

and distributed it among the workmen, who were about

thirty; and with half of that loaf he satisfied all. It is

the 30th year or thereabouts.

[200] Likewise he said, that when Friar Francis had come

to Corigliano to build a monastery, he indicates a wall lying hidden beneath the earth, the said

witness gave him as a gift a certain possession of his

for building the said monastery. And the said Friar Francis

carefully inspected the whole aforesaid possession,

and chose the place which seemed best to him;

and said, Dig here, for we wish to build

wall with a certain tomb, and there they built

the church, which is at present in existence. As to place and

time, as above.

[201] I Nicolaus de Sproverio, Archdeacon

of Cariati, public Notary by Apostolic authority,

& scribe assumed in the present business by

the aforesaid Reverend Lord Bishop of Cariati, the signature of the Notary. Apostolic

Commissary, who to the foregoing presentation

and reception of the Apostolic letters in the form

of a Brief, and to the examination of the witnesses described in the present

process, was present; I saw and heard all things so done

and took them into note: therefore the present

process, written with my own hand, I have drawn out of

the acts of my Notary, and subscribed myself, with my sign and name

affixed, in faith and testimony of all and every of

the foregoing, asked and required.

✠ NICOLAVS.

[202] And I Sigismundus Pindarus, Cleric of Venice,

secretary of my most Reverend Lord Cardinal

of the Title of the Four Holy Crowned Ones, Declaration of the interpreter, Protector

of the Minims; by my present signature

I attest, that I have translated the present book of miracles

of Blessed Francis de Paula from the original process, written in the

Italian idiom, and sent to Rome from the Bishop of Cariati,

deputed by the most holy Lord Julius II of happy memory as Commissary

for making this process, under his seal,

into Latin word for word,

adding or taking away nothing. And therefore I did not wish

to endow it with higher Latinity, but word for word

to render it however uncultured, lest from the process I should in any way

depart: and in faith I have written these few things

with my own hand, and subscribed myself at Rome on the 18th of March

1513.

So it is. Sigismundus Pindarus, with his own hand.

[203] the faith of the same, I Laurentius, Presbyter Cardinal of the Title of the

Four Holy Crowned Ones, make faith,

that our most Holy Lord Leo, by divine providence Pope

X, commanded me to open the process, made

by mandate of Pope Julius II of happy memory: which was

translated by the aforesaid Secretary, and in faith I

subscribed with my own hand, on the 19th day of March, in the

2nd year of the aforesaid Leo.

[204] And I Petrus Berchem, Cleric of the Cologne

diocese, attest by this present signature, and of the scribe. that I have

written with my own hand, according to the dictation of the above-written

Lord Sigismundus Pindarus, with what diligence

and fidelity I could, and in faith I have written these few words

with my hand and subscribed myself.

So it is, Petrus Berchem; with his own hand.

NOTES.

figs pressed and threaded on a single string in a continuous series, which kind reserved for

the use of the whole year, and thus, so to speak, threaded, we have often

seen in Italy.

PROCESS OF TOURS.

Franciscus de Paula, Founder of the Order of Minims (St.)

PRELIMINARY NOTICE.

D. P.

Julius II, Supreme Pontiff, by whose mandate

the Bishop of Cariati had first formed the process in the Cosenza

diocese, The examination is entrusted to Bishops, by

letters of similar tenor, issued in the form of a Brief,

had directed a similar mandate to the Bishops

of Paris, Auxerre, and Grenoble.

The first of these was Stephanus Poncher, of Paris, of Auxerre, to be named below,

adorned from the year 1506 with the infula of Paris, until

the year 1517 he was assumed to the Archbishopric of Sens.

The second was Joannes de Baillet, in the year 1478

established at Auxerre, and in the very year in which this Process was finished,

on the 10th of November, is written by the Sanmarthani to have departed this life,

who same name as Bishop of Grenoble at this time

and Inquisitor upon the life and miracles of St. Francis from the Apostolic

see constituted, Ludovicus Alemand, and of Grenoble.

and they say there exists his letter to Leo X, given in the year

1516 on the 10th day before the Kalends of July; in which among other things he asserts,

that he knew the most pure morals of the Blessed one. But

that this man sat before the year 1540, by no arguments are we taught,

and it is certain that letter, which we shall give entire below, was

written by a kinsman and perhaps uncle of the said Ludovicus

and his immediate predecessor Laurentius: whom Ludovicus had succeeded,

first in the title of Abbot of St. Saturnin of Toulouse, then in the

Grenoble Episcopate itself. Now Laurentius Allamand,

was the author of the foundation of the Conventus of Toulouse and of Grenoble

of the Minims, and a singular friend of St. Francis himself,

and with his religious at Grenoble (as the Sanmarthani

themselves teach) wished to be buried.

[2] The Parisian subdelegates three ecclesiastics of Tours: The first, namely Stephanus of Paris, in his own name and in the name of

the two others, committed his duties, in the aforesaid business, to

the venerable and circumspect men, Petrus

Cruchet and Petrus Chabrion, Presbyters, Licentiates

in Decrees, Prebendary Canons of the Church of Tours,

and Stephanus Charton Licentiate in Canon

law, Prebendary of the same church, committing to them

and to each of them in solidum the execution of the said

Brief, by letters containing the said Brief expressed word for word,

issued on the 25th of the month of November, in the year 1512:

with the protestation, that by this his subdelegation he does not wish

nor intend in any way to prejudice his colleagues; so that

they in business of this kind, in their own and other dioceses neighboring

to them (his subdelegation being preserved) may proceed

if they are requested and it seems to them expedient: by whom a completed process which whether they did we nowhere find. Of

the Subdelegates the first two transmitted to the Bishop of Paris the process they had completed,

and signed it with their names, concluding the preliminary

exposition of the subdelegation in this manner:

Wishing to obey your mandates, or rather the Apostolic mandates,

concerning and upon the fame and life, and miracles of the deceased

Friar Francis de Paula, made during his life; we have received

the witnesses named below, caused them to swear, &

afterwards sometimes jointly, sometimes severally

(as is contained in their depositions) examined them;

with us present and assumed by us,

the venerable man Master Jacobus Tillier, Advocate of the Metropolitan

Curia of Tours, and sworn Notary of the Apostolic and of that Curia;

and the examination of the same witnesses was reduced to writing by the same Tillier

we have made … and have transmitted it to be presented to the Apostolic See.

[3] He sends it to Pope Leo X. These things having been received, Stephanus of Paris wrote to Leo X in this manner: Since some time ago Pope Julius II of happy memory, your predecessor, on behalf of the Most Reverend Lord Robert, Cardinal Priest of St. Anastasia, then still living, had by his letters in the form of a Brief commanded and enjoined us that we should diligently, faithfully, and prudently make inquiry concerning the fame and life and miracles of the late Francis of Paola, Founder and Institutor of a certain perpetual Lenten rule of life and of a definite rule ordained by him, performed in his lifetime; and that all things which we should find to be true, we should take care to send, under our closed letters fortified with our seal, to the same Julius the Predecessor. But since, being hindered by other duties of our Most Christian Lord the King of the French and of our Spouse, we have caused the execution of the said letters, through our subdelegates with the aforesaid authority, to proceed according to the form delivered and directed to us by them, and have caused the testimonies, examinations, and depositions of very many trustworthy witnesses to be reduced to public form: and since the same Julius the Predecessor, as it pleased the Most High, entered upon the way of all flesh; lest the scent of the fame, the converse of the miracles, and the good memory of the same Francis of Paola and the truth should through the death of his predecessors be utterly lost and perish, we faithfully assign and transmit to Your Holiness, by these present letters under the seal of our chamber, all those things that have been reduced to writing by the said subdelegates under their subscriptions and seals, that the same may deign to determine what is to be done concerning them. Given in the present year 1513, on the 14th day of April.

[4] But lest there should be any room for doubt concerning the time both of the date of this letter, and of that in which the Saint died, to us the year 1514. or in which the witnesses are said to have been heard or the miracles performed; Binet took care to have a document, subscribed by the hands of several witnesses, giving faith and attesting that according to the Gallican computation, reckoning not from the feast of the Nativity of the Lord, as at Rome, but from the day of his resurrection, each respective year is precisely computed: so that, for such reasons, in the year of the Lord in which most recently XIV was running for the golden number and A for the Dominical letter, according to that computation, within the year of the Lord 1513 there undoubtedly occurred the 14th day of the month; because in the aforesaid year the 16th of April indubitably fell as the day of the Lord's Resurrection, beginning the French year 1514, which for the Romans had already been running for some time. The letter of the Bishop of Paris is followed by the deposition of witnesses, which as a whole can be reduced to four parts; which process, distinguished into four parts, will here be given. namely: first, on the fame of the life and virtues of St. Francis; second, on the miracles wrought in his life; third, on his happy death and the elevation of his body; fourth, on the benefits conferred, through invocation of him after his death, upon men who devoutly invoked him. But lest we be compelled often to repeat the same things, we shall not describe the whole depositions of each in succession, as we did in the preceding process: but shall excerpt separately from each those things which we know to pertain to these four heads. And in order that we may not labor concerning the names and quality of the witnesses, and the day on which each was heard; or that on their account the context, to be fitted together from the words of many, should appear disjointed or give rise to weariness, there is set before the reader

A SYLLABUS OF THE WITNESSES.

FROM THE MS. PROCESS OF TOURS.

[5] I. First, the honorable man Jean Bourdichon, Painter to our Lord the King, and Attendant of the Chamber, The names of the witnesses being set forth. and citizen of Tours, of about 56 years of age, a witness received by us, Petrus Cruchet and Petrus Chabrion, the subdelegated Commissioners mentioned above, in the presence of Master Jacobus Tillier acting for us as Notary, and sworn upon the holy Gospels of God placed before us and bodily touched by him for this purpose, and then examined at Tours on the 19th day of the month of July, in the year of the Lord 1513, concerning the life, fame, and miracles of the late Francis of Paola, while he lived General of the Order of Minims. And this is the beginning of all the depositions that follow, which it is sufficient to have noted once.

II. Michael Marseil, stonemason, dwelling in the parish of the Blessed Mary the Rich, of about 40 years of age.

III. The venerable and discreet man Master Jean Cormier, Priest, Count Palatine, and Apostolic and Imperial Notary, Almoner of the place of Gandiac near Tours, dwelling at Tours, of 50 years of age.

IV. Jean Gandins, merchant, dwelling in the parish of St. Peter "de Corporibus" and in the suburbs of Tours, 61 years of age.

V. Jean Jolijs, merchant innkeeper, dwelling in the parish of the Blessed Mary the Rich of Tours, 73 years of age, examined on July 20, as also the following.

VI. The honorable man Emericus Bernardeau, merchant, dwelling at Tours, 54 years of age.

VII. François Laurens, wagoner, dwelling in the street Mali-fimi, in the parish of St. Saturnin of Tours, 40 years of age.

VIII. Charles Chepault, wagoner, dwelling near the horse-gate, in the parish of St. Peter of the Maidens at Tours, 27 or 28 years of age.

IX. Bertrand Bornault, merchant of woolen cloths, dwelling in the parish of St. Saturnin of Tours, 60 years of age.

X. The honest woman Catherine Bergerelle, widow of the late Hugonet Mansays, while he lived a goldsmith, herself dwelling in the parish of St. Saturnin of Tours, 50 years of age.

XI. Marie, wife of Rudolph Valet, goldsmith, dwelling at Tours in the parish of St. Saturnin, 29 years of age.

XII. The honorable and discreet man Master Pierre Baillebis, Master in Arts and Bachelor in Decrees, Advocate of the Metropolitan Court of Tours, dwelling at Tours in the parish of St. Peter "de corporibus," 43 years of age.

XIII. Jeanne, widow of the late Martin Dolin, dwelling in the parish of St. Saturnin, 45 years of age.

XIV. The honest woman Jeanne, wife of Hilary Bonhomme, dwelling in the parish of the Blessed Mary the Rich, 50 years of age, examined on July 22 with the following,

XV. The honest woman Jeanne, widow of the late Thomas Vaillant, dwelling in the suburbs of Tours, in the parish of the Blessed Mary the Rich, 50 years old.

XVI. Renata, wife of Pierre Courselles, merchant of Tours, in the parish of St. Saturnin, 45 years of age.

XVII. The honest woman Jeanne, wife of Jean Mesnaige, merchant of Tours, in the said parish of St. Saturnin, 33 years of age.

XVIII. The honorable woman Jeanne Hameline, wife of David le Maistre, merchant, in the parish of the Holy Cross, 56 years old, examined on the 23rd of July with the following.

XIX. Cornelius Chrestien, huckster, in the parish of the Blessed Mary the Rich, 40 years of age.

XX. Marie, widow of the late André Ligier, merchant while he lived, in the parish of the Holy Cross, 47 years old.

XXI. Oliva, wife of Antoine Mangois, merchant, in the parish of St. Peter of the Maidens, 32 years old.

XXII. The honorable woman Gervasotta, widow of the late Master Jean Lopin, Licentiate in Laws while he lived, and Lord of Nitriacum, in the parish of St. Saturnin, 61 years of age, examined on the 27th of July, as also

XXIII. The honest woman Pétronille, wife of Jean Claveau, merchant, in the parish of St. Saturnin, 20 years of age.

XXIV. The honorable woman Jeanne Beauvalet, widow of the late Master Stephen Binet, who while he lived was Lieutenant of the Lord Bailiff of Tours at the royal seat of Tours, in the parish of St. Peter of the Maidens, 50 years of age, examined on July 28, as also

XXV. The honorable woman Guillelma Binet, widow of the late Michael Pele, merchant of Tours, 58 years old.

XXVI. The honorable woman Catherine, wife of William of Loyon, Distributor of the lodgings of our Lady, the Queen of the French, in the parish of St. Peter "de Ballo" at Tours, 47 years old.

XXVII. The venerable and discreet man, Master Maturinus Chabrion, Licentiate in Laws, Advocate of the Ecclesiastical Court of Tours, Secretary of the Most Reverend Lord Archbishop of Tours, in the parish of St. Peter "de ballo," 31 years old.

XXVIII. The honorable woman Jeanne Bernier, wife of the honorable man Master Jean de Billon, dwelling at Tours opposite the Reglantorium of Rupella, 36 years old, examined on July 29.

XXIX. The honest woman Marie Fichepain, wife of Gacian Boucault, merchant goldsmith of Tours, in the parish of St. Peter "de ballo," 33 years old, examined on August 4, as also

XXX. The honorable man Jean l'Escart, alias Monnoye, merchant, in the parish of St. Peter "de ballo," 29 years old.

XXXI. The honest man Pasquerius Boileau, Fontanarius, or governor of the fountains of our Lord the King of the French existing at the place of Plessis-du-Parc, and dwelling there, 60 years old, received and heard on Friday the 5th of the month of August, as also

XXXII. The honest man Pierre Courvoisier, barber, in the parish of St. Peter of the Maidens, 30 years old.

XXXIII. The honorable woman Catherine Rusee, widow of the late noble man of good memory William of Beauve, in the parish of St. Peter "de ballo," 55 years old.

XXXIV. The honest man Jean Thoitart, domestic servant or attendant of the chamber of the late Louis XI, King of the French, dwelling at Tours in the parish of St. Mary the Rich, 52 or 53 years old, examined on Monday the 8th of the month of August, as also

XXXV. The honorable man Jean Galle, embroiderer, in the parish of St. Saturnin, 50 years old.

XXXVI. The religious man Fr. Jean de la Haye, of the country or nation of France, diocese of Poitiers, religious lay brother, expressly professed of the Order of the Friars Minim, in the convent of the same Friars near Plessis-du-Parc close to Tours, 60 years and more of age, examined on Saturday the 13th of August, as also

XXXVII. The honorable man Alexius d'Argouges, burgher of Tours, 45 years old.

XXXVIII. The venerable religious Fr. Leonard Barbier, Priest of the Order of Minims, and in the same expressly professed, 34 years old.

XXXIX. The venerable man Patrick Binet, Burgher of Tours, 42 years old, examined on August 20, as also

XL. The honorable man Martin Moreau, merchant and citizen of Tours, 50 years old.

XLI. The nobleman Jean Moreau, squire, in the parish of St. Peter "de Corporibus," 60 years old, examined on the 21st of August, as also

XLII. Fr. Stephen Joly, Priest religious of the Order of Minims, 45 years old.

XLIII. The honest man Antoine Maugris, merchant, in the parish of St. Peter of the Maidens, 45 years old, examined on the 25th day of the month of August, as also

XLIV. The honest man Jean Muterne, merchant leather-worker, in the parish of St. Denis, 32 years old.

XLV. The honest woman Jeanne, wife of the honorable man Antoine Fillesaye, merchant furrier and stabler of Tours, in the parish of St. Saturnin, 26 years old.

XLVI. The honest woman Jeanne, wife of William Pere, saddler, in the parish of St. Hilary of Tours, 35 years old.

XLVII. The honest woman Catherine Jouffette, widow of the late Nicholas Mavechier, at Tours in the parish of St. Vincent, 60 years old.

XLVIII. The honorable man David le Maistre, ordinary haberdasher to our Lord the King of the French, in the parish of the Holy Cross, 57 years old, examined on August 26, as also

XLIX. The honorable man Thomas Jacob, Treasurer and Saltpeter-master of our Lord the King of the French, in the parish of St. Saturnin, 53 years old.

L. The honest man Robert Touchet, meat-carver or potager of the late Louis XI, King of the French, and now chief cook of Louis XII, also King of the French and the present king, in the

parish of the Holy Cross, 60 years old.

LI. The honorable man Pierre Proust, merchant of Tours, in the parish of St. Denis, 51 years old, examined on August 27.

LII. The honorable woman Catherine Ayrolde, widow of the late Master Jean Paulimier, while he lived a Knight of the armed militia, and President of the Senate of the Parlement of Grenoble, 57 years old, examined on the 28th of August.

LIII. The venerable Lord Stephen Lancea, Priest, Rector of the parish church of St. Michael de la Gochella in the diocese of Ferrara, originating from the Province of Calabria and the place of Paola, passing through the city of Tours (while returning from his pilgrimage to St. James at Compostella), 50 years old, examined on the last day of August.

LIV. The noble man Patrick Loquebourg, of the guard of our Lord the King of the French, and now his Pensioner, dwelling in the parish of Mirreyo in the diocese of Tours, 40 years old, examined on September 2, as also

LV. The noble woman, the Damsel Louise Poupillart, wife of the noble man Felix Martel, attendant of the chamber of our Lord the King of the French, dwelling in the place of Plessis-du-Parc, 30 years old.

LVI. The honest woman Marie, wife of Pasquerius Bovilliau, fountain-keeper of our Lord the King of the French in the place of Plessis-du-Parc, 60 years old.

LVII. The honorable and learned man Master William Sireau, Licentiate in Laws, Judge, and general Lieutenant of the worthy Bailiff of Tours, in the parish of St. Peter of the Maidens, 43 years old, examined on September 7.

PART I.

Excerpts of the depositions concerning the Saint's journey into France, and his austerity and sanctity of life there.

[6] King Louis, having heard of the sanctity of Francis, The 41st witness deposes, that it is about thirty years, (he being in the service of the late most illustrious Prince Louis XI, King of the French) since he learned from the report of a certain Couple, merchant of Naples, that in the parts of Naples there was a certain man of sanctity or of holy life, who performed many miracles; and that this man's wife, by her prayers, as she believed, had received offspring by him. And because the late King greatly desired to recover a perfect and holy man, the witness who speaks related the aforesaid to the same King. On account of which the same late King afterwards had conversation with the said Couple, and in the course of time sent legates to the parts of Naples, and among the rest Guinot de Bousiere, the King's Master of the House, to lead and conduct, if it were possible, the said upright man; which the same de Bousiere indeed did.

[7] The 5th witness deposes that, he being of the guard of the Most Illustrious Prince Louis XI, King of France, he sends legates to lead him into France, in the company of the late Guinot de Busiere, Master of the House of the said King Louis, and of very many others (it is about thirty years ago and more), he went to the parts of Sicily and Calabria by command of the said King, to bring the late Brother Francis of Paola to the parts of France. Whom, together with a certain Brother his companion, they found in a certain place of the Duchy of Calabria, namely in a certain little house, set far apart from inhabitants and other houses, and built in the manner of a hermitage; and they asked him to be willing to betake himself to the parts of France and to the said King Louis. Which deponent, together with the other Ambassadors sent by the said King Louis, remained for six or seven months in the said Duchy and in the Kingdom of Naples, before they obtained the consent of the said Brother Francis. During which time, having been persuaded to go through the King of Naples and the Pope, they went to Our Most Holy Lord the Pope then existing, and to the King of Naples, and besought them and each of them respectively on the part of the said King Louis, that they should be willing and deign to send the said Brother Francis of Paola to the said King and to the parts of France. Which Most Holy and the King of Naples sent letters and messengers to the same Brother Francis that he should come to the parts of France. On account of which the said Brother Francis, bound by the prayers and commands of such great men, at length gave his assent: and they led him away from the said place where he was staying, first to the city of Naples; there he arrives; and thence they went to Rome, where Our Most Holy Lord Pope Sixtus IV kindly received the same Brother Francis. Afterwards, having received the benediction of the same Most Holy Father, they set out on the journey to the parts of France, and embarked by sea at the port of Civitavecchia, and put in at Marseilles: then went to the city of Tours (but the said Francis on foot).

[8] with the greatest joy of the King. The 41st witness further deposes, that after the late King knew of the arrival of the said Francis of Paola at the port of Marseilles, he exulted for joy, giving thanks to God for his arrival. And then the King himself said to the same deponent that he so rejoiced at the arrival of the said Brother Francis that he knew not whether he was in heaven or on earth: afterwards subjoining and saying to the deponent, that because the witness had been the cause of the coming of the said Brother Francis, he wished to recompense him, and that on account of this, the deponent should ask of him whatever he wished. Which deponent replied to this, that he asked nothing else except that the King would cause a certain brother of his, Master Peter de Moreau, to be provided with a Bishopric. Which King indeed replied, that he willingly assented, and that for the vacancies of the same Bishopric he gave him the sum of ten thousand gold crowns.

[9] The 35th witness deposes, that on the first day on which Brother Francis of Paola appeared before the said King in his chamber, he saw that when he had entered the said chamber, by whom, received upon bended knees, the King bent his knees before him, asking a benediction from him, as he perceived. Afterwards the deponent himself saw the said Brother Francis exercising an act of humility in the aforesaid convent, nevertheless he preserves humility: from the fact that he, the deceased, having entered a certain chamber, in which were present three or four of his Religious with the witness himself and certain others; and because on entering he saw a certain man there present standing, he carried to him a certain seat, although some of his Religious were present, whom he could have commanded to bring the same seat.

[10] The 34th witness deposes, that while he was in the retinue or service of the Most Illustrious Prince Louis, the late Louis XI, King of the French, who had caused Brother Francis himself to be brought from Italy to the parts of France; by inquisitive spies sent by the King, he was present on many and repeated occasions when the said late King, wishing to test the life and continence of the said Brother Francis, commanded the now deceased Peter Brizonnet, and others whom he cannot name, that they should secretly visit the place in which the said deceased was, and diligently examine his actions and constancy. Which Brizonnet and others sent by the King reported back to the King that sometimes they had found the said deceased kneeling in prayer, with his eyes raised upward and his hands joined; sometimes standing, lifting his eyes to heaven; sometimes sitting in prayer and contemplation. And then the same late King, with joined hands, because of the constancy of the same deceased, he is always found praying: was seen to praise God for the report made to him. The said deponent also saw the said Brother Francis exhorting the Lady Jeanne of France, daughter of the said late King, and her retinue and the women then with her, and others present, to live well and rightly.

[11] He is praised to the King by the Legate: The 39th witness deposes that he had at another time served in the chamber service of the late King Louis XI of France, at which time Brother Francis of Paola was brought by a certain Guinot de Bousiere, Master of the hospice of the said King, from the parts of Calabria to Plessis-du-Parc, where at that time the said late King had his residence: and he heard the said Guinot de Bousiere relate many praiseworthy things to the aforesaid King concerning the said Brother Francis; whom the King also visited every day.

[12] since he was assiduous in prayer, The 42nd witness deposes that his life consisted in continual prayers or meditations and other pious works, to such a degree that on a certain day the late King Charles VIII of France came to the convent of the said Order near Plessis-du-Parc, and, in order to converse with Brother Francis, ordered him to be summoned to the church of the said convent. Then Fr. Peter Gibert, Corrector of the said Convent, knocked twice or thrice at the door of Brother Francis's cell, using these words: "Ave Maria. Father, the King wishes to speak with you." But Brother Francis made no response whatever, nor did he come out of his cell: and by some of the Religious of the said Convent it was said, and sometimes withdrawn for eight days. that at that time it was eight days since he had come out of the said cell, nor had been seen by anyone. Which being reported to the King, he came to the door of the aforesaid cell, and, in order to speak with Brother Francis, knocked at the door, using the aforesaid words: "Ave Maria. Father, I come to speak with you." But he neither answered nor came out. Which the King and those standing with him seeing, and fearing that he was dead, attempted to force open the door of the said cell. And then Brother Francis, making a sound like a cough, was heard: but he did not come out, nor did he answer or utter any word. For which reason the King withdrew from the said Convent: and it was said then that the said Brother Francis was devoted to contemplation.

[13] The 15th witness deposes that she never saw or knew Brother Francis: but she says indeed she heard at another time from the late Lord Peter Brizonnet, a Knight while he lived, and General Counsellor of the finances of our Lord the King; inasmuch as he had the care of the said late Brother Francis of Paola when he first came to the parts of France, and likewise from Jean Vaillant, son of the deposing witness; that at that time he was using only roots. And this the said Brizonnet said he knew from the report of certain of his servants, he feeds only on roots: to whom he ordered to give the said Brother Francis for his food what he asked for; and that they only supplied him, at his request, with roots. The said Vaillant also said he knew the same, who likewise served the said Brizonnet, from the report of the same servants, because he had been present when the said servants of the aforesaid Brizonnet related the said things to him, namely, that the said Brother Francis sought only roots to be ministered to him.

[14] The 2nd witness deposes, that he knows by the hearing and report of a certain Brother Balthazar of the Order of Minims, by Kings and magnates and Confessor of the late Pope Innocent VIII of good memory, and of the other Friars of the said Order, that the said Brother Francis of Paola came to the parts of France in the time of Louis XI, King of the French, and attending upon him. Which King Louis, and the late Charles VIII, his son and successor in the kingdom of France, and other Magnates, he is honored as a Saint, namely Bishops and Princes, greatly praised the virtues and life of the same Brother Francis of Paola. Who in his time, in the fear of God

and perseverance of prayer, lived soberly and with the greatest austerity of life. He also says he heard from the said Brother Balthazar, that no mortal since the time of Blessed John the Baptist had lived so austere a life: and it was commonly reported before his death, that he ate neither flesh, nor milk products, nor eggs. And he was of such reputation that he was considered by all a Saint.

[15] On account of miracles done in Italy, The 1st witness deposes that he knew Brother Francis by sight and speech (it is fifteen years ago or so), and since that time he has always heard that he was of very praiseworthy fame, and lived a solitary life, indeed with Lenten foods; yet he did not see him eating or drinking. He also heard it said by several Italians, whom however he cannot name, that Brother Francis himself had performed many miracles by his prayers in the parts of Calabria, whence he was said to come: but he does not know what miracles. He moreover deposes that for twelve years he has many times seen the said Brother Francis of Paola in his convent of Minims near Plessis-du-Parc and near this town of Tours: and the great austerity of his life. with whom he very often spoke, and whom he saw most devout in word and example, and full of devout and divine exhortations, as he showed by words and deeds: and he was reputed by all to live with such austerity, that no mortal (to the knowledge of the witness speaking) at that time lived thus. It was also commonly said, that many of this kingdom of France had obtained from the Lord by his prayers things which they could not otherwise have obtained and could not obtain.

[16] The 3rd witness deposes, that he at another time also entered his little cell, and saw there only a pallet, he sleeps hard, furnished with vine-cutting for a mattress: which vine-cutting the deceased covered with a coarse cloth, commonly called canivatz. He also said that he had many times heard from the Friars of the said convent, he eats very sparingly: that he ate only when nature compelled him to eat, and not otherwise: and furthermore, that while they served him bread and water, sometimes he would cease for three days to eat and drink: and this they said they knew, because after three days had passed they still found the bread and water which they had ministered to him.

The 6th witness deposes that he heard that after the death of the Most Illustrious Prince King Charles VIII, the said Brother Francis made no use at all of wine.

The 42nd witness deposes that he first knew Brother Francis of Paola, he chiefly uses beans. twenty-two years ago from the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, at which time he received the habit of the Order of Minims at his hands. Being questioned about the food and drink which Brother Francis used, he deposes, that beans were ministered to him, which he placed in water that they might be soaked, then pounded them in a mortar, and fed on these with water alone.

[17] Jeanne, the 14th witness, deposes that she saw certain pots or earthen vessels, he drinks only rainwater, which the said deceased placed under the eaves (as also the witness herself saw, setting them there, namely to collect the water of those eaves); and it was said that he used only such water for his drink, not however the water of the fountain existing in the said convent. And she knew Brother Francis himself to be humble and kind, and very solitary. Particularly the deposing witness saw and perceived, that when he saw women, he suddenly fled from their sight, in such a way that it could scarcely be known where he had withdrawn himself. The deponent knew the said Brother Francis from the time when he came to the parts of France, he flees the company of women, because her husband, who then was and still is a locksmith, had the charge of making ironwork, namely locks, keys and other things necessary, for the enclosure of the convent of the said Brother Francis, and in his time—first in the lower courtyard of Plessis-du-Parc near Tours, and then built outside the walls of the same park: for because of this matter he often went there, and did so, until the death of the said Brother Francis.

[18] The 36th witness deposes that he has known Brother Francis for twenty-seven or twenty-eight years, at which time he received the habit of the Order of Minims at Plessis-du-Parc at the hands of Brother Francis himself, and afterwards made his profession to him: from which time, by command of the same Brother Francis, he betook himself to the parts of Italy and Spain, and always remained there, except that at intervals of time he dwelt in the convent of the Friars Minim near Tours and also at Amboise, for the space of seven or eight years, with the said Brother Francis, for which reason he knew his life and conduct. Who indeed was greatly intent on the exhortation of the Brothers, and for the rest lived a holy, devout and salutary life: he often leaves the food set before him untouched: and he was abstinent, very sparing in food and drink; namely for nourishment he used a little bread and wine, as well as herbs and oil, and sometimes legumes of peas and beans, prepared by his own art and not by another; and as was commonly said, he ate once a day toward evening. But because the said Brother Francis was for the most part shut up in his cell, the said deponent cannot depose more certainly concerning his life, except that he often knew, that when bread and wine were ministered to the deceased by the Brothers and fellow-religious of the said convent, they were very often found in the same quantity in which they had been ministered, that is, without his having taken or consumed anything of that bread and wine. He acts patiently and prudently in adversity: He also knew the said Brother Francis to be very patient, in and concerning that which sometimes of some sinister was reported to him from other Convents of the said Order by the Brothers of those Convents: for sometimes he took it grievously with changed countenance, and nevertheless provided for the same matter charitably, and exhorted the Brothers to the observance of the Rule and Religion. He slept on straw, and used a hair-shirt. On certain days he came out of his cell, and heard Mass humbly and devoutly in the church of the said Convent: and on certain days he also did not come out, but remained in it. Sometimes after illnesses by which he had been worn down, he made use of fish, and not otherwise.

[19] He leads those who deal with him to good living, The 2nd witness deposes, that for three or four years before the death of Brother Francis, he was engaged in his work as a stonemason on the construction of part of the building or houses of the Convent of Minims near Plessis-du-Parc, together with the late Jean Bussiere, also a stonemason: and he recalls that the said Bussiere often told him that from the time he had begun to work in the said convent he had advanced much in goods, as he believed, by the prayers of the said Brother Francis: because when the said Bussiere, as he said, had begun to work there, he was very young and given to levity; on which account the said deceased had exhorted him that he should be willing to lead his life in the fear of God. And for this reason the said Bussiere, who has become rich and powerful, used to say that he had all his goods through the help and counsel of the said Francis of Paola.

He freely chastises offenders, The 30th witness deposes that he saw and knew the said Brother Francis (it is fourteen or fifteen years ago), who then rebuked him, because he was conducting himself badly both toward God and toward his parents: then he had words with the deponent himself exhorting him to good, namely to serve God and to obey his parents, and to pray for them and also for the dead.

