Manfred

ON B. MANFRED, HERMIT IN CISALPINE GAUL.

From the Italian of Francis Balarini, part 3 of the Chronicle of Como.

Year 1430.

Manfred, Hermit in Cisalpine Gaul (B.)

From various sources.

[1] B. Manfred was born at Milan, of the Settala family, ancient and noble. Having been initiated into the priesthood, he put on the garment of the Hermits and left his earthly homeland B. Manfred a Priest so as to reach the heavenly one, and withdrew into the mountains that overlook Riva San Vitale, a town of the diocese of Como on the shore of Lake Lugano. Here he hid himself in a cave In solitude and led a severe life for many years, living partly on herbs, in the manner of those who inhabit desert places, and partly on alms He lives austerely; he instructs many. which certain pious persons generously bestowed, when, stirred by the fame of his virtues, they came frequently to that cave. He instructed them with spiritual counsels and comforted them with a certain holy consolation.

[2] At last he was called by God to the blessed and immortal life. His body (as the report still attests), in order to settle the contention of the neighboring towns each claiming it for themselves, He dies. was placed on a new wagon drawn by two untamed oxen; and by them, by divine direction, it was conveyed to Riva, to the collegiate church of S. Vitalis, and placed upon the high altar, It is miraculously conveyed to Riva. where even now he is held in great veneration. These things took place around the year 1430, on 27 January. Many prodigies were divinely wrought, both for the living and the dead, when his patronage was implored; He is renowned for miracles. all of which were legitimately recorded in public documents, and these were enclosed in the same reliquary as the body. But when the reliquary was reopened, they were found so eaten away by mold and rust that they could not be read at all. Obscure records. This was the reason why I have been unable to give a fuller account of his deeds, since almost nothing survives but the fame of his sanctity and miracles.

ON THE VENERABLE WIDOW GENTILE OF RAVENNA.

Year 1530.

Gentile, widow, at Ravenna in Italy.

[1] On 23 January we gave a double Life of the admirable Virgin Margaret of Ravenna: one written in Italian by Seraphinus Acetus of Fermo, a Lateran Canon; the other from the History of Ravenna by Girolamo Rossi. Gentile, a most holy matron, was her disciple. A twofold Life of Gentile. The same Seraphinus also wrote her Life, which was translated into Spanish and French by others, and into Latin by Philip Zoutaeus of Antwerp, a Priest of the Society of Jesus. To this we append another from book 9 of Girolamo Rossi, and this was published in the second and third edition of Surius with this title: "Life of Gentile, a most holy woman of Ravenna, from book 9 of the learned Girolamo Rossi's work on the deeds of the Ravennese; whether she was inscribed in the catalogue of Saints by Paul III, I have not ascertained."

[2] Whether she was enrolled among the Blessed. That an examination into her life and miracles was undertaken, both the writer from Fermo and Rossi attest. In the index of the latest edition of Surius the following is found: "The life of S. Gentile, a woman of Ravenna, from the History of Girolamo Rossi." Silvanus Razzi, in volume 1 of his work on women illustrious for sanctity, calls her Blessed. Ferrarius also, in his General Catalogue of Saints dedicated to Urban VIII, writes thus on this day: "At Ravenna, of B. Gentile the matron."

LIFE

Written in Italian by Seraphinus of Fermo, Translated into Latin by Philip Zoutaeus, S.J.

Gentile, widow, at Ravenna in Italy.

From the Italian of Seraphinus of Fermo.

CHAPTER I.

The marriage of Gentile. Much bitterness in it.

[1] It is my intention to write down also concerning another blessed woman, whom they called Gentile, those things which the Priest Girolamo, a man of the most upright life, related to me in person; whose praises, since he is still alive and known to many, Whence Seraphinus received what he writes. I deliberately pass over. Although he has hitherto forbidden anything of these things to be written (fearing, no doubt, lest they should at the same time redound to his own commendation), yet, induced by the most unjust calumnies with which the servants of God were assailed, he has now at last permitted me to bring some things to light in testimony of their holiness, so that the truth being at last made known, those who sinned out of ignorance might sometime come to their senses. And this Father, who knew this Blessed woman, surnamed Gentile, well for twenty-two years, and for nineteen years repeatedly gave her spiritual direction when she confessed her sins, solemnly testifies that all the things which I here report he saw with his own eyes.

