CONCERNING BLESSED ANTHONY OF STRONCONE, A LAYMAN OF THE ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR, AT ASSISI
In the Year of Christ 1471
Preliminary Commentary.
Anthony of Stroncone, Layman of the Order of Friars Minor, at Assisi in Umbria (Blessed)
I. B.
[1] From Stroncone (which others call Stronconium in Latin), situated at the borders of Umbria, in the diocese of Narni, between the city of Terni and the sources of the river Himella -- a town and, as Leander relates, not inconsiderable -- came forth several men illustrious for their reputation of holiness who professed the Franciscan Institute. Blessed Anthony born at Stroncone Among these was Anthony, a layman by rank, as they say -- that is, initiated into no sacred Orders. He was enrolled in that Order in his homeland; then for a not inconsiderable time he lived in Etruria and Corsica; sent back afterward to Umbria, he dwelt for a good thirty years in the monastery of the Carceri, or, as others call it, the Carceri, on Monte Subasio, two miles from Assisi; and finally in the convent of San Damiano, distant only half a mile from Assisi, where he also departed this life.
[2] We first hesitated as to whether he should be absolutely called Blessed, because Mark of Lisbon, Bishop of Porto, in volume 3 of the Chronicles of the Friars Minor, book 5, chapter 39, calls him only a "fortunate friar" and then a "holy man"; Horatius Diola, the Italian translator of Mark, calls him "blessed friar"; Luke Wadding, in volume 6 of the Annals of the Friars Minor, calls him "Friar Anthony" -- not simply called Blessed by some although, as we shall show below, each of them records about him things that clearly indicate he has long been regarded as worthy of that title, though perhaps more by the piety of the people than by a solemn decree of the Church.
[3] Francis Gonzaga, in part 2 of the Origin of the Seraphic Religion, calls him venerable and blessed; but he does not appear to have had all his facts thoroughly investigated, since he also calls him "Father," a title now scarcely given to any but priests. Thus he writes, speaking of the said convent, which is the second of the province of Saint Francis: "In this place lies buried the venerable and blessed Father Anthony of Stroncone, once the honor and ornament of the Franciscan family, whose most holy life and precious death in the sight of the Lord is clearly shown by the outcome. For when the Father Guardian refused the wishes of certain devout Brothers although the body was elevated who desired the bones of so great a Father to be exhumed and placed in a more prominent location more honorably, a great flame immediately burst forth from his sepulcher, with miracles not without the greatest amazement of all. Seeing this, the very man who had not long before hesitated took care as quickly as possible that the sacred body should be exhumed and placed in a nobler tomb. And while the earth was being dug and the venerable body drawn forth, a fleshy, most fresh and beautiful rose appeared, beyond expectation, in one of his hands."
[4] Arturus of the Monastery inscribed him as Blessed in the Franciscan Martyrology under the 9th of November, on which day either his Elevation or Translation is said to have occurred -- by others written as absolutely Blessed he being not at all sparing of such designation: "At Assisi in Umbria, Blessed Anthony of Stroncone, Confessor, who guarded his virginity undefiled and was illuminated by the gift of prophecy; whose most holy life and death, precious in the sight of the Lord, is acclaimed by many miracles." The same title was given him sixty-five years ago by Peter Rodulphius, who was afterward Bishop of Senigallia. He, in book 2 of the Histories of the Seraphic Religion, folio 298, has this: "The place of San Damiano, where lies Blessed Anthony of Stroncone."
[5] Ludovico Iacobilli of Foligno finally removed all our scruple, having in the year 1641 published in print a Compendium of the Life of Blessed Anthony of Stroncone, written in Italian -- especially by Ludovico Iacobilli not to have attempted this rashly after the repeated constitutions of Urban VIII, by which it is provided that this title not be assigned to anyone to whom it has not been given either by public devotion at least a hundred years earlier or certainly by the judgment of the Apostolic See. The same Iacobilli then wrote the Life of Blessed Anthony more fully in volume 1 of the Lives of the Saints and Blessed of Umbria, in a book dedicated to Cardinal Rapacciolo in the year 1647 which in the year 1647 he dedicated to the Most Eminent Cardinal Francesco Angelo Rapacciolo, a most grave and learned prelate, whom he could hope for as a patron of his labors rather than fear as a censor, if he should go astray -- since the Cardinal was born in Umbria, in the town commonly called Collescipoli, not far from Stroncone, of a noble and ancient family (concerning which we shall speak more fully in the Life of Blessed Benincasa Rapaccioli on the 4th of September), and was moreover Bishop of Terni in the same Umbria.