[20] Renata, the 16th witness, deposes that she knew and saw the said Brother Francis in the aforesaid convent, who spoke words of exhortation and divine words to the deponent and her company, leading to humility and charity, as she understood through an interpreter. She also saw him hearing Mass in the said convent humbly and most devoutly: in whom she perceived a sign of humility from this, that when the pax was offered to him to be kissed, he yields everywhere to Priests, he delayed kissing it until it should first be kissed by a certain Fr. Francis Binet, a religious of the same Religion, because he was a Priest. Jeanne, the 17th witness, deposes that she had long known the said Brother Francis and had seen him often, and had often spoken with him: especially because the deponent's husband had and has properties adjoining the said Convent; indeed, the Convent itself was built on part of the properties of the same husband. Which Brother Francis always had charitable words and exhortations to the observance of the precepts of the Decalogue with the deponent: namely he exhorted her to serve God, to obey her husband, and to lead her children in the good.

[21] The 38th witness, professed for eighteen years in the convent of Minims near Plessis-du-Parc, Mass religiously heard and dwelling there for the most part, for which reason he knew the life and conversation of Brother Francis, deposes that he dwelt alone in a certain little house within the enclosures of the said convent, and at the dawn of day very often heard Mass humbly and devoutly. Sometimes, after such a Mass, he entered his little house or cell, and that day he was not seen further. And sometimes, He devotes the whole day to manual labor: according to the quality of the season, he betook himself to the garden, with a spade or other instruments fit for digging, and with these dug the earth with his own hands the whole day. And when he was weary, he withdrew to a certain little hut there, made in the manner of a half-oven, its entrance set toward the sun and covered with willow branches and protected with crosses; and secretly in the evening he returned to his cell, taking care that he should be seen by no one. He intensely venerates Priests, Sometimes also in the church, from the first Mass to the last celebrated in it, he remained: and he had the greatest reverence for the divine offices, and took care that all things should be done rightly and devoutly and becomingly. He also greatly venerated the Priests: nor would he kiss the Pax, which was customarily given to those present in the church, before the Priests, unless compelled. He usefully instructs the Brothers, On the greater solemnities he gathered the Brothers; and led them by divine words and holy exhortations to lead and observe a life according to God and the religious state: so that after the discourse delivered by him, he dismissed the Brothers consoled, giving to each the kiss of peace as a sign of charity, and a general absolution and benediction with certain injunctions. He deposes moreover that he was humble and kind in his deeds: in rebuke however sometimes stern: yet he dealt most mildly with delinquent Brothers. What he was in correcting offenders It was also said in the said convent, that he suffered many things from certain Brothers who resisted observing his life, and, against his will, sought to lead a more relaxed life. He moreover deposes that he was of such humility, that he exposed himself to cleaning the garments of the Brothers, and would permit his own to be cleaned by no one but himself. He slept on straw laid upon wood, with a rope hanging above, that he might more easily rise. How sparing of sleep, Yet it was believed that he slept little, because the brightness of light was seen through the whole night in his cell

was seen to appear. He was also several times seen, after the Friars had withdrawn, to inspect the doors of the convent to see if they were shut: nor would he allow the stair or staircase to be left open; but that they might not use it by night, he caused it to be chained.

[22] How assiduous in prayer. The 43rd witness deposes, that he likewise many times went, during the lifetime of Brother Francis, to his convent of Ave Maria near Plessis-du-Parc to speak with him concerning certain matters of the deponent himself: but he could not have words with him, because at that time he was devoted to prayer and contemplation, as was reported to the deposing witness by the Brothers of the said convent. The 48th witness deposes, that (it is now nine years or so) a certain Jean le Maistre, son of the said deponent, received the habit of the Order from Brother Francis, The father angered against him for his son who gave it to the same Jean, without the deponent's knowledge. Which the deposing witness took somewhat ill; not because his said son had entered the Religion, but because he had received the habit without his knowledge or consultation: because he feared lest he should not be able to bear the austerity of the Religion. And for this cause the deponent went to Brother Francis, He easily placates. and chided him for the reason on account of which he had admitted the said Jean his son to the state or habit of his Religion without consulting the deponent. From whom he then received good and salutary consolation, and so departed from him glad, and the same deponent still rejoices over his son's entry into the aforesaid Order. While others dine he remains in the church, He deposes further that at another time he was present in the church of the said Convent when the service had ended, and saw that Brother Francis sent his Brothers to dine, and alone remained in the church, and put back the ornaments of the said church in their places: thence he entered his cell, into which he never permitted women to enter. He moreover deposes that for the construction of Brother Francis's convent, in the place in which it now is, the late King Charles VIII ordered the site of the said Convent to be bought and caused it to be paid for from the present deponent: He carefully takes care that each be given his due. which was done. And nevertheless the said deceased, knowing that the said ground had been and belonged to the said deponent, and fearing that he might not have been satisfied for it, sent to seek him, and asked him whether he had been satisfied or not, to the end (as he said) of procuring that satisfaction should be made to the deponent if it had not been done.

ANNOTATIONS.

PART II.

The miracles performed among the French by St. Francis while he was living.

[23] By candles blessed by the Saint Jean Gandinis, the 4th witness, deposes that he often received some Brothers of the convent of Plessis in his house, in which at that time he was dwelling, and received from them certain candles, blessed, as they said, by Brother Francis. He dwelt on the island commonly called de Brehemont, by the river Loire, near Langeais. Now at a certain time in the said place there arose a certain violent exhalation from heaven, in such a way that such a wind and exhalation drew up a great quantity of the said river, together with a portion of a certain house, and certain rigging of a certain boat, and certain baskets in that boat, and carried them through the air. Which the said witness seeing, A violent whirlwind is repelled, and others standing with him near his house, being terrified with greatest fear, fearing lest by such an impetus his house should fall, he recalled to memory that the Friars Minim had given him the aforesaid candles. Immediately therefore, to avoid the danger of death and the loss of his goods, he took care to light them: and at once such an impetus and exhalation, which existed, as it seemed, near the deponent's house, vanished. He moreover deposes that when pregnant women, Women in childbirth are helped: dwelling in those parts and laboring in childbirth, were able to recover those candles (as he learned from the report of his wife), they were immediately delivered.

[24] A fever is cured by herbs sent by him: Emericus Bernardeau, the 6th witness, deposes that while Brother Francis was alive, the deponent was afflicted with continuous fever: during which time he was visited by two Brothers of the said Convent, one of whom was called Fr. Roland of Chaumillon, then Corrector of the said Convent: to whom the said deponent besought that he would commend him to the prayers of Brother Francis. Afterwards the said Chaumillon returned with his Brother to visit the said deponent, to whom he presented on behalf of Brother Francis a small bundle of wild herbs, and told him that the said Brother Francis commended himself to him, and enjoined him, that the Lord should be his helper, and that he should trust in Him. In which words the deponent trusted, and was afterwards made well.

[25] Catherine Bergerelle, the 10th witness, deposes that she heard it said by Jeanne, wife of the late Martin Dolin, Twice having suffered miscarriage, that she had brought forth two infants, whom by her husband she had conceived, as miscarriages, being pressed with great labors and great infirmity. But as time went on, she was made pregnant again; on which account, fearing lest, as before, it might happen to her, she came to the same deponent, and asked her that she should be willing to lead her to Brother Francis, then still living; and to ask him that he should be willing to pour forth prayers to God for her, that the infant which she bore in her womb might come to the sacred sacrament of baptism. And being commended to the Saint, Which the deposing witness did, and led her with her husband to the said Brother Francis, laid the aforesaid before him, and kindly begged that he would beseech God for her. Who with devout and consoling words commanded that while she labored in childbirth, she should send to him, that he might beseech God for her to the best of his ability. And in course of time the said woman, being held by the illness of childbirth, after receiving candles from the said Brother and lighting one of them, at once brought forth the infant alive: when his candle was lit, as the deposing witness heard from the report of trustworthy persons, though she was not herself present at the birth. Which infant still lives. But the said Jeanne, the 12th witness, narrating the same things adds, that when the said candle was diminished to its middle, she herself brought forth her infant into the light, and afterwards had another infant, in whose childbirth she endured no such danger, either in kind or degree, as before she had commended herself to the prayers of Brother Francis; and she believes that she was greatly relieved in this by the prayers of the said Brother Francis. Being asked about the dangers which she had before suffered, She gives birth without danger, she deposes that in her two preceding childbirths, by the art and industry of the surgeons and not otherwise, she had borne her infants limb by limb.

[26] Jeanne Bonhomme, the 14th witness, deposes that she has long performed the office of midwife, both during the lifetime of the said Brother Francis and after his death, As also several others: and for this reason she was present at the childbirths of many women, who were in the greatest danger, and who, as soon as they commended themselves to God and to the prayers of the said Brother Francis, to be delivered from childbirth, obtained from the Lord what they had asked: and especially when wax candles, blessed by the same Brother Francis, had been lit in the chamber itself. And she particularly deposes that on Good Friday of the year preceding the death of Brother Francis, while the deposing witness was in the childbirth of a certain Perina, wife of Janot de Chaulx, linen-maker of our Most Serene Lady the Queen; Another commended to him, because she had stood there for one day and one night until about the fifth hour of the evening, to receive the offspring of the said Perina, and had not heard the divine office that day; the said Perina earnestly besought her to go to the convent of Brother Francis, and to commend the said Perina to God and to the prayers of the same Brother Francis: which she did. And she, having arrived there, requested Brother Francis Binet, She gives birth at the very time he had said. to commend the said Perina to God and to the prayers of the said Brother Francis. And because of this the same Binet withdrew from the deponent, and a little later returned to her, and told her that Brother Francis commanded her to return quickly to the said Perina, adding that the same Perina was about to bring forth within the space of one hour: which was also true.

[27] Jeanne Mesnaige, the 17th witness, deposes, Another delivered from a desperate childbirth, that in the year of the Lord 1503, on Thursday after Easter, she began to labor in the sickness of childbirth, in which on that day and the following Friday she suffered much, so much so that the surgeons and others standing by despaired of her safety, nor was she able in any way to bring forth her offspring. On which account, on the following Saturday at the fourth hour of the morning, some of her nearest friends went to Brother Francis in his convent, and besought him to pray God for her (as they afterwards related to the deponent) who said to them, that he would pray for her, and they should trust in the Lord, and that she would escape from such danger. But she, on the same day about the seventh hour of the morning, gave birth to an infant, and escaped the danger of death.

[28] Also from a troublesome stone, He moreover deposes that (it is eight years ago or so) a certain colic pain came upon the deponent, very acute, in such a way that she could obtain no remedy from the physicians, and for two days and two nights remained without emission of water from her body. In such a state and in such danger, she sent to Brother Francis a certain nephew of hers, named Alan, and caused him to beseech him to pray God for her. Who gave one wax candle with one pair of Paternosters to the said nephew, to be delivered to the deponent; and ordered him that he should either say the same Paternosters or give them to be said to her nearest relative. Who having received them, began to say them, but could not say them to the end; on which account he left them to be said by his mother, who was bringing aid to him: and a little later she passed from her body a stone the size of an almond nut, and thereafter was well. And from the danger of paralysis. Moreover she deposes,

that in the same year, around the feast of St. Catherine, she was held by such an infirmity, that she could not help herself with her limbs, except with her head, and she feared paralysis: on which account she caused Brother Francis to be asked by a certain messenger, that he would deign to beseech the Lord for her, and she ordered a Mass in honor of the Holy Trinity to be celebrated in the convent of the said Brother. Which messenger on his return said to the deponent, that the said Brother Francis commanded him that he had caused his Brothers to be exhorted to pray for her. And that same day, the hour not yet having passed, she began to be better: and by the gift of God, in the course of time she recovered. In her other necessities also she commended herself to the Lord and to the prayers of the Saints, especially of the said Brother Francis, and was well.

[29] He foretells to someone that his daughter Marie, widow of André Ligier, the 20th witness, deposes that five or six years before the death of Brother Francis she had a certain daughter, about six years of age, who for the space of a year or so had been languishing, in such a way that the witness present did not know what remedy to apply for the recovery of her health. Seeing this, and trusting in the prayers of the said Brother Francis, she asked certain Brothers, Bertus and Pierre le Breton, that they would commend the said daughter of hers to his prayers: which they did. But he replied, as the said Brothers reported to her, that they should report to the witness on the morrow, that the Lord wished to have the said daughter of hers with Him, and on that day would render her soul to Him, and for this she should give thanks: and on that day the deponent's daughter passed to the Lord. She moreover deposes that (it has been twelve years on the day of the Ascension of the Lord just passed) a certain aunt of the deposing witness, And aunt were about to die: named Jeanne Roberde, being held by a grave infirmity, because Brother Francis had good familiarity with the deponent, she intimated to the said Brother Francis the infirmity of the said aunt of hers. Who on the following Friday sent two of the Brothers of his convent to visit her, as they indeed visited her, and thence returned to the said convent. And on the same Friday they returned to the house of the said Roberde, and reported to the deponent on behalf of Brother Francis, that she should render her will conformable to the divine will, and that our Lord Jesus Christ would call the soul of the said la Roberde from her body on the following Sunday: as was done.

[30] A son is obtained for a childless woman: Oliva, the 21st witness, deposes that it will be thirteen years, between the feasts of All Saints and of the Lord's Nativity next to come, that whereas the deposing witness had before borne an infant which had died in being born, and greatly desired to receive another infant from her husband; because she trusted in God and in the prayers of the said Brother Francis, she asked a certain Brother Bertus, then a religious of the same convent, that he would seek out Brother Francis himself to pray for her, to the end that she might conceive infants by her husband. Which Brother Bertus afterwards reported to the deposing witness, that the said Brother Francis, whom he had asked for her, had replied to him, that the witness herself would obtain what she had asked, provided she observed the precepts of the Decalogue. And in fact within the space of one month, from the time of the said report, having been made pregnant, she afterwards bore a son.

[31] She moreover deposes that at a certain time afterwards, namely seven years ago or so, a certain woman, And another who had suffered a flow of blood the wife of William Chevrest alias le Bourbonnois, furrier of Tours, being pregnant (it was six months), was held by a grave illness, in such a way that by the flow of blood which she suffered, she was losing nearly all her blood. And then the deposing witness, her neighbor, being present at her illness, recalled a certain wax candle (which Brother Francis had sent to her, when he first knew that she was pregnant with her second son, whom, as aforesaid, she bore in health): she went to fetch the wax candle, existing in her house, and lit it in the chamber of the said woman, and affixed it to the wall. And because she also recalled, that when a certain woman had been in childbirth, and in her chamber one of the candles of the said Brother Francis had been lit, Easy childbirth. the said Brother Francis had ordained that five Paternosters with as many Ave Marias be devoutly said; the deposing witness began to say five Paternosters and five Ave Marias, praying for the said woman and her offspring about to be born: and then, before those were completed, the said woman entered the pangs of childbirth, and within half an hour bore an infant, whom the midwife there present baptized. She further deposes that she sold in her house, Rosaries blessed by the Saint are sought by many. at many and various times, to the Brothers of the said convent many wooden pairs of Paternosters, even to the value and estimation of a hundred livres, to be blessed and distributed by the said Brother Francis, because Christ's faithful commonly desired to have them: of which she was selling a hundred for only four deniers.

[32] Guillelma Binet, the 26th witness, deposes that she had many times through the hands of her brother, Francis Binet, a Brother of the said Order, received wax candles, blessed (as he himself said) by the said Brother Francis of Paola, from whom the deponent also received the information that if they were lit in the childbirth of women, they would immediately be delivered. And afterwards the deponent herself, being at the childbirth of Jeanne, wife of Jean Beraudeau, her elder daughter, and of Adeneta, now wife of Victor le Ber, also her daughter, and of other women, caused some of the said candles to be lit, Bread blessed by the same and when one or other of them had been consumed, those women were delivered from childbirth. She moreover deposes that the said Brother Francis Binet had given her and the deponent's mother a loaf of bread, blessed (as he asserted) by Brother Francis: which mother of the deponent kept it until her death: and after her death (it is now eight years) the deponent herself asked from her other co-heirs that the said loaf be given to her, and obtained it: After eight years is produced fresh. which she has kept from that time, and now keeps: and she exhibited it before us the subdelegated Commissioners. Which we saw and handled, to the quantity of a loaf of two deniers in the parts of Tours: and we found it not vitiated nor corrupted, but so entire as if it had been baked two days ago. And the deponent assures us, that she has kept the said loaf under lock from the time of the death of her mother, and has given the keeping of it to no one.

[33] The Saint often cures fevers, Maturinus Chabrion, the 27th witness, deposes, that on various occasions he was held by the sickness of fevers and other infirmities or adversities, both while Brother Francis was living and after his death; and at length by his prayers and consolations was, as he believes, cured and consoled from them. He deposes further that the late Master Pierre du Ban, dwelling at Tours, in second marriage had wedded a certain Guillona Haulsepre, previously the wife of the late Matthew Amys, who had stood with her for the space of thirteen years without offspring, and she with the said deceased du Ban also remained for some time without offspring. Which the said Master Pierre seeing, being accompanied by the late Master Matthew Vaillandi, Canon of Tours, He promises offspring to a sterile marriage, formerly secretary of our Most Holy Lord Pope Julius II while he was in the dignity of the Cardinalate, and by the said Guillona his wife, and in the presence of the deponent and of several other notable persons, went to the Convent of the Friars Minim of Tours, in which the said Brother Francis was then living; and the said du Ban kindly and humbly besought the said Brother Francis through the organ of the aforesaid Vaillandi, that he would beseech the Lord that he might deign to grant offspring to him and his wife. Which Brother Francis replied to them, that they ought not to desire offspring except to the praise of God: that it was so, they asserted, that they were wishing it to be done and asked. And then the said Brother Francis exhorted them to beseech the Lord; that, if it were fitting for the salvation of their souls, they might be able to obtain it. Afterwards the wife of the said du Ban was made pregnant, and thereupon bore a son, whom the deponent saw: and he many times heard it said by the said Guillona, that she believed that she had had that son by the prayers and merits of the said Brother Francis, because she had never had any infant. He moreover deposes, He foretells future things. that the said Brother Francis foretold to the deponent many things to come, which afterwards came to pass: and among others, that he would be married, although at that time and before he had had no disposition nor will to be joined in matrimony: and in truth he took a wife.

[34] Martina Fichepain, the 29th witness, deposes that she knew by sight and conversation Brother Francis (it is eighteen years ago), first in the convent of Amboise, and then many times in the convent near this city, because she went there under pretext of Indulgences, granted in favor of the Order of Minims to the faithful truly penitent, that she might obtain remission of her sins. She also deposes that a little before the said time of eighteen years, Suffering from a fistula in her side for four years, the said deponent, who had previously been held for the space of four years by a certain disease, commonly called fistula, in one of her sides (from which she could not be cured by physicians or surgeons, but rather they had told her that she would scarcely or never recover from the said disease); she being one day in the house of the late Peter l'Escart, alias Mon-joye, her mother's husband, located in this town of Tours, there came there two of the Brothers of the convent of the Friars Minim near Plessis-du-Parc, in which the said Brother Francis was then residing, one of whom was called Brother James; and this in order that they might visit the said Peter l'Escart, also held by infirmity, and give him consolation, which they did. Afterwards when they saw the deponent languishing from the aforesaid disease of fistula, they asked l'Escart himself or a certain aunt of the deponent there present, what infirmity the deponent was suffering. Which l'Escart or the said aunt replied, being commended to the Saint that she had suffered or was suffering a fistula disease in one of her sides, for about four years; because no remedy had been found for the said disease.

[35] Then those Brothers, or one of them, said that it would be good to have counsel on this from Brother Francis. Whom the said l'Escart and the deponent's aunt, and likewise the deponent's mother, in the lower chamber of the said house then also held by infirmity, requested and asked, that they would commend the deponent to God and to the prayers of the said Brother Francis for the health of her said disease. And within a few days the said Brother Francis commanded the deponent's aunt, that she should go to him: which she did. And on her return she reported to the deponent, that the words

which she had had with the said Brother Francis concerning the deponent and her disease: who had given her charge, that she should say to the deponent, that she should render devout service to the Lord, and observe His commandments, and doing this she would be well of her said infirmity. And about eight days later, the said Brother James and a certain other Brother of the said Order came to the house of the said l'Escart and of the deponent's mother, Being brought to him, and reported on behalf of Brother Francis, that the deposing witness should be brought to him. And for this reason the said aunt led her to the convent of the Minims to the said Brother Francis: with whom Brother Francis himself spoke, and said to her (as she heard from the report of Brother James there present at the time) that the said disease had come upon the witness, He understands the cause of the disease because she had not properly obeyed her father and mother, or had not shown them the honor and obedience otherwise due: but that she should have trust in the Lord, and would be healed of her said disease. Afterwards he ordered all and every medicament that had been applied to the said disease to be removed, And she is healed in an easy manner: ordaining that in their place a hempen or linen cloth, soaked in honey or rose oil, should be applied, and with the Most High's favor she would attain health: which was also done by the deponent, who immediately began to be well, and after a few days recovered full health of the said disease. She also deposes that afterwards, being in her childbirths and necessities, she commended herself to God and to the prayers of Brother Francis, and that from this she was well.

[36] Jean l'Escart, the 30th witness, deposes that a little before he first saw Brother Francis (it is fourteen or fifteen years ago) he was held by a grave swelling, Believed to suffer from the disease of scrofula, which he was suffering in the lower part of his right cheek around the throat; and he was gravely afflicted, because it was not known what kind of disease it was: for some surgeons said the disease was of scrofula or the king's evil, others not. And indeed on a certain day around that time (because the late Charles VIII, King of venerable memory, had betaken himself to the church of the Most Blessed Martin of Tours, to heal there those held by the disease of scrofula or the king's evil) the deponent witness went to the same church, and entered the place of the sacristy of the same church, with several others, that he might be freed from his said disease: because he believed it to be the disease of scrofula. And there the said King Charles, being present, touched his disease, as also that of others who were held by the said disease, and cured them: And having in vain tried the King's hand, but the deponent he did not cure. Which a certain aunt of his, called la Marzonne, knowing, said afterwards, that it would be good for the deponent to be commended to God and to the prayers of Brother Francis; adding that by doing this she believed he would recover his health, just as Martina Fichepain his sister, the witness examined above, had been cured of the disease of fistula: which was also done. The deponent was led to the said Brother Francis in the convent situated near Plessis-du-Parc; who had words with the deponent, and enjoined him that every Friday or Saturday of the year he should fast, and that on certain days of the week, for up to nine days, he should eat three mouthfuls of certain herbs while fasting, He is healed by the Saint: which he then named, of which nor of the aforesaid days (because he was then still young) he does not remember: and likewise he enjoined that the same witness should on certain days (which he also does not remember) in honor of the five wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ, with hands elevated in the manner of a crucified man and knees bent, say the prayer of the angelic salutation: which he did, and through this (as he firmly believes) before the space of one month he perceived that his said disease, unknown to the physicians and surgeons, had been healed.

[37] Another receives relief from a hidden pain. Catherine Rusee, the 33rd witness, deposes, that (it is now seven years and more) the deponent was afflicted with a vehement weariness, for a certain cause which she refrained from declaring. And at that time on a certain day she went to Brother Francis in the said convent, to ask that he deign to beseech the Lord, that from such weariness, if it were fitting for her salvation, she might be freed: and while speaking with him, who was regarding her with compassion, she felt a certain relief, and through a certain interpreter there present she understood the said Brother Francis to say, that by trusting in the Lord, the deponent would be freed from such weariness: which afterwards was done: and she believes she obtained this from the Lord by the prayers of the said Brother Francis.

[38] A storm is calmed by the Saint's candle, Fr. Martin de la Haye, the 36th witness, deposes that he heard from a certain Jean Bostayno, dwelling at Marseilles, the master of a certain ship called La Magdalene, that Brother Francis had given him a certain wax candle: and he, being placed in grave danger on account of a storm in the sea of Sicily, when he was sailing near the Roman coast; despairing utterly of his safety and that of his said ship, commended himself to God and to the prayers of Brother Francis, as best he could humbly, and cast the said wax candle into the sea: and immediately the storm at sea ceased, and he escaped unharmed.

[39] He moreover deposes that he heard it said by the now Brother Gregory de Vico, a Neapolitan, that in the time of Charles VIII he exercised the art of war in the Duchy of Brittany under the militia of the said King, and was present at the battle commonly called St. Aubin du Cormier. And Gregory himself being in the said battle, And the blow of a stone is harmlessly received. had a wax candle which he had received as a gift from the said Brother Francis, and which he had placed under his helmet, in the hope of avoiding the danger of death. Then it happened that, by the force and impact of a stone from a certain engine of war or artillery, the same Gregory was struck through the head: yet he escaped unhurt: and afterwards he came to the convent of the Friars Minim near Tours, and despising and leaving the world, his horse, and all he had, received the habit of the said Order there, and thereafter lived religiously and commendably in the same convent, and still lives.

[40] He deposes further, that it is now twenty years, the deponent himself was in the city of Genoa with a certain Brother of the said Order named Roger, of one who rather freely usurped boots with whom from the said city to the parts of Naples he betook himself. Which Brother Roger, having put off the Order's footwear (as for the covering of his legs), took on a covering of the same in the form of boots. Which when it was reported to Brother Francis (as the deponent heard it said by the Brothers), the same Brother Francis taking it ill, said, that the fire of Blessed Anthony would burn the legs of the same Brother Roger. Afterwards when they had returned from the Neapolitan parts to the city of Genoa, on the coming of the Nativity of the Lord of that year, after the chanting of Matins, The Saint foretells the punishment, a vehement disease came upon the same Brother Roger in one of his legs: which until the feast of St. Anthony, which is celebrated in the month of January, tormented the said Brother Roger, in such a way that on that same day he closed his last day: and then the said deponent returned to the Convent near Tours, and reported the death of Brother Roger to the said Brother Francis: who replied to the same witness, and indicates the death to his own, though absent: that he already knew of the said death before. Afterwards when the deponent was recounting the same death to the Friars of the said convent, from them he heard and received, that the said Brother Francis on the feast day of St. Anthony had exhorted the Brothers of his convent, that they should beseech the Lord for the soul of the said Brother Roger, then existing in necessity, as he said.

[41] Alexius d'Argouges, the 37th witness, deposes that he knew Brother Francis for twenty-seven or eight years, He restores a mad woman to sound mind: and that about that time he saw in the city of Tours a certain young woman, deprived of her senses and sometimes showing signs of foolishness: whom afterwards the deponent saw sane in mind; and he asked her how she had recovered her mind and health. Who replied, that she had gone to Brother Francis of Paola and his convent, and had brought back from him a piece of blessed white bread, and had eaten of it, and thereafter had been sane and restored to her senses: and afterwards he did not see her deprived of her senses.

[42] Fr. Leonard Barbier, the 38th witness, deposes, that he saw in the oft-mentioned convent a young novice, A novice, an energumen and unlettered, named William Cucumelle, held by a grave infirmity, and, as it was believed, vexed by a demon, foaming, and showing signs and gestures with his fingers. Which the Brothers standing there seeing, being sad for such a case, one of them, named Gregory de Vico, went to the cell of Brother Francis, to beseech him that he would be willing to visit the said novice. Which he at first declined to do, exhorting Brother Gregory that they should do for the said novice all that they could. At length, notwithstanding these things, being overcome by the prayers of the said Brother Gregory, he went to the dormitory of the convent, and to the chamber where the said novice was: and the door being opened, looking in at the young man, he deferred entering the same little chamber where he lay, diligently looking around his bed on every side. Afterwards, having already placed one foot into the said cell, then drawing it back, and successively entering and returning as if he feared to enter, yet speaking Latin, at length he entered. And the deposing witness saw the said Brother Francis raising his girdle only of the color of his habit, as if he wished to apply it to the neck of the said novice. And immediately, the door of the said little chamber being shut, the oft-mentioned Brother Francis, with the Venerable Father Germanus Lyonnet, Minister General of the said Order, assisting him, remained in the same with the said novice: where for some time the same Brother Francis and Lyonnet stood, the Saint, equally unlettered, understands, while the deponent and certain other Brothers standing at the door heard and understood the said novice, although unlettered, speaking words in the Latin tongue and other languages various and unknown, as also the said Brother Francis replying to him, and having words with the same novice. In which discussions the same Brother Francis and the novice stood for an hour or so. And he delivers him. And thereafter the said novice was made sane and delivered, in such a way that on the following day he betook himself to the church and to the congregation of the Brothers, as he had been accustomed, and conversed with them.

[43] He moreover deposes that from the time he made his dwelling in the said convent, He sends a sick Religious into his own country, he was held for a year or so by a certain weakness of stomach, and often on account of this used medicaments, and nevertheless could not be cured of such infirmity. But at length there came to the said convent a certain brother of the deponent, a secular, who asked of the said Brother Francis that the deponent, then in the infirmary

being there and makes him return well, together with a certain other brother of his, also a full brother, a novice of the said Order, to be given leave and dispatched to the parts of his nativity (namely, the Duchy of Alençon, Diocese of Sées), for the purpose of settling (as he said) suits and contentions existing among the rest of their brothers concerning the paternal inheritance. And indeed Brother Francis gave leave to the said deponent and his other Brother, and obediently dispatched them to the said parts. The deponent, however, was at that time so weak that he could scarcely walk and only with the greatest difficulty; and yet, peace having been made among the brothers, he returned to the same convent sound and unharmed, and he believes that he recovered this soundness from the Lord through the prayers of the said Brother Francis.

[44] Patrick Binet, the 39th witness, deposes that within the last fifteen years, that Brother Francis Binet was dangerously ill, Brother Francis Binet, then and now a Religious of the Order of Minims and most recently General, brother of the said deponent himself, was detained by a great infirmity in the house commonly called la Motte-chappon, near the said convent, to which he had been conducted and transferred from the said convent, so that he might be better attended to in his infirmity. And then the said Brother Francis of Paola came to visit him, and consoled him, because at that time it was said that the said Brother Francis Binet could no longer live. Then the same Francis of Paola, consoling the said Binet predicts he will go to Rome in health, and speaking concerning him, said that he would not die of that infirmity, as the present witness learned from the account of the said Brother Binet and of other Brothers who were present: who also says and deposes that the said Brother Francis told him that his brother Francis Binet would hasten to Rome, and would bear fruit for religion, and would render consoled the deponent himself and his other kinsmen.

[45] He indicates to the King the day of his death. John Moreau, the 41st witness, deposes that, King Louis XI being laid low in the illness by which he died, the father of the said deponent visited the said King lying on his couch: to whom the said King, in the presence of the witness, said that Master Jacques, the King's physician, had told him that he should provide for the salvation of his soul, and that he was doubtful of his recovery. Nevertheless Brother Francis had told him that he need not fear until the following Saturday. And in fact, the King himself, on the following Saturday, closed his last day. Because of which the said deponent, turning over in his mind the words of the said deceased King, thought something good of the said Brother Francis: and afterwards heard it commonly said, that the said Brother Francis had led a very austere and holy life.

[46] Brother Stephen Joly, the 42nd witness, deposes that while he, the deponent, was within the year of probation, he comforts him when troubled by a demon: he was on many nights troubled and terrified by a malignant spirit, to such a degree that he thought of withdrawing from the Order: comforted however by the Brothers and especially by Brother Francis of Paola, he remained in it, and commended himself to his prayers. Finally, such trouble having ceased, afterwards while the deponent was at the convent of Blaise of the Diocese of Langres, he was detained by a certain grave infirmity which he cannot name: but he says that at that time it was commonly said that the deponent had his intestines corrupted, so that a certain physician, said to be expert in the art, judged that the said deponent could not live beyond the month in which he then was, or the beginning of the following month. Seeing this, the deposing witness, and heals him from an incurable illness. who had entered religion without consulting or the knowledge of his father, and doubting that if he died in those parts of Burgundy, his father might judge that he had abandoned the Order and habit; asked obedience and leave to return to the parts of Tours, whence he was born, to the convent of that same place. Having been summoned to the parts of Tours and the aforesaid convent, he showed Brother Francis and the other Brothers of that convent the opinion of the physician: who, having seen it, said that the Lord was the supreme physician, who healed according to His pleasure those who trusted in Him; and he consoled the deponent himself, and exhorted him to persevere in prayers; adding that in doing this the Lord would grant him grace, and he himself would bear much fruit. Then he sent him by obedience to a convent of the said Order, at the castle of Herald in the Diocese of Poitiers: and from then on such infirmity vanished, nor did he suffer from it afterwards, and he believes that he obtained this from the Lord through the prayers of the said Brother Francis.