[2] This woman, therefore, as quite a young girl, strove as much as possible to follow in the footsteps of her mistress Margaret; Gentile wonderfully obeys the counsels of the pious Virgin Margaret, to whom she had so devoted herself that she placed great faith in her words and received them just as if they had come to her from God. Hence if Margaret happened to say anything that seemed in any way alien to right reason, she accepted it with such an attitude of mind as if it were most consonant with reason; she was accustomed to say publicly that she was of such reverence and faith toward her that if Margaret had called day darkness and night light, or a clear sky rainy, she would have denied the evidence of her own eyes rather than Margaret's words. And what seems to me worthy of admiration is that the closest intimacy and familiarity of life, which in others is accustomed to breed contempt and diminish reverence, increased in this matron the proper respect for her Mistress: so that the more the familiarity grew, so much also did reverence increase. With singular reverence. Wherefore this faith in a short time so perfected her in all virtues that on her account God wrought very many miracles. Indeed, that self-denial of the will by which the soul follows a trustworthy guide for life is the surest shortcut to obtaining perfection.

[3] She was married at a young age, not without divine inspiration, Married, mother of two sons, so that she might be set before all as a model for the married state, just as her Mistress had been set before Virgins. She bore two sons in all, of whom one died at the age of seven, and the other (who, as we have said, owed the health of his body after God to B. Margaret) departed two years before his mother. Whose loss, since she was a widow, she bore with such moderation that she easily showed that she had been strengthened by a divine gift of fortitude.

[4] But to return to our subject: as soon as she had drunk in the teachings of that blessed Virgin, She gives herself to piety. she devoted herself so entirely to the contemplation of heavenly things and so immersed herself in the abyss of divine charity that she forgot not only her husband and all earthly things, but even herself; and fixing her mind on God alone, she did not seem at all to be in the company of those who dwell on earth. This so alienated her husband's mind from her that he could in no way endure even the sight of her, supposing either that he was despised by her or that, Therefore hated by her husband, since she was of remarkable beauty, she was held captive by the loves of others. Wherefore he treated her in the harshest manner, and with the marriage turned altogether into a martyrdom, he wished her to spend the greater part of the night in sewing rags, now assailing her with abusive words, now also raging furiously and savagely against her with blows.

[5] She bears it most patiently. All of which, believing them to be inflicted upon her by God as an exercise of virtue, she endured not only with an equitable but even with a joyful and cheerful spirit. Whence she never prayed God to free her from these troubles; nay, when she was asked now and then by Margaret, who had been divinely informed of her injuries, whether all was going well enough, As if a martyrdom. she replied with the cheerful countenance she always wore that things were going far better for her than she deserved. Hence it was revealed by God to B. Margaret that her disciple was truly a Martyr. Although she suffered things so unworthy of her condition, she nevertheless strove to comply most diligently with her husband's will in all things. But he, placated by no compliance, raged against her all the more cruelly the more carefully he observed in her a readiness to suffer — which I think must truly be attributed to the machinations of the devil, as can easily be seen from the following. For when he once noticed that she was devoting herself to prayer for a longer time than usual, he was suddenly inflamed with such fury against her and believed himself to be in such danger from her of corruption of morals and religion that, publicly denouncing her as a witch Accused by him of witchcraft and even accusing her before the Bishop's Vicar, he brought it about that the latter finally entered her house together with the Clergy and a great number of people. After a diligent examination had been conducted, the Vicar found her to be of such integrity and innocence of life that he himself, suffused with no slight blush, accused himself more vehemently of excessive credulity. And abandoned. Seeing this, her husband in his despair emigrated to Padua, leaving her there in the greatest straits of family fortune.

[6] But Divine Providence did not fail her in her desolation — God who singularly aids the innocent and those who suffer for the sake of His love. She is helped by God. His providence shone forth therefore all the more brilliantly the more she, abandoned by all, experienced more immediate help. For very often, laboring under the most extreme necessity, when even bread was lacking (wonderful to say), she suddenly saw it brought to her, without being able to understand in any way whence it had been brought. Wherefore she also more diligently devoted herself to the service of God day and night, the more she knew herself to be the object of His greater care. At last, after many years had passed, her husband returned home, She obtains a pious death for her husband. and having perceived God's providence toward Gentile, he changed his mind and departed this life with a better disposition. I believe this was divinely granted to him through the prayers of his wife, who was constantly beseeching God on his behalf.

CHAPTER II.

Many adversities endured.

[7] Since I have therefore undertaken to speak about her patience, it is right that I should show how God, in this way, like a goldsmith testing gold by fire, wished to prove her. But the variety and multitude of diseases with which she was afflicted will perhaps exceed belief: She is tried by many and severe illnesses, for they were so many and so great that in her entire body not even a single limb was sound and free from pain. Now her head, now her eyes, now other parts of her body were cruelly tormented, so that she was afflicted by such calamities succeeding one another continually even unto death. Of these illnesses she endured one especially grave one for fourteen years, so that she might be like her Mistress — and especially be the heir of her virtues and her sufferings. And if perhaps anyone is less astonished that a mortal body could suffice for bearing so many evils at once, let him certainly be amazed that in such great and long-lasting torments she persevered always with a steadfast and serene spirit. Indeed, what do we admire in S. Paul on account of his supreme endurance? — of whom Christ said that He would show him how much he must suffer for His name's sake. Job likewise performed nothing more worthy to be praised by God Himself than when, oppressed by adversities on every side and afflicted even with a most grievous ulcer, he never fell away from constancy and fortitude of mind. With the utmost patience always. How similar Gentile was to these Saints is sufficiently clear from the fact that, although she saw her Mistress — to whom she was exceedingly dear — obtaining bodily health for very many by her prayers to God, she never asked her to petition for health or any other advantage for herself, content with her cross, indeed counting it, with Christ, as her glory. I dwell longer on this point because this fortitude in bearing has always been regarded by all who are skilled in evangelical perfection as the most efficacious testimony of sanctity; and in this truly singular virtue she obtained so great a number of privileges from God that, if I could commit to writing all the things she most bravely endured from both men and demons, equally in body and in soul, there could be no doubt at all about her admirable sanctity.

