Peter Nolasco

ON S. PETER NOLASCO, FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF S. MARY OF MERCY FOR THE REDEMPTION OF CAPTIVES, IN SPAIN.

About the year 1250.

Peter Nolasco, founder of the Order of the Blessed Mary of Mercy for the Redemption of Captives in Spain (S.)

[1] At the time when the Christian race, crumbling under the weight of its crimes, needed persons to sustain it by sacred learning and the merits of an innocent life, Dominic and Francis were offered by the most holy Virgin Mother to Christ, who was threatening retributive destruction; and what she had promised, aided by her perpetual patronage, both labored with untiring zeal to carry out, each with a great troop of fellow soldiers. Another, The Order of S. Mary of Mercy, another assembly was instituted under the auspices, and indeed at the admonition, of the same Mother of God, whose purpose would be to collect alms from all quarters and ransom Christians who were serving in the most bitter slavery among the Moors in Spain and Africa. The Virgin herself chose the administrators of this divine plan, each admonished separately by a mystical dream at the same time: James, King of Aragon, conqueror of the Balearics and Valencia; Raymond of Penafort, of the Order of Preachers; and Peter Nolasco.

[2] In a public ceremony