[47] A novice of the Franciscan Order He deposes moreover, that while he was in the said year of probation, there came to the convent of the said Order near Plessis-du-Parc two Religious of the Order of Friars Minor of the convent of Tours, bringing with them a certain young novice of the said Order, who had departed from the convent of Nantes as a wanderer, and was vexed as if demon-possessed: asking and beseeching Brother Francis to pray for the salvation of the said novice. Who, after words of consolation had with the Brothers themselves, exhorted them to commend themselves to the Lord and the prayers of Blessed Francis their patron. At length, overcome by their prayers, he frees from a demon: he commanded them to go to the church of the said convent together with the novice himself: but what Brother Francis did there the deponent himself does not know, because he was not present: but afterwards from a certain brother of his, Nicholas by name, who had borne a lighted taper to the church, he learned that he had adjured the devil possessing the said young novice. And a little later, the said witness saw the Friars Minor and the novice sound, though very much weakened: to whom then Brother Francis gave certain herbs, which he said would much benefit him for the comfort of the stomach and brain: and he exhorted him to divine service and observance of his Order.

[48] Religious sent by him to Rome, He deposes furthermore, that he heard from a certain Brother Thomas, a religious of the Order of Minims, that fifteen years ago or thereabouts, while he was at Rome with a certain Brother Peter Gebert, also then a religious of the said Order; a certain woman from the parts of Picardy, vexed by a demon, and conducted to Rome to be freed, remained there for the space of three months, nor yet could she be freed. And then the said Gebert, being asked by certain persons to commend the said woman so possessed to the prayers of Brother Francis, and (as the aforesaid Brother Thomas related to the same witness) even adjured concerning this in virtue of holy obedience; his cord placed on the possessed woman, applied the cord of Brother Francis, which Gebert himself had brought with him, to the neck of the said woman, and adjured the demon possessing her in the name of God and of the glorious Virgin and through the merits of Brother Francis (if he was a servant of God, as he believed). Which demon, speaking through the mouth of the woman, asked the said Gebert whether he knew the said Brother Francis of Paola: who declared that he did know him. And then the demon said they expel the demon. that he had vexed him and accomplished nothing, nay rather had been overcome by him: and because he would have to leave on account of the merits of the said Brother Francis, he would vex his Brothers. And then the said demon released the aforesaid woman: whom, freed from the demon and speaking, the said Brother Thomas afterwards saw, as he related to the deponent.

[49] The Saint promises offspring to a barren woman, He deposes further, that a certain woman named Beatrice, dwelling in the Diocese of Langres, in a place commonly called Chaulmont de Bassigny, had lived with her husband in matrimony for fifteen years without offspring: seeing which, she besought Brother Matthew Michel, her full brother, a religious of the Order of Minims, that he would ask Brother Francis of Paola to pray the Lord that she might be able to conceive offspring. Afterwards the husband of the said Beatrice went to the parts of Tours and to the said Brother Francis, to ask concerning the aforesaid. Likewise came the same Brother Matthew: to whom the said Brother Francis replied admonishing the husband to amend his affection for avarice: that the Lord had visited her, and had done her great grace. And likewise he said to the husband of the said Beatrice, that he set his heart too much on temporal goods, and counseled him that he should cease from avarice, and confess his sins, and commend himself to the Lord: and that in doing this the Lord would visit Beatrice herself. And afterwards the deponent himself and the said Brother Matthew went to the house of the said Beatrice, and learned from her account that she was pregnant: which had happened through the prayers of Brother Francis, as Beatrice herself said she believed.

[50] To another woman asking for offspring Joan, wife of Anthony Filesaye, the 45th witness, deposes that it is about seven years since she went to Brother Francis at the convent commonly called Ave-Maria near Plessis-du-Parc, accompanied by a certain woman her neighbor, called Joan Andonette, now wife of William Pere; because she, the deponent, greatly desired to have offspring from her husband named above, with whom she had stood in matrimony for the space of ten years without offspring: and this because many women neighbors of the deponent had suggested to her that if she devoutly commended herself to God and to the prayers of the said Brother Francis, it would go well with her; adding that certain other women had through the prayers of Brother Francis obtained offspring from the Lord. And then she had words with him, he prescribes what to do, that he should pray to God to deign to grant offspring to the deponent herself. Who replied through a certain Brother of his convent, that she would have offspring from her husband, not within a few days following, but within a certain not nearby time; exhorting her that she should fast, and give or offer to the Lord each Friday one wax candle, and also say five times the Our Father and Hail Mary in honor of God and His five wounds: nor yet should she be discouraged by this, and that in doing this she would have offspring, he reveals secrets, as was said above. He deposes moreover that the said Brother Francis (who had never seen the deponent herself, as he believes) then said to her, that she was very fortunate by reason of her husband, who had been and was born of wealthier parents than the deponent herself, and that he would turn out a rich man: and he exhorted the same deponent, that she should obey him greatly, and thus soothe his choler; intimating by this, or rather expressly declaring, that the said husband of the deponent was subject to choler. Then the present witness withdrew from the said Brother Francis, and assigns that a son, but not soon, would be conceived. and about three years having passed she conceived a son still surviving, and believes she obtained this from the Lord through the prayers of the said deceased. The same is deposed by Joan, wife of William Pere, who had accompanied the said Filesaye, the 46th witness.

[51] Catherine Joussette, the 47th witness, deposes that (it is fifteen years ago or thereabouts) when a certain Robinet, a Scot by nation, was detained by a certain hot fever in the house of the deponent herself; a certain man, whom they commonly called the embroiderer of the King, came to the said sick Robinet, and visited him; and related to him, in the presence of the deposing witness,

how, after a certain short time had elapsed, the son-in-law of the same embroiderer had been detained by an infirmity. By report of health restored to a certain sick man On account of which thing the embroiderer himself went to Brother Francis of Paola, then dwelling at his convent near Plessis-du-Parc; and asked him to pray the Lord for his said son-in-law, that he might recover his health: and that the same Brother Francis had given to him, the embroiderer, one loaf and one bundle of herbs, which he should bear to his said son-in-law, and tell him that he should trust in the Lord, and that he would not die of the said infirmity. Which the said embroiderer said he had done, reporting that his aforesaid son-in-law had thereafter always begun to convalesce, and at last had been made well. Hearing which, the said Robinet another sick man conceives trust asked the aforesaid embroiderer to go himself to Brother Francis, and likewise to pray him on behalf of his intention. Which he also did, namely, the said embroiderer went to the said Brother Francis, as he afterwards related to the said Robinet, in the presence of the deposing witness; and he asked him to deign to pray the Lord for the same Robinet and his health. Which indeed the Royal embroiderer, and is likewise healed: on his return from the said Brother Francis, likewise brought back to the same Robinet one loaf and one small bundle of herbs, which the said Brother Francis had sent, commanding him that he should eat of the said bread, and that in doing this he would not die, but rather would recover his health: which the said Robinet also did, trusting in the words of the said Brother Francis, and he was healed.

[52] which herbs the Saint plucks Catherine Ayrolde, the 52nd witness, deposes that at a certain time before the death of Brother Francis, while the deposing witness was at Plessis-du-Parc, a conversation was had between one of the damsels of the Most Illustrious Princess the Lady Countess of Angoulême, commonly called Lady de Fleac, and the present deponent concerning the said Brother Francis. And then the said Lady de Fleac said are never found diminished; that she believed him to be a Saint and to work miracles, because, as she said, he gave daily or frequently to the said Lady Countess of Angoulême and her Damsels a great quantity of herbs from his garden, and on account of this they were not diminished: nay rather, if on a certain day he had given nearly all the herbs of his said garden, on the following day he would find them in the same garden in equal or greater quantity. She deposes also, that on another occasion, being afflicted with a certain weariness, she commended herself to the Lord and to his prayers, and from this was greatly consoled.

[53] the tempest ceases where he sails: Master Stephen Lancea, the 53rd witness, deposes that he had heard it commonly said by certain sailors, that at the time when Brother Francis went from the parts of Calabria to the parts of Gaul, the sea was calm in the place where he was and in the neighboring parts; although elsewhere at that time it was very tempestuous. Elsewhere he says, that he did not know him, but did well know a certain nephew of his, by name Andrew d'Alesso.

[54] Patrick Loquebourg, the 54th witness, deposes, that (it is eight years ago or thereabouts) a certain Joan, daughter of a certain Maturin Massonel, of the parish of Mireyo, thirteen or fourteen years old, poisoned a certain only son of the deponent, about two years of age (as the same Joan, a boy about to die from witchcraft detained on this account in the prison of the castellany of la Quarte, confessed) in such a way that the said son more expected to die than to live: Which after it came to the notice of the noble and venerable man Master Robert Loquebourg, almoner of our Lord the King of the Franks, and now Bishop of Ross in the kingdom of Scotland, and treasurer of the holy chapel of the palace of Paris, brother of the said deponent, he resolved to commend the said infant to the Lord and to the prayers of Brother Francis of Paola then still living, and on that account to address him: which he also did. Afterwards the said Francis sent to the house of the deponent two Brothers of his convent near Plessis-du-Parc, suddenly recovers. to visit the infant himself: who arrived at the house of that man, distant from the said convent by three miles, while the present witness and Lord Robert his brother were finishing their supper there. And immediately, on the arrival of these Brothers, the said infant, who for a long time had so languished that death was more expected in him than life, asked to take supper with the said Lord Robert his uncle; which he did better than he had done in the half year then preceding. And from that same time he was not detained by the aforesaid infirmity, but rather was and is sound and unharmed.

ANNOTATIONS.

PART III.

The death, burial, and elevation of the body of St. Francis of Paola.

[55] Stricken with sickness on Palm Sunday, Brother Leonard Barbier, the 38th witness, deposes that in the year of the Lord 1506 from Palm Sunday, Brother Francis began to suffer from a certain sickness, and during it and the three following days that sickness grew: yet he did not allow himself to be aided by the Brothers or others, nor any service to be rendered to him. On the Lord's Supper he receives the Eucharist. At last, when Maundy Thursday came, with certain of the Brothers assisting, he went to the church; and after humble and devout preparation, preceded by devout acts and tears shed, and his knees humbly and devoutly bent, he asked that the sacred Sacrament of the Eucharist be given to him; with a certain girdle, with which he was girded, as is the custom in the Order, first applied to his neck, and the prayer of Blessed Gregory and certain others premised, namely, "Lord, I am not worthy," and he received it devoutly and humbly: and afterwards he remained for some time in the choir of the said church, hearing the divine service. And he indicates his death to come on the morrow. Then the Brothers, seeing him very weakened, brought him back to his cell: and while he was there, one of the Brothers by name Bertre (as the same Bertre told the deponent) asked him, if he wished his feet to be washed, as is wont to be done in the Order: who replied that for that day his feet should not be washed, but on the following day the Brothers might do with him whatever they wished.

[56] On Good Friday he addresses the Brothers for the last time, At length Good Friday having come, Brother Francis caused all his Brothers to be called to his cell: whom he sweetly admonished to observe Religion and the Order and to have charity among themselves, exhorting that they should observe the same Religion approved by the Most Holy Pope, and should obey Brother Bernardine of Otranto, there present, as their Superior, until the General Chapter to be celebrated at Rome within the year then next coming; appointing him as his successor, until by the General Chapter another should be canonically provided. Which Brother Bernardine, proclaiming himself unworthy, he appoints a Vicar, and bringing forth others of the said Order more wise than he, refused to assume so great a burden. He himself however replied to the same Bernardine, that he should willingly assume that burden, and that the wisdom of this world was foolishness with God; assigning to him as companions Brothers Jacob l'Espervier and Matthew Michel, and the Corrector of the said convent as Coadjutor. And these things done, at last on that day, about the tenth hour of the morning, he expired. And expiring amid pious prayers At the end of the book, however, before the authentication of the Roman copy, these things are added, for the sake of the readers. Let us all note, that the first Founder and general corrector of our Order of Minims and our good father Francis of Paola, in our presence died on Good Friday, the 2nd of the month of April, in the year 1507, about the tenth hour of the morning (whose soul may rest in peace, amen) and his last prayer was: O good Jesus, good shepherd, preserve the just, justify sinners, and have mercy on all the faithful living and dead, and be merciful to me a sinner. Amen. Jesus Christ, Mary. Brother le Conte was present with many other Brothers saying for him three times: Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Moreover the 49th witness deposes, that he saw him, on the day that he departed after dinner, soon he appears glorious. in the same cell in which he died: and that he found him so comely and better (as it appeared) colored, than he had known him while he lived: And there was present a very great multitude of people, who had come there for the sake of seeing him.

[57] John Bourdichon, the 1st witness, deposes, that after the death of the said Brother Francis he went to the said convent of the Minims, and saw the lifeless body of the deceased, a great concourse is made to see the deceased: and, that he might paint the likeness of his face according to the true figure, he shaped and impressed, and was present at the funeral rites of the said deceased: at which a multitude of the faithful of Christ, as to a holy man, came and were present: from which funeral rites the people returned, joyful and greatly consoled by the sight of the deceased himself, yet grieving over his death. Michael Marseil, a stonemason, the 2nd witness, deposes, that he and the deceased John Bussière, also a stonemason, were invited to prepare the grave, in which was to be buried

the said Brother Francis: which they also did in the chapel of the church on the right side. He is buried in the common manner, Which indeed deceased was delivered to burial on Monday in the feast of Easter, in a wooden coffin, in a grave made by the deponent himself and the said Bussière: which grave afterwards, by the industry and work of the same men, was, as is the custom, covered with pavement. He deposes moreover, that after the burial of the said deceased, there came to the said convent a certain man of Angevin nationality, with his wife and a certain son of theirs eight or nine years old, and their manservant and maidservant, a certain man arrives to give thanks for his son's health: hoping to find the said deceased still living. Who, being asked by some of the Brothers of the said Convent, reported that he had commended his son, then languishing, to the prayers of the said deceased: and that he had answered, that he should depart with the fear and grace of God, and that his son would be healed: who, because he had been made well, had come there, and had brought his son, to give thanks to God and to the deceased, whom he had hoped was living.

[58] The body raised from the ground on the 11th day The 1st witness deposes further, that because the body of the said deceased had been buried in earth, in which, on account of the nearness of the Cher river, water could very often flood, and on account of this the body of the said deceased be more quickly putrefied, it was concluded by the Brothers of the said convent (with the Most Illustrious Princess the Lady Countess of Angoulême, however, following up, as they said) that the said body should be extracted from the earth where it lay, and placed in a stone coffin higher than it was: which was also done, ten or twelve days after the burial having elapsed. And the aforesaid witness was present when the body itself was raised from the said earth, and placed in the stone coffin: and he saw the face of the said deceased, those ten or twelve days having now elapsed, so sound, so whole and without corruption, as it was at the time he had first been buried. is found incorrupt; And these things he knows, because from a deliberate purpose he tested, namely, by applying his own face to the face of the deceased: and he believes this proceeded miraculously. He deposes moreover that he again shaped or impressed the face of the said deceased, to paint him more certainly and better. Asked if he knew whether the body of the said deceased had been eviscerated or cut after his death, he deposes he knows nothing.

[59] The 2nd witness adds that he and John Bussière were summoned to this elevation on the following Thursday (namely of the week after Easter week, on the second day of which, as the same deposed above, he had been buried.) He deposes further that when the body of the said deceased had been extracted from the aforesaid grave, a more worthy place of burial is prepared: the deponent himself and John Bussière had made another vaulted grave in the same chapel: at the building of which they stood for several days. During which time, the body of the said deceased remained out of the earth, and when the work of the said second grave or vault was completed, the said deponent was present when the said body was carried from the wooden coffin, and placed in the stone tomb. And then he saw a part of the body and the uncovered face of the oft-said deceased, sound and whole and without corruption, as it was at the time when he was first buried, not foul nor eviscerated. And this he knows because he touched the said body and saw the lower parts; at which the same witness marveled greatly.

[60] The 1st witness also deposes that at this last burial it was said publicly and commonly The stone sarcophagus that the stone tomb in which the body of the said deceased now rests was miraculously found and brought to the said convent. For when inquiry was being made by the Brothers and bystanders about finding a stone tomb for burying the said body; it was said by some, that in a certain crossroad of the parish of Ballam, distant from the said convent by three miles or thereabouts, there was a certain large and heavy stone, carved in the manner of a tomb, and that it would be good to bring it: which pleased the wish of the bystanders, and the said stone was brought easily: which as was commonly reported, could not be moved before, which long before could not be moved, nor had it been moved even by many.

[61] The 7th witness however deposes, that he went to fetch the said stone, sent by a certain man of Beau-regard, a servant of the Lady Countess of Angoulême, and that he found the said stone on the public road: which he, accompanied by four other men, loaded onto his cart, and carried it with his five horses to the Convent of the Minims with easy access. He deposes moreover, that at the time when he loaded his cart with such a stone, there came up some parishioners of the said place, whom he does not know; asserting to the witness himself and others standing with him, that they had elsewhere heard it said by the elders of that place, although 18 yoke of oxen were applied, that eighteen yoke of oxen had been applied to convey the said stone to the place of the Commandery of St. John existing nearby; which however they could not move. Asked about the quality and quantity of the said stone, he says that it was cut and curved in the manner of a tomb, and very long: in such a way that he, who is of great stature, laid himself in it; nor could he through one extremity of his body touch the front or back part of it. is most easily drawn by 5 horses. Similar things the 8th witness Charles Chepault deposed, having set out for the same, as a servant in the company of the now deceased John Beaumont the carter: and that they found the stone by a cross on the public road: and he names four companions in this work, Francis Laurens, Lawrence Beaumont, Yvonet whose surname he does not know, and John Thoreau. Finally, that those who tried to carry the said stone with eighteen yoke of oxen to the Preceptory of St. John, could only carry it a small distance: wherefore they had sent it back by two yoke of oxen to the place where the said deponents found it.

[62] Meanwhile very many come to inspect the body devoutly, Martin Moreau, the 40th witness, deposes that he saw Brother Francis dead (namely on Good Friday just last, six or seven years ago) and in the judgment of the deponent he was then similar to himself living, except for his eyes, which he had closed. At whose funeral rites there was a very great concourse of people, even up to six thousand persons or thereabouts. Whom also deceased, eight days after his death having elapsed, he again saw and touched with his hands, nor did he perceive any fetor in his body: and he brought to see him the Most Illustrious Princess, Lady Louisa of Bourbon, with her company. Who also, while the deponent himself was watching, touched the hand of the said deceased. Afterwards the witness himself and the Princess with her retinue departed joyful at the sight of so great a man. in whom were no signs of death. So also the 14th witness Joan deposes, that eight days after the death of the said deceased having elapsed, she herself the witness saw the body of him uncovered, and humbly kissed his hands and feet, and while kissing him found him not fetid, but rather as if warm, and so whole and comely as if he were still living.

[63] Fallen from her horse and gravely bruised, Joan Beauvalet, the 24th witness, deposes that on Holy Saturday of Parasceve, or on the day immediately following the death of the said deceased, when she was returning from the town of Amboise, and was near the place commonly called l'Assault, distant from the city of Tours by six leagues; the horse that was carrying her was thrown to the ground; whence the deponent herself fell upon a certain large and hard stone, in such a way that from the concussion of her breast against the said stone she suffered a grave pain; so much so that she could not afterwards mount her said horse, but was compelled to come to this town of Tours by water. And having arrived at Tours, she remained there in great pain, until the following Monday in the feast of Easter. who had been brought to Tours to be cured, On which day she had herself conducted to a certain woman, commonly called la Bonne, dwelling near the conventual Priory of St. John of Gressio of the Order of St. Augustine, distant from the city of Tours by three leagues or thereabouts: where the said la Bonne, who was accustomed with the Lord's help to bring remedy to men with broken limbs, examined the breast of the deponent, and, as best she could, re-consolidated it. And this done, she returned to her house at Tours: and on Thursday immediately following she was informed by certain of her children, on which day the body had again been enclosed, that on that day the said Brother Francis of Paola was to be enclosed in his tomb. Wherefore, at the instigation of her former husband and her children, who urged her on this matter, still suffering great pain in her breast, to such a degree that scarcely, even with the aid of two men, she could mount her mule, she went for the sake of seeing the place of the said deceased: where she found the body in the tomb already closed with a lock. She deposes moreover, that at her instance and prayers, she obtained that he be shown her, and was healed, the Brothers of the said Convent opened the tomb itself; and let her, still suffering the same pain in her breast, down into it: where she then saw the face of the oft-said deceased uncovered, and still as, or rather more, warm and colored, and his body as soft as it was in his life. She deposes moreover that she then commended herself to God and to the prayers of the deceased himself, if they could avail with God, for the concussion of her stomach. And her prayer completed, and after she had departed from the said tomb of the aforesaid deceased, she alone, who even with the aid of two men could scarcely before mount her mule, most easily mounted her same mule alone from a certain little mound, and from then on she was restored to health, nor thereafter suffered pain in her stomach.

[64] A mother whose daughter had been deprived of an eye Catherine, wife of William de Loyon, the 26th witness, deposes, that (it is nine years and more ago) she bore Joan her daughter; to whom, at the age of three or four years, there came upon the left eye a grave disease with swelling, rendering the face of the said Joan deformed: for curing which disease she was visited by physicians and surgeons and many other persons. At last, the swelling of the said eye being depressed or emptied, the same eye remained deformed and very much dilated, and was deprived of light: and thus the same Joan remained, in the infirmity of her said eye, for the space of seven months or thereabouts. During which time, she could not through anyone by surgical art or otherwise recover the clarity of light. Now on the coming of the death of the said deceased in that same year in Holy Week, the deponent herself heard, that

the said deceased was to be buried in the feast of Easter then next coming. hearing that the Saint too had suffered from an eye, On account of which, out of devotion, she went to the convent of the Minims near this city; and there, from a certain Brother of the same Order, who was then preaching the life of the said deceased, she heard that the deceased himself had been born one-eyed, and that he had miraculously received the other eye. Then the deponent herself commended herself to the help of God and of the deceased himself, and kindly besought him, that, if he obtained a place in heaven and his prayers availed, he would deign to obtain from the Lord health for the eye of her daughter Joan. And having returned home, she procured a wax votive offering to be made, in the form of the eye of the said Joan: which afterwards she had carried to the said convent together with her daughter. she conceives trust and obtains her vow. And because at that time the body of the deceased himself was being transferred to another stone sarcophagus, she begged and obtained, that the eye of the said Joan might touch the body of the deceased. And from then, and within three or four days, the said Joan began with the said left eye to see sufficiently. Which Joan indeed we saw and beheld with our eyes.

ANNOTATIONS.

PART IV.

Graces and benefits obtained at the invocation of the deceased.

[65] At the invocation of St. Francis a fire is extinguished: Emeric Bernardeau, the 6th witness, deposes, that he heard it said that after the death of Brother Francis a fire had been kindled in a certain house of this Diocese of Tours: and the Lady of that house considering this, commended herself to the prayers of the said deceased: and immediately the danger of fire ceased. He does not however know the name nor surname of the said woman, nor the place where the same house is situated. Catherine Bergerelle, the 10th witness, deposes, that after the death of the same deceased there came upon the deponent herself a certain sickness, in one of her cheeks; which swollen and hard exceeded the other in size; on account of which, lest she be seen by men, she covered the same cheek with a certain cloth of black satin. For recovering the health of which cheek indeed, a cheek shamefully swollen, she showed it many times to surgeons and physicians: yet she could have no remedy from them, but for six years or thereabouts she remained with the same swelling, which however she bore without grave pain. She also made pilgrimages to certain places, namely to the most glorious Virgin Mary of Cléry, and at Beaugency for a quartan fever, which she had endured for the space of thirteen months: not however with the intention of recovering the health of the said cheek, but to give thanks for the recovered health of the said quartan fever. which for six whole years could not be cured, But she herself, having returned home, seeing the swelling of her cheek not at all diminished, devoutly commended herself to the prayers of the deceased Brother Francis of Paola, kindly besought him, that if he had any power with God, in some way he would obtain from the Lord the change of that swelling, and likewise the health of a certain gout which she suffered grievously in one knee. And she the deponent, being in such a state, betook herself to the burial of the said deceased. At length, within the six days following, the cheek began to be swollen much more, so that it seemed to be fiery and ruby-colored with the greatest pain: having made vows at the tomb she is healed. nor did the physicians or surgeons know what it was, or what application they could make for it. While these were altercating among themselves, the cheek itself within four days following, through the mouth and inward, began to eject superfluities, and at length was made well: which because she believed she had obtained through the prayers of the deceased himself, she deputed a wax votive of her cheek to the burial of the said deceased, with the figure of the other knee, giving thanks to God.

[66] Mary, wife of Rudolph Valée, the 11th witness, deposes, that (it is six years ago or thereabouts) while she was pregnant, likewise an incurable oppression of the womb, there came upon her a certain oppression of the belly, very violent: in such a way that very often she was oppressed, so direly that she seemed to be bringing forth the infant: and during the same sickness she emitted blood through the rear. In which sickness she remained, not however continuously, for the space of four years or thereabouts, nor could she recover health from physicians or surgeons, although she had been very often visited by them. At length she commended herself to God and to the prayers of the said deceased in the church of the convent; and made prayers to him, both by having Mass celebrated and continuing a devotion for nine days. When these prayers had been made and continued, not long from the said time, by the grace of God, and, as she believes, by the prayers of the said deceased, she recovered health from the said disease, by which she had been detained for so long a time.

[67] Moreover she deposes, that (it is about a year ago) a certain little infant of the deponent, a continuous fever of three days, two years old, was oppressed by a grave and continuous fever, in such a way that he seemed to be laboring in extremis, and in such infirmity he remained for three days, so that for his recovery no one had hope. Then the deponent herself, his mother, humbly and devoutly commended her said son to God and to Saints Martin, Claude, and many other saints, and to the prayers of the said Francis, and vowed by vow, that if it should please God to restore his health, she would bring a wax image of the infant to the tomb of the said deceased: and a little later the said little infant recovered his health, and still lives at present. Moreover she deposes that about six years ago her husband was suffering from pleurisy, pleurisy with deafness, and the hearing of his ears was very much impeded: which seeing, she commended him to God and to many of the said deceased: And at last her husband recovered health from the said disease and obstruction of the ears: adding that in her necessities, where she devoutly commended herself to God and to the prayers of the said deceased, what she asked, she obtained.

[68] A grave and long-lasting languor; Renée, wife of Peter Courselles, the 16th witness, says, that on the feast of All Saints last passed, a little before or around that feast, she began to be sick, and from that time to languish until the feast of the Translation of the Most Blessed Martin, which was celebrated on Monday, the fourth of the present month of July: on which day such infirmity began to be augmented, in such a way that the deponent was much weakened and destitute of her natural powers, so that by the help or art of physicians she could not recover health. Seeing which, on the following Saturday, trusting in God's help, she commended herself to God and to the prayers of the said deceased (if he obtained a place where his prayers could bring her help): and from then she sent to the convent of Minims, and had Mass celebrated there in honor of the Trinity and commended herself to the prayers of the Friars Minim: and as she had learned from the said deceased, she had the Lord's prayer with the Angelic salutation three times, and also the Apostles' Creed, recited by a certain son of hers fifteen years of age, whom she had sent to the said convent for this purpose. On the same Saturday she began to evacuate the superfluities of the body and to emit through the rear, and to feel better than before: in such a way that on the following Sunday she rose from bed, and with others sitting at table she took supper, and from then and now she says she is well: and she believes she obtained this through the prayers of the said deceased.

[69] An infirmity in the knee Joan Hameline, the 18th witness, deposes that she heard it said, that God through the prayers of the said deceased has performed many miracles: otherwise she does not know. Except that about the feast of Blessed Catherine last passed, she was detained by a grave infirmity, which she suffered in her right knee, by which she had been detained before, for the space of two years or thereabouts: and she was sometimes so perplexed and weakened on account of this, that at times she could not support herself, and especially on a certain evening around the aforesaid feast of Blessed Catherine, extraordinarily attenuated, and as if on account of this placed in ecstasy; she recalled to memory how many had been helped by the Lord through the prayers of the said deceased, and sent to have fetched nine wax candles, and one larger one existing in a certain window of hers, by a certain Denise Gerardi: and gave her in orders that on the morrow she should go to the convent of Minims of Plessis, after a novena ordered to be performed; and having arrived there should ask a certain Brother Albinus, a Religious of the said convent, to commend the deponent to God and to the prayers of the said deceased for nine days, and to offer on each of the same nine days one of the said candles, and when the said nine days had elapsed to have one Mass celebrated in honor of God. And immediately, after the deposing witness had ordered the said Denise to go on the following morning to the said convent for the aforesaid, the deponent recovered her health, and thereafter was not detained by the said infirmity, unless it supervened from excessive labor of hers. The said Denise however afterwards reported, that on the morrow she had gone, and had done the aforesaid things enjoined on her.

[70] Mary, widow of Andrew Ligier, the 20th witness, deposes, that after the death of the said deceased (it is five years ago or thereabouts) she suffered a most grave disease in one of her breasts, a fistulous breast, and was detained by it for the space of thirteen months, in such a way that physicians and also surgeons did not know what remedy to apply to that disease. Seeing this, the said deponent, having made a vow, went to the place and convent of the said deceased on each of thirteen days; and commended herself devoutly to God and to the prayers of the said deceased, for the health of her breast; and within the said thirteen days or around the middle of them, and before the end of the completion of the said vow, the said breast began to be healed; as at the time of the completion of the same was observed in the breast: and thus the deposing witness was integrally restored to health, so that no pain

in her said breast did she feel thereafter.

[71] an abscess in the thigh, She deposes also, that from the feast of Easter last passed, she had a certain abscess in one of her thighs, which by the surgeons was called a catarrh, for the reason that the deponent could not help herself with her thigh: and on account of this the said surgeons said, that unless the Most High helped her, she would remain crippled as to her said thigh. Seeing which, she commended herself to God and to the prayers of the said deceased, and sent and had one Mass said on this account in the chapel, in which the same deceased had been buried. And on that day, when the aforesaid Mass was said in honor of God, the deposing witness, who before could not support herself, began to walk: and then over the course of time she received the total health of her said thigh.

[72] Gervasota, widow of John Lopin, the 22nd witness, deposes, that (it is three years ago) there came upon two children of one of her children a certain disease in the throat, a disease in the throat, in such a way that they could scarcely draw in or expel breath: and because she had elsewhere seen some who had died taken by such a disease, therefore fearing a similar danger, she commended her said grandchildren to God and to the prayers of the said deceased, and immediately they began to convalesce. She deposes moreover, that the honorable man Master John Lopin, Licentiate in laws, son of the same deponent, from the said time of three years ago, a tumor of the neck and cheek, suffered a certain disease or swelling in the neck and one of his cheeks, for the space of fifteen months or thereabouts. Seeing which, the deposing witness commended him to God and to Blessed Cosmas and Damian, and likewise to the prayers of the said deceased, and promised on account of this to offer to God and to the said Saints in the church of St. Cosmas a wax candle, according to the length and thickness of the said John, and one votive offering of wax made in the likeness of the said Lopin, at the convent of the Friars Minim, and to lead the same Lopin with her, when he should be healed from the said disease. And after the vow so emitted, the same Lopin recovered his health; and on account of this the witness speaking had borne to the church of Saints Cosmas and Damian a candle of the said length and thickness, and likewise to the convent of the Friars Minim a wax votive offering, as she had promised, in the likeness of John himself, namely from the head inclusive to the arms exclusive.

[73] An infirmity of the stomach, Petronilla, wife of John Claneau, the 23rd witness, deposes, that a little after the death of the said deceased, there came upon her in the stomach a certain infirmity or swelling, which Stephen Rabblatie the surgeon called a cold rheum: who then said to the deponent, that by his science she would never be healed of that infirmity. And nevertheless she, seeing this, had over this the counsel and regimen of a certain Master John Maillaise, surgeon of the Most Serene our Lady the Queen, who applied a certain plaster to the said disease. And within a few days the same infirmity returned upon the deponent, and came back in the same place. Seeing which, she applied to it the aforesaid plaster, as before, and nevertheless commended the aforesaid infirmity to the Lord and to the prayers of the said deceased. And from that hour she began to receive health, and within six weeks or thereabouts she was completely well, and she believes she obtained this through the prayers of the said deceased.