[8] But neither would I wish to pass over her charity toward her neighbor, by which — as a sure sign — S. Gregory judges that true justice can be distinguished from false: for the one impels to indignation, the other to compassion. With this occupying her most merciful heart, she mourned the calamities and miseries of others as her own; and, what is more worthy of admiration, Unjustly driven from the city, she seemed to be moved by a greater feeling of pity toward those who were the cruelest to her above the rest. Let this serve as proof: when a terrible plague was raging, and a certain woman who was close to her had died in her house — but without any sign of contagion — several people attacked her furiously, ordering her to leave the city at once. She most humbly begged them in return to deign to inquire into the truth before causing her such trouble. But when they spurned her prayers, she added that she might at least be allowed to be kept shut up in her own house, so that she, whose body was healthy, would not be exposed to the present danger of death. When she had sought this in vain with prayers and entreaties, she was driven from the city in a brutal manner and handed over to those who bury the dead from the plague, her household goods having been thrown into the death-cart.

[9] There she spent the space of two months in continual prayer, and received many things divinely at that time, by which, Forced to live with those afflicted by the plague, just as the three youths of old in the furnace, she was preserved unharmed. Meanwhile a grave punishment from the angry Deity threatened those who had been the authors of the injustice. She, together with Margaret, strove to avert this by their prayers from their heads, and she prayed to God thus: "Lord Jesus, forgive them this and their other offenses. She prays for her persecutors. I beseech Thee by the love with which Thou willingly embraced the Cross for the sake of sinners: forgive them all their crimes, but especially this one, lest anyone seem to be punished by Thee on my account. If Thou, guilty of no fault, as the meekest Lamb, didst not defend Thyself but, praying for those who crucified Thee, didst endure such grievous torments, why should not I also, covered with sins, endure? But if Thy justice demands penalties from sinners, let it begin, I beseech Thee, with me, who surpass the ingratitude of all who sin against Thee. But if any compassion and pity moves Thee toward sinners, have mercy, I pray, on me and on my persecutors."

[10] At last, having returned from this prison of those infected by the plague to her own home, She weeps over the miseries of others. she found very many poor people perishing of hunger in the streets; for that was a remarkable year for the high price of provisions and the scarcity of crops. Moved by this spectacle, since she could not relieve so great a calamity — she herself also being reduced to the most extreme straits — she certainly imparted to them what she could. Therefore, bathed in tears, she said: "Since I cannot help all of you in your need, I shall certainly not cease to shed tears; therefore, since I cannot give bread to all, I shall give tears to all." And thereupon, dissolving into weeping, she mourned them all, as a mother does the death of her only son, to such a degree that, spurning all consolation, she often lay as if dead.

CHAPTER III.

The welfare of others promoted.

[11] Many took refuge with her, some for the sake of health, others for counsel, She obtains various favors for many, and some also to be helped in temptations and adversities. Nothing was so pleasant to her as to be able to be of consolation to them. Very often and willingly she neglected the care of her body and food (as Tobias once did) and interrupted her prayer, in which she most delighted, esteeming the welfare of others as more important than her own comfort. She had obtained so great a grace from God for the consolation of the wretched that no one departed from her sad or afflicted. She was moved, however, more by the ills of souls than of bodies — which, because most people commonly neglect spiritual afflictions, she had in common with few indeed.