[6] That the title of Blessed had long been attributed to Anthony, and that public (though not liturgical) veneration was confirmed, is attested both by the votive offerings hung in public and by the honorable elevation votive offerings hung performed on the advice of the Blessed James of the Marches, that most holy man, with the consent of the most grave Fathers and by legitimate authority. That very many votive offerings were placed for him is testified by Iacobilli himself, as well as by Mark and Diola, the body incorrupt, above the altar and Wadding, who also records that the ancient ones were consumed by fire and that many brought afterward can be seen. Then he adds: "Now he lies reverently upon the collateral altar to the right of one entering the church. I myself saw it unharmed and incorrupt around the year 1619." in its own chapel So says he. Iacobilli testifies that a special chapel was built in his honor.
[7] the Life from Iacobilli The deeds of Blessed Anthony are described by the authors we have already cited: Mark the Bishop, book 5 of the Chronicles, chapters 39-43; Horatius Diola of Bologna, book 5, chapter 30 and the four following; Luke Wadding, volume 6 of the Annals of the Friars Minor, at the year 1471, sections 13 and following through 21. We have preferred to translate the Life written in Italian by Iacobilli, both because he cites the others and because, being himself an Umbrian and writing in Umbria, he seems to have investigated everything more surely on the spot.
LIFE
Written in Italian by Ludovico Iacobilli of Foligno.
Anthony of Stroncone, Layman of the Order of Friars Minor, at Assisi in Umbria (Blessed)
From the Italian of Lud. Iacobilli, translated by I. B.
CHAPTER I
The Exceedingly Austere Life of Blessed Anthony.
[1] Stroncone, a town of the diocese of Narni in Umbria, was the homeland of Blessed Anthony; his parents were Ludovico of the Vico family and Isabella, both upright the homeland and parents of Blessed Anthony and devout. Trained in piety by them, Anthony, from his earliest years, gave evidence of future virtue that was no idle promise: for he mortified his body with abstinence, fasts, and vigils, his holy boyhood and was always occupied, according to the capacity of his age, with prayer and holy actions.
[2] When he was twelve years old, by divine inspiration, he turned his mind to the Religion of the Friars Minor of the stricter observance, who, at twelve he becomes a Religious because they use wooden sandals -- which the Italians call zoccoli -- are commonly called Zoccolanti. He therefore approached the superior, or Guardian, of the community at Stroncone and asked to be admitted to that institute. The Guardian commended the boy's resolve and exhorted him to persevere in the observance of the divine precepts; however, he did not immediately give the sacred habit to one so young, until, having seriously examined and often tested him, he judged him to be truly called by God and altogether worthy.
[3] Having made his profession in that monastery, when he learned by report of the sanctity of his fellow townsman John of Stroncone, who had been the first Vicar of Paul Trinci of Foligno, he goes to Etruria the author of the aforesaid reform of the Observants, he went, with the permission of his superior, to him in Etruria. Blessed John, seeing him, being very young and of a delicate body, he overcomes illness by fervor of spirit feared that he would not be equal to bearing the labors of religious life; but, having perceived his constancy and his desire to attain perfection, he undertook to instruct him in the customary exercises of the Order; while he labored strenuously in these, since he was of weak constitution, he fell ill. John decided to send him back to the monastery at Stroncone, to be cared for more gently there in his homeland. But the blessed youth, though weak in body yet robust in spirit, concealing his infirmity as far as was permissible, begged John not to send him back to his homeland. Having obtained this consolation, he soon recovered, and as he grew in age and also in virtue, he was henceforth a most dear disciple to John.