[74] A grave grief, Guilhelma Binet, the 25th witness, deposes, that (it is now two years ago or thereabouts) the deponent herself, depressed by a certain grave weariness, and much perplexed by it, went to her brother Brother Francis Binet, then General of the Order of Minims, in the convent existing near Tours; asking and requiring from him consolation for so great a weariness. Who indeed gave her counsel, that she should humbly and devoutly commend herself to the prayers of the deceased Brother Francis, and by God's gift be freed from the said weariness. Which she did, as best she could; and before the end of the following month, what she sought, she obtained. Asked about such weariness, she replied that there was no need to narrate that, but she asserted that it was very great for her.

[75] Joan Bernier, the 28th witness, interrogated about miracles deposes, that many times both men and women, placed in certain and diverse necessities, commended themselves to God through the prayers of the said deceased and fared well. And likewise the deponent herself was on another occasion affected with weariness for certain causes, for which she commended herself to the Lord and to the prayers of the said deceased and was freed from the same weariness. A troublesome catarrh, And she especially deposes, that from the time of the death of the said deceased, and it is five years ago or thereabouts, the deponent was detained by a certain catarrh, and much oppressed; and that for recovering health she had many medicaments applied to her, which helped her little, as she believes. Rather, because she commended herself to the Lord and to the prayers of the said deceased, and a little later recovered her health; she believes that she obtained this from God through the prayers of the said deceased, and not otherwise.

[76] She deposes further, that (it was a year ago around the feast of the nativity of Blessed John the Baptist last passed) the deponent herself being in the town of La Rochelle, dire epilepsy, of the Diocese of Saintes, in the house namely of a certain friend of hers, called Guillemetta Picorre, then detained by a grave disease, namely epileptic or falling sickness, in which she had remained for the space of three weeks, and by which she was, especially for two days, greatly tortured, in such a way that she often appeared excessively black and as if taken out of her mind, and was for the space of two hours unable to speak. Seeing this, the deposing witness, and that the medicaments which were applied to the same Guillemetta profited nothing; she told the mother of the same Guillemetta, that she should devote her to God and to the prayers of the said deceased, whom the said deponent said had been buried in the convent of the Friars Minim near Plessis-du-Parc; and that, if she would do this, she had confidence in the Lord and in the prayers of the same deceased, that Guillemetta herself would be restored to health. Which when the mother of the said Guillemetta had done, the sick woman, before the passage of three hours, immediately following, began to become well.

[77] An infirmity of the stomach; The 31st witness deposes, that for six years or thereabouts he had been detained, even for the space of three or four years, by a certain infirmity of the stomach, nor could he be relieved by anyone: seeing which, induced by his wife, he commended himself to the Lord and to the prayers of the said deceased; and vowed that if he should recover health, he would bear a wax votive offering in the form of a stomach to his tomb; and a few days having elapsed, with God's help and through the prayers of the said deceased, as he believes, he recovered his health: on account of which, he carried the wax votive offering to the tomb of the same deceased, giving thanks to God, and from then he fared well and fares well.

[78] A dying infant, The 32nd witness, Peter Courvoisier, deposes, that (it is two years and a half ago) Robert son of the deponent, then two and a half years old, was detained by a grave infirmity, nor was there hope of his recovery, and nevertheless he left him at home, and went to the convent of Minims for shaving the beards of the Brothers, despairing of finding his said infant alive on his return. In which convent indeed the witness himself, sad and grieving on this account, from the seventh hour of the morning until the fourth hour after noon, remained for the purpose of shaving such beards. And then, because one of the Brothers saw the deponent so sad, he asked him the cause of that sadness: to whom the deponent set forth the sickness of his son. Then that Brother exhorted the deponent, to commend his said son to the Lord and to the prayers of the said deceased. The deponent, being held by such sadness, besought the same Brother, named Yves, whose surname he does not know, to offer prayers and vows for the salvation of his son to the Lord and to the said deceased: which the same Brother Yves did, and likewise the deponent renewed the same prayers. And then the said Brother Yves said to the same deponent, that if his son should better convalesce, he should bear his sweat-cloth with an offering of wax the length of the said infant to the tomb of the said deceased. And the same day in the evening the deponent returned home, and found his infant slightly convalescing: and thereafter within a few days the said infant was made well. On account of which the said deponent, giving thanks to God, had what he had vowed and the infant himself borne to the tomb of the said deceased.

[79] A troublesome fever, The 39th witness, Patrick Binet, deposes, that from the time of the death of the said deceased, being at Nantes, for having the burial of the Duke and Duchess of Brittany placed and ordered, while speaking of the said Brother Francis of Paola, he heard from a certain man called Peter, servant of the General of Brittany, whose surname he does not know, that he Peter had at some time been detained by a grave infirmity of fevers, and had commended himself to the Lord and to the prayers of the said deceased, and had thereby fared well, nor from now on was he detained by such infirmity.

[80] Long-lasting insanity, Brother Stephen Jolys, the 42nd witness, deposes, that (it is five years ago or thereabouts) to the convent of Minims of the castle of Herald (in which the deponent was dwelling as Vicar of the same convent) came a certain man called George, from the place of Cove in the Diocese of Poitiers, as he said, originating from there: and he set forth to the deponent, that he had been for the space of one year or thereabouts dulled in sense, and wandering here and there; sometimes bound and sometimes not, because he was breaking the bonds by which he was held. And while he was in such dementia, he heard (as he believed) a voice saying to him, in French words translated into Latin, "Commend yourself to St. Francis of Tours, and you will be healed." At length such dementia somewhat departing, he commended himself to the prayers of the deceased Brother Francis, and thereafter was made well. On account of which he was going, as he set forth to the deponent, to the tomb of the said Brother Francis, to give thanks to God and to the deceased himself: and he then asked the deponent to have the Salve Regina chanted in the convent of the castle of Herald in thanks for so great a benefit.

[82] An infant near death, Louisa Poupillart, the 4th witness, deposes, that (it is three years ago or thereabouts) a certain infant of the deponent was detained by a grave infirmity, for the space of five days, in such a way that he could neither rest nor nurse, and there was more hope of his death than of his life. Seeing which, the deposing witness inclined toward the convent of the said deceased, and with bended knees beseeched the deceased himself, that, if his prayers availed with the Lord, he would deign to pray for the health of the said infant: which was on a certain day, about the ninth hour of the evening, and immediately upon the completion of the prayer of the said deponent, the said infant began to convalesce; in such a way that until the second hour, after midnight immediately following, he slept; and thereafter was restored to health. This he knows, because immediately after the said prayer was completed, when already the said infant was sleeping,

fearing lest he had died (because she was not hearing him complaining, as he was wont) she looked to see what was happening; and then she perceived that he was sleeping: and the said deponent believes she obtained this from the Lord through the prayers of the said deceased.

[82] and weakness of the stomach, Mary, wife of Pasquier Bouilliau, the 56th witness, deposes, that (it is three years ago) her husband was detained by a grave infirmity of the stomach, in such a way that she feared death would come to him from the said infirmity. Seeing which, she urged her husband to commend himself to God and to the prayers of the said deceased, and that he would fare well. Which her husband willingly did: and on account of this the speaking witness had made a certain wax votive, of the weight of half a pound, in the likeness of a stomach: which afterwards she carried to the convent, in which the body of the said deceased is buried, to be offered to the Lord, and she offered it near his tomb. And from then her husband did not suffer infirmity in his said stomach; and she believes she obtained health from the Lord through the prayers of the said deceased.

ANNOTATIONS.

LETTER

Of the Bishop of Grenoble to Leo X.

[83] Before we withdraw our pen from Gaul, it is pleasing to append to the process of Tours a narration of a miracle done in the same Gaul, by which God powerfully willed to oblige the Royal family, to promote in every way the honor of his servant at the Apostolic See. Now this letter was produced at Rome on March 25, 1517, and recognized and received, as it is inserted verbatim in the Process done there, in this tenor.

[84] On the occasion of letters given from the Kings, writes Most Holy and Most Clement Father, after the kisses of your blessed feet. Since we have undoubtedly learned that the Royal Majesty, and his Most Illustrious consort, the devout Queen of the Franks, and also the Lady, most generous mother of the aforesaid Royal majesty, and very many other devout persons, born of the Royal stock, are at present writing to Your Beatitude concerning the devout canonization of Blessed Father Francis of Paola, and bearing no small devotion toward this canonization: We, bearing no lesser affection of devotion toward the canonization itself, have willingly wished to write these present letters to Your Holiness with that reverence which is fitting; humbly signifying to the same Your Beatitude, how in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1507, about the end of the month of April, when at that time the Most Illustrious Queen of the Franks of holy memory, mother indeed of the present Queen of the Franks, that having learned of the illness of the daughter of the King of France, was prolonging her stay at the castle and town of Mont-Bernard near Grenoble; hearing that her Most Generous daughter, the present Queen of the Franks indeed, was then detained by a grave illness of fever, we betook ourselves to console the aforesaid Most Clement Queen in Christ most benignly; earnestly advising her former Royal Majesty, that for the sake of recovering the safety of her aforesaid Most Clement daughter, the present Queen of the Franks indeed, he advised the mother to vow to promote the canonization: she would deign to make her Most Illustrious daughter, the present Queen of the Franks Claudia, humbly and devoutly commended to the devout merits and prayers of Blessed Francis of Paola: even with a vow and promise, that if through the kindly prayers and merits of the same Blessed Francis her Most Illustrious daughter should recover perfect health, she would strive with efforts and endeavors to procure such canonization of the said Blessed Father. Which indeed the same former Most Clement Queen of the Franks then willingly consented to us, and with a willing mind vowed and promised. which vow made, the sick woman was soon healed.

[85] A few days afterward having intervened, when certain couriers of the former Royal Majesty had come to the aforementioned town or castle, to the Most Illustrious former Queen, and had certainly announced to her the safety of her aforesaid Most Distinguished daughter, the present Queen of the Franks indeed; a short time having intervened, we then again betook ourselves to visit in Christ and Christianly console the Most Generous former Queen herself. From whom indeed we then without doubt received, that her former Royal Majesty, under our aforementioned counsel, had received no small consolation, and without doubt had received the excellent health of her said Most Distinguished daughter, the present Queen of the Franks indeed, by the report of these couriers.

[86] Moreover he testifies to the eminent holiness of the man Further, Most Blessed Father, we desire similarly to signify to your aforementioned Holiness, that we have otherwise heard and received from the said Blessed Father Francis certain things so secret, that no one except God and me, except by divine revelation, could have known them in any way. We testify moreover to the same Your Beatitude, Most Holy Father, that while the aforementioned Blessed Father Francis formerly lived in the Gauls, he was full of the highest religion and the highest virtue, and devoutly built very many chapels and monasteries, and there lived religiously and holily. We also knew his most candid morals, and his most integral life, purer than gold often re-smelted; with which he surpassed other mortals, and miracles, by the consent of all: so that even while he was still living, he was already held as a Saint by many, and they venerated him; and from certain candles, then blessed by him, innumerable miracles were seen to be done.

[87] All which, Most Holy and Most Worshipful Father, to help the effect of the said canonization, which indeed we desire and supplicate to be obtained with all our strength, we have most willingly wished to write to Your Holiness under the attestation of our seal; whom, to crush the fierceness of the enormous enemies of Christ, and for the propagation of the orthodox faith, we wish always happy and always unharmed. Given at Grenoble, the 1st of the month of June, 1516. Most devoted servant of Your Holiness,

✠ Laurence Bishop of Grenoble.

Of the Royal letters, of which mention is made here, we shall produce some below; now, so that it may appear by what right here, and henceforth in the following processes, Francis of Paola is named with the title of Blessed, read the Pontifical brief itself, taken from the historical proofs adduced by Brother Hilarion of Costa, page 461, and given at the time when formation of the processes proved above at Tours and Cosenza was being undertaken.

BULL OF BEATIFICATION.

FROM A MANUSCRIPT.

[88] Leo Bishop, Servant of the servants of God, for the perpetual memory of the matter. The Pontiff decrees for Blessed Francis, Bearing on earth the vicegerency, though unworthily, of Him who is always wonderful in His saints, we willingly assent to the pious vows of the faithful, especially of religious persons (which are known to redound to the praise and glory of God and the veneration of the Saints, and the salvation of the souls of the faithful), and, as we see it to be expedient in the Lord, we pursue with favors.

[89] who on account of his eminent Holiness was sought by Louis XI, Indeed on behalf of our beloved son Germanus Lionet, General Corrector of the Order of Friars Minim, a petition lately laid before us contained, that when on another occasion Louis, King of the Franks, of most distinguished memory, greatly desired to see in person the former Francis of Paola, then leading a solitary life in a certain hermitage of the district of Paola of the kingdom of Naples, on account of the odor of good fame and the sanctity of the life of the said Francis; he obtained from Sixtus IV of happy memory, Pope, our predecessor, that it be commanded the same Francis to betake himself from the said Neapolitan kingdom to the kingdom of France, founded many monasteries, and present himself before the sight of the said King. Who was so pleasing and acceptable to the same King and to all inhabitants of the kingdom, that in various cities and places, both of Gaul and of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily and Spain and Germany, various houses were constructed and built by the faithful of Christ for Brothers wishing to lead the life which Francis himself had chosen.

[90] And Francis himself established the Order itself, which is narrower and stricter than all others, he established a most strict Order, which he called Minims, under a certain way of life, and obtained its approval and confirmation through Alexander VI of pious memory, and then Julius II, after Sixtus IV and Innocent VIII, also Roman Pontiffs, our predecessors. And while he lived among men, and when he rendered his spirit to his Creator, and also having died, he shone with very many miracles: so much so that on this account a great multitude of the faithful of Christ, and he shines with miracles; which flocks to the house of Jesus-Mary of Tours of the said Order, in which his body rests; firmly believing that the prayers they pour forth to God are heard through the intercession of the same Francis, and holding him as Blessed and venerating him.

[91] a feast and office, And because he has not been numbered in the catalog of the Saints, both the aforesaid Germanus and other Brothers of the said Order greatly desire to be granted, that it may be lawful for them each year, on the 2nd day of the month of April (unless Holy Week or the Octave of Easter occur; and then on the second day after the said Octave) to celebrate and to have celebrated in the houses of the said Order the feast and Office of the same Francis of one Confessor, with the Prayer of one Confessor. in the Order only; Wherefore on behalf of the said Germanus the Corrector it was humbly besought us, that for the praise and glory of the eternal King, and the reverence and honor of the glorious Confessor himself, and also for the beauty of the Church and the splendor of the Catholic religion, and the devotion and salvation of the people, we would deign of Apostolic benignity to provide opportunely on these matters.

[92] as is the Franciscan indult for Blessed Bernardine of Monte-feltro. We therefore, who willingly incite the faithful to the veneration of the Saints of God and constant devotion toward them (that they may strive to please Him from whom every good gift and every perfect gift proceeds) as much as we can: inclined to such supplications, to the same Brothers, that henceforth in perpetual future times in their houses they may freely and lawfully celebrate the office in memory of the same Francis, of one Confessor under the name of Blessed Francis of Paola, each year as above; and in their Masses and Matins and Vespers recite the commemoration of the same Francis, under the name of Blessed Francis of Paola; and have his image painted, and in the churches of their houses (as also the Brothers of the Order of Minors of the Family hold painted in their churches the image of Brother Bernardine of Monte-feltro, who also died in recent years) hold, without license of the Ordinaries of the places and of any other being at all required on this matter, by Apostolic authority, by the tenor of these presents, we grant license and faculty. Notwithstanding &c ... Given at Rome at St. Peter's, in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1513, on the Nones of July, in the 1st year of our Pontificate. Blessed Bernardine of Monte Feltro died September 27, 1494, whose body we venerated outside the walls of the city of Pavia in the year 1662, when the Apostolic Commissioners had come to Pavia for the purpose of hearing Witnesses in order for the canonization.

CALABRIAN PROCESS

Francis of Paola, Founder of the Order of Minims (S.)

FROM THE MANUSCRIPT CALABRIAN PROCESS.

[1] Others call it the process in the Curia, The fourth and last Codex of those in which the documents produced for promoting the business of canonization are contained, is wont to be cited by some writers under the name of the great Calabrian Process, perhaps for this reason, that it comprises several processes formed at various places in Calabria, although mixed with other instruments; and indeed in such a way that, with certain letters and processes being placed beforehand out of order, half the book ought rather to be called the Roman Process, containing the relation of those things which through the individual Actions, by which the cause was examined at Rome, from March 3 of the year 1517, to November 16 of the following year, were produced, weighed, and proved; and are either inserted verbatim into the context of the relation itself, or alleged as separately written: wherefore others also call this book the Process done in the Curia. It nevertheless pleases us, for those things which we will give excerpted from there (for nothing Roman is pertinent to transcribe in this work, since they contain the mere apices of law), to use the former name first. The documents we gather hereafter are however composed among the Calabrians at that time when rumor not at all vain had spread, that at last serious considerations were being taken at Rome concerning canonizing Blessed Francis, from which only domestic documents, some years having elapsed after the celebration of the first processes, when already everywhere and publicly Francis was venerated as one of the chief saints of Calabria, albeit only with the title of Blessed.

[2] In these processes the witnesses examined are all together counted 131, including him who was heard at Amiens, and whose deposition we have decided to give before the Cosenza process; which witnesses, although they have no order among themselves of place or time, nevertheless because they are cited by some in that order in which they are found in that manuscript compilation of several processes and documents; with the written order of witnesses under a double number. by others in that order which they have in the individual processes; we too shall inscribe both numbers to their names: so that those who, from authors citing them thus or thus, wish to go back to the sources themselves, may have at hand what they require. Moreover, as if it were one thing, under the one title of the Calabrian Process, we shall divide the individual particular inquisitions, according to the number of the places in which they were done, into as many chapters; and to them we shall append the letters of the Counts of Agrotera and Arena: since these too have the force of a legitimate and sworn deposition, concerning many and illustrious matters, greatly contributing to proving the sanctity of Francis of Paola. And finally we shall subjoin letters sent from various towns of Calabria to Rome on the same business: and also sent from the French court, which held the first place in the manuscript codex.

CHAPTER I.

Process done in the land of Regina.

[3] To the Most Holy and Most Blessed Father, our Lord Pope Leo X. The humble and obedient sons of the Apostolic See, Letter of the people of Regina, Most High Prelate of the universal Church, impress kisses on the sacred traces of Your Holiness, Simeon Galeota of Naples, Governor of the land of Regina of the Diocese of Bisignano; Louis Galeota of the said city, Praetor of the same town of Regina; together with the Sworn Master and the whole community of the said land of Regina; with all instance and devotion by which they can, supplicating; that Your Holiness would deign to inscribe the wonderful Francis of Paola, glorious in sanctity, gleaming with signs and prodigies, in the catalog of the Saints: whom all Calabria proclaims a Saint, and does not doubt to be illustrious in merits and glorious reigning with Christ. The testimonies of whose sanctity (besides those daily gifts of graces which our people receive; besides also those which long ago were deposed at length before the Reverend Prelate of Cariati, and also before the Venerable Father Laurence of Clavenna, a professor of the Order of Minims of the same Blessed Francis of Paola, and also compiler of the often-repeated major Legend of Blessed Francis of Paola) in this aforesaid land are recorded below, faithfully deposited, and constructed in truthful style, on the 9th day of the month of November, 1516. I Luke of Franco of Regina, Canon of the said land, confess to have been present in the present examination, and have subscribed myself with my own hand.

Witness 1

[4] The noble Philip Camiglanus, citizen of the land of Regina, with an oath touching the Scriptures, deposed, how he himself has known Blessed Francis of Paola for 40 years, who was, is, and is named of holy life; and he knows by fame that he did great miracles. A goat driven by dogs flees to the saint: Among others, of dead fish, cast into the fishpond and revived, as in the Cosenza process, no. 48. Likewise, when certain hunters had come upon a goat, and were pursuing it with dogs, and it was fleeing, and it took refuge for its protection within the hedges of Blessed Francis, and the dogs had noticed it in such a place; they dared not proceed further to capture the animal, but rather retreated: which miracles were done at the town of Paola, when he approaches the same, the doors spontaneously open, 40 years ago. Moreover he knows, that when the said Blessed Francis was in Gaul, and the witness himself had betaken himself there; he went to see and speak with him. Who, being before the cell, found two Frenchmen waiting, who had not been able to enter or speak with the Blessed one: but as soon as the witness himself arrived, the doors opened, without the witness having indicated anything to Blessed Francis. Briefly, he predicted to him all things past, and those that were to come, even of great moment, future things are foretold as they had been set forth and determined in the mind of the deponent himself: all which, when the witness betook himself into Calabria, happened, according as they had been foretold and predicted.

Witness 2

[5] Cicco Zacon said, that when the witness himself had come to the town called Paterno, forewarned of imminent danger where Blessed Francis was having a convent built, for the purpose of meeting the said Blessed Francis, suddenly a very great rain or storm arose: and when he wished to depart for the sake of returning home, the said Blessed Francis forbade him to depart, when some sinister star might happen to him: then he called him inside the church, and blessed him, sprinkling him with holy water, and committed him to the journey with the name of our Lord God, saying: Go: for I have given you good company. And when the witness himself was at the river of St. Anthony, by the blessing of the Saint he escapes being submerged. called the Seventh, which was flowing with full and swollen waters; as soon as he had entered it for the purpose of crossing, a great whirlpool attacked the witness himself about the chest, and drew him together with the horse on which he was riding, enveloping him beneath the waves, so that having lost sense he thought he was drowned: then having recovered sense, he saw himself unharmed on the other bank of the river, without injury to his body.

Witness 3

[6] Raphuccius de Jacollo said and knows, that when his father was gravely ill in the hand, The Saint cures a sick hand, for whose cure he had spent much money, both on physicians and also on medicaments; he went to Blessed Francis: who taught him certain remedies, so that within the space of nine days he was made whole, having recovered the use of his hand, with which he had been maimed. Concerning the time: it is 40 years a little more or less. Concerning the place, at Paola. And from fame he heard, that he did many miracles, especially when wooden things were being made for the use of the place. And saves one crushed beneath the ruin of a tree. Among others, when for the said use a pine was being cut on the summit of Montalto, where the blessed Father was, the tree fell upon a certain man called Dominic Sapino of the land of Regina, and covered him with earth. And the said Blessed Francis said: For charity's sake, for it did him no harm. And approaching and stretching forth his hand, he drew him sound and unharmed from the tree by which he had been crushed, without any injury, as the witness himself saw. Concerning the time and place as above.

Witness 4

[7] Master Anthony de Jurdano, of the land of Regina, said, that Blessed Francis once admonished the Brothers he prophesies the coming of the Turks, to pray our God, lest the Turks come into Italy: whom the said Blessed Francis at that time said would come within three months: and thus, that time having elapsed, they seized Otranto, and inflicted great evils on Christians. Then the blessed Father shut himself in his cell for the sake of praying; where he remained eight days, and their retreat: never going out: then coming out he said: Our Lord God has done us grace, because the Turks will not enjoy the victory. At which time news was brought, that the great Turk had died, and the Turks withdrew. Thus the witness himself heard from the blessed Father in the monastery of Paola, 30 years ago. And he knows more, because when the witness himself, together with Blessed Francis, knowing beforehand the arrival of guests, was one day laboring in the said place on a certain mountain, the blessed Father departed and betook himself to his cell: and after an hour there arrived more than a hundred men of Cosenza and nobles, and there he remained until night. Also on another occasion when he was in the place of Paterno, together with the blessed Father, one day about dusk or before the Ave Maria, Blessed Francis said to the Brothers, he orders water prepared: Put it to heat, so that the Brothers coming from Paola may be able to wash their feet. And thus a little later two Brothers from the monastery of Paola arrived. he heals teeth shattered by a driven iron, And he knows more, that on another occasion, when certain rocks were being split with iron nails and wedges, where there were many people, and Blessed Francis was also present; while splitting, one wedge flew into the mouth of a certain bystander: from which blow the teeth were destroyed and broken, with much flow of blood. Whence the blessed Father said, For charity's sake, fear not: as it is nothing. And thus with his hand placed upon the wounded mouth, at the same instant he was restored to his former health.

Witness 5

[8] Andrew Spinazellus said, that on another occasion, when in the place of Paterno a certain very large rock was being broken, he causes a stone easily to be broken: where a great multitude was present, and the aforesaid rock could not be broken; the blessed Father went there, and touched the rock with his hand, saying, You do not know how to break it: strike the stone from this side, and it will quickly be broken. And immediately they struck it in the place pointed out beforehand and touched by the blessed Father, and at the first blow it was broken. And this he knows, because he was present: concerning Dominic Sapino he deposed from fame the same as above in no. 6.

Witness 6

[9] Angelus Stanellus saw a certain Brother Gregory, he heals a dropsical man from the town of Nibizaco, to have been dropsical for a long time: and he went to Blessed Francis

and was healed: who suddenly donned the habit of Religion. On another occasion when the witness himself was going to serve in the place of Paola for eight days, and a man with chills: who was sick from a cold malady; and when he had come there, he asked the blessed Father that he might have some grace. And the blessed Father said, that he should serve with a good and strong soul, and have good faith toward God: for he would be made well. He alone carries a huge stone, Thus he was well, as if he had never had any sickness. Moreover while he was dwelling there, he saw four men carrying a huge stone, from a certain river flowing beneath the place: and with great labor they were carrying it. Whence the blessed Father placed it upon his shoulders, and raised it up to the top of the bell tower, which was then being built and was very high. he cures a diseased nose: And more, the witness himself knows, that when a certain Lord, from the town of Lattarico, was suffering a great sickness in his nose; he went to the blessed Father, and stayed with him for several days, and thence returned well. And this the witness himself saw.

Witness 7

[10] Jerome Longus, of the land of Regina, said, that when on another occasion he had vowed that he ought to serve in the place of Paola, he makes crooked trees straight. and had come there; Blessed Francis called him, and led him for the purpose of cutting certain trees for the use of construction, and said, Cut down these trees. And the deponent replied, These trees are not good, because they are very twisted. He cut them down nonetheless, and as soon as they were thus felled to the ground, they were found to be straight: which thing seemed a great miracle to the deponent himself: it is 40 years ago and more.

I, Accatanus de Visso, of the land of Regina, Master of Acts in the said land, examined the witnesses written above.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER II.

Process done at the land of Soreto.

[11] To the Most Holy and Most Blessed our Lord Leo, Supreme Pontiff of the Apostolic See, By public authority. with the kiss of the feet, Antonucius Cormatius, annual Judge of the land of Soreto, in the year 1516; Lord Soderus of the same land, Canon of Melito, Notary Public anywhere by Apostolic authority; and the undersigned witnesses, specially called and asked for this. We make known, confess, and testify, that in the year aforesaid, on the 14th of December, when there had been summoned before us, the distinguished Lord John Francis of Arena, Count of Arena and Stilo, and Lord of St. Catherine, asserted that he had decided to send letters to His Holiness, petitioning for the canonization of Blessed Francis of Paola, since he deserved such things. And lest his petitioning letters proceed without foundation, but be founded on truth, he asked us the Judge and Notary and the aforesaid witnesses, that we should solemnly and faithfully reduce to writing the depositions of the undersigned witnesses, deposing concerning the deeds done and performed by the same Blessed Francis and heard from him, that the truth may shine forth, for the truth of the Christian faith and our religion. We however seeing, that our public office ought not to be denied to those asking, especially for these causes, examined the undersigned witnesses, with oath and observing every due solemnity. Who indeed one by one and particularly and each one of them deposed as below.

1 Witness 8

[12] The Magnificent Lord Jacob Latronus, of the land of Soreto, Doctor of both Laws, said, A piece from the Saint's habit, that it is nearly two or three years ago, when there passed through the said land a certain Brother Bernardine Gerunda, with a certain Priest-Brother of the Order of Blessed Francis of Paola, being also himself a Brother of the Order: who, in the presence of the said Distinguished Lord and many other citizens and nobles, was asking alms, for the sake of making an image of Blessed Francis of Paola: and many gave alms. divided into 20 particles, And then the said Brother took a certain piece of the tunic of fine white cloth, which he said was from that which Blessed Francis wore beneath his habit; and divided it into twenty parts or thereabouts, that they might be distributed to the persons there present: which twenty parts of the habit or tunic he gave into the possession of the aforesaid Excellent Lord Count of Arena: who placed them under his hand, and divided them. And when there was a concourse of more than a hundred both citizens and newcomers, he distributed the said parts of the tunic, and each one had his own part. And lastly, when it was thought that no portion remained, under the hand of the Count of Arena miraculously multiplied, there remained under the hand of the said Count, besides those which he had distributed, seven parts: so that all who were present marveled beyond measure, and on this account took the greatest devotion: and it was publicly said, that from such a part of the tunic many miracles had followed.

[13] it drives away a most burning fever from the witness himself, And it happened to the witness himself, that in the following summer, in the month of July, a very great sickness with a very great fever held him continuously for twenty days; so much so that he was compelled, because of the immense heat, to sprinkle himself naked with cold water; and that during the time of twenty days he never slept nor took food, refreshing himself only with cold water in very great quantity. Whence remembering that he had a certain part of the said tunic, which the said Count had given him, when he made the aforesaid distribution; he bound the same particle with great devotion to his throat. Whence, two hours having elapsed afterward, sleep took him; and while sleeping it seemed to him that he was at the fountain of Russo, surrounded by many Brothers of the religion of Blessed Francis of Paola: of whom one was saying: Be of good cheer, for you will soon be healed. And another: restored by a pleasant vision. Be strong, for you will soon be led to port safe and sound. All the others however in turn were saying and exhorting him, that he should fare well. Among the rest one of the said Brothers brought to him a certain phial of cold water of the aforesaid fountain, which he drank with the highest devotion: which having been drunk, after the space of two hours he was awakened, with much sweat first poured forth, and felt himself almost free. Then being hungry, and having a cock prepared; in the morning Lord Rubinus Latroni and Notary Nicholas Cachimella came to the house of the witness himself, which is in the land of Soreto of the Diocese of Mileto, and he related to them the said vision of the aforesaid Brothers.

2 Witness 9

[14] The noble and excellent Pandulph Baronus, of the land of Soreto, A similar particle said, that it is now almost three years lately passed, since to the said land came Brother Bernardine Gerunda, and cut a piece of tunic, and gave the parts to the Count to be distributed as above, and among the rest the witness himself obtained one portion, which he was preserving in a certain chest of maple wood. Now in the year just passed it happened to him that he opened the said chest, holding up its lid with a certain stick high and thick to the measure of a double human thumb. But because the said lid was very heavy and weighty, of length eight palms, and of weight one canthar (because it had been made very thick on purpose with its strips) it broke the said stick, and by a chance happening closed upon the hand of his son, named John Dominic, five years old. Whence the witness himself immediately invoked the name of Blessed Francis of Paola, asking that he would restore the hand of his son sound. He heals the crushed hand of the boy, And remembering that he had that particle of the cloth of the habit of Blessed Francis, he took it and placed it upon the hand and arm of his said son with the greatest devotion: which hand indeed had been broken. And at once the boy was made well, the pain having been removed. and restores speech to the witness himself. And also it happened to Pandulph himself, that when his throat, chest, and face were swollen, so that he could not speak, nor eat, nor drink; he asked by sign from his wife for a pen, that he might write what he wanted. Whence his wife, the mind of her husband having been foreknown, brought to him that particle of cloth, by the hands of a certain virgin, and had it applied to his throat, with the Our Father and Hail Mary said in honor of Blessed Francis: and as soon as it was applied to his throat, he was free and immune from all pain, with the grace of Blessed Francis cooperating.

[15] The Saint crosses the Strait of Sicily on foot. And at the maritime of the land of Roya he heard it said, that Blessed Francis of Paola, when he wished to cross over into Sicily with two other Brothers, and was at Catona, asked a certain sailor to be willing to carry him into Sicily: and the said sailor said to him, Pay me, monk, and I will carry you. And the said Blessed Francis replied, For charity's sake, I do not carry money with me. And the said sailor to him, Neither do I have a boat for you. And thus Blessed Francis said to that sailor and to those Brothers, who were with him; For charity's sake, spare me, until I go as far as this. And thus he departed from them to the distance of a crossbow shot, and made a prayer and blessed the sea. And in that instant they saw the said Blessed Francis alone going upon the waves: and thus by that part he crossed over into Sicily.