[12] Especially the gift of chastity. Since she was therefore of such piety toward persons of this kind, she was moved most especially toward those who were troubled by the devil with annoying thoughts of carnal pleasures; she brought them aid just as we are accustomed to do for those who have fallen into the mire. There are many still living who, having long struggled with this enemy and having employed many aids in vain, now obtain by her merits the grace of chastity which they had so often sought. Among whom (since it is glorious to confess the gifts of God) I myself wish to be counted first. Even for the Author himself. For when, all other means having been tried in vain, I found no part of quiet day or night on account of this domestic warfare, I commended myself to her prayers. She, having undertaken my patronage, brought me so suddenly to such confidence that shortly afterward, my spirit revived, I began thereafter to live again; and with the increase of my faith daily through the mercy of God, I have obtained such strength that I seem to myself to be now a different person from what I then was; nay, I even persuade myself that the miracle which S. Peter, about to sink, once experienced from the hand of Christ has been renewed in me by the aid of the Saints. So many things bearing on this matter occur to me that if I wished to embrace them all, I could make a book; but for the sake of brevity I shall omit them. This only do I think should be reported for the consolation of those whom the enemy of the human race tempts in various ways: She gives courage to all. that she was always accustomed to say that in this struggle hope should never be cast away; nay, if (such is human weakness) we should sometimes have fallen, we should rise up immediately. Because if we sincerely always strive to do so to the best of our ability, it will come to pass at last that by the help of God we shall be preserved from relapse.

[13] But God showed by many other fruits what kind of tree she was. She converts many. Hence it is hard to say how many changed their wicked ways and life through her effort; how many came to receive the Sacraments who had previously neglected them; how many, forgetting injuries, loved their enemies as full brothers — which signs indeed declare this to be a divine tree, or one planted by the hand of God. But I shall not pass over what the venerable priest Father Girolamo, Among them Girolamo Malusello, having experienced it himself, reported to me about himself, because the testimony of those who testify about what they have experienced has always been of the greatest weight. He asserts, then, that he was once so alienated from the worship of God that for a full four years he did not even once wash away the filth of his soul through the cleansing of holy Penance; but afterward, as the fame of this holy woman spread, he was invited to visit her; and then, so instructed and moved by her teachings, that he not only confessed all his sins, but raised up by new hope and having laid aside the desire for earthly things, he devoted himself entirely to the worship of God. And it happened that when he was thinking about assuming the clerical habit, he was afflicted for some reason with a severe pain of the heart, which grew more and more severe Whom she frees from pain by the rule of good living she gave him. the nearer the time of his sacred ordination approached. Unable therefore to find a remedy for this unknown malady, he was compelled to take refuge with her. She prescribed one remedy for the pain, even of the body: the way in which he should thenceforth order his life. He had scarcely promised to live according to the rule she gave him when the pain began first to diminish, not without sensation, and then soon vanished entirely.

[14] Thereafter he placed such faith in her words that he believed they were brought to him from God Himself. She reveals to him the frauds of demons. Therefore, when at one time he languished, as if all his limbs were somehow broken and bruised, and she attributed this to a delusion of the devil, he believed her words rather than his own experience; nor did his faith deceive him: for at that very point of time he recovered his former vigor. God often used this faith of his as an instrument for the salvation of souls, as we learned from a certain man who at Rimini was being monstrously tempted by the devil to violate his own daughter. Through him she frees others from their delusions. This man, sent to him for a remedy at the instigation of this blessed woman, was after a friendly reproof brought to the point where, having duly confessed this crime, he was entirely freed from so importunate and execrable a temptation. On another occasion, when a certain woman, at the time when the sacred Host is customarily offered, was being raised a cubit above the ground, and supposed this to be happening by the operation of the Holy Spirit, this same Priest, having recognized and exposed the frauds of the devil through Gentile, freed the wretched woman by her command from this delusion. This must without doubt be attributed to her prayers, from which she drew so much light that she could easily recognize and dissolve frauds and snares of the devil of this kind — which happened as often as this Father was sent by her to cure diseases of soul or body.

CHAPTER IV.

The spirit of prophecy.

[15] This woman felt so humbly and abjectly about herself that she said Whence her humility arose. that she could in no way persuade herself that anything praiseworthy was in her, even if all men and Angels asserted it. She derived this clear knowledge of her own worthlessness from the fact that she always had her thoughts fixed on God, in comparison with whom all created greatness is reduced to nothing; whereas, on the contrary, others look up to themselves as great because they meditate only on abject and worthless things. She, therefore, the more she believed herself worthy of greater contempt, the greater was she before God, and the more abundantly was she adorned by Him with gifts. Hence many things surpassing human understanding were divinely revealed to her.

[16] Indeed, this is an illustrious sign of her exalted and generous spirit: that although she daily abounded in ever greater revelations, she set little store by them all, She does not value revelations highly. fearing intensely lest there should befall her what befalls many who seek such gifts too eagerly — that she might some day forget the giver. But lest anyone should think it ungrateful to God if one should despise gifts of this kind, since those who have placed faith in them have also been praised: first, I say that since her Mistress, that most holy Virgin, had prescribed this, it was entirely right for her to carry out her commands, unless she wished to resist the divine Spirit Nor is she to be blamed in this. who spoke in Margaret. Second, I judge that it cannot be that revelations are hindered by the humility of spirit with which she spurned them, but rather by the pride with which a creature might securely receive them, tacitly considering herself worthy of them. Although she referred all things to God in such a way that she did not place in them the faith that others might, she nevertheless by this means failed neither in her own salvation nor in that of her neighbor: She foresees the sack of Ravenna in the year 1512. as when, three years before Ravenna was sacked, she learned of its destruction by divine revelation; although she never thought it would actually happen, she did not cease nevertheless to beseech God with constant prayers to turn His vengeance away from that city, until at last it raged there. Together with all the others she lost whatever wealth she had — which was indeed very little — Nor does she avoid the danger. Nor would she have been worthy of praise if she had escaped by flight the danger of the common scourge, considering herself better than the rest. Therefore, just as Jeremiah wished to endure the captivity which he had announced long before, so she wished to bear the common calamities of her homeland.