[4] He was of such modesty and submissiveness of spirit that, although born of a noble family and skilled in reading and writing he wishes to remain a layman and fit for the priesthood, he preferred to remain a lay brother, following the example of Saint Francis and Blessed Paul Trinci, who out of a love of humility refused to become priests. He judged himself useless and the most worthless of the entire Order. He carefully arranged, but in secret, he embraces the most worthless tasks that the most menial duties of the entire monastery should be imposed upon him; and when these were completed, he would immediately return to solitude and prayer.
[5] Sent to the island of Corsica, having requested a blessing, he immediately set out on the journey he is sent to Corsica and remained there until he was recalled by the same superiors. Returning to the province of Saint Francis, he is recalled to Umbria he was sent to the monastery called the Carceri, where he dwelt for thirty full years, and for the most part inhabited a cave in the forest belonging to the monastery, he lives in a cave which is still called the cave of Blessed Anthony of Stroncone. For twenty-four years he struggled with thirst while traveling from the monastery of the Carceri to Assisi, he conquers thirst and never once drank from the spring that is along that road, although he was very often tormented by the most grievous thirst, which he preferred to endure in memory and honor of the Savior thirsting upon the Cross.
[6] he always walks with bare feet The austerity of his life was admirable. He went with feet entirely bare, which therefore, according to the varying weather, now with extreme cold, now with heat, cracked and split, causing him great pain and inspiring astonishment and compassion in those who beheld them. He was sometimes forced to go to a cobbler to have his torn and split skin pierced and sewn together with an awl. His garment he wears thin and hard clothing was nothing other than a tunic pressed against his bare body, and that a poor and vile one; his sleep was brief; his sustenance was mostly bread and water.
[7] During the first twelve years of his religious life, among other things which, at his Master's direction, he applied to the subduing of his body, he genuflects a thousand times in one day he reverently placed his knees upon the ground a thousand times each day. At the monastery of the Carceri, even in the peak of midsummer, he drank hot water tempered with wormwood, that the taste might torment him more sharply. in summer he drinks hot water When the Brothers advised him to drink cold water instead at such a time, he would answer that this would be too soft and delicate for his body. He never ate meat, eggs, or cheese; yet he did not fail to beg and seek these and other things that were needed for the Brothers. When traveling, he would beg food for his companion kind to others, harsh to himself and offer it to him thus: "Eat, Brother, what you need, so that you may obey your superior; pay no attention to me, for not everyone can treat his body as I treat mine." He was harsh and strict with himself; toward others he was moved by great compassion and charity.
[8] after a long struggle This manner of living was indeed grievous and troublesome to him at the beginning; but he labored so greatly with divine grace that in the space of fourteen years, manfully contending, he subjugated his senses; and afterward he ate wormwood as the sweetest food he had ever tasted, he even delights in bitter things nor did it seem that any more pleasing food could be found for his palate. He would spend several successive days without any food at all, especially during Holy Week from Holy Thursday to Easter Day; he fasts for days and during that time he was never seen to be absent from the church. When he was already very old, the Brothers urged him to eat meat or fish, since he was worn out with years and labors. But he said that these things harmed him. "But how can they harm you?" not even in old age does he eat meat or fish said a certain person very familiar with him. "They certainly harm my soul," he replied.
AnnotationsCHAPTER II
The Piety, Patience, and Chastity of Blessed Anthony.
[9] His chief exercise was prayer and contemplation. To these he devoted himself day and night. devoted to contemplation No other thing could be more pleasant to him or more full of consolation than to deal constantly with God, whom he loved above all things with his whole soul. To devote himself more securely and intensely to these activities, he took care that he should always be alone as far as possible; and to solitude he certainly avoided the company of others, especially those who were not in harmony with his spirit; he was rarely seen among people, and dealt with them only when necessity pressed and then most briefly.
[10] It was most delightful to him to attend the solemn sacrifice of the Mass or the Divine Office; where he drew such pleasure of soul attendance at the solemn sacrifice that he would forget to take food; for that feeling of devotion was the true nourishment of his soul. He asked the Brothers to sing the Divine Office in choir well and willingly, for there was no other service more pleasing to God. He himself, during the time of the Divine Office, and of the Divine Office set aside all other things, so as to be present with the Brothers in choir and to praise the Divine Majesty.