3 Witness 10

[16] The excellent George Foderus said the same things as above, Another particle heals an insane girl concerning the multiplied portions of the piece cut from the tunic, and added, that among the rest the witness himself also had a certain particle, and was preserving it in a chest with the greatest devotion. Now it happened that a certain niece of his for more than three years had been insane or possessed by a spirit: and the witness himself remembered that he had that particle, and had it taken by the hand of a certain virgin, and applied to the throat of his said niece, named Polyxena: who both then how she was freed, and later miraculously recovered the said particle which had been lost through her fault, the witness proceeds and concludes: on account of this miracle all both men and women of the castle of St. Peter remained stupefied and astonished, and from that matter the greatest devotion took hold of all people, given the incurable infirmity;

for the curing of which she herself had previously gone to all devout and religious places; she will better expound the matter, as it was done, in her own words. Therefore

4 Witness 11, 5 Witness 12, 6 Witness 13

[17] Lady Polyxena, wife of the noble Francis de Caristina, said that a woman surrounded by a demon: that it is nearly three years just past, that a certain sickness invaded her: namely, a diabolical shadow was always tempting her to blaspheme, and to do many other evils. Whence Lady Viola, wife of George Soderius, her aunt, said; Daughter, do you want me to give you a particle of the habit of Blessed Francis of Paola, which I have inside my chest with great devotion. And thus the said witness had the said particle taken by the hand of a certain virgin: and with the Our Father and Hail Mary said, had it applied to the throat: and thus she was made well and free from the said sickness, which did not permit her to rest, neither by day nor by night. and the same particle lost by her fault, Now it happened that on a certain day she fell into an altercation with a certain neighbor of hers, and made the name of the devil holy: and immediately there fell that particle which she was wearing hung from her throat with a certain thread, the said thread remaining whole and the particle itself being lost. is miraculously found, From which cause she was totally terrified, and thus ran to the image of the glorious Virgin, asking her with hands extended in a cross, that she would make her find the said particle. Which prayer having been made, she found it before the image of the said Virgin Mary, and again applied it to her throat: and thus from that hour onwards that diabolical shadow never persecuted her any further. To which entirely similar things and in almost the same words Lady Viola aforenamed attests, and the aforesaid husband of Polyxena herself; expressly attesting that he dragged his wife with him to all pious places and accomplished nothing.

7 Witness 14

[18] Baptist de Rumano, of the land of Soreto, said how the witness himself, together with the late Sir John, that the foods set before guests by the Saint Cantor of the church of Mileto, went to the town of Paterno, where Blessed Francis of Paola was having the blessed place of a monastery built, for the sake of kissing his hands: because from fame they had heard that he is a holy man. And thus they came and saw the said Blessed Francis, and wished to kiss his hands, and he refused, and said: Be blessed, and for charity's sake breakfast or take refreshment. were not diminished. And he had given to them a piece of bread the size of an apple, and a small jug of wine, and lettuces with vinegar. And they began to eat: and the more they ate the more the food grew, which had been set before them: and they remained amazed at such a miracle, so much so that they ate and filled themselves; and when they rose from the table, the bread and wine and lettuces remained, as they had been set out. Whence they took such great devotion, that they did not wish to depart from there.

8 Witness 15, 9 Witness 16, 10 Witness 17

[19] The Venerable Lord Rubinus Lacconus, touching his breast in the manner of Clerics, swore concerning the multiplied particles of cloth, of which he himself had one; and concerning Jacob Lacconus, through a similar one suddenly healed from a fever, when before all had despaired of his safety. Likewise the Magnificent Philip Baronus professes that in the said miraculous distribution he received, and devoutly preserves, such a particle. So too the Venerable Lord Dominic Gentilis, touching his breast in the manner of Clerics, confirmed the same miracle: and also that which was done through such a particle in the son of Pandolph Baronus, whose hand he believed the fallen lid of the chest had broken into a thousand pieces.

11 Witness 18, 12 Witness 19

[20] The noble Agamemnon Nusitus, of the land of Soreto, said, that it is nearly 35 or 40 years, according to his knowledge, that the blessed soul of the distinguished John Cola of Arena, that the Count of Arena with his men fighting at Otranto Count of Arena etc., by the command of King Ferdinand of Aragon, was compelled to proceed to Otranto into the camp with his court and vassals. And thus his Lordship, together with the aforesaid, went to the blessed place of Paterno, for the sake of finding there Blessed Francis of Paola: whom they found in the said monastery. And when the aforesaid Lord John Cola addressed the said Blessed Francis, Blessed Francis said to him: Lord Count; go with the Lord into the camp: for quickly you will put to flight the Turkish dogs, and you and your men will return unharmed without danger: and for devotion take this candle. And he gave one to each of his courtiers, and the witness himself likewise had one, was preserved from injury by the Saint's blessing. and thus they proceeded into the camp. And while there was fighting, the said Count and his courtiers were entering through the midst of the enemies; and when many thousands of men had died by iron, by cannons or bombards, by arrows and by burning pitch (so that corpses were being trodden underfoot) nevertheless the Count and his men returned unharmed and without injury, as Blessed Francis of Paola had foretold. Only a certain muleteer, when he had refused to take the candle, became sick and died, and immediately putrefied like a dog. The noble Gaspar de Diano adds, in the following of the same Count having likewise set out against the Turks and having been present, that one pot of burning pitch struck the Count's cloak, but immediately the flame was extinguished: likewise that a plague was also raging in the said war, and yet none of the said Count's men died.

13 Witness 20

[21] Master Confortus of Afriento said, that when he was in the town of Paterno, that a collapsing furnace together with a certain Soldier, where Blessed Brother Francis was having a monastery built; it happened that he came to a lime furnace, in which the fire had already been placed, and it was falling down from the inner part. And at that time Blessed Francis was called, and it was said to him, that the lime furnace was collapsing. And thus the said Blessed Francis said, that I should not fear: It will not collapse. And thus he went to the lime furnace, and said to a certain little monk existing there: Enter, for charity's sake, this lime furnace, and lay aside fear, and erect inside this stick. he had one of his own enter, And thus the said Brother went in, and placed the said stick: and thus the lime furnace did not collapse, and was burned out without danger: and this thing the witness himself saw with his own eyes. And on the following day it happened, that ten pair of oxen were carrying a certain beam: and when they were near the place, the oxen because of the weight had stuck, and could not proceed further, nor carry the said beam. And thus it was said to Blessed Francis that the oxen were exhausted, and cannot carry the beam. and had the greatest beam drawn by two oxen. And thus he himself said, For charity's sake, let us go and see. And thus they arrived at the place where the beam was, and he said: Loose all the oxen, except the first pair. And thus it was done; and then the said Blessed Francis with a certain rod, which he had in his hand, struck the beam three times and said, Pull it this short distance. And thus that first pair, and alone, drew the said beam as far as the place: and this the witness saw with his own eyes, and there all held Blessed Francis as a holy man.

14 Witness 21

[22] Master Louis Corinacius, of the land of Soreto (and himself a witness of the miracle, that he was healed by a particle of the garment. in the multiplication of the segments done under the hand of the Count of Arena) adds, that he also had one particle, and in the year past a very great sickness from pain of the flanks or of the side attacked him, so that he seemed to be dying. And he remembered the said particle, and with the greatest devotion applied it to his flanks or side, and immediately was made well.

15 Witness 22

[23] Lord Bernardine of the place of Lovanaro, of the land of Arena, touching his breast in the manner of Clerics, having seen the letters and not touched them, said that he knew from the account of the late Cola Banaro his father, that in the year of scarcity in the province of Calabria, he was proceeding to the plain of Terranova together with Robert Remiglio, Luke de Yaca, Jacob de Joy, that to 9 persons to be fed in famine, Julius Cichetti, Hippolyt de Stravo, and a certain full brother of his named Mark, Jacob Sacca, and Thomasius de Cicco; all of the land of Arena, who are at present in the other world. And when they were going out of the pass of Burelli, on the first day of April, (it is nearly 37 years ago and a little more) it happened that through that pass Blessed Francis of Paola was crossing: who, when he had seen them, asked that for charity's sake they might bestow on him a little bread. And the aforenamed said, that they did not even have a piece. Nevertheless he said to the said Cola, father of the said witness, that they should give for charity, he caused bread to be found in an empty bag, since they had some in the saddlebag. And nevertheless the aforenamed replied, that they had none at all. Whence Blessed Francis said to them: Give me those saddlebags, for there is bread there. And the said Cola gave them to the same Blessed Francis, and the saddlebags having been opened he found the whitest bread, and which because of its heat was still steaming. The said Cola, who knew he had no bread, remained amazed, saying in his heart, This one is holy. And all his companions took of the said bread, after it had been blessed by Blessed Francis, and ate of it: and the more they ate, which sufficed them for three days: the more that bread received increase and augmentation: and following the said blessed Father, for three days the aforesaid nine persons were fed and sustained.

[24] And when they were at Catona, the said blessed Father said to a certain man, named Peter Colosa, owner of a certain boat or barge, which was carrying into Sicily wooden things for use as barrels for salting fish, that for charity's sake he would be willing to carry him to Messina, a city of Sicily. And the said Peter Colosa said to him, Pay me, monk, and that when a boat for crossing over had been denied, and I will carry you. And the said Father said: For charity's sake, carry me. And again and again the said Peter: Pay me, and I will carry you. And once more the said Father said: Wait for me here. And he withdrew from them to a stone's throw, and prayed, and looked to heaven, and made the sign of the Cross upon the sea with a certain companion of his, as if he were making a journey over dry land, and thus he crossed over. And thus the said Peter Colosa with his father remained amazed and stupefied at the virtue of so great a man:

and thus the father of the said witness and the companions returned to Burelli, while all were watching he crossed the strait on foot. and used that bread for two other days. And this is the truth from the account of the father of the witness himself: and very often the wife of Robert Riviglio spoke the aforesaid words to him, that their husbands had narrated such a miracle before their death.

16 Witness 23

[25] Tasus Saldanus, of the land of Filocastro, said with an oath, how in years past, that there had been a great concourse to the Saint at Naples: at the time when King Frederick was Prince of Squillace, the witness himself was at Naples, when the Ambassador of the King of France came, and asked from King Ferdinand the Elder, that he would be willing to send Father Brother Francis of Paola. And the witness himself was present, when the said Brother arrived at Naples: and so great was the concourse of men, that had not the aforesaid Prince Frederick provided, they would have crushed and suffocated him. And thus the witness himself made an agreement with a certain Lord Intraccato, captain of a French galley, for table board: and went with the said galley, which carried the said Brother to Provence. And when they had loosed the galley from Naples, and sailing with sail set, they had reached the mouth of the Tiber; that he made the water grow so as to sail out, the said Brother Francis went to address the Pontiff; and the witness himself remained on the galley, and waited for the said Brother Francis. Who on the sixth or eighth day returned. And thus the pilot of the galley, when he had measured the depth of the river, saw that the galley could in no way go out. Then the said blessed Father, having learned from certain men that they could not go out through lack of waters, said: Measure again, for you will find a great force and abundance of waters. And thus the pilot, the depth having been measured, found it to be of six palms and more, so much so that immediately they went out.

[26] and that the galley on which he was riding And when they had sailed and had entered the bay or gulf of the Lion, greatly tossed by the waves, they were compelled to run ashore: and when they were at anchor, behold an armed ship was making sail toward the galley. At the sight of which the blessed Father said, Let us sail on in the peace of God, for no fear nor danger threatens us. And when the ship had approached and had hurled some shots of cannon, nevertheless the galley, having obtained a favorable breeze, he caused pirate ships to evade: made sail: the ship however stood still without wind, so that in a small space of time it vanished from their eyes, and thus they crossed the said gulf toward Provence, to the towns commonly called Bromo and Brigansi. Then the said Brother descended from the galley to land, with a certain nephew of his, and two Brothers, who alone associated with Blessed Francis, who was not seen by others: for he was always hidden in the captain's cabin. nay even when his sandals were cast into the sea, it was made calm. Which indeed Blessed Francis before his descent made a certain confession, and afterwards to the chief men of the said galley gave each one a candle. And when the waves were very great, and fear was threatening from the galleys of the French; the galley itself was compelled to turn sail, and to halt its course. It happened by chance that on the galley itself Philip Fabalegno had been brought by the Count of Matalone, on whose bench or thwart a certain pair of wooden clogs of the said Brothers, companions of Blessed Francis, remained: and either he himself or the companion of the said Philip took them, saying: There still appear the wooden clogs of those accursed Brothers, who could release me from the oar, and would not. And he cast them into the sea: and as soon as the said clogs touched the sea, it became tranquil, and thus in the peace of God they came to Naples.

17 Witness 24

[27] Antonellus Triza said with an oath, how [was] Blessed Francis of Paola in the monastery of Jesu-Maria of Mayda, that for a woman cured of scrofula and when his mother had struma or scrofula, she together with her father went to Blessed Francis, and with bent knees asked of grace, that he would make her whole. And thus Blessed Francis touched her throat with a certain rod and suddenly she was made whole. he also foretold her death, And he added, Go, Lady: for your life will be brief. On the next day the father of the witness himself went to the same Blessed Francis, and asked him how long his wife would live. Who replied: The life of your wife will be seven years. And so it was.

18 Witness 25

[28] The distinguished Lord John Francis of Arena, Count of Arena and Stilo and Lord of St. Catherine, that asked for offspring for a barren marriage, with an oath said, that he knows from the account of a certain Priest, whose place of origin he does not well remember: which Priest said to his Lordship, how he himself asked Blessed Francis, that he would be willing to pour forth prayers to God, that his two most friendly ones, husband and wife, who were barren, might have sons: who indeed were rich, without heir, and of 40 years. And thus Blessed Francis said to the aforesaid Priest: Return, and tell those good man and wife, that they should have great confidence in God, and that they should sweep their house very well, and then go to their garden, and they will find a certain fig tree in leaf, having at its top twin figs, one white, the other black: let the husband eat the white one, he caused figs to be found in January; but the wife the black one. And that Priest, because it was the month of January, laughed at his words: and replied to Blessed Francis, How is it possible that at this time figs be found? Whence Blessed Francis said, that for charity's sake they should do as he had admonished. And thus the said Priest met his friends, husband and wife, and said to them: I went to Brother Francis, and asked him in your name: who answered me, that you ought to sweep your house well, which done you will go to your garden, and find a fig tree in leaf, at the top of which two figs will be, one black, the other white: The white one you, husband, and the black one you, wife, are to eat. and that having suffered a miscarriage from dancing Which having been heard they went to the garden, and found the tree with figs, as Blessed Francis had said, and ate them: whence the wife was made pregnant. And when she was ungrateful toward the supreme Creator, and had gone to a certain wedding, and had danced, she had a miscarriage. And thus then the husband and wife aforesaid again caused that Priest to be called to them, and asked him, that, since the said Lady had suffered miscarriage, he was unwilling to help further. he would again go to Blessed Francis, and ask him, that by his prayers and intercessions to be made with God she might again be able to conceive. Which Priest, when he had asked Blessed Francis, had this response. Assuredly there is no more grace for them, because of their ingratitude.

[29] that his image healed a boy. Moreover the said Distinguished Lord said, that he knows also by the account of a certain Religious Brother, that when he the Distinguished Lord had sent to the citadel of Amantea, that he himself might be the first to have the image of Blessed Francis of Paola; it happened that at that time a certain son of the Castellan of the said citadel, of eight years, was gravely ill: who having had notice that the image of the said Francis had been completed, asked for the sake of devotion to see it: which having been seen and kissed, he was restored to his former health: and the Lord the said Count had the said image. And this is the truth of the matter, and in faith his Lordship subscribed himself here below with his own hand…

ANNOTATIONS.

p The Witness uses a title more known to himself, since in the same Further Calabria and near Soreto is Squillace; Commines, by a more worthy and to foreigners more known name, calls him Prince of Tarentum.

q That is, for a certain coin to be paid for each meal or table board.

r In that part where the Rhône empties itself into the sea, it is commonly called Golfe de Lyon, not from the animal lion (as might at first sight appear) but from Lugdunum, the first emporium on the Rhône, called Lyone by the Italians: who as they frequently traveled there through the said river back and forth, the sea nearest the river's mouth took its name from the city. But only very improperly, and by an extension greater than just, can that name be extended as far as the nearby shore of Liguria; especially since below it is said that the Saint crossed the Gulf, and thus came into Provence. Wherefore I consider that here is properly signified that bay of the sea which the river Argenteus makes, now commonly called Golfe de Grimant, which was then called the Gulf of Leonis or of Leones, from two islands, or rather rocks, which even today retain the name of Leonum.

s What are here written Bremo and Briganti are now called Bormes and Breganzon, among the Stoechades islands and places to be passed by those sailing along the continent.

t This Andrew writers commonly believed to have been: but from the royal diploma of naturalization, as they call it, it is clear that this one afterwards was summoned from Italy

to arrive. Therefore this one must have been Peter, another and older son of Brigitta, whom Francis while still a boy clothed with the habit of his Order. Certainly below in no. 110 the Saint is said to have boarded the ship with his young confrere.

v This Frangasius seems to have been some famous pirate of his time.

x From this learn that wooden sandals (the Italians call them soccolos) were used at the beginning of the Order, in the manner in which now the Minorite Recollect of stricter observance use them, whom on that account the same Italians call Soccolantes.

y Since it seems sufficiently certain that this convent began after the Saint went away to France; we shall explain below in the historical Supplement, chapter 9, how this passage is to be understood.

z The copy, in a manner contrary to what the Saint had prescribed, says the black was handed to the husband, the white to the wife. And perhaps that incredulous Priest cared little for the order of the words as they had been spoken by the Saint.

CHAPTER III.

Letters of the Excellent Lord, Lord John Francis of Arena, Count of Arena and Stilo, directed to the Most Blessed Lord Leo, Supreme Pontiff.

[30] Most Blessed Father, many are wont, who are involved in the misery of this worldly machine, He extols divine goodness, to extol with praises those who struggle with temporal vanities, and thus are submerged in sensualities: so much so that, by pure love of vanity and the external body, not only by the ignorant and inexperienced, but even by those who profess science and art, all praise and dignity of life seems to be circumscribed. And of this kind are the poets, who with their songs manifestly allure men to baubles, but within a snake lurks: by which in this time the young and (what is worse) the aged are ensnared. Now since it was well said by Augustine, "It was a small thing for the Lord to exhort the Martyrs by word, unless He strengthened them by example"; among other things which He handed down, from the time of His admirable and mysterious coming up to His blessed and charitable passion, which in place of the fables of the Gentiles this was the greatest, that in the Vicariate of Peter Pontiffs succeeded: who as much as, in the time of vanity and flowers, the words of the Gentiles sounded, writing in praise of idols; so now, in the time of truth and fruit, may they cause to be heard the words of those writing in praise and glory of God Himself, our Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ, of inestimable internal love and charity: and again as through the deceivers of men there was a prepared vessel full of cracks, through which here and there fictions in praise of men flowed; so through the always truthful fishers of men, he caused through the vicars of Peter the truth to be heard; illuminating and adapting their hearts with truth (who are the Pontiffs, successors of Peter by divine law) there are prepared jars from tablets, sculpted with doctrine and pleasantness of Spirit.

[31] O how great is the blessedness of such a Pontiff, and as formerly He subjected all creatures to man, to whom it happens in his time to inscribe the name of a Saint in the Catalog, when the Lord inscribes his name by his merits in heaven! Among such you alone occur at this time, Holy Pontiff Leo, who flourish with holiness and chastity. Therefore in this your time the cause of Blessed Francis of Paola is treated, at whose holiness I tremble and quake, the heavens marvel and earth venerates, that the blessed God by his bounty has so illustrated [man] that the Almighty has subjected all things under His feet, fishes of the sea and birds of heaven, sheep and oxen all besides and the beasts of the field. Passing over namely the most brilliant miracles which shone forth, the dead rose, the lepers were cleansed, so recently for Blessed Francis. the barren brought forth, nature reluctantly obeyed. Nor did He act less with this blessed Father: for at his command an old woman conceived, trees flowered and produced fruit, and not so much did nature obey, as it was annihilated, fire losing its virtue, and in the arid bursting forth fountains even to this day. But other signs also did this friend of God leave, which savor more of a new nature than otherwise, nor show only ordinary but absolute power.

[32] I would proceed, Most Blessed Father, more extensively in the process of signs, for whose cause he must labor, which the Creator showed in the manifestation of the innocence and holiness of that chosen creature; if my strength had not been exhausted, both because it is not permitted to occupy Your Beatitude with words, and because I am compelled to come to my own matter. Which matter I take up with the burden of love: since by that blessed Father many things were obtained for my father and for me, and therefore I embrace the name Francis.

[33] inasmuch as his father First when my Father, who has hitherto existed ought to go to Otranto, together with others, to attack the impious dogs; he came to the place of the blessed Father out of devotion and reverence, to pray that by that means, by the grace of the Lord, he might escape. To whom he gave a candle, as if not handmade but heavenly, as a shield, that he might be defended from every loss and sinister event: was preserved in the Turkish war, and he did the same for all the other armed men following him. Which my father and all were freed from the burning of fire, beneath the walls and ramparts of the city, and in innumerable conflicts of arms; and also from the contagious disease of the epidemic, then prevailing too much in the army. And some of the armed men of my father's company, despising to take the said candles suffered the laceration of their flesh.

[34] Let it also be added to the heap of miracles, that when two of my sons, one three years old, two sons freed from plague the other two, at the same time were afflicted together with a pestilential fever; and when they were coming to their last day, the senses and strengths annihilated, and the flesh consumed, so that there was no hope from the physicians; I the father and the mother exanimate, trusted in the intercession of the blessed Father: and immediately in them truly was breathed the spirit of life. Blessed be God in His Saints, who does not cease to verify what through the mouth of St. Mark He spoke, even in the person of that chosen creature, "they shall lay hands upon the sick and they shall fare well!" Mark 16, 18 So much so that on the same day, in an incredible manner, the fever vanished, the pains perished, and the flesh was reduced to its natural color: so much so that if anyone had not seen them sick, in no way would he have asserted that they had been afflicted with fever.

[35] I say nothing that when my wife was tortured by a painful abscess of the breasts, the wife cured of a breast, so much that from pain the pains of birth came upon her in the eighth month, and already miscarriage was being prepared; by the imposition of the girdle of the blessed Father (which was brought from France by a certain Religious, and came to my hands) she was not only freed from miscarriage, but also from pain. In which also this is wonderfully to be considered, that already the abscess was in the collection of pus, whence naturally is accompanied both pain and fever: yet while the girdle was upon them, she felt neither pain nor fever.

[36] under his own hand. This however, which is clear and undoubted, I will not pass over; that when a certain Brother of the Order of the blessed Father, who was Corrector of the monastery of St. Blaise, had come to receive alms, and I had given it to him and certain bystanders subject to me; that Father, wishing to bestow on them a worthy gift, gave them a particle of the true tunic of the blessed Father: and wishing that I should give each his part, from that he made twenty small particles, to the number of the bystanders. I however wishing to distribute them, segments from the garment of the Saint multiplied, and confident that Blessed Francis would demonstrate some sign to the praise of God, lest the working of the miracle be manifest but hidden, I enclosed those particles under the palm of my hand: and not only did I distribute those twenty particles to the aforesaid bystanders, but miraculously there was an increase, and to those running up from the people I gave to a hundred: and then with hand opened seven of the said twenty particles remained for me, which I devoutly keep as if handed to me by the blessed Father himself.

[37] I do not omit that (whereas it is unheard of or rather ineffable, and the image in his own house shone forth, that the author of nature should show signs in the images of the Saints) this has been especially shown in our time in the image of the blessed Father himself: from which emanated gleaming splendors, which seemed to illuminate the house at night: which image is in my oratory. And this same thing was related to me by a Religious Carthusian, an upright and devout man, who with bended knees was praying before it, when he had come summoned by me, and had passed the night with me through the night.

[38] likewise the wife was cured of hiccups: It remains to be said, that when lately my wife had incredible hiccups, from which was caused to her the greatest vomiting both of food and humors; and the chest and throat had been so excoriated from pain, that she could scarcely swallow saliva and honeyed liquor; a certain Religious, as if sent by God, was in my house, having a certain iron instrument very like a saw, stained with the blood of the blessed Father, with which he mortified his flesh. Which Father, when he had prayed to the blessed Father, and placed the said iron instrument on the breast of my wife; immediately the vomiting was calmed, and also the incredible pain which she was suffering, and she began at once to eat without pain.

[39] I would say many things, if this were not such that I would seem to distrust Your Holiness; which, on account of which and other things he is worthy of being canonized. since it is a pious work, does not need many supports. Wherefore may Your Holiness deign, and may it please Your Holiness, as the Lord has marked him and decorated him with miracles in heaven; so to mark [him] in the catalog of the Saints, that he may be venerated on earth, to the confusion of the impious and his detractors, and to the advantage of the faithful of Christ. And I no less humbly and devoutly do not cease to commend the same to Your Holiness. Farewell to the years of Peter, whose fortitude will overcome the impious. From the castle of Arena, December 17, 1516.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER IV.

Another process done in the land of Stilo.

1 Witness 26

[40] The Venerable Hermolaus Frasca, of Stilo of the Diocese of Squillace, Archpriest of the said land of Stilo, examined with oath on the holy life and miracles done by Blessed Francis of Paola That among other miracles. while he was among men; said, that he himself, when he was Chaplain of St. Lucy of the said land, very often had conversation with a certain noble man of Cosenza, named John de Moravo, who was a parishioner of the said church, and was making his stay in the said land. Which John when he very often went to Cosenza, and returned from there, he healed an elephantiac, related to the deponent many miracles and virtues, which the aforesaid Brother Francis of Paola did. Among which miracles he recounted, that when the father-in-law of the said Lord John was laboring with the elephantiac disease or St. Lazarus's, and had gone to see the said Father Brother Francis, he returned sound and free from such disease from the same Blessed Francis.

[41] Moreover he recounted, that when Lady Polyxena, wife of Lord Henry of Aragon, from Neocastro for the sake of devotion went to see the said Blessed Francis; in a tempestuous sea moved by the huge fame which was spreading from the miracles performed by him, the said Lord John de Morano always accompanied the said Lady. And when they had arrived in the territory of Paola, and it was a day of fasting, and the sea was agitated by waves, and on that account sablas were set out, because fish were lacking; the said Lord John began to cry out and shout, saying: Behold, what these Brothers set before this Lady: we wish to dine; showing himself angry with those Brothers. And thus Father Brother Francis came and said: For charity's sake, have patience a little, and I am going. Then, although the sea was stormy, so many fish of diverse kinds were found that all the court of the Distinguished Lady, which was not small, was satisfied, and the said Lady was affected with stupor and admiration. he caused fish to be found. After these things he subjoins miracles of burning coals, handled harmlessly before Brother Scotet, who had detracted from him for a sermon; and of the lime furnace, miraculously restored: which there is no need here to repeat from hearsay, since above we have had them from eyewitness witnesses.

[42] And more Master Jerome Gariant recounted to the said witness, that when he was going in the company of Brother Francis, he boarded a ship at Naples; and when they were about to enter the mouth of Ostia, they understood the greatest waves. And when the said ship by the force of the sea and river was most greatly agitated; and that the ship stuck on the shoals all the sailors without doubt estimated themselves drowned, asking Blessed Francis to be willing to pour forth prayers to God for their safety. Who replied Know that there is no remedy for the imminent danger, unless I cast myself into the waves. And although their natures refused, because they feared lest he should drown himself; nevertheless he and one of his disciples cast themselves into the waves, and with their shoulders pushed the ship, and caused it to enter into a safe place: he pushed with his shoulders. and thus unharmed they sailed on toward Rome. Father Francis however remained in the waters, and betook himself toward the shore together with his disciple, and did not board the ship further. Whence for such a miracle he was so well seen at Rome, that it would be a wonderful thing to say: and the said Master Jerome followed him even into Gaul, and learned many other miracles by the account of men, whose number is infinite.

2 Witness 27

[43] The noble man Nicholas de Lenzio, said that he knew, that in times past, that he multiplied apples offered to him. while Brother Francis was among men, there was a public report in the province of Calabria, that he did many miracles, among which was this, that when on one occasion there had been presented to Blessed Francis himself a little basket full of apples by a certain poor little woman, and there were present more than two hundred persons, and each one had taken one apple; nevertheless the basket was not emptied, but remained full; so that the multitude, which was there, was amazed at such a miracle. He adds besides, but from hearing only, about the collapsing lime furnace restored, and the burning coals carried in a bare hand to meet a certain Brother, namely the same, of whom elsewhere it is written: but eyewitness witnesses have deposed that they were not carried to meet him, but that they were thus shown to him sitting by the hearth.

Public faith, I, Argentinus de Alexandro, Doctor of both Laws, of the city of Catalonia, Vice-count of the County of Stilo, give faith, that the aforesaid witnesses have been in my presence examined by Alphonsus Francis de Rean, Master of Acts, faithfully and legally. Therefore I have subscribed myself with my own hand, and signed with my usual seal.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER V.

Process sent from the land of Altilia.

[44] Letter of the people of Altilia. After a triple kiss of the earth to Your Holiness we supplicate, that Your Holiness deign to canonize Blessed Francis of Paola. Who while he was in the province of Calabria, was of most severe life, and most exemplary conversation, full of the Holy Spirit and infused wisdom, a man of every kind of perfection. Who from his infancy advanced from virtue to virtue: to see whom the inhabitants of the kingdom flocked. He bestowed on the afflicted spiritual and corporeal consolation; so much so that those destitute of hope returned consoled, sinners contrite, the sick cured of all sicknesses, and he used to say to sinners, Cleanse your conscience, and cease from such and such sins: so much so that many and many men have been saved. And it is the sixtieth year, that there has always been the greatest fame about his holiness and miracles, which he did and which are innumerable. Many received grace and the benefit of health, so much so that not only from accidental sicknesses, but also from those given by nature many were cured; monstrous that is, blind, injured in members, lepers and mutes, and the dead restored to life. Whence we have sent to Your Holiness some miracles, written by the hand of two Apostolic Notaries, worthy of faith; and we again and again supplicate the same Your Holiness, that Blessed Francis so blessed, just, pure, holy, glorious, may be made to be honored and adored as a Saint, throughout all Churches universally, as our Calabria feels worthy: who imitated the steps of the Holy of Holies our Savior: who may sanctify Your Holiness, and beatify Your Beatitude, and together with his flock make you enjoy heavenly triumph. From Altilia of the Diocese of Cosenza, in the year 1517, January 10.

Humble sons and obedient,

Angelus Pagtusius Sworn Master.

Peter Paschal, Syndic of Altilia.

1 Witness 28

[45] First Brother Bernardine Provenjanus, of the said town, Tertiary of the Order of the said Francis, said, Prodigious sickness of a husband that when he was coming from the city of Cosenza, on the journey a little evil arose in the nose, and then his head was swollen, estimated at more than four palms. From which sickness for thirty-four days he neither saw, nor heard, nor understood, nor ate, nor drank, except that through a straw he sometimes drank by the hand of another: for as to him he seemed to be in the other world. All his hair fell from his head, so much so that every one to see him, as to a monster, ran together: and when the Priest came with the Eucharist, he could not communicate him: since he did not find his mouth, nor were his eyes visible. Whence his wife devoted him to Blessed Francis, by the vow of his wife he is healed. that he should wear the habit of Tertiary of Blessed Francis himself: from which thing within the space of two hours he opened his eyes, and began to speak, and to ask for food: and he was healed, it is now seven years ago.

2 Witness 29

[46] Likewise another miracle was told by Sister Perena, Correctrix of sixteen Religious of the third Order of Blessed Francis, A demon from the mouth of a possessed woman and it is affirmed by the old companion sister, how Sister Joan Caserta, when she had been vexed by a demonic spirit, was brought before Lord Angelus, a devout man of Religion and Confessor of the said Religious women, in the church. And the said Sister Joan with a head-covering was covering her face, and singing and shrieking she was saying: It has gone ill with me, when in the family of Serra a Priest began to be: for I dwelt for two years with this little rustic, since no one was noticing this, and already twenty days had I remained, and no one had noticed. And Lord Angelus replied and said: I will now that you yourself manifest. And after a long exchange, marveling, the Spirit replied: if I had entered the body of some sinner, I would have made him fly through the air: but I have entered the body of this little rustic, and I cannot harm her. And were it not for the girdle of that one, clothed in tattered garments, confessing himself to be restrained by the girdle of the saint, who resides in Gaul, I would dishonor this whole Religion. Then Lord Angelus said: There will come a time when upon these words a process will be made. And when he had asked, what his name was, he replied, Satan.