[17] And so, to return to the matter — namely, by what means she knew things absent and future — I say that there is still living one of her spiritual children She discerns the temptations of others and puts them to flight. who asserts that, when on a certain night he was so violently assailed by impure thoughts that he despaired of victory, he recalled his accustomed devotion toward her and thought that in a moment all these images of obscene things would vanish — on which occasion the next day he went to her. As soon as he came into her sight, she said to him of her own accord: "My son, had I not fought for you this night and conquered the devil with God's help, you would have endured his assault with great difficulty." From which, can it not clearly be inferred that she was present at that struggle, at least in mind and thought?

[18] She assists those who are absent in a wonderful way. The same thing happened to her domestic Priest, who, as he himself testifies, when he was far from her, clearly heard her voice summoning him home. When, obeying her, he returned to her, he recognized along the way that she had in some way always been present to him in spirit, and had intimately perceived not only everything he had done but also everything he had thought. Wherefore he venerated her equally whether absent or present, since he observed that things absent as well as present, internal as well as external, were known by her.

[19] The providence of the benign Deity toward her was of such a kind that in all things, however small, He governed her by a certain special means. She perceives the stench of sin. On this account we have learned that she was once divinely forbidden to eat bread that had been offered to her, or to accept any other alms, because she felt that from the sins of those who gave such things a very great stench was breathed forth. Very often, when she had given herself to prayers to propitiate God for certain deceased friends, she felt herself restrained by such force — as we know once happened to Jeremiah, to whom it was announced from heaven: "Do not pray for this people, because I will not hear." Jer. 7:16. So great are the prayers of His elect before God that He does not wish them to be offered in vain.

CHAPTER V.

Christian virtues.

[20] I consider it superfluous to discourse on her temperance. Although exhausted by illness and by the constant contemplation of divine things (which two things most diminish bodily strength), she approached eating food She is excellent in moderating food, as if some bitter medicine had to be swallowed. She nevertheless judged it better to eat a little each day than, after a three-day fast, to expose herself to the danger of gluttony into which many often imprudently fall. Sleep, and other things. She had the same moderation in sleep, dress, and other things; the same standard of prudence. The common people are indeed accustomed to admire especially those things which exceed measure and are called extremes; but the wise consider it both more difficult and safer to stand in the middle. This is manifest in the moderation and proper restraint of the tongue, which is attained neither by those who pour themselves out in idle and useless words, nor by those who omit necessary ones — so that very few indeed keep themselves within the bounds of moderation. In her, however, this shone forth in such a way that she uttered nothing idle, nor abstained from what was necessary.

[21] She was of such reverence and devotion toward sacred rites, She reveres Priests and the things of the Church. the ordinances of the Church, that even if some Angel had persuaded her to the contrary, she would in no way have placed faith in him — how frequent such constancy of faith is in these times, let others judge. Moreover, she would not allow anything at all to be uttered by anyone by which the honor of Bishops and Priests might seem to be injured, even in the slightest degree. This was seen She mourns when Rome was taken in the year 1527. when Rome was taken by force and sacked with military fury; for when certain persons seemed to rejoice at this, she herself, beseeching God day and night, wept, weighing within herself, out of her inflamed charity toward all, the sufferings of the captives, the detestable crimes of the victors, the injury inflicted upon the Supreme Pontiff and other prelates of the Church, and the profanation of temples and sacred places. Since she understood that all these things were redounding to the ruin of the Christian commonwealth, she mourned all the more copiously the greater was the love by which she was borne toward Christ. She often confesses and communicates. It was her custom to confess her sins every eighth day and to partake of the divine banquet; while she enjoyed this, she kindled such a fire within herself that often, however ill and pale she was, she gleamed with a rosy and fiery countenance, not without the great admiration and astonishment of the Priest, as he himself acknowledges. She never began confession without tears and many sighs — a confession which I believe was always a general one, since at every moment she progressed in the love of God, in which she burned most intensely like a furnace, and thus did not allow sin to remain within her.

CHAPTER VI.

Miracles. Death.