[11] As he prayed on one occasion, Christ appeared to him in visible form and said that the Mass adorned with many lights was very pleasing to him. taught by Christ in person From that time, he always took the greatest care, wherever he was staying, to light as many candles as possible on the altar while Mass was celebrated, he lights many candles at the sacred rite especially on solemn feasts of Christ and his Mother. He attended the sacred rite or ministered to the one celebrating it with such piety and spiritual consolation that, if the sacred rites had continued from first light until nightfall, he seemed as though he would by no means leave the church, he willingly serves the celebrant but would minister to all and certainly be present. When he was decrepit and near death, he still wished to rise from his bed to hear Mass. even when decrepit he wishes to hear it When the Brothers urged him to forgo what he could neither carry out nor attempt without detriment to his strength, he replied: "If you knew how much gain the soul receives from the hearing of Mass, you would indeed be no little astonished."
[12] He showed the greatest reverence toward the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, he prepares for communion with humility and observed this throughout his entire life: that before receiving holy communion, he would beg pardon for his faults from all the Brothers, kneeling on the ground. He embraced his neighbors with an immense charity and did not shrink from any difficulty or labor he serves the sick and others in order to serve the advantage of others, both in external matters and in those pertaining to the spirit. He procured what was needed for the sick with the greatest zeal, attended to them, and consoled them with singular love.
[13] He so possessed the virtue of patience that he bore all adversities and persecutions with great tranquillity of soul, he is most patient and never complained of any mortal. If he saw one of the Brothers weighed down by some feeling of distress or disturbed by an imposed labor, he was deeply moved with compassion for him he exhorts others to patience and would encourage him with these words: "Drink, Brother, drink this cup; advance bravely; this is the way that the servant of God must take, the way that all who have ever pleased Christ have gone before."
[14] He was accused before his Provincial of having cut down thirty vines in the garden of the convent where he was then residing. The suspicion was easy to believe, because it was known to all that he was driven by an immoderate zeal for poverty. He was sharply rebuked by the superior though innocent, he endures a heavy punishment and keeps silent for having destroyed the fruit of another's labor and for having grudged the Brothers that consolation. He did not deny the deed, nor even make the slightest gesture to deflect the blame; but, prostrate on the ground, he received with great submissiveness both the rebuke and the penance imposed. The penance was not light, since the Provincial no longer doubted at all that he was guilty, seeing that he did not even purge himself with a word. He therefore commanded that the one who had cut down thirty vines should lash himself thirty times. Anthony obeyed promptly and cheerfully, without protest, conducting himself as though he were truly guilty. His innocence was afterward revealed, and all were wondrously edified.
[15] always a virgin He was most chaste in body and mind, and by the help of divine grace he preserved his virginity unblemished until death. For the space of forty years he never looked upon the face of any woman. he does not look upon a woman's face This was indeed remarkable in a man who for more than twenty years begged alms from door to door for his community. He avoided idleness as a plague: if, therefore, any time remained from prayer and domestic duties, he avoids idleness he spent it in fashioning crosses from wood, so that he might carry in his hands and before his eyes the Cross that he bore deeply fixed in his heart. These crosses that he made he would set up in the forest of the monastery by making crosses and in other suitable places, to inflame the piety of those who beheld them.
[16] he converts many by his example Very many mortals, drawn by his holy manner of life and the sweet fragrance of his virtues, generously tearing their hearts from sins and the occasions of sin, consecrated themselves to the divine service, both within the enclosures of religious houses and amid the occupations of the world.
AnnotationsCHAPTER III
The Predictions, Death, Translation, and Miracles of Blessed Anthony.
[17] he is made illustrious by miracles It pleased God also to perform, through his merits, many miracles in his life and after death, for the salvation of souls. Among other gifts of God was the spirit of prophecy, by which he foretold many things before they happened. [he predicts future events; the death of a certain man from a journey rashly undertaken] A woman commended her husband to him, who was about to set out from Assisi to Aquila. The blessed man warned her to dissuade her husband from this journey, which would otherwise be fatal. The husband scorned the counsel, came to Aquila, and on his return was seized by illness and died.