[47] Who being asked why he had entered such a body, replied, on account of one secret sin, which I never confessed, and often deceived you. And Lord Angelus to him: You have deceived yourself, not me. then for what cause And then Lord Angelus asked him concerning confession, saying: Tell me, what does it profit a man to come to church and do other good things, if he is involved in mortal sin, and does not confess his sins? He replied, it profits him as if he were submerged in waters up to his throat, and the sun were only shining on his head; from which thing it could neither warm him, where and how he had entered her; nor dry him from the moisture of the water: such is he who remains in the gulf of mortal sin, and

does not confess his sins. Likewise the demon being asked, in what place he had entered her body, replied, At the river that is called Saputo: for when she drank from it, she did not sign herself with the sign of the Cross. For if she had signed herself with such a sign, I would not have occupied her body. And he said that he had come from the city of Maturana, which is distant from the said river by two miles; where he had long remained, and to girls going for water he was breaking the pitchers, for the sake of sowing contentions and evils, and so that the girls might think the boys were breaking the pitchers for them.

[48] and at length cast out, And the said demon on the day of St. Peter entered the body of Sister Joan, and occupied it until the month of December. And on a certain day when Lord Angelus was celebrating Masses of grace, the said demon went out from her ear, like a flame of fire, and from her mouth was emitting wool and goat hair, saying, these were the insignia of the nest which he had made for demons. And it is to be noted that the aforesaid demon, indignant against Lord Angelus, said: I will have you cast out from your father's house and I will dishonor you. Which having been done Lord Angelus fell into the indignation of his father, as the demon had foretold: who struck the same Lord Angelus with his heel, and cast him out of the house. And Lord Angelus asked pardon from his father, and departed. Then each one amazed at this thing said to the father of Lord Angelus, why he had done this against Lord Angelus, who is the honor and light of your house and of our land and of all the villages. Which said Lord Serra, father of Lord Angelus, replied: I do not know what you are saying to me, because I neither beat nor expelled him. And thus it appeared, how the said Lord, father of Lord Angelus, had been deluded by the demon. And the said Sister Joan, freed from the demon, advanced in virtues, and foretold the day of her death seven weeks before, and saw the said Lord Angelus the Tertiary of the Minims, glorious, in glory adjacent and near to Blessed Francis.

3 Witness 30

[49] Lady Curia de Scigliano, wife of Lord John de Monte-Altilia, relates, that she was for two years vexed by the falling sickness, tries to avenge herself on the exorcist. so that daily she fell three times: and she was freed by Blessed Francis staying at Paterno. She also affirms that she saw Blessed Francis there exhorting the people three times, on the day when the first stone was placed in the foundation of the church. Freed from the falling sickness, And she asserts that Blessed Francis from a window, which was in the wall of the first chapel next to the altar, took with both hands fruits of every kind, she saw 9 others freed by the same, namely nuts, figs, raisins, dried plums, pomegranates and others, and placed them in the lap of the said Curia: and she affirms that there was nothing in the said window, when Blessed Francis put his hand there; and so miraculously he took the said fruits. She also affirms that from those miraculous fruits he gave to more than nine persons laboring with the said falling sickness, and all were miraculously healed.

4 Witness 31

[50] I John... give faith, how when Lord Angelus had been deprived of the sight of his eyes, sight is restored to a blind man, he had a pair of spectacles which had been sent from France, by the hand of Blessed Francis (I do not know how he had understood how Lord Angelus had been made blind) and as soon as he placed them upon him, immediately he recovered his former health. As for the cause of knowledge, because I saw the aforesaid things: and because after he recovered sight, we were together more than twenty years.

5 Witness 32

[51] I Lady Catherine, wife of Ciccho of Mantua, give faith, how I heard it said by Francis Salio, how he had been ruptured in the lower part; and he went to Blessed Francis, one with a rupture is healed, then dwelling in the town of Paterno, and with bent knee before Blessed Francis he said; I come first to God, then to your sanctity, because I am ruptured: I ask give me some remedy. And Blessed Francis, having placed his hand on the place of the evil, said, Go and take such a herb, the name of which I do not remember. Which Francis Salio did not take care to use that herb, nor was it even necessary to apply any remedy, when returning home on the way he was restored to his former health. And this miracle the said Francis manifested, when Blessed Francis departed from the Kingdom and betook himself into France, grieving at his departure and saying, It has gone ill with us and with the whole province of Calabria, since I was almost dead (for I had been ruptured) and the Blessed one himself with his hand placed healed me.

6 Witness 33

[52] Likewise I Curia, wife of the late Peter Butelagua, of Altilia, give faith with oath, about to cure a sick knee the Saint that I was in the town of Paterno, together with my brother named Gregory, who was sick in the knee, and was asking Blessed Francis to teach him some remedy. Which Blessed Francis said: This is the remedy, for charity's sake; when you commit seeds to the fields of good men, do not deny the land-tax: but say what is true, and do not take the fruits of others: and do not eat the herbs of the poor, who would have sold them in winter, but eat your own. For charity's sake, declares to the man his sins: abstain from such sins, if you wish to be healed. Whence the aforesaid affirmed all the aforesaid things to be true, as if Blessed Francis had been there when Gregory was perpetrating such evils: who, having changed the condition of his former life, made a good end.

7 Witness 34

[53] Robert de Serra asserted, that it is 40 years ago, he saw at Paola Blessed Francis gathering lime stones, red, glowing, from the vault of the furnace, and he was gathering them with unharmed hands, and made a heap from them.

8 Witness 35

[54] Catherine, former wife of Nicholas Furlani, said, that when a certain boy of one year, the life of a dying boy whose name was Luke-John, son of Bernardine Beluto, was gravely ill, already about to give up his spirit; the said Catherine while she was sleeping, saw in a dream three youths, clothed in white garments in the house of the said Bernardine, at the distance of one and a half paces from the sick one: of whom the middle one was carrying a Cross, the other two however a lighted candle, as if they were going to perform funeral rites. And thus he who was carrying the Cross, said: Take him. While these things were being done, the witness herself saw a certain bearded old man, clothed in a blackish and tattered garment, carrying a Cross in his hand, who proceeding said: I seek a hearing. And the said witness heard another answering and saying, he seems to request, What do you seek? Then he, I ask that grace be done for me concerning that boy. And he who was higher and in the air answered: Such grace cannot be granted, since this morning in my name a piece of bread was asked from his house, and they refused. Then the old man: They are so many, that bread cannot always be given to them. I ask, since these are my devoted ones, grant grace for the life of the boy. And he, Within three days you will have a response. and obtains it: And thus the witness herself, when morning came, as soon as she arose, went to the house and said to them: Be of good cheer, for you have a good advocate, and your little one will not die: for this night in dreams I saw these things. And thus she asked the head of the household, whether it was true that they had not given alms that day: and he replied that it was true. And on the third day the boy was healed, and this she heard from the whole house of the said Bernardine.

9 Witness 36

[55] long unconfessed Anthony of Mantua of Altilia said, that when he was at the town of Paterno, for the sake of visiting Blessed Francis, and was speaking with him about certain of his matters; the said Blessed Francis departed, and left him with a certain good man of the said town of Paterno. And the witness himself began to be swollen, and was so entirely swollen, that he was almost dying, and thus could not speak. before the Saint he swoons: And the said good man noticing this, called Blessed Francis; who said: Take straw, and place it inside his nostrils, and he will be healed: and so it was, for he was restored to health. And the witness himself said, that already for two or three years he had not confessed his sins.

10 Witness 37

[56] glowing iron the Saint handles unharmed: Bernardine de Raymundo said, that when he was at Paterno, a servant of a certain man; his master and patron sent him to the blacksmith, to have a horseshoe put on a certain she-ass. Whence when the blacksmith had put the iron in the furnace and then had cut it to the ass, there remained over a certain piece of iron, more than half glowing and burning. By chance Blessed Francis came there then, and asked the blacksmith, whether he had shoes for a certain mule of his. And when the smith had replied that he did, the said Father took that glowing and burning iron in his hand. And he said (the smith or the witness?) Father, do not do it, for you will be burned. And Blessed Francis, For charity's sake, he said, I am warming myself.

11 Witness 38

[57] bread and wine for many Peter Angelus of Altilia said, that when he was at the town of Paterno, with certain men more than twenty, who had come for wood for use in the lime kiln, and they had begun to recline at table, and there were only two baskets of bread, partly whole partly broken (which baskets were scarcely going to suffice two or three persons, as the said Peter thought) nevertheless all those twenty men, by the grace of God and the virtue of Blessed Francis, were satiated at that meal. Which indeed Blessed Francis was preaching the word of God to them, and rebuking them for their vices and sins, admonishing them to be good Christians. he repeatedly multiplies. And after they had reclined well refreshed and satiated, still those baskets appeared full of bread, as they had been before, with no one appearing who would fill them, which was seen to be done miraculously. Likewise also it happened with the wine: for Peter Angelus himself saw a certain jar, of the measure of two barrels, which was continuously pouring out wine, and yet never decreasing: and so all amazed, were speaking with one another in turn. Moreover after those twenty had withdrawn from the aforesaid table, others came in succession, and likewise reclined. And the bread which had miraculously remained from the first table, was also seen in the same quantity at the second table, and likewise worked and sufficed.

The subscribing Notaries were Bernardine Bibe-aquam Presbyter of Altilia and Francis of Mantua, on the 8th and 9th days of the month of January, and as to the last, on the Sunday within the Octave of Epiphany, which in that year fell

on the 11th day, when the Dominical letter was D.

ANNOTATIONS.

a Our copy, The dead.

CHAPTER VI.

Process done at Paterno.

[58] After three kisses of the earth before the sacred footsteps of Your Beatitude, Letter of the people of Paterno, Ranchius de Michaele, Sworn Master, humbly supplicates, with the whole community of Paterno, of the Diocese of Cosenza, that you deign to enroll Blessed Francis of Paola in the catalog of the Saints: who at our place, before he crossed over to the Gauls, constructed a notable monastery, and illustrated all Calabria with his exemplary conversation and pious admonitions, and endowed it with benefits of healings suited to all diseases, and came to the aid of all the afflicted, and prepared for all of us in many ways the way of salvation, and restored many dead to life: as in the process, which is directed to Your Holiness, is more evidently reported. Which process, composed by two most faithful Notaries, and truly received by those worthy of faith, we direct to Your Holiness; that it may more clearly appear, with how great glory God has magnified His Saint: who by our judgment and the opinion of all the region of Calabria, is judged worthy to be worshiped and venerated throughout the whole world. Wherefore we more urgently again and again beseech, that you would be willing to number the aforesaid Blessed Francis in the number of the Saints: who has not only imitated the life of the Saints; but has also most evidently surpassed many in the austerity of life and glory of miracles: so that innumerable are the miracles with us, which through him our Savior Christ performed, and daily performs. In which Christ indeed may Your Beatitude be well and rejoice for ever. From the said town of Paterno, in the year from the virginal birth 1517, January 7.

1 Witness 39

[59] First Notary Francis Curtus of Paterno, who subscribed the depositions of the witnesses written below, A vow having been made to the Saint, when I had returned here to my paternal house, my wife named Parsilia said to me, Do you not know that Octavian Caesar, our son, has been struck with apoplexy, a boy freed from apoplexy: from which I clearly saw that he is dead. And my wife aforesaid was weeping strongly, and thus she devoted herself to Blessed Francis of Paola, saying, Blessed Francis, do me this grace that my son be restored to his former health, and I will clothe him with the vestments and colors of your Religion and habit. Who immediately arose, and with his own hands took a lighted candle. And this also Lady Vela, mother of the said Parsilia my wife, told me, who now three months ago migrated from human affairs. And this was in the year 1515, namely in the month of December, on the vigil of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

2 Witness 40

[60] Stephen Calendinus said, that at the time when Blessed Francis of Paola was having a monastery built, within a small ditch the Saint collects much water, he understood these words said by a certain man: This water flows down this road, which is before the monastery: make a pond, and it will all be held together, that was being dispersed. Which when Blessed Francis had understood, he said to the said Stephen, For charity's sake, make a small ditch. Who made it very small and then led the water there so that it would not flow down the public road. And thus, a course having been made through that little ditch, all the waters, which from various parts were flowing together, received themselves there: whence the roads were dried up, and all together came into admiration, when they saw so great a quantity of waters passing through that small ditch.

3 Witness 41

[61] Jacob Zapo said, that a certain young man of Cosenza made mad, a mad youth because of his very great furies and acts of folly into which he had gone out, had fetters and manacles and bonds on his feet and hands. And because his father had been for many days with Blessed Francis and could not obtain a hearing, at length he decided to bring back the said insane son to the city of Cosenza, whence he had come. And on a certain day, Mass having been heard, they went out from the monastery, before many and innumerable men. Where when Blessed Francis was present, he said to those who were detaining that boy, Let him go. And then the Blessed Father Francis placed his hand on his head and chest, holding him strongly. And that mad boy was turning himself to the blessed Father, and was biting. Then the blessed Father said to those, he heals by the sign of the Cross, who had let him go, Take him again. Which having been done, Blessed Francis again signed him with the sign of the Cross, and immediately he was made whole, nor did he any longer clamor as he was wont, and with the greatest joy returned home together with his father. Then on a certain day the father of the said little fool returned to the monastery: who, known by Blessed Francis, was asked by him how his son was faring. Who replied, that he was well from that time, when he departed from Paterno to Cosenza.

4 Witness 42

[62] Polyxena wife of Calcudino said, that at the same time a certain man of the Principate of Bisignano was brought on horseback, paralyzed in hands and feet, who could not at all use his feet and hands. Who indeed when he had been brought before the sight of Blessed Francis, suddenly began to walk and move his hands, restored to his former health. She also said that she remembers, that from the same Principate was brought on a mare a certain man who was blind: who when he had been brought before the sight of Blessed Francis, Blessed Francis himself asked him and signed him with the sign of the Cross: a blind man, and immediately the said blind man recovered the use of his eyes. Likewise she said that the witness herself had a grave headache, one with a headache, so much so that she was compelled to weep, and the said Blessed Francis said to her, Take this rock, and carry it to the monastery, which at that time the same Blessed one was building. And she replied, I cannot, because I am unwell. And then the said Blessed Francis took a huge rock, and placed it upon her head: and cures one with fever: and as soon as the witness herself thought she was carrying nothing, immediately she was well and free from a great fever, with which she had been laboring.

5 Witness 43

[63] Damian Antonius, after narrating the health obtained by the witness himself for Bellinus de Flore, concerning whom in the Cosenza Process no. 183; and the prodigy of the rock falling from on high, by his command prevented from falling further into the underlying valley, where innumerable persons were keeping themselves, concerning which in the same place no. 190; he restores a severed foot, mentions that a certain man of the town of Paterno, whose name he does not remember, while hewing a beam for the use of the monastery, cut his foot with an axe: and the wound was so deep, that it was scarcely held by the thickness of a finger. And when he cried out, Alas! wretched me! such lamentation was heard by Blessed Francis: who immediately went there and said, For charity's sake, do not doubt. And he had him unshod, cutting the shoes with a sword. And the witness himself saw how the foot was mutilated, both from the upper part and the lower, and was held only by the thickness of one finger. And then Blessed Francis plucked a certain herb of that place, and with his own hands placed it on the wounded foot, having first signed it with the sign of the Cross. And immediately the said wounded man was made whole, and the said witness saw him walking as before.

[64] Likewise the said witness remembers, that a certain nun went to Blessed Francis, and a nun deprived of the use of hands and feet: while dwelling in the town of Paterno; she however was being carried on a horse, because now for ten years she had been maimed and deprived of the use of her hands and feet. Whom when Blessed Francis saw, he had her get down from the horse and said, For charity's sake, arise, and come to carry stones for the use of building the monastery, which was distant by fifty paces. Which nun said: For charity's sake I can: for I have been deprived of the use of feet and hands for ten years. And the said Blessed Francis said to two persons, who had led her there, Lift her up. Which done Blessed Francis took a huge stone, and placed it upon her head, and said, Go, for charity's sake. And the said sick woman walked, and carried the said stone to the monastery. When she had arrived there, she began to exclaim, Mercy, since I have been made whole. And the said witness saw her walking and moving her hands, and healed on both sides.

6 Witness 44

[65] Charles Moulin said, before Bernard Pipio, Notary of Paterno, who examined this and the following witnesses, that at the time when Blessed Francis was in the town of Paterno, and the pond of the monastery was being dug, he multiplies a few figs: for which there was a multitude of workmen laboring in turn, and it was the evening hour; the blessed Father came forth from his cell, and said to them; You are now weary and fatigued. And he brought forth from the sleeve of his tunic a third part of a string or chaplet of figs, about twenty, and said, Do you believe that a pair of figs can be distributed for each one? Which Charles replied, Father, if a pair of figs will be given to each one, what will remain for me? Then the blessed Father: The grace of God will not fail. And so he began to divide, assigning a pair to each one, and thus all received their portion. Then he began to give single figs to each one, likewise all received their portion. And nevertheless that chaplet of figs remained so whole in Blessed Francis's possession, as it was before the division.

7 Witness 45

[66] Francis Arbius said, that on another occasion when he was returning from the vineyard, a certain noble man of Cosenza of the family of de li Rochi arrived: which noble said to the witness, Can you make it so that I may have a hearing from Brother Francis? And the witness himself said, A fetus lacking mouth and eyes By the grace of God, yes. And so they went together to the monastery and knocked at the door: and the door was opened. And the witness went to the blessed Father saying, Father, a certain noble man of Cosenza would like to address your paternity. And he replying that he was content, betook himself to the door of the church. And when he had seen that Noble, he asked, what he wanted. Who replied: Father, I wish to show you a creature without eyes and without mouth. Then immediately mules came with that creature, which was truly a monster; he bestows them? and the witness himself saw it lacking eyes and mouth. And the blessed Father turning to it, said, Our Brother, for charity's sake, open your eyes. And with saliva he anointed the place where

the eyes are wont to be; and likewise with his finger he anointed the place where the mouth is wont to be. And thus there appeared a mouth, which it opened. Then the witness himself asked certain Cosenza men, how that creature was faring: and they said to him, that the eyes were good, the mouth also good.

8 Witness 46

[67] Nicholas Ruffus the Tertiary said, that at the time when Blessed Francis was at Paterno, hunters brought a certain man of the land of Matrona, who had died on the mountain of Paterno from the snow, he revives one killed by cold, and they wished to bury him as dead in the monastery of the said land of Paterno. Now it happened that at that time there were many men there, all of whom asserted that he was dead; and Blessed Francis said, God has done you grace. Which said he revived, and raised himself, and departed.

9 Witness 47

[68] Charles Molus of Paterno said, that when the vault of the church of the Annunciation of Paterno was being constructed, on it were several architects or masters, likewise another fallen from on high, and among others a certain Master Leonard of Philip: who while he was working, fell and seemed dead. And while he was thus held for dead, Blessed Father Francis came, to whom they said, how that Master had fallen from the top of the vault, and was already dead. Whence the said blessed Father took him by the hand, and said; Arise, for charity's sake, for you have nothing evil. Which indeed Master Leonard suddenly arose, and went to work. And the same blessed Father said to him, Do not make such leaps, for charity's sake.

10 Witness 48

[69] Frisca-rosa, wife of Francis de Simone, deposed, how when the daughter of Robert Tornelli was in her cradle, and a girl suffocated in her cradle, named Sigismunda, who is now the wife of Anthony Cautus; the mother of the said Sigismunda (as she asserted to the said witness) went to the cradle and found her said daughter dead, whose throat had been corroded: wherefore she thought she had been suffocated by the devil: for in the said house there used to appear one who made a certain noise as if dragging a hide. Which girl thus dead was brought to Blessed Francis in the church of the Annunciation of Paterno. Whom when he saw, he said: Depart, evil thing. Which said, that girl immediately was well and safe.

11 Witness 99

[70] Margolinus Matalonus said, how Thomas de Yvre, cutting down a chestnut tree with all its branches, and crushed by the falling of a tree, for making beams of the church; as the aforesaid tree fell, the trunk of the tree itself struck him with a certain other tree, and on account of this the said Thomas seemed evidently dead. And then Blessed Francis said to those who were there present, sit a little with God. And so the said deponent and others withdrew and stood at a distance, and Blessed Francis remained with the said dead Thomas. And then a little time later they saw him erect and well, as if he had not been affected by that evil or fall: and he went to work. Now the trunk of the tree had fallen upon his belly: and this happened in a certain place called lo Patano. And further the same witness said, and the same fallen from the bell tower, that when on another occasion he was in the place of Paterno, there was public report that the said Thomas had fallen from the bell tower of fifty palms height, and seemed dead, and the blessed Father restored him: and this was said publicly in the said town of Paterno.

[71] For a girdle given to another Moreover he was present when a certain Noble, named Cola Monachus, came to the place of Paterno to Blessed Francis, for the sake of asking from him some devout things for his wife, and asked for something of the tunic or of the girdle: and the said blessed Father gave him his girdle: and so the said Noble departed. And a little later the said blessed Father called a certain monk, named Brother Santolinus of Paterno, and said to him, he causes a new one to be found. Dig here. Who when he had done so, found a certain new girdle, lacking knots, which seemed to have been placed there at that hour. And the blessed Father said to the said Brother Francis Santolinus, Make, for charity's sake, the knots. And the said Brother made the knots, and said to the blessed Father, O Father, did you place this girdle? which in their language they call cordone. And the blessed Father said: The Lord God placed it, and not I.

12 Witness 50

[72] Luna, wife of Thomas the barber, said, that when Thomas her husband had been sick for many days, he was seen to be dead, and they placed him upon a certain bench, as if dead, he gives life to a man already to be buried, and tied and composed his hands, as is wont to be done for those who have already migrated from this life: and immediately they sent a messenger to the blessed Father, and had it set forth to him how the said Thomas was dead. And the blessed Father sent to him certain things, and said: For charity's sake, animate and comfort him, for he will not suffer danger. Which things were given to the said Thomas, and immediately he began to take strength: and he arose, and so was free from the said sickness.

[73] and a boy whose head his father had broken. And more, he knows that on another occasion there was brought to him a son of a certain Adroisius Cicala, who when he was in the field had struck his said son on the head with a certain pitchfork, so that a piece of the pitchfork itself was lodged in the boy's head. And when the aforesaid piece was extracted from the boy's head, along with the wood even the marrow was seen to come out. Which boy indeed when he had been brought to the blessed Father, the same blessed Father said, Of how many evils is the evil head, that is, the devil, the cause? and he admonished the father of the boy, to lead him to Master Anthony for the sake of treatment, since he had nothing evil. And so the said Adroisius went to the said Master Anthony, who treating him restored him to his former health, as if he had never had a wound in the head.

13 Witness 51

[74] Bernardine de Arbio said, that he knows from the account of Francis his father about the creature without eyes and mouth, as above in no. 66. Antoninus Niclus Nustasus of Paterno, as a witness, subscribed to the depositions made from no. 68, In the year of the Lord 1517, Faith of the Notaries, in the reign of our Lord Prince, Lord Charles, and Queen Joanna of Aragon, in the first year of the Dominion and felicity, Amen. Likewise subscribed Paul Fatarius of Pane, as one who at the request of the Sworn Master and Elect of Paterno examined the witnesses written above in the presence of Charles Milli, Judge of evil deeds, and Notary Nicholas Missassi, a witness produced for seeing the examination; without doubt the same one who a little before is written as Antoninus Niclus Nistasus, by the carelessness of the transcribers, erring here or there from the true writing of the name: which though it come about otherwise also in the use of proper names we scarcely doubt, yet we cannot but follow those erring.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VII.

Process done in the land of Xiliano.

[75] Letter to the Pope. After the triple kiss of the earth, before the footstep of Your Holiness, Most Holy and Most Blessed Prelate of the Universal Church, supplication is made to Your Holiness, on behalf of the Syndics and Sworn Masters of the University, and of such appurtenances of the land of Xiliano of the Diocese of Marthurana, saying that in these parts of ours dwelt the Blessed Father Francis of Paola: who was of Most Holy life: who had many convents built, and gathered many Holy Fathers and Brothers of the highest honesty. Whence, when the said Father was dwelling in the convents of Paola, Paterno, and Spezzano, many and diverse persons ran to him; among whom were some burdened with various infirmities, who, by divine grace operating and through the merits and prayers of the blessed Father, returned whole, their former health recovered: as in the enclosed process, done by the Notaries written and deputed for this, is contained. Wherefore humbly supplication is made to Your Most Blessed Holiness, in the name and on behalf of those aforesaid supplicating. May it please you, of the grace and love of divine Paternity, to refer and enroll in the catalog of the most blessed Saints the aforesaid Francis of Paola: who while he lived was an imitator of the Saints and follower of the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ: who may give Your Most Blessed Holiness a long life and victory against the infidels, so that they may be restored to the Holy Catholic faith under the banner of the Cross. From the said land of Xiliano, on the 4th day of January, in the year 1517.

The most humble of Your Holiness

The Captain of the University and the men of Xiliano.

1 Witness 52

[76] Anthony Razutus of the same land said that he himself remembers, that when he was a boy, he was led by his mother to the town of Paterno, A spot in the eye the Saint cures, where at that time there was residing a certain Brother Francis of Paola, on account of a certain spot which was damaging his eye. And when he arrived there, the said Father struck his head with a certain rod, and then with his hands restored it to the boy: and when he had returned home, he was found to be free from that spot.

2 Witness 53

[77] Palmerius de Curigliano, of the said town, asserted with oath, and another infirmity of the eyes that when he was sick in the eyes, he was healed by the said Father Francis: by whom also his sister was healed, whose name was Vermigliana, who was maimed and invalid in the middle toward her feet: and two weak women, who when she had been borne on horseback on account of her sickness, then restored to her former health, returned home on her own feet.

3 Witness 54

[78] Master Macheno de Renda said, that when the witness was in the town of Paterno, in the convent where then was Blessed Francis: a certain Lady of Laviano lacking the use of her feet, and therefore since she could not walk, was conveyed there on horseback, and commended herself to the blessed Father and his prayers. Which indeed the blessed Father said to her: arise and bring a basket full of sand: who trembling arose, and brought a basket full of sand from a certain valley, and from that hour was made well.

5 Witness 55

[79] Master Bartholomew said, that when his mother was maimed and destitute of the use of her knees, and a woman maimed in the knees. she betook herself to the town of Paterno to Blessed Francis, who then dwelt there, and commended herself to his prayers and intercessions, asking him to be willing to pour forth prayers to God for her, because she was maimed

and destitute of the use of her knees. Which indeed the Blessed Father Francis said: Arise and take this splinter. Who replied, Father, I cannot arise. And the said Father to her: Have good faith, and arise. Who suddenly arose, and took the splinter, and thus was well.

5 Witness 56

[80] Master John Salvius says he knows only this, that when on one occasion he was in the convent of the town of Paterno, He cures a mute, a certain woman came with her son, who had been made mute. And Blessed Francis had the boy placed before the door of the church, and commanded the father and mother to work: for at that time the convent was being built in the said town. And a little later he sent the boy to the mother, who saw him sound. And the witness himself, laboring with sciatica, sciatica, was cured by the said Father, and restored to his former health. Whose wife also from the disease of apoplexy, an apoplectic woman, by which she was especially laboring, was freed by the same.

6 Witness 57

[81] Lady Catherine, wife of Frederick Fabianus, said that she on a certain day was in the said convent, one maimed in the shoulder, and there was also Richard Scalisi, of the same land: and the blessed Father said to him, Take this pickaxe and split this stone. Which Richard to the blessed Father said; Father, I cannot, because I am invalid and maimed in the shoulder, and therefore I came to Your Paternity. Then the blessed Father said: Do not fear, take the pickaxe, and split this stone. And when he had done so and broken the stone, he was made whole.

7 Witness 58

[82] Lady Brigida Fronteca said, that when a certain relative of hers had come to the said convent, he indicates to a mother the fall of her daughter. she brought with her her daughter named Palmera. Then the Blessed Father Francis said to the mother of the said Palmera: Go quickly, and see that your daughter marry him whom she keeps at home, because he is her husband. And immediately the wickedness of her daughter having been known, who had previously gone home before her mother, she joined her to that man who was at home, a disciple of her father, named Stephen de Mila: because she was found pregnant before the matrimony was contracted: and if she had not gone to the blessed Father, the danger of the greatest scandal was imminent.

8 Witness 59

[83] Sister Andriana de Macertis said, that when she was afflicted with pain of the eye, on account of a certain little cloth damaging her eye, he cures her eye, she went to Blessed Francis and in the middle of the journey was made whole. And when she was in the town of Paterno, at the table, on which cooked beans and chestnuts had been placed, the bread was lacking: which thing seen, the blessed Father said to her and to the others dining: Have patience, Provisions are brought copiously from the prediction. for immediately God will send his grace: and thus suddenly a certain Anthony of Mantua from Altilia appeared with a packload of bread and wine. And more, there came to the blessed Father a certain Sister Gaducia, and a mute is healed. who was swollen and mute for four days on account of sickness. Which indeed the blessed Father made whole: at which the witness herself was present.

9 Witness 60

[84] Sister Joan de Calisuri said, that her uncle, named Paul Calisuro, he cures a weak man, when he was maimed and destitute of the strength of his body, and was going to Blessed Francis, in the middle of the journey was cured. And this she knows from the report and account of the said Paul.

10 Witness 61

[85] Lady Candida, wife of Antoninus de Galterio, said, and a woman maimed in the arm, that when a certain relative of hers had gone to the town of Paterno, and was herself maimed in the arm; she was restored to health by the said blessed Father. And this the aforesaid witness saw: because when she came she was maimed, and could not before raise her arm: and then she saw her well. And when the blessed Father healed her, he said: Take this stone: which when she had done, immediately she was made well.

11 Witness 62

[86] Bernard Malecta said, that he was present when Blessed Francis entered the lime furnace, caused a great beam to be moved, to repair its falling corner, and when he halted with a word a stone falling from on high. Moreover that when thirty men wished to carry a huge beam, and were not equal to so great a burden, the blessed Father placed his hand, and thus they suddenly carried it.

12 Witness 63

[87] Francis de Galtero deposes, that when two Priests of the same land had come before the said Father Brother Francis, and he saw them, he knew divinely things otherwise unknown to him. he named them saying, You Archpriest and you Archdeacon, come and sit here. And this he deposes because he himself was present. And he said that a certain man came to the said Father named Gabriel de Galtero, for his sick son named Bernardine: and the said Father said to him: Return, and do well to your father, because he is poorer than you: and your son will be healed. And having returned he did well to his father, and then his son was healed, and he marveled at this.

13 Witness 64

[88] Lady Andiana, wife of Nicholas de Fano, deposes, how her mother, he heals a paralytic named Augustine, was very much paralytic, so that she could not move from her knees and shins: and when Stephen Moruciscius brought to her one biscuit, sent by the said Father, and one bitten by a rabid dog: she was whole and free. And when her brother, named Atfilius, had been attacked by a raging dog, and her father had brought him to the said Father, he was healed from such disease: and these things she deposes, because he was near rabies. And further she deposes, by the account of her father, he resuscitates a dead nephew: how her father saw the nephew of Brother Francis brought to him dead for two days, and saw him resuscitated, in the convent of Paterno.

14 Witness 65

[89] Lady Medea, wife of the late Paul de Serra, he cures a woman sick in the breasts, deposes, that while she had her breasts perforated, so that her ribs were visible to her for a year, three physicians and two surgeons could not in any way relieve her: but when she went to the blessed Father at Paterno and bent her knees, immediately the blessed Father raised her up, and she was made whole.

15 Witness 66

[90] Lady Gesotta, wife of the late Notary Philip de Saxo, A paralytic woman, deposes, that when she had borne a son, and from the birth had remained paralytic, she could not in any way be healed. And when her said husband had gone to the blessed Father at Paterno, on his return she was immediately made whole.

16 Witness 67

[91] Lady Lucretia, wife of John de Paterno, deposes from the word of her mother, a woman sick in the stomach, how her mother herself Lady Antonia was continuously suffering from pain of the stomach: and when she had sent to the said Father Francis, she came out and was well.

17 Witness 68

[92] Alphonsus de Julianis deposes, that he was present at Paterno, another paralytic, when Francis of Paola healed a paralytic, who was from the Hamlets of Cosenza: and he saw him first paralytic, then well.

18 Witness 69

[93] Lady Angela, wife of the late John de Limpia, an asthmatic girl, deposes how she had a daughter named Angelota, having sisisma, that is, asthma, so that she could not in any way continue. Meanwhile she sent to the said Father her said husband John: and from then her said daughter was whole and free from such disease.