[22] Although these things are of such a nature that we may justly conclude she was worthy of heaven — since the chief sign of sanctity is, having conquered sins, to observe the commandments of God — nevertheless, since the common people are usually more greatly impressed by the miracles that are presented to the external senses than by the interior justice that does not fall under the senses, I shall not pass over these things either, which God generously granted to her just as to other Saints. She heals the sick by her prayers. She was accustomed, therefore, out of piety to visit the sick and to pour forth certain prayers for them, by the power of which they were miraculously restored to health at once. But when she had some doubt about this matter, she consulted a certain Religious, to whom she occasionally deposited her sins through the Sacrament of Penance, who affirmed that since this was a work of mercy, she could lawfully proceed further in the exercise of it. But later the same matter was laid before Peter de Luca, Afterward she omits this. a man celebrated for his fame of learning and sanctity, who, since he did not greatly commend this office of charity from which miracles resulted, she also in the future entirely abstained from it.

[23] Shortly after, however, she fell into a most grave illness, and when she had been bedridden for five full years, While sick, she is visited by Christ. although the Lord, frequently visiting her intimately and speaking to her, asked whether those visits and offices of charity which she had interrupted were pleasant to her at that time, she nevertheless, persevering in the same counsel, preferred to endure those troubles of illness rather than to neglect the teaching of so holy a man. For it is the habit of a humble soul, so as to be as far removed as possible from every danger of self-esteem, to prefer to be governed by the counsel of another rather than by its own revelation — that is, when the availability of another's counsel is not denied.

[24] It happened on another occasion that out of singular compassion she touched the foot of a certain poor man, She heals an ulcerated foot by her touch, which was so purulent and corrupted that the next day it was to be amputated. At that touch the wretched man immediately began to improve, so that shortly he obtained perfect health. On another occasion she also touched a certain girl who was completely covered with leprosy, And leprosy. whom we afterward saw healthy through her aid and finally joined in marriage.

[25] A certain country woman had given birth to an infant so monstrously contracted and twisted in its limbs that it looked like a hedgehog; for its head was entangled with its feet, and since it had been in that condition for ten months, there was no hope of restoring the body to a more proper form. To be brief, She cures a hideously contorted boy. the infant was brought to her as a last remedy. Wherefore she summoned her Priest to her, and with him watching, she loosened the limbs of the child, fitting each one to its place as if shaping a lump of clay; and two years later, when the boy was brought to her, she saw him so whole and well-formed that no trace at all of his former calamity appeared in him.

[26] Nor should this be passed over, which I learned not long ago. A certain man known to her had married a woman bound to him by a certain degree of consanguinity. Since this act rightly displeased her, she persuaded him to enter the Order of the Jesuates. But his kinsmen strove with every effort to extract him from it, so that he might avail himself of the marriage he had contracted. While they were doing this, on a certain day they went out fishing, for they were fishermen; but the net they had cast, by which they sought their livelihood, was suddenly snatched from their sight. When they had sought it long and hard but in vain, A net lost as a punishment for sin; she obtains its recovery. having at last abandoned all hope of recovering it — since, although it was very large, it gave no indication of its whereabouts — they took refuge with this blessed woman. She refused to pray to God for them unless they first promised to allow their brother to continue in the way of life he had begun. Once they had promised, she told them to return to the sea, where they found the net floating on the water in the very place where they had earlier cast it and searched for it with such great labor in vain. Moreover, their brother, as he continued in the religious state, was driven by the devil to such despair She disperses the wicked counsels of a certain man, and heals him. that, having plotted to take his own life, he had hidden a knife under the pillow of his bed for that purpose. She, having been divinely informed of this, sent her Priest to him, who among other things was to ask him, in her words, what that knife was for, and what he intended by it, which he had hidden in that place. He, seeing that his intended crime was clearly perceived, was led to repentance, and lived and died with distinction in the same religious order.

[27] But since a longer narrative would be needed to encompass all these things, She foreknows her own death. I come to her death, which was most like the life she had led, which she also knew long beforehand by divine inspiration, having seemed to see a burning torch fall upon her head. Wherefore she arranged all her affairs to that end, leaving her house to her Priest, so that he might consecrate it as a church, teaching him at the same time in what place the altars should be placed. This was afterwards done. For the Priest, about to build a church from her house according to her wish, when he could scarcely undertake anything because of a lack of funds, She orders a church to be made from her house. suddenly so great a collection of alms was gathered from all sides that there was more than enough for the wages of the workers and for everything the completion of the building required.

[28] To return, then, to where I left off: as her illness increased, the inner light of her soul seemed also to increase and grow, She yearns for death. together with her desire to be united with Him whom she had always loved so greatly. In this she was like a stone that moves more swiftly the closer it is to its center, there to find rest. She was overwhelmed by innumerable and most severe pains, yet she never ceased from mental prayer, She prays constantly. to such a degree that she truly fulfilled that saying of Christ the Lord: "It is necessary to pray always and not to grow faint." Luke 18:1. Hence life failed her sooner than prayer did. With her last sighs she repeated nothing but the mercy of God; and having uttered that word she departed to Him She dies, who is the father of mercies. After death, the mercy of God was expressed and shone forth in her countenance, which, by a singular grace, appeared so fair and cheerful More beautiful after death. that very many could not believe she had been ill for so long and so gravely. She departed from this life in the year 1530, on 28 January.