[18] A certain man had been wounded with so grievous a blow to the head that the physicians said he could not survive. the recovery of a wounded man The parents asked Anthony to obtain his recovery from God. He replied that the man would not die from this wound, and so it happened. A certain woman had lost five children and hoped to have no more. offspring for a woman When this grief weighed heavily upon her, she asked the Blessed one to obtain a son for her from God. "Go," he said, "and be of good cheer, for consolation will soon be at hand." She conceived not long afterward and at length gave birth to a son.
[19] While he was living at the monastery of the Carceri, he frequently warned the people of Assisi that plague would rage to prepare themselves for the Cross. "What Cross?" they said. "That of pestilence," he replied; "for a cruel plague will be sent by God, which will carry off the greater part of the people." The following year, which was the year from the birth of Christ 1448, afflicted Assisi and all of Umbria, and a great part of Italy, with so dire a contagion that very many houses were emptied. He predicted other calamities as well, other adversities using generally this form of words: "Woe to those who are not united to God."
[20] When he was now approaching the end of life, perceiving that he would shortly be led by God from these perils into the secure harbor of eternal happiness, he prepared himself for his departure over a period of several days. He left behind a small book worn by his use, in which prayers of the Christian doctrine and the Rule were written out. the hour of his death He then revealed the hour of his death to the Brothers, and having received the most holy Sacraments with singular piety and exemplary devotion, he passed most sweetly to the Lord on the 7th of February, he dies on the 7th of February, 1471 in the year of Christ 1471, in approximately the seventy-sixth year of his age, the sixty-fourth of his religious life, in the convent of San Damiano near Assisi, where his final dwelling had been for some years.
[21] The body was buried in the church of San Damiano, and for about the space of a year it was honored by no marks of public veneration. It was then translated to a chapel erected in his honor in the same church; the body humbly buried at first it remains to this day intact and incorrupt, and is frequented by a great concourse of peoples, even from distant places, and is guarded with great piety by the Reformed religious of the Franciscan institute dwelling there.
[22] Many miracles were thereafter wrought by God, declaring both the virtue he cultivated while living and the glory he now enjoys in heaven. A nine-year-old boy of Assisi named Liberator, brought from the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli to San Damiano by his family, entering it at the time of Vespers, beheld above the tomb of Blessed Anthony a light, continually increasing, [a wondrous light seen above the tomb; by the authority of Blessed James of the Marches] and a boy following behind him vainly trying to extinguish it, the splendor growing more and more. Struck by the sight, Liberator ran home trembling and told his mother what he had seen. She, herself astonished by the prodigy, brought her son to the convent of San Damiano and told the Brothers, and in particular Blessed James of the Marches, who was present there at the time, what her son had seen and what she herself had heard from him. Blessed James explained the prodigy thus: "The light that was seen above the tomb of Friar Anthony declares his sanctity, which God wishes to make known to the world; the boy trying to extinguish that light -- that is you, Brothers, who wished to conceal that light of holiness; the body is elevated and found intact but the divine goodness wishes it to be made manifest." He therefore ordered the tomb, in which the sacred body had been buried for one year, to be opened: the body was found entirely intact and without any harm, and in the palm of the right hand there was a rose formed of the same flesh. When Blessed James saw this, he declared it to be a sign conferred by God upon him, bearing a rose in his hand; honorably placed; honored also by miracles from God and he himself, prostrate on the ground, as were all the other Brothers, kissed that holy hand, tears flowing abundantly from a sense of piety, admiring the glory of God the Creator in his works.
[23] When the fame of the miracle had spread, very many flocked to see the sacred body, which was then placed in a higher and more ornate location in the same church of San Damiano; and various ailments were healed through his merits. Many continue to come daily to venerate it.
[24] A certain Tertiary nun of noble family, deprived of the use of her legs from the knees down, healed at the tomb of one deprived of her legs not without great and constant pain, having poured forth her prayers at the tomb of the Blessed one, suddenly rose up sound and whole.
[25] likewise another deprived of hands and feet; and two other women A girl, deprived of the use of hands and feet, was brought to the same tomb, and after prayer had been offered and vows made, returned home in good health. Two women, imploring his help and making vows, had their health restored. Many other miracles were performed by God through his intercession, many votive offerings at the tomb as the book called the Mirror of the Order of Friars Minor, commonly the Franciscina, bears witness, as well as the many tablets and votive offerings hung in his chapel.
Annotations