I, Alphonsus de Gualterio, of the land of Xiliano, Notary public by Royal authority everywhere throughout this kingdom of Sicily, Faith of the Notary. at the request and command of the Magnificent Lord Peter de Alvarez the Spaniard, Captain of the said land, and of the Syndics, diligently examined all the aforesaid witnesses, and they deposed as has been noted above.

19 Witness 70

[94] Joannettus Brunus of Xiliano said, that when a certain Lentulus of the said land had gone with Joannetto himself to the convent, The disobedient is not cured by the Saint. and they had brought with them a certain sick man, named Salvator Brunus, who was laboring with sciatica, on account of which he could not even move; and when he was before the blessed Father he asked from him grace. Which indeed the blessed Father said to him: Take a mallet, and go, and work. Which he did not take care to do: and then on another occasion when he was expecting grace from the blessed Father, he replied, You were unwilling for it. And thus the blessed Father turned himself to the said Lentulus and said to him that he had cut down a cherry tree: And it was the truth that he had cut down a cherry tree: but that thing was in the town of Xiliano, and the Father told it, as it had happened in the town of Paterno.

20 Witness 71

[95] Stephen Mirabellus, of the same Xiliano, said, that when he was suffering an evil in his flanks, so that he could not walk nor sleep; the pain of the flanks is cured, he went to the blessed Father, and asked from him grace for the love of God, and immediately was well.

21 Witness 72

[96] Phoebus Mirabellus said, that when his son was sick from a certain abscess which was beneath the breast, and a boy whose three ribs had already been consumed. so that three of his ribs had already been lost (for he had been sick for a year) he went to Brother Francis at the town of Paola without his son, because it was said that the blessed Father worked miracles; and asked from him grace for the love of God in the evening hour. Which indeed the blessed Father said: Go, since your son is well, because God has done him grace: but devote him to St. Mary de Mazo. And thus he departed on the following day, and found his son free from danger. And the household related, that on the preceding day in the evening hour he had begun to feel somewhat better. And the witness noticed, that at that hour, when he asked for grace, the boy began to convalesce, who already was held for dead. And likewise Lady Rosa, wife of the witness himself, attested, how in the evening hour, on the day before the witness himself returned from the said Father, the boy began to convalesce.

22 Witness 73

[97] Polyxena de Neocastro, of the town of Xiliano, said that when she had a certain son, named Bartolus, who was in extremis, The Saint heals a dying boy at the hour about to expire; her husband, named Anthony de Neocastro, went to the Blessed Father Francis, and asked from him grace. And thus the blessed Father himself gave him one biscuit and an apple, and said: See that the sick one bite these things which I have given you: for God will do him grace. Moreover when you are at the bridge of Sabno

in the upper part, you will lift up a stone, and under that stone you will find three crabs, and you will place them upon your son, two on the arms and the other on the forehead. And thus the said Anthony, as soon as he arrived at the said bridge, lifted up the stone, and found the crabs, and did as the said Father had ordained for his son: and thus the said son was unharmed and well. And this was on the vigil of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Likewise the aforesaid Polyxena said, a distorted arm, that when she had an arm distorted and lacking strength, she went to the blessed Father, and was healed of the said arm.

23 Witness 74

[98] Contesa Mafa said, that a certain nephew of hers, named Alphonsus de Galterio, an excellent boy, a boy's distorted feet, had both feet distorted; whence his parents took him to the said Father, and thus he was well, as she herself saw: she added, that many of the castle ran together to see such a miracle.

24 Witness 75

[99] Nicholas Fronte of Xiliano, said that when he himself was so gravely ill, another one dying, that he had had Extreme Unction, he sent a certain son of his to the blessed Father to ask for grace. Which indeed the blessed Father gave him two apples, and said: Tell your father that he have good faith: for he will have grace. And then the witness himself had the physician called, from whom he received no benefit. And thus he sent again to the said Brother Francis, who was unwilling to give a response to the said boy. Who insisting received these words. Since you have a physician, what do you want from me? but go, and tell your father, that he remain with the grace of God. And so with the coming of night the said Father appeared to the witness in sleep, or rather as if awake, and said: Be of good cheer: for you have had grace. And then a little later in a few days he was free from the said sickness.

26 Witness 76

[100] Aurifica Torcha of the castle of Xiliano, said how she, when she was blind and deprived of both eyes, a blind woman, sent her husband to the said Father, who ordered for her certain things: which when they had been done, she suddenly received sight.

27 Witness 77

[101] Sole Torcha said, that she when she was sometime sick with a certain disease, commonly called cimicum, sent her husband to Blessed Francis. Which indeed Brother gave him one apple and one small biscuit: which things when she had received, immediately she began to eat from them: another sick woman, and immediately she was freed from that sickness, which renders the body so corroded as if bedbugs and fleas had corroded it, without any wounds appearing.

27 Witness 78

[102] Brancha de Xeso, of the same castle of Xiliano, said, struma in the arm, that she remembered when she was a girl, that her father had struma in his arm: who when he had gone to Blessed Francis, returned whole and unharmed.

28 Witness 79

[103] Maria Caula, of the same town of Xiliano, said, limping, that she herself the witness being lame in both feet from pain of the knees, had herself borne on horseback to Blessed Francis, existing in the town of Paterno. As soon as she arrived there, with bent knee she prostrated herself before the Blessed Father: who had her sit, and then in that same instant said: Arise, and go with God, and you will have grace. and catarrh. And thus she arose, and returned home on her own feet, safe and unharmed. Likewise the said witness was laboring with catarrh, went to the blessed Father, and was whole from the said infirmity.

29 Witness 80

[104] Simon de Yesio, of the same town of Xiliano, said that he several times went to the said Brother Francis at the town of Paterno: He does many miracles. from whom he received excellent precepts and teachings. Which indeed Brother Francis was healing mutes and maimed and those destitute of strength, and cured many kinds of diseases. Likewise when anyone came to him of bad conscience, and who takes delight in some evil, he would say: Go and abandon evil delights.

30 Witness 81

[105] Francis de Gratiano said, that the witness himself, when he had his wife gravely ill, he heals a woman and had gone to the blessed Father, who was in the castle of Spezzano; asked for grace: and the Father ordered certain things. And when he returned home, he found his wife Joan whole and well, and free from that sickness: and he had not had any other order for the curing of her said sickness.

31 Witness 82

[106] Jacob de Petrono, of the same castle of Xiliano, said, and a sick boy. that when he had a sick son, he sent John Francis his husband to the town of Paterno, where the aforesaid Father was residing. And the Blessed Father Francis ordered for him certain things: and as soon as he did them, immediately his son was healed.

32 Witness 83

[107] Francis Rezinus, of the same Xiliano, said, that he learned from a certain woman, he predicts to a certain woman that she will die a widow: named Lucretia, that when she was a widow bereaved of her husband, she went to the said Brother Francis: who said to her that she should not pass to second vows, nor marry again, since she was going to die a widow. And thus the said Lucretia not obeying the said Brother Francis, married again: and her second husband was killed.

33 Witness 84

[108] Domitia Annella de Stoca, of Xiliano, said, that the late Lady Impernata, elephantiasis was laboring with a certain disease, which she said according to the opinion of physicians was elephantiac, that is, of St. Lazarus. And when she had gone to the said blessed Father, she narrated to him her sickness. Who said, Do not fear and have good faith: for you will be well. And so he gave her certain remedies, whence she was freed and safe from such sickness. Moreover she said, that the father of the said Lady Impernata, and he cures a cancer. named Gregory, for seventeen years was suffering in the joint of his foot a disease of cancer, and could in no way be healed: and when he had gone to the said holy Father, the same Holy Father said to the suffering Gregory: You have walked too much: therefore have faith. And when he made the sign of the Cross on his foot, immediately he was whole.

I John Aloisius Maza Notary, etc. as above after no. 93.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Process done at Neocastro.

[109] After the triple kiss of the earth before the footsteps of Your Holiness, Most Blessed and Most High Prelate, Supplicating letter to the Pope. most worthy Pastor of the universal Church; humbly supplicate the Vice-count, Syndics, Sworn Masters, and all the nobles and citizens of the city of Neocastro, obedient sons of the Apostolic See; that Your Holiness would deign to enroll the wonderful and glorious Francis of Paola, gleaming with signs and miracles, who was the most splendid lamp of our region, in the catalog of the Saints. For all Calabria proclaims him a Saint, and does not doubt that, illustrious in merits, he reigns with Christ in the eternity of glory. As testimony of whose holiness, besides the gifts of healings and graces, which our people daily receive, we have had certain of our citizens examined concerning the life and fame and wonderful deeds of the aforesaid Blessed Father Francis of Paola, and their depositions reduced in truthful style by the subjoined Apostolic Notary, and fortified with the seal of our said city: that Your Holiness, by the so evident prodigies and signs of the said Blessed Francis, may more easily be inclined to the fulfillment of our petition. Namely, that so holy, so just, and so perfect a man, who imitated the life of the Saints, you may enumerate in the number of the Saints; so that throughout the universal Church, as all deem him worthy of such honor, he may be worshiped and venerated; and exist as an intercessor for us with our Savior, whom with so many signs in life and after he has illustrated. In which our Savior may Your Holiness daily increase from Peter. From our aforesaid city, on the penultimate of this month of December, of the 5th Indiction, 1517.

1 Witness 85

[110] The provident man Louis Galisus said, that it is now 35 years more or less, the ship stuck on the shoal when the witness himself was a sailor on a certain French galley of the captain, by commission of Ferdinand the Elder, the said Blessed Francis of Paola with a certain little confrere of his boarded the said galley, to proceed to France. And when he was about to enter the mouth of Ostia, by chance and misfortune, as happens, the said galley stuck in the bottom so that the captain and the counselors said, that now the galley was held for lost, and so they began to cast into the river wood and other things existing in the said galley. Which when it was being done, the said Blessed Francis said, that he ought to be led to the land. And after he had been led, he placed himself within a certain hedge, and was praying to God. And while he was praying the galley itself emerged, and navigated the river, so much so that it was out of danger. And when for several days he had remained at Rome together with Blessed Francis, he lifts up by prayer, afterwards they gave sail toward Marseille. And when they had arrived at the island of Corsica, they found a ship and a pirate bireme, which were standing above the wind, prepared to attack the galley. At the sight of which, the Captain of the galley and the Ambassador were saying, that they thought they had perished and been captured. he drives the pirate ships from the same: In that conversation the Blessed Father Francis brought forth his head from the cabin, and climbed to the eagle or upper deck of the galley, and asked, what were their conversations. And then the said captain and Ambassador showed him the ship and bireme, saying they had perished and could not escape. And the said Blessed Francis said: Follow your course, and do not fear the ship or bireme. Which said he returned to his cabin, and the galley followed its course

its course: and although the ship and bireme were above the wind, they found themselves miraculously so far from the galley, that they could not attack it. And thus the galley freely sailed away: whence the captain and Ambassador and all the sailors said, that they had miraculously escaped the hands of pirates. And when they had arrived in Provence the Blessed Father Francis and his companion, his sandals afterwards calm a tempest. together with the Ambassador and those who were going with him, descended from the galley for the sake of going into France. And when the galley was returning to Naples, suddenly a great tempest arose, so much so that they were driven about the sea all night: wherefore they thought they had perished. And when day had come, the waves grew stronger, so much so that all thought they had perished. Whence when under the little chest of the poop of the galley itself a pair of wooden sandals of the Blessed Father Francis had been found, the sailors cast the said sandals into the waves: whence for this reason the waves and wind ceased, so much so that it was necessary by rowing to go to the port of Venus, where they repaired the galley, everywhere shattered from the tempest and taking in water.

[111] The honorable man Jacob Mantonis, said, that (it is 40 or 50 years ago) when he was in a forest, in which he was pasturing three untamed calves, by chance he noticed two Brothers, sent by Blessed Francis to collect wood for the sake of making a convent, which he was having built in the town of Paterno: which Brothers on behalf of Blessed Francis asked the said witness, untamed oxen carry wood for the use of building: that he would carry the wood that was in the said forest, for the sake of covering the said church, which was distant from the place by twenty miles. Which witness indeed replied, that it was not possible to carry the wood with the said calves: seeing that on that day he had taken them from the forest, and they were untamed, and had never borne the yoke. And those Brothers said, that he should have confidence in Blessed Francis: and that he should yoke the said calves, so that they might carry the said wood: for Blessed Francis would pray God for him. And thus the witness himself placed under the yoke two of the calves, and loaded them with wood: which wood he brought to the church of Paterno so placidly and without danger, as if they had been tamed calves of ten years.

3 Witness 87, 2 Witness 86

[112] Lady Lucretia, wife of Nicholas Macte, of Altilia, he frees a woman from a grave infirmity, said, that she with many other matrons went to the convent, which Blessed Francis was having built in Paterno; to which came many sick from diverse infirmities and sicknesses, such as the blind, deaf, mute, vexed by spirits, maimed and destitute of strength; and they came to Blessed Francis, and from there returned whole without any other evil; and he did many other miracles. And she adds, that when she had been accustomed to observe Wednesday, so as not to eat any meats; which she had incurred by having intermitted the 4th observance. by the urging of her husband she had been compelled to depart from such observance, and as a consequence to eat. All kinds of ferocious animals and venison hurt her so much, that from the suffering which she endured at night, she seemed entirely shattered and weakened. And therefore she decided to go to the Blessed Brother Francis, for the sake of being freed from such vexation and suffering, by the help and grace of our Lord. And thus when she had gone to him, with bent knee she prostrated herself and bowed before him. Which indeed the blessed Father said: Go, daughter, return to the devotion, which you had, and you will be free. And thus the said witness, when she had returned to the observance of Wednesday, as before, was free: which day at present the witness herself observes.

4 Witness 88

[113] Anthony de Durantis said, that when he was laboring with a fever, he easily moves a heavy stone: he went to the Blessed Father Francis at the town of Paterno, and by the help and aid of the said Father he returned well and free from fever. And the witness himself saw, that in the convent, which was being built in the aforesaid town, there was a huge stone of the weight of two hundred canthars, so much so that nine men could not move it. And when the said Brother Francis had come, he placed his hand and said: For charity's sake help, all of you. And thus they rolled the stone to that place, where Blessed Francis wanted, namely to the ditch where they were founding the said monastery.

5 Witness 89

[114] Nicholas Ruffus said, that when he was laboring with a certain disease, he cures a lunatic, so much so that it was said he was lymphatic or spirited, and many physicians were giving effort to cure him with remedies, and were profiting nothing; at last moved by the fame, which was flourishing in the city of Neocastro, of the miracles which Blessed Francis was doing, he went there with a certain uncle of his. And when he was before the blessed Father, he prostrated himself at his feet: who signed him with the sign of the Cross, and immediately he was free. Which indeed Blessed Francis said to him: Go, he rebukes a hidden Sodomite, for you have had the grace of our Lord God. And he adds, that there also came a certain man who was laboring with the vice of sodomy, and had a spot in his eye: and so he asked the blessed Father, that he be willing to do him grace, and make him whole from the spot of his eye. And so Blessed Francis said: Go, poor man, amend yourself from the vice by which you labor, and thus you will be whole from the spot, which you bear in your heart, not in your eye. Amend yourself, I say and warn, and you will be saved.

6 Witness 90

[115] Lady Bernardine Longa said, that when for many years she had been with her husband, for an aged woman and had never procreated children; she sent to the Blessed Brother Francis in France through the venerable Brother Francis of Abrigliano, of the castle of the city of Cosenza, who professed his Order, to supplicate and obtain grace that she might be able to procreate children. she obtains offspring; Which indeed the Blessed Brother Francis sent to her two apples, that for devotion she should eat them: and moreover admonished her, that she should do the will of our God; for in time He will make her content. And when for twenty years she had remained with her first husband, he having died she married another, and procreated children, and this was in the first year of her second marriage: and she was 38 years of age: and she holds for certain that by the help and intercession of Blessed Francis she had obtained grace. Moreover she adds, that when she had a wax candle sent from France through Blessed Brother Francis, and Lady Roberta de Bono-anno was in childbirth, and had upon her many Relics, his candle lightens one in labor: and could not bring forth the birth, and was almost in extremis; she gave her the aforesaid candle: which when she had lit, a little later she miraculously brought forth the birth.

7 Witness 91

[116] The noble Fabricius Monza, of the city of Taverna, said, he cures an insane girl, that when Lady Consentia his sister was ill in the said city of Taverna, and on account of the sickness was delirious, and had been made mad (which sickness now for five or six months had detained her in bed) she sent a certain man, named Garetus Monza, her brother, to the Blessed Brother Francis in the town of Paterno, that she might have grace for deliverance from the said madness. Which Lord Garetus, when he was before the blessed Father, recounted the sickness of the said woman. And the said blessed Father said, that the said woman would obtain grace from Almighty God: attend to her care and management. he rebukes hidden sins, Which woman obtained grace on that day, and at present is free and alive: it is now 35 years and more. And the said witness added how Lord Garetus his brother revealed, how then Blessed Francis rebuked the said Garetus for certain of his hidden sins, which he was committing, and admonished him to abstain from them.

8 Witness 92

[117] The Magnificent Lord Peter Angelus Mazatella said, the lime kiln still seething that when in times past he was in the town of Paterno, at the time when Blessed Francis was having a convent built there, the witness himself went to see Blessed Francis. Now it happened that the fire had been removed from the lime kiln, which the said Father had had made for the construction of the convent, and with the said fire removed, for the space of ten or twelve hours, he saw Blessed Francis entering the said lime kiln, with a certain basket, which he had in his hand, together with some other Brothers of the said Order, he enters with his own: who were removing the stones, which were inside the lime kiln. Which seemed an evident miracle: since after the fire is removed from any lime kiln, for the space of five or six days it cannot be touched. And he added, that when he departed from Brother Francis, he had from him four small wax candles, on which with his own nails he made certain crosses, and said that he ought to preserve them for the devotion and honor of our Lord God. he heals a sick woman. And when the said deponent arrived home, he gave one of them to his wife, who was greatly oppressed by arthritic sickness, so much so that when she was urged by it, she lost speech, and her hands and feet and arms were contracted. Which woman from devotion began to carry the said candle on her person, and from that hour the said sickness did not oppress her so gravely: and it is held for certain, that this befell her from the devotion, which she had toward the said Brother.

9 Witness 93

[118] Master Salvator de la Motta said, that when he had a son five years old, he makes a five-year-old boy eat. who had never eaten, and he knew the fame of the good life and miracles which the Blessed Brother Francis of Paola did; he went to him together with his son. And when he was before the blessed Brother, he opened to him the cause: And Blessed Francis said, Go with the Lord, for He has done you grace. And when they had returned home, the son began to ask for bread from his father and mother. And he added that when a certain cooper was folding a hoop, to bind a barrel with it; the head of the said hoop, slipping by chance, struck his eye; so much so that his entire eye had gone out. he restores the knocked-out eye of a cooper, Which eye the cooper himself with his own hand replaced in the socket of the eye, and thus the said patient went where Blessed Francis was staying, in the monastery of the town of Paola; where he remained three days, and then by the help of Almighty God and by the virtue of Blessed Francis received the health of his eye. Which deponent saw the said cooper illuminated in sight, when before he was blind in the said eye.

[119] And now he added, that when the witness himself was in Paterno, and conversation was being had about carrying beams for the use of the monastery, the witness himself together with fifty

men and Blessed Brother Francis went to the mountain of St. Lucerna, in the territory as it is believed of Ayello, distant from Paterno by six miles, to feed 50 hungry workmen for the sake of conveying beams of the church of the monastery of Paterno. Which indeed the witness and other men asked the blessed Father, whether they should carry with them food and drink. Which blessed Father replied, that it was not necessary. And when they were on the mountain, whence the beams were to be brought down, the aforesaid witness and the other men were murmuring and complaining: for they were very hungry. And a little later there appeared a certain poor man in tattered garments, whom none of them knew. Which poor man spread out his coarse cloak, and cast upon it one loaf of German wheat, with a small flask of wine, An Angel in the appearance of a poor man and in a loud voice said: Come all for the love of God to breakfast. And thus the deponent himself and the others came, and took of the said bread, one offering to the other a piece of the said bread. Who all ate of the said bread and drank of the said wine, brings bread and wine miraculously. which flask was scarcely capable of the weight of two pounds of wine, counting and understanding the pound of twelve ounces. And thus all in number fifty, who had come for the sake of conveying the said beams, returned full to the aforesaid place. Unpolished beams are divinely polished. And he adds that the said poor man, who brought the bread and wine, was no longer seen: and all thought he had been an Angel, sent by our Redeemer Jesus. And he adds that it was told to him under oath, that when Blessed Francis was in the monastery of Paola, and there also were eighteen beams for the use of the church, rude and unpolished; in the morning they were found miraculously worked and polished.

10 Witness 94

[120] The Magnificent Lord Jerome of Nicotera said, that it is 35 or 40 years, within three days he does more than a hundred miracles, in the time of the late Most Illustrious Lady Polyxena, wife of the late Lord Henry of Aragon, Marquess of Gerace and Viceregent of Calabria, son of the late King Ferdinand I, the said late Lady Polyxena Marchioness as above, taking her stay in the city of Neocastro, had the greatest fame and report of the holiness, virtue and miracles of Blessed Francis of Paola. And thus she determined to go personally to see him, and brought with her many mounted nobles and commoners on foot, and among others the witness himself was present. And when the illustrious Lady herself had arrived at the town of Paola, where she remained for three days (on which account there came and were gathered there also many newcomers) the said Father during the aforesaid space of three days. According to the estimation of the witness himself, he heals the Marchioness of Gerace from phthisis. he did a hundred miracles on various persons oppressed by various and diverse sicknesses; and among others on the aforesaid Lady Polyxena, laboring with phthisis and flux of blood. For the blessed Father exhorted her, and said that she should have good faith in God, and be free from such sicknesses; supplying her for the sake of devotion certain apples and herbs: which Lady having returned to Neocastro, in a few days' space was free from such sickness.

10 Witness 95

[121] Baldasinus de Alfanis said, that when he was in the town of Paola (it is now nearly twenty years) from the city of Lipari a certain ship, by the sign of the Cross he calms a tempest. called Sagitta, had given sails to the winds, and by the force of the winds and waves was almost being submerged near the shore of Paola; Blessed Brother Francis was asked and called by many townspeople saying; Come, for many Christians, who are in that ship, are drowning. Which indeed Blessed Francis brought forth his head from the window of the monastery, and having seen the ship began to cry out, Jesus Jesus, making the sign of the Cross. Whence immediately the sea was made tranquil, and the tempest was put to flight and ceased. The said ship however lost its sails, and many other things, but without any danger of men; and thus to the shore it arrived unharmed, with the prayers of the Blessed Father Francis cooperating. And he adds that to the presence of the said blessed Father came a certain girl, he grants speech to a mute, twelve years old, from the village called Cilico of the Diocese of Cosenza, mute from birth and who had never spoken. And the blessed Father signed her with the sign of the Cross on the forehead, and said to her, Say Jesus. Which girl immediately spoke, by the virtues and prayers of the blessed Father.

[122] he stops a falling stone, Moreover he said, that when a certain lime furnace had been constructed, upon which was a very huge stone, of the weight of a thousand canthars, which was falling upon the building of the lime furnace: which if it had fallen, would not only have destroyed the said lime furnace, but also would have killed many workmen. And so the blessed Father foreseeing the fall of the said rock, and raises up a fountain. said to those workmen, Do not fear, by divine help and aid we will have no fear. And thus crying out, Jesus, he made the sign of the Cross, and the rock stopped and stood firm. Moreover he added, that when the deponent himself was between Crepositum and Mangonem, on the road by which one goes from Altilia to Cosenza, he saw a fountain rising, which exists at present: and anciently no fountain was there. And it was arising upon a certain lime furnace, which the said Father had had constructed. And it was said to the witness himself, that miraculously the blessed Father caused the said fountain to arise, for the use of the lime kiln, for the sake of the monastery of the town of Paterno.

12 Witness 96

[123] Brother Lord Anthony Quirrerius, Chaplain of the major church of Neocastro, He heals a phthisic woman: said, that when the witness himself had received from public fame, that Blessed Francis was doing many miracles, and his sister named Barthulla was laboring with the disease of phthisis, otherwise de clicia, with which disease she had now long been detained; he went to Blessed Francis, existing in the town of Paterno, and narrated to him the sickness of his said sister. And thus the blessed Father gave him certain herbs, and said that he should boil them, and from the concoction of them he should have made an enema, and also should drink from the said decoction, and that God would do him grace. And that when the witness had returned to Neocastro, and the said sick woman had made trial of the remedies of the blessed Father, he knew him unknown to himself to be a cleric, she received the grace of health. And he added, that when he was in the church of the monastery of the town of Paterno, the said Blessed Francis said to the witness himself, that he should go to sit together with other Brothers, saying the Office in choir, and should say the office, because he was obliged to say the office: since the blessed Father had not understood, on what account he was to say the Office, but from divine inspiration.

[124] he shows himself to be found by the same Moreover he said that the said Blessed Father Francis said to the deponent himself, that before he departed, he should go to address him at his cell, for the sake of speaking with him, which he showed to the deponent himself. And when he had gone to the cell for the sake of addressing the blessed Father: to which also had come many nobles and commoners, seeking him in the cell (which the deponent had seen the same Father very often entering, and going out from it) yet they were never able to see or have him. But as soon as the witness himself entered the cell, invisible to others, he found the blessed Father; and together having conversation while walking, at length they reached the sacristy of the said church: where the blessed Father gave him three apples, saying: This first apple give to the Bishop of Neocastro; this second, to Lady Polyxena; this third, let it be yours. And tell the Bishop, that every morning he have made a Collect against the Turks, since they have not been so near to Christians, as they are at this time. and foretells the coming of the Turks. And when he spoke these words, there was no mention in the kingdom of Naples of the Turks. And when the witness had arrived at Neocastro, he did all things which the blessed Father had imposed upon him, and after eight days the Turks took Otranto.

[125] And moreover he adds, that when he was showing the place of Paterno to the deponent himself, who had been unwilling to sell a field to the Saint among other things he showed him a certain part of the land, saying to the witness himself: we wanted to pay the owner a surrounding piece of ground with Carlinos, and he never wanted to sell. And then when the lord of the said place was laboring with a headache, so immense that he seemed to be gnawed by dogs, on this account he had the blessed Father called to him. healed, of his own accord he gives it to him. Which blessed Father when he had come, placed his hand upon both ears, and extracted from one ear a hairy worm the length of half a palm. Which done he was made whole, and on this account gave as a gift the said head of land or vineyard to the monastery itself, as the said Blessed Francis related to the witness himself.

And because the truth is thus, for the security of the within-written Syndics and University, Faith of the Notary. and of whom it concerns and whom it may concern, I have faithfully written this present examination, which the said University of Neocastro ordered to be fortified with its seal, and subscribed myself, with my usual seal.

✠ Thomas Macela Notary.

ANNOTATIONS.

* Perhaps ninety?

CHAPTER IX.

Process done at the hamlet of St. Blaise.

[126] Most Holy and Most Blessed Father and Lord in Christ, Letter to the Pope after humble commendation and kisses of your blessed feet. Although the matter of writing offers a long exordium in commendation of so great a Blessed Brother Francis of Paola; whose works cannot be attributed to anyone, except a messenger and envoy of the supreme Maker and a most holy man: nevertheless we will briefly write and set forth to Your Holiness what we have learned by faith-worthy report from our elders, down to the present dwelling in this our castle of St. Blaise of the Diocese of Neocastro, who were at that time when the blessed Father was living in these parts: who, as Your Holiness will deign to see, render a truthful testimony of so great miracles, which the blessed Father worked in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ; besides the excellent fame of so many other holy deeds and works, which thrives and spreads in this province, on account of his holy life. Wherefore we are constrained to render Your Holiness more certain of this, with faith-worthy testimony attached to the present, closed and sealed, and as is fitting written by the hand of the Notary Sansoysius Poncerius, Apostolic and faith-worthy Notary. Supplicating with bent knees Your Holiness, that you would deign to receive and aggregate Blessed Father Francis of Paola, on account of his most holy merits, in the catalog of the other Saints: that as supported by most certain faith, he may merit to be numbered among the other Saints … Which we, most devoted of Your Holiness, will hold as a most singular grace. In the supreme God may Your Holiness be well without number of days. From the aforesaid hamlet of St. Blaise, in the year of the Lord 1517, on the 1st day of January; through the most devoted sons of Your Holiness, Priests and Chaplains of the said hamlet, namely Vincent Serra and Bernardine de Cello, and also through Paul de Yesio Syndic, and Jacob de Vectino Sworn Master, and all the inhabitants of the said hamlet.

1 Witness 97

[127] The honorable man Master Paul de Yesio deposes, that when a certain Charles Accurius was ill, The Saint by a miracle gives faith from Scigliano of the Diocese of Marturrano, and was lying in bed; the sick man commanded the said witness and a certain other, named Stephen Accurrio, brother of the said Lord Charles, to go to the Blessed Father Francis. And they went to him and set forth, how the said Lord Charles was unwell. foretelling death from himself. And while they were setting forth these things, the aforesaid saw a certain little bird flitting, which settled upon the shoulder of Blessed Francis: who took it and placed it inside the sleeve of his tunic. Which done he replied to them and said: Go with the Lord, and tell the sick one, that God wants him with Himself. And thus the aforesaid departed and narrated to the sick man all that which Blessed Francis had told them: whence in the space of half an hour the said Lord Charles died.

2 Witness 98

[128] The venerable man Brother Ambrosius Copula, Abbot of St. George, a monastery of the Order of St. Basil, of the Diocese of Catanzaro, Roasted fish sent by the King Chaplain of the Most Illustrious Lord Ferdinand of Aragon, said, that in the city of Naples he was present, when the Magnificent Ferdinand King I of Aragon sent certain roasted fish, which the same Blessed Francis sent back alive in two silver vessels; in the presence of, with standing by and seeing with their own eyes, all the lords and princes who were present: he sent back alive; and the witness himself at that time was present in Castelnuovo (for he was Chaplain, as he is at present), and he saw the said roasted fish sent, and sent back alive, it is 40 years ago or a little less. Likewise the said witness said how his mother, he heals an asthmatic woman, Lady Margaret Copula, was so oppressed by asthma, that for four days she abstained from food and drink, and also did not speak: whence she asked for grace from Blessed Francis, that he might free her from such sickness. And thus the blessed Father had certain herbs gathered, from which he made a salad, and gave it to her to eat with vinegar and oil. But Lady Margaret said: Father, salad does not agree with me, rather it harms me. And Blessed Francis, Take it, for God will have you commended. And thus she took it together with two apples and one biscuit. Which things having been eaten, she was made whole, and while she lived, she labored under no other disease: she died of old age and of no sickness.

[129] And he knows more, how a certain woman named Marinella, godmother of the said Lady Margaret his mother, likewise an elephantiac woman, went together with his mother to the said Blessed Francis. Which Marinella had a daughter of ten years, laboring with the elephantiac disease, whence the said Lady Margaret in the name of Marinella her godmother asked from the blessed Father grace for the said girl. Then the blessed Father said, Bring her here. And thus they brought her before the blessed Father: who said to Marinella, mother of the said girl: Go and restore the reputation of Lady Antonina your godmother, which you took from her, her mother admonished to restore the fame of another. saying that she had an affair with your husband: because the truth is not so. And restore her fame with all, to whom you said such evils: for God will do you grace for your daughter. And the said Marinella said, that she would obey his commands. Whence afterwards the blessed Father dismissed her, and gave her certain herbs and dismissed her, and said: From these herbs make a bath, for God will do grace to your said daughter: but first you will satisfy your godmother concerning the fame taken away, and then you will wash your daughter with the said herbs, and God will do you grace. And so the said witness saw on the following day the daughter of the said Marinella cleansed and freed from the said disease, in the city of Naples.

3 Witness 99

[130] Jerome de Perrinis, of Xiliano, said, that when he was at Paterno about 35 years ago, where then was Blessed Brother Francis, He cures many sick: to him were running many and diverse persons, burdened with the elephantiac disease and other diseases: and the blessed Father rendered all whole, who came to him.