[29] These are the things which, concerning these holy women, I have been able to stammer out rather than eloquently set forth. Epilogue. Nor would I have dared to undertake this task unless the iniquity of certain calumniators had driven me to it; for I reasoned thus with myself: it is not right that calumniators should seem more free to assail what they do not know than eyewitnesses to proclaim what they have learned by certain experience — although I know that I have not achieved even the smallest part of the praises owed to them. But it will come to pass some day that the great God, whom both faithfully served, just as He has always exalted other Saints in their own time and place, will make the glory of both of them manifest to the world. That this will happen soon, we confidently trust, relying both on the devotion of many toward them and on the inquiry recently instituted concerning them. Wherefore it is for us to beseech God in our prayers to fulfill His promises soon, for the greater glory of His name, the exaltation of the Saints, and the salvation of very many.

ANOTHER LIFE

from the History of Ravenna by Girolamo Rossi.

Gentile, widow, at Ravenna in Italy.

From Girolamo Rossi.

[1] Gentile, a disciple of Margaret. At the time when Charles the Emperor received the Imperial crown from Clement VII at Bologna with magnificent pomp, Gentile died at Ravenna. She was the daughter of Thomas Justi, a Veronese goldsmith, born at Ravenna of a woman of Ravenna. Since she had been on very familiar and frequent terms with Margaret, of whom we have spoken above, she had gained a very great reputation for sanctity, increased daily by a life lived innocently and holily. She had a husband, James Pianella, a Venetian cobbler, by whom she bore several sons, and especially Leo, who became a Priest. She suffers much from her husband. By this most holy manner of living she kindled so vehement a hatred in her husband that she was very often cast into great calamities by him, not only by harsh and most abusive words, but by bitter deeds, public calumnies, and many beatings. Yet she always bore these with such moderation of soul and so calmly that she answered Margaret her mistress — who knew all things by divine means and inquired how she was — that she was doing far better than she deserved. Whereby it came to pass that by constant prayers to God she at last obtained the change of her husband's ways for the better.

[2] Kind to all. So great was her goodness and generosity toward those who always inflicted injuries and insults upon her — and they were many — that she was the first to invite them with gentle words to put aside their anger and hatred and to restore harmony among themselves. Always pursuing the needy with the greatest compassion, when she could not give to those who asked (for she loved and cultivated poverty), she was wonderfully affected with grief and tears at the same time. For very many she obtained bodily health from God by her prayers, with admirable effect; She is renowned for miracles. and she relieved the cares and troubles of the soul with her conversation. She discerned, by God's indication, the thoughts and innermost feelings of the soul, as the most reliable witnesses — Antonio Monvetulo and Zaccaria Pedercino — have attested, when, by the command of Pope Paul III, in the year 1537, in the month of May, Giovanni Francesco Petitto, the Governor of Ravenna, held an inquiry (as we mentioned above) into the life and miracles of both Margaret and Gentile. She obtained chastity and other things for certain persons. In this inquiry, Paolo Veggi of Ravenna, Bishop of Casal, writes that he had many times obtained tranquillity of soul and bodily health from the most serious illnesses through the prayers of Margaret and Gentile, when they had already been called to the rewards of the heavenly life. Several also of the Lateran Canons Regular, such as Seraphinus Acetus of Fermo (who published a printed booklet about the lives of these most holy women), Michael of Forli, and Marco Antonio of Venice, testify that by the request and prayers of Gentile they had obtained the greatest virtues from God, and especially chastity; and they add that they knew many persons in Venice, Ferrara, Lucca, and other cities and towns to whom, when they had implored the intercession of Margaret and Gentile, wonderful gifts from God had come.

[3] She discerns the temptations of others when absent. Monvetulo, a most learned and grave man, and a sworn witness in this inquiry, writes that when on a certain night his chastity was fiercely assailed by the devil, he immediately rose from bed and took refuge in the help of God and was freed; and the next morning, when he went to Gentile, she narrated the entire assault and affirmed that she had prayed God to grant him the victory. Likewise very often, when many were present, the sins of any person, divinely known by her, were rebuked; which Monvetulo himself often experienced.

[4] She also prophesied many things, although she did this very reluctantly and not affirmatively; for she did not easily believe the visions She foretells many future events. that were frequently presented to her by divine means. But to omit many things she predicted, I would not wish to wrap in silence the fact that she foreknew in detail the battle of Ravenna and the sacking of the city, asserting that she could see many people from distant places approaching to sack Ravenna. When Girolamo Malusello urged her to consult her safety by flight, she herself refused, saying that if adversities were to be borne on account of sins, she too had sinned greatly and sinned daily. On the day before a great slaughter was committed at Ravenna because of the factions, a vessel full of blood was shown to her from heaven as she was returning from the church of S. John the Evangelist, and she heard a voice that declared it would be a vinegar-sauce. When also the Constable of Bourbon was ranging through Emilia, heading for Rome, she in her chamber, accompanied by several persons, having suddenly become pale and as if terrified, affirmed that she had been shown women with disheveled hair, slaughters of men, a great effusion of blood, and many such things as are accustomed to occur in the sacking of cities — which the wretched disaster of Rome itself made true not long afterward.

[5] At this point I would gladly include the testimony of Girolamo Malusello, a most holy man and her companion, who attended her for the confession of sins, which she made almost daily. She converts a certain man. He, therefore, as a very young man hearing much about the sanctity of Gentile and, as young men are wont, scorning it, at the urging and almost the compulsion of his sister, betook himself to Gentile, not without great fear; for he had already abstained from confession of sins for four years. Entering her house, he immediately perceived a very great fragrance, and approaching her, he was in a short time so instructed in justice and piety by her precepts and admonitions, and the vision of his mind so illuminated, that he immediately entered upon a different condition and manner of life. She frees him from anxiety of soul. Three years passed meanwhile, during which he was accustomed to visit her frequently, and he heard her praying God to grant her a Priest with whom she might share the secrets of her heart; and not long after, Girolamo resolved to become a Priest. But the nearer he approached to that most sacred order, the more he was afflicted by a certain almost intolerable pain of the heart; which, however, having been revealed to Gentile, his spirit was immediately cheered, and the vain fear and anxiety were driven away.

[6] Now made a Priest, when at Cesena he was alone in his chamber reciting the sacred words of the mysteries, leaning on his elbow upon the sacred book And calls him to her in a wonderful way. with his hand to his cheek as he pondered them, he was suddenly struck so violently on the face from above that he was scarcely in his senses, yet he felt no pain. Immediately raising his eyes, he beheld beside him a woman clothed in black garments; suspecting her to be Gentile or Margaret, he said: "I intend to set out for Ravenna, for either James, the husband of Gentile, has died, or he is breathing his last." And so, when he had come to Ravenna, on the following day James departed this life. And Girolamo himself, not long after, joined as the fourth companion the household of Gentile, Leo, and a kinswoman, where he lived for nineteen years, perpetually leading a holy life. She fasts often. Gentile constantly bore many and great pains with patience and an always cheerful countenance, while also punishing her body by eating only once on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays for the sake of holy fasting; and on every Sunday and feast day Girolamo communicated to her the divine and most sacred Host of the Body of Christ God.

[7] Before she died, she had often predicted that day to Girolamo Malusello. She predicts her own death. At last, having made him her sole heir (for her son Leo had predeceased her), she ordered him to erect her house into a church, to lay the foundations, and to commit the rest to God; for it would come to pass that not the people of Ravenna but foreigners would help with the work. And so, on the night following the fifth day before the Kalends of February, She dies piously. having been anointed at the last with holy oil, she closed her final day by a death not at all dissimilar from the life she had led innocently, in the fifty-ninth year of her age.

[8] Since, however, an overly long discourse would be needed if I were to narrate the admirable gifts that have been obtained after her death through her intercession with God, I omit these and come A church is built from her house. to Girolamo Malusello, who, although he did not have even ten gold coins, yet impelled by the words of his mistress Gentile, laid the foundations of a church. And, what is wonderful to say, so many people came running to help that in a short time the church was built, on which more than five hundred gold coins were spent; of which three hundred were donated by a certain petty ruler named Charles in the kingdom of Naples — a man we knew and with whom we spoke in past years. For when he had heard in France, where he had taken refuge after losing his dominion, With many persons helping. from a certain Priest that at Ravenna a Priest was living in a completely holy manner and was building a church, impelled by the divine spirit he came from France to Ravenna, intending to visit the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto, most famous throughout the world for its immense miracles. Finding Girolamo, he gave him a golden chain so that he might enlarge the church he had already built, which was too small, and adorn it with added chapels — which was done... After these things were accomplished, having joined to himself several consecrated men, upright and religious, among whom Simone Crespolo of Ravenna was particularly distinguished, he established a community with the title of the Good Jesus and S. Margaret added, in the year from the Virgin's delivery 1532; which Pope Paul III afterward approved in the following years. Also Julia Sfondrata, a noble and devout woman, a widow of Milan, who had had a husband from the Piccinardata family at Mantua, contributed a certain annual pension of money to that association, greatly helped the enterprise, and acquired magnificent buildings adjacent to the church and also some estates.