4 Witness 100

[131] Lady Aloysia de Barbaro, inhabitant of the hamlet of St. Blaise, knows how a certain Lady Margaret de Cancello, A woman averse to her husband of the city of Neocastro, married a certain man, named Peter Micho of the said city; whom the said Margaret never wished to see or acknowledge as her husband, for the space of seven years, although the said Peter was a good man. Whence the said Margaret went to Blessed Francis at the hamlet of the town of Paterno: whom having seen Blessed Francis said to her, Daughter, return to your home, and take your husband, he reconciles to him, and promises she will soon be released. whom you have now for long held in hatred. I assure you, when you have taken your husband, you will be free from the loves and troubles of this world. And so Lady Margaret having returned, took her husband, and then in a few days' space died. And what was done at Paterno the witness knows from the account of Margaret herself.

5 Witness 101

[132] Lady Antonia de Cola, Sicilian, inhabitant of the said hamlet, heals a sick arm, said, that when she was going to Blessed Francis, together with her father and some other citizens of Neocastro, because her father was suffering a very great sickness in his arm; and because of the devotion which she had toward the said Blessed Francis, she believed herself would be whole before she saw the blessed Father; in the middle of the journey toward Paterno he was made whole: and when he had arrived there, they narrated the matter to the blessed Father, who said, Commend yourself to God. Likewise a certain woman named Lady Joan de Andino, also of Neocastro, who was laboring with a certain disease of flux for several years, supplicated the blessed Father to have her commended. a flux of the ear, Which indeed the blessed Father said, Commend yourself to God. And thus she was whole, the falling disease, and never labored with such a disease. Moreover the said witness knows, that a certain Jerome Scolus, of Neocastro, who had come with them laboring with the falling disease, which sickness he had long suffered, asked the blessed Father to have him commended: to whom the blessed Father said, Son, have good contrition toward God: for He will heal you. And afterwards he commanded him to enter the garden and to take of the nepita herb, which was there, and he would be free from such infirmity. And thus the witness herself knows from the saying of Jerome himself, that he did not thereafter suffer such evil.

6 Witness 102

[133] He orders a fire built up for a guest to come, Paul de Abbate, otherwise de Bona-femina, of the said Hamlet of St. Blaise, said he knew only this, that when he was in the service of Lady Polyxena of Aragon, wife of Lord Henry of Aragon, he was sent together with Lord William, governor of the house of the said Lady Polyxena and of her husband, to visit Blessed Francis at the place of Paola. And they found the blessed Father, who had had a very great fire kindled: and the said William asked the blessed Father, why he had had so great a fire prepared. Who replied, I knew that you were to come here, and therefore fire was necessary, especially it being the month of January: And further it is necessary to sit. And the said Lord William said: Prepare then dinner, I wish to eat hens. And the blessed Father replied: Here hens are not eaten, and fish taken in the tempestuous sea. but fish. And thus then on Friday at the hour of Vespers the blessed Father sent a certain boy with a certain red cap, and said, Go to the sea. And he named the place, which the witness does not remember: but the sea was stormy. And the blessed Father said: Do not fear: go there and bring here what you will find. And thus the boy in the space of one hour took a load of fish of ten rolls weight, which they prepared: and so they dined. And while dining neither fish, nor bread, nor wine

seemed to be diminished, but remained in their being.

And moreover the witness himself knows, that when a certain Bartholus de Jure, He heals a sick boy. then a boy, was ill; the witness himself was sent to the blessed Father, asking that he have the said boy commended. And before he uttered a word, the blessed Father said: Paul, return home: for God has done grace to that little one. And thus on his return he saw the boy well, who even at present is well.

Sansoysius Poncerius Notary and Nicholas Buxus Canon and Cantor of the church of Messina had subscribed, who translated from the vernacular into Latin.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER X.

Process done at Castiglione.

[134] Letter of the Baron of Castiglione to the Pope. To the Most Holy and Most Blessed Lord, our Lord Supreme Pontiff, Leo X, Louis de Agno, Baron of Castiglione. I would believe many and terrible breathings of the immortal God to have been, when it is established that this vital spirit has applied itself to human souls. But since innumerable are the miracles of Him, who first of mortals has grown warm with so great and so stupendous a breathing, that he should auspicate things to come, it without doubt follows, to say nothing of his oracle. Therefore since in our times, nature divine had indulged itself much, set at Paola in the Brutian land, in this kind of prophecy, and also in the demonstration of diverse miracles; so much so that it had obtained for itself the body of St. Francis of Paola as its home and habitation; it happened to me, Most Holy Father, with all my might to beseech your Clemency and Holiness, that by the same virtue of God persuading, you be inclined to designate the aforesaid St. Francis in the catalog of the Saints: as he who merits to obtain this gift or prize. Who would ever be of such persistent mind, that he could narrate and explain his innumerable prodigies, even if he had a hundred iron mouths? This man was of the greatest probity, of the greatest abstinence, of holy and divine life: therefore no one doubts that his soul penetrated directly to the stars, because of the diverse miracles and prodigies performed by him. For this reason all generally, devoting themselves to him, are clearly shown to have obtained grace according to the intent of their souls, and also at present clearly are obtaining: for to sailors he restored the port of safety, to the mutilated and withered and entangled in any other disease he restored the gift of former health, and also invoked by women sweating in childbirth he helped continually. For which reason again and again I do not cease to commend him to Your Holiness, that you may deign to aggregate him to the inscription of Saints, from and on account of those things which generally are said of him. On November 27, of the present year 1516, among conversations about the prodigies of the blessed man, such things which follow, in our presence by the within-inserted witnesses, were recited and narrated.

1 Witness 103

[135] First concerning the spirit of prophecy and the knowledge of secrets, Master John Sanctorius, Sicilian, of the city of Palermo, The saint heals the little Brother of the Baron dying, formerly servant and domestic of my father Louis of Aquino, Baron of Castiglione of the Diocese of Tropea, relates, that when my firstborn brother, named Bernardine, being almost two years old, was near death, to Blessed Francis of Paola the said Master John was sent to Paterno, for the recovering of his health. Whom as soon as he saw, without any previous conversation, he said: I know, he said, for what you have come: that little one, for whom you have come, is whole and unharmed. Nevertheless offer to his mother these chestnuts strung together, roasted with manguderes. And when he returned home, he found the said little one whole.

2 Witness 104

[136] Furthermore Brother Francis de Mazo, of the said land of Castiglione, related, that he was present at Paterno, and a contracted hand: when a certain youth of eighteen years, from the territory of Trennona, of the Diocese of Mileto, having a hand entangled with an incurable disease, so that he held it closed, received it open, as soon as the blessed man held it; so that he could work with it at his pleasure, and through various places the said miracle was made public. By miracle cured he receives him into the Order, The same Brother Francis, with the aforesaid Master John Sanctorius of Palermo, related, that Bernardine de Mello, of the same town of Castiglione, tortured for two years by the disease of fistula, on the edge near the genitals, when he was fifteen years old, went to the blessed man at Paterno for the remedy of health; and receiving from him the gift of health, took the habit of Religion, and in it persevered for twenty years. and when he had departed from him the infirmity returned. But the wickedness of Satan procuring, returning to his vomit, he betook himself to the Conventual Brothers of Blessed Francis, and relapsed into his former sickness far more grave, ingratitude procuring, and his last deeds were worse than the former.

3 Witness 105

[137] Lord Peter de Paula, of Cosenza, Praetor of the said land of Castiglione, related, that Nicholas, He raises a dead nephew, nephew of the blessed man, was resuscitated by him at Paola: and this miracle is widely known in Calabria, and especially in the hamlets of the city of Cosenza. he produces a fountain, Concerning the production of the fountain the same Lord Praetor with John the Sicilian of Palermo related, that he had seen that fountain which is established in one chapel of the church of Altilia, on the road that leads to Cosenza, next to the grove called Ultranium: and also to have drunk from it, and together with twenty nobles of Cosenza to have stood around, and concerning the miraculous production of such a fountain by the blessed man to have had conversation. For when the blessed man had procured a lime furnace there to be prepared, and excellent water for this work was lacking; in an arid and sandy place he commanded to dig: and immediately, as the digger touched the earth, water gushed forth; and this is most famous, and most well known to the inhabitants of Mangone, Cepisseto, Altilia.

4 Witness 106

[138] Nicholas Montonus of Cosenza, of the band of nobles, asserted, that being at Spezzano, with three others in his company standing, who were almost fifteen years old and very famished; one of them accosting the blessed man who was passing by, to four famished men said: Father, strong hunger has oppressed us, therefore offer us bread, by which our thin and weak debility may be refreshed: and he assenting with his own hand set before them a little bread, so much so that one of them had eaten three times as much bread; few foods set out abound. but the wine he set out, which to one of them would not have been enough, and a few figs: and yet satisfied their most famished appetite to abundance what had been set out, so much so that to the increase of the miracle the middle part of the wine remained, and the third part of the bread and figs: whence they marveled at such evident increase of things set out.

5 Witness 107

[139] Nicholas Tostus of Castiglione asserted, that a certain woman of the Diocese of Cosenza, when she had arrived at Paterno, a withered arm is healed. and with the other bystanders was commanded by Blessed Francis to carry stones; she excusing herself, I, she said, for twenty-five years have been destitute of the use of my right arm. But the blessed man raising her withered arm, restored it to health, which before was useless and unfit for any work. He related the same, that being at Paola, he had seen myrtle shoots, cut off (as was reported) for many years, which presented greenness, as if they had been recently cut off: upon which the blessed man, as was asserted, was sleeping. The same asserted the miracle of the fountain, about which above. Amadeus de Trabea of Aquino, together with the Baron of Castiglione, and Pizus de Paula of Cosenza, Presbyter, subscribed as witnesses; with the Notary signing, Francis Ricius of Castiglione, Chancellor of the Excellent Lord Louis of Aquino, Baron of the said land.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER XI.

Process done in the city of Catanzaro.

[140] Letter to the Pope, Most Blessed Father… The canonization of Saints by every right pertains to Your Holiness alone. Since therefore Blessed Francis of Paola, of Calabrian nationality, from his boyish beginnings even to his more perfect years and the consummation of his life, had run through the stipends of the discipline of the Church; and his former life gave testimony to everyone, nor could there be doubt about his advancement; for his many labors, for his chaste morals, for his strenuous actions a more certain place was owed in authority. For he illustrated all Calabria, with the Lord's gift, by his miracles, healing the infirm and doing other things, which without special grace could not be done by men: as the undersigned witnesses more fully depose, examined by two upright and excellent men, Notaries by Apostolic authority, at our request: although many other things could have been proved, if at that time when the deeds were done witnesses had been examined, but now on account of the length of time they are dead, even Lords and Magnates, who had recourse as suppliants to the same Blessed Francis. Concerning which matter we beg Your Holiness as suppliants, that having obtained information concerning the aforesaid and other miracles, done by the said Blessed Francis, you would deign to have the same aggregated, numbered, and written in the catalog of the Saints. Thus may God preserve Your Holiness for longer times. Given at Catanzaro, December 26, 1516. Humble servants of the same Your Holiness, the University and men of the noble city of Catanzaro.

1 Witness 108

[141] On the 21st day of the month of December, the undersigned witnesses were examined diligently, separately and in secret, with oath touching the Scriptures, by us Notaries Thomasinus Cinas and Leonard Bagnatus: and they deposed in the manner undersigned. The noble Anthony Moyuli, layman of Catanzaro, after the miracle of the lime furnace falling, and, with the workmen dismissed for refreshment, The Saint heals a paralytic woman.

repaired by Blessed Francis; at which he himself was present in the monastery of Paola; also deposes, that at the same time and same place, he saw a woman of the house of Valloni, from the land of Umbriatico of the province of Calabria, of the Diocese of Mileto, destitute of all her members, carried by her kinsmen to the said Blessed Francis, who could not walk nor move her members: and immediately, as soon as she was seen by Blessed Francis, was totally made whole, and began to walk, and walking withdrew from the sight of the said Blessed Francis.

2 Witness 109

[142] Absent he knows the danger of one coming to him: Lady Sancia, wife of John de Ressueto, of Catanzaro, said, that at the time when Blessed Francis was in the province of Calabria, in a certain place of the hamlet of Paterno; the witness herself hearing of the excellent life and miracles, which Blessed Francis was doing, resolved devoutly to go to him, and to ask about a certain first husband of hers, captured by the Turks in the siege of Otranto. And when she arrived at the river called the Savuto, she found it very full and turbid; and makes her more certain of her husband's death. and she and those who were with her were afraid to cross through it. At length, with the greatest fear and danger, they crossed and arrived at the aforesaid place, where the said Blessed Francis was: who without anything being told him by the witness herself and others, about the said danger and fear of the aforesaid river, told her the fear and danger, suffered by the same witness in crossing the aforesaid river. And when the witness herself had affirmed what had happened to her in the said river, he said that she should not fear: because by doing good she ought not to fear. And immediately the witness herself asked the said blessed Father about her said first husband: and he replied to her, that she would not see him any more, and that she could safely pass to second nuptials, as her kinsmen were urging her. And so her said husband never returned: and such was the effect, and fame flies.

[143] Likewise she said, that she then saw with her own eyes a certain net, full of loaves; Bread largely distributed is not diminished. and there were men in great number, standing and coming; and from those loaves all were given to eat, and they did not seem to fail or be diminished, but rather to grow. And the witness herself refusing to receive from the said loaves, because she saw so great a multitude running together, Blessed Francis said to her: Take of the bread, for the grace of God is never lacking. And so she said she accepted, and nevertheless the said net appeared full of loaves. She said also she had seen only six men carrying from the mountain a certain great beam, six men carry a very heavy beam. for the carrying of which would have been necessary ten pair of oxen, on account of the distance of the place and the paths from which they were coming. And after the said six men was coming the Blessed Father Francis: and those six men rejoicing and fresh carried the said beam, even to the church of the said place. And the aforesaid Blessed Francis afterwards said to them, Go with equality and charity.

3 Witness 110

[144] The Venerable Presbyter Samson de Carusio, a Cleric of Catanzaro, The Saint cures scrofula, said, that when he had scrofula in his throat in great quantity, so that at every full moon he seemed to be suffocating, the father of the said witness led him to many physicians, through whom he could not obtain health: and lastly led him to Blessed Francis, then staying in Calabria, in a certain place of the hamlet of Paterno. And the said Blessed Francis with his hand touched the place of the scrofula of the said witness: and immediately he was healed and cured of them: and they never returned. And at that time he saw certain men of the hamlet of Cosenza, meats in his convent putrefy. carrying certain cooked meats, that they might eat: and when they had set them upon the table existing in the said place; there appeared live worms, so that from the said meats no one could eat.

4 Witness 111

[145] The Magnificent Lady Gabella Malena, widow of the late Magnificent Lord William Frosina, he knows a dead man said that at the time when Blessed Francis was at Paterno, a certain nephew of hers was gravely sick, because of the bite of a rabid dog: the kinsmen of the said sick man, having devotion to the said Blessed Francis, sent to him a certain messenger to obtain grace that he might not die. And the messenger having returned, said he had gone to Blessed Francis: for whom he was being asked. who having heard the case, replied to him: You have come too late, for he is already dead. And the calculation having been made, in truth he had been dead, at the time when those words were said.

5 Witness 112

[146] The noble Anthony Mollus, layman of Catanzaro, said, he reproaches hidden sins, that he, with his father then living and a certain man named Paul Fera, for their devotion had gone to Blessed Francis of Paola: and when they were speaking with him, they were rebuked, he and his father, concerning certain hidden and secret sins, by them to the said Blessed Francis not declared. And when he had asked him, how he could save his soul; the aforesaid Blessed Francis, ignorant of letters, replied to him in Latin, illiterate he speaks Latin, namely: You shall love your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and your neighbor as yourself, and keep the commandments of the divine law: on these commandments hangs the whole law. Likewise he said he had heard from a certain Brother of the Order of Blessed Francis of the Observance, Anthony Sconzita (elsewhere Scoteto) how going to Paterno to rebuke Blessed Francis, he marveled at him handling coals with his hands.

6 Witness 113

[147] The honorable John Vitalianus, layman of Catanzaro, said, that when he had gone to Blessed Francis at Paterno, he rebukes and heals one troublesome to her mother-in-law, there came a certain sick woman, of the Diocese of Rossano, and was asking that grace be obtained for her from God from him for her health. And immediately Blessed Francis replied to her, What do you want? for you have beaten your mother. And she said: I have no mother. And the same Blessed Francis replied: Your mother-in-law, is your mother; and you have beaten her: from now on treat her well, for you have received grace. And immediately she appeared well from the infirmity, by which she was detained: concerning which she says she does not remember, on account of the length of time. Likewise he said, that when Lady Perna, wife of Bartholo de Ancona, likewise one laboring with a flux of blood: her mother-in-law, a citizen of Catanzaro, was suffering the greatest flux of blood, she devoutly went to Blessed Francis and the witness himself with her. And when they had arrived at the place of the said Blessed Francis at Paterno, and she had spoken with him, narrating to him the said infirmity; the blessed Father said to her, that she should take ground parsley, and that she should have faith, and she would be healed. And her mother-in-law, returning from Blessed Francis, found herself whole; and never from that hour did she suffer the said flux until her death.

7 Witness 114

[148] he remains in the rain with dry clothes, The Venerable Sir Nicholas Privari, Dean of Catanzaro, said that for his devotion he had gone to the place of the hamlet of Paterno; where then was Blessed Francis. And while the witness was there, there came a great rain and flood of waters, so much so that all the laborers and those who were working, and all existing there on account of the said rain fled to the church, with only Blessed Francis remaining in the quarry or stone-cutting place, where stones were being cut; and there he alone remained, moving and throwing stones as long as the said rains lasted, and they found the said Blessed Francis in no way wet, as if it had not rained. one carries as much as three others, Likewise he said he then saw with his own eyes three youths, of the stronger who were there, on one side; and Blessed Francis himself alone on the other side, carrying great stones from place to place, with Blessed Francis saying: Walk, for God will help us. And while the witness was there two logs were placed on the fire, and they lasted two days day and night, he makes wood to burn, not to be consumed: with the fire always lasting and burning.

[149] Likewise he said he had seen there a certain cask of wine, of capacity of... salmas, from which wine was given to drink to all the workmen, and to all those going likewise so that the wine does not fail, to the said Father: and the workmen said, that the divine had lasted from the month of April to the month of September. And then also the witness himself saw the said wine flowing abundantly. Likewise he said he had heard from the said workmen, that there was a certain moderate quantity of beans, and beans for a long time. from which were given to all the workmen, and all those coming to the said Father: and that the said beans never seemed to fail, but always remained in the same quantity. Likewise he said he had heard from Machellus Pemyarus, and Dominic de la Russa, and Anthony Molo, citizens of Catanzaro, who had gone to Paterno because of devotion and the fame of the said Blessed Father Francis, he reproaches hidden sins. that on the way they found certain cabbages in a certain garden, and that they took of them and ate; and that, when they were in the presence of Blessed Francis and asked a certain grace; Blessed Francis said to them, What grace? if you sell the skin of a ram for... And in truth they were masters of basket-makers, and were selling skins, as he had told them. And more they said to the said witness, that the same Blessed Francis had told them, without anything being said to him: You could not leave some of the cabbages for the Lord. And they were amazed how Blessed Francis knew this or could prophesy it. he passes invisibly from last to first place. Likewise he said he had heard from several, that while they were going in procession to carry wood for the church, in going the said Blessed Francis was going last, and that in returning he was seen to arrive first at the church.

8 Witness 115

[150] Andrew Spatto, layman of Catanzaro, said, that he had gone to Paterno to Blessed Francis, for devotion and his excellent fame: and in the place, he bakes a lime furnace without fire. where the said Blessed Francis was, the witness himself found two large chimneys or furnaces, one of tiles, the other of lime. And one evening fire was placed in the furnace of tiles by the hands of Blessed Francis himself, and not in the furnace of lime: the furnaces however were near: and on the following morning both furnaces were baked, both of lime and of tiles: and it appeared to all people

that this had come about by miracle. And at the same time, alone he carries a great stone. he saw the same Blessed Francis carrying on his neck a certain great cornerstone, of the length of four palms, and the width of one palm. And in truth three very strong men would have been necessary to carry the said cornerstone or rock. Likewise he said, that while he was in the said place, the master builders did not know where they could dig cornerstones and clay for tiles, although they had long searched, and he said that they told him they had not found them. At last the said Blessed Francis made a mark on the earth with his stick, he makes materials for building to be found, where no sign of any quarry appeared: and so those digging there found a great quarry; where they were digging out cornerstones and casting them out. And in another place he designated it with his stick, and there they found clay suitable for tiles or roof tiles. Likewise he said, that at the same time the same Blessed Francis said to the witness himself, that he had a father who was a blasphemer and quarrelsome, saying to him: Correct him from such sins. he knows the morals of those absent, And he also said to him, that he had a brother taken out of his mind. And because he had spoken the truth, therefore the said witness much terrified reported to the said father, and that in the same conversation the said Blessed Francis had told him of the goodness of his mother, although he had never seen his said parents and brother.

9 Witness 116

[151] Master Dominic de Paterno, layman of Catanzaro and citizen, healing a sick man originating from the said hamlet of Paterno, said, that when he was dwelling in the said hamlet and was sick for a year and more, the aforesaid Blessed Brother Francis caused the aforesaid witness to be called to him: and his household reporting to him that he was sick; Blessed Francis replied, he makes him work, that he should entirely go to the said church, to which the witness himself went. And when Blessed Francis saw him, he made him remain under a certain tree, namely for about an hour. Then he gave him a certain trowel, with which builders are wont to build; and so with it he began to build, and immediately he came out whole from the said most grave infirmity. and to draw a great beam, And on a certain other occasion, to the said town of Blessed Francis, he and a certain other youth took a certain great beam, and drew it from a certain chestnut grove for two miles: and a pair of oxen scarcely could have carried it.

Witness 117, Witness 118

[152] This and the preceding Castiglione process are found in the MS. Codex inserted in the Roman process, or the production of documents made at Rome through Brother Francis Binet, and they were produced on March 20, in the year 1517: on the same day however was produced there at Rome (which we add here, lest the order of the witnesses noted in the MS. be disturbed) the Magnificent John Greek of Tropea, noble, of the age of 62 years, who said, he knows and shuns a parricide. that about twelve years ago, when the witness himself was at Tours, where Brother Francis of Paola was dwelling, in whom he had great devotion, a certain man of Policastro came, whose name he does not remember, who from the pilgrimage of St. James at Compostela had turned aside there. And the witness himself said to him: Since you have completed so holy a journey, go to visit the devout Brother Francis. This man therefore came to him with the witness himself present: to whom Brother Francis immediately said: Go, traitor: you well know what you have done. And he was turning his face away from him, and was retreating toward a certain wall: and it seemed to the witness himself, that the wall yielded to Brother Francis without injury. And afterwards he told the witness himself: Because I know about the miracle. And he would not say what he had done but was urging the aforesaid man to confess his sin and he did not wish to hear. Then the witness having returned to Italy, when he was at Savona, a certain Doctor said: he casts out fire with unharmed hands. He killed his father. And he marveled, that Brother Francis would know this, except by revelation. Likewise he said that a certain Master Aloysius Tuscanus of Jossavo, famous physician of Queen Isabella, related that he had seen, that Blessed Brother Francis, when fire had been kindled in his cell, said; Because Mala-testa (so he called the devil) attempts to do many things; go and extinguish the fire. And the two who had stood there, when they had gone out of the cell, and had nothing with which to extinguish the fire, saw Brother Francis casting out the fire with bare hands: and returning to the cell saw the hands of Brother Francis without injury. So much for him: but he whose testimony was taken at Amiens, which we have presented above before all in the first place, is counted as witness 118.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER XII.

Later Cosenza Process. Letter of the Count of Agroteria.

[153] We are held with great desire, Most Blessed Father, that Blessed Francis of Paola be canonized, not so much because he is our countryman, Letter of the people of Cosenza. as because both by the holiness of his life and by very many miracles, which we ourselves have seen, exceeding all the force of nature, done not without divine help, he merits to be held in the catalog of the Saints. All which from the process concerning his life, which has been most diligently written, Your Beatitude will be able to know. Wherefore this your city of Cosenza, the head and prince of Calabria, humbly supplicates Your Beatitude, as to God, with bent knees, that you would deign to canonize Blessed Francis, which is placed in Your Beatitude alone. Grant this to your city, Most Blessed Father, which you can most easily grant; which you will bind by so great a service, that in perpetuity it will be a debtor to Your Holiness. Grant it to Blessed Francis: who, not unmindful of so great a benefit, will ask God, that He may prosper your affairs and those of all yours. Grant it finally to our Redeemer, to whom it is most sweet that the number of His Saints be augmented: who even when you depart this day (may it come the later we pray) will receive you into His sight. Farewell sole ornament of the Christian commonwealth.

Given in your city of Cosenza, on the 6th of the Ides of March 1517.

[154] The names of the subscribers we nowhere read. The process, which is alleged, seems to be no other than that prolix one, Process done before the Cantor of Cosenza. done with the care of the Bishop of Cariati. Who had given the commission to him, Julius II, had also directed his mandate to the Cantor of Cosenza, as we saw in chapter 1 of the same process. But he seems to have done nothing then indeed; but when at this time it was established that the cause was to be acted upon at Rome, by the force of the aforesaid Pontifical mandate he compiled this process, which at Rome, by the order of Cardinal Jacobatius, through his Secretary, Lord Jerome de Cathalles, was made Latin from Italian, in the year 1518, on Wednesday, June 9, was produced, and begins. Jesus Christ.

On the 1st day of the month of May, of the 6th Indiction, 1518, in the places undersigned witnesses were examined with oath, by the Venerable man Bernardine de Cavalcantibus, Cantor of the major church of Cosenza, by the force of an Apostolic Brief on the fame, life and miracles of Blessed Francis of Paola of the Order of Minims, as below are particularly and distinctly contained, with the intervention of Master John de Arvono, Notary public by Apostolic authority, and scribe taken on for this, in the city of Cosenza.

[155] Julius Barituchitus, of the land of Paola, said that in the year last past in the month of August, with a certain company of youths, fifty and more in number, he departed from the same land of Paola, that all together they might transport a certain bombard of wonderful size, which was being conveyed from Cosenza from the Castle toward Paola. A bronze artillery piece Which bombard indeed, on account of its extraordinary size, twenty pair of oxen were drawing. And when near a certain place called la Macha, next to the castle of Paola, they had approached a certain precipice, from which it was necessary to descend gradually; they tied a certain rope, of the greatest weight and size, of a certain cargo ship, to a certain tree, that they might bring down the bombard gradually and unharmed. And since the said bombard was of such great size and weight, leading from a precipice, it was being conveyed on a certain cart; which neither by the strength of men and oxen, on account of the sloping descent, could be held back. Julius himself however and his other companions were holding with their hands the aforesaid rope, which was tied to the aforesaid tree, because of the swift impetus, which was being brought by the descending slope.

[156] he is entangled in the rope holding up the machine, Moreover the same rope the said Julius, unable to hold up; prostrated himself on the ground next to the tree, which on all sides was surrounded by the rope, and placed his feet within the coils of the rope. But because the coils of the said rope had to be tightened up to the end, Julius himself, knowing that he could not escape from such danger, embraced the aforesaid tree, and with devotion exclaimed: O Blessed Francis of Paola, bring me help and aid. Immediately however, with the said words thus uttered, the cart, upon which the bombard was being conveyed, miraculously stopped, in a place so precipitous: and it seemed to him, that he had seen a certain Brother, girt in the habit of the same Order of Blessed Francis, certainly about to lose his shins, who seemed to snatch the rope with his hands, which remained bound under the aforesaid tree and the bombard, and was running around the tree on every side, and was holding the shins of Julius himself within the coils. And thus with the said cart miraculously made firm, he escaped unharmed from such danger. And if the cart had not thus miraculously stopped, certainly it would have crushed the shins of Julius, since it would have bound them to the same tree. Moreover the Captain of the said land of Paola and certain others, had not the Saint miraculously stayed it. seeing the cart thus miraculously made firm without the help of men, in a place so precipitous, exclaimed, Miracle, Miracle, and thus gave immense thanks to Almighty God and Blessed Francis of Paola. And on the spot Julius himself with bare feet to the monastery of Blessed Francis, which formerly

the Blessed one himself had built, set out: and with bent knees gave thanks to the same Blessed Francis, from whom he had received so great a benefit, and had his image made in wax, and also the rope wound about his feet for devotion and in memory of such a miracle.

2 Witness 120

[157] On the day written above, in the land of Montalto of the Diocese of Cosenza, Lady Joan de Coratore, of the land of Montalto, said that (it is now about 40 years passed, A dying man from the time when Blessed Francis was dwelling in the land of Paola) a certain Francis her son (who was married, and had three children, two males and one female) in summertime was tortured by adverse fever, and so sick remained in bed for thirty days. At length the physicians despairing of remedies, were suggesting and asserting that such sickness was mortal, and that in no way by their remedy and art could they bring him any help or aid. Which indeed Francis, rather already dead, having received all the Sacraments of the Church, on one of the days after the solemnities of Masses began to sink toward death, and a candle lit, by all who were present, and especially by the same Joan, was reputed as dead: and they determined to take Francis himself from the bed, and place him on the ground, as is the native custom.

[158] with his mother vowing she will take the habit of Tertiary, Joan herself however, seeing her son dead, with the greatest devotion began to exclaim: O Blessed Francis of Paola, grant me this grace, that my son revive and return to the world, and not leave his sons poor orphans: and I for devotion will renounce and abandon all the vanities of this world, and will clothe myself with the habit of your religion. These words uttered, Francis opening his eyes, looked at all who were around: who unanimously with loud voice exclaimed, He lives, He lives. And so day by day he began to convalesce, and after twenty days vigorous and unharmed he arose, and lived thereafter about thirty years. And thus Joan herself, having obtained her vow, sold her garment, he revives: and went to Paola, where Blessed Francis was dwelling. Whom indeed Blessed Francis himself clothed with the habit of his religion with his own hands: and with the said habit she always walked, and still at present walks. Asked who had been present, when her said son thus remained dead, at which seen one of those present does the same. she said that a certain Dominic of Bel-castro of the said land of Montalto had been present: who when he had seen the said Francis thus dead and afterwards to have arisen, because of the vow which Joan herself had made; inflamed with devotion, from then for a certain time clothed himself with the habit of the third Order of Blessed Francis, and with the said habit met his death. And always when Brother Dominic himself saw the aforesaid Francis, he called him, Dead man restored to life. And in the aforesaid things certain other persons were present, who after a long space of time have migrated from this world: and when they saw and beheld the said Francis, they called him the Dead man restored to life.

3 Witness 121

[159] On the 20th day of the said month, in the city of Cosenza, Nicholas Russus, of Paterno, said, that it is now passed about 40 years, The Saint wipes away the albugo of an eye: at the time when Blessed Francis was living in the place of Paterno, the witness himself saw, a certain man of Rovito of the Diocese of Cosenza, who had one eye covered with a certain whiteness, who was commending himself to the Blessed Father Francis, and was saying to him, By the Passion of Christ, provide some remedy to this eye, if you can. Then suddenly he saw, that Blessed Francis took a piece of cotton moistened with holy water, which happened to be in the church: and then rolled the said moistened cotton over a certain virgin lime, which was in the church, and then wiped the said white eye with the same cotton: and immediately the witness himself openly saw the eye, covered with whiteness, restored to its former state.

[160] a dead man found among the snows Moreover he said he knew with truth, that at the said time in winter men of Paterno, when they had gone hunting, in the mountains of the same great snow was being spread, and there they found a certain man of Macatia, as some asserted, prostrate upon the snow, who was making absolutely no sign of a living man. Whom indeed as dead, that they might bury him, they transported to the place, where then Blessed Francis was dwelling. And as soon as the blessed Father saw the aforesaid man prostrate on the ground, he said to those who had thought the aforesaid man to be dead, For charity's sake, this man has not suffered death, but lives. And he called a certain Brother Galasinus, to come to him immediately. And the blessed Father went to the said man, and touched him, and said For charity's sake, arise. And immediately the said man began to make motion and sign of a living man. he resuscitates at Paterno. And the blessed Father himself said to the same Brother Galasinus, bring this man to the storeroom. Who immediately arose and gradually began to walk, and then suddenly remained whole. And all the aforesaid Nicholas himself saw with eyewitness faith. There followed the attestation and subscription of the aforesaid Apostolic delegate, Notary and Interpreter.

[61] Thus far the Calabrian Processes; to which deserves to be added the letter of the Count of Grotteria and itself a witness of certain miracles, performed by Blessed Francis: which is as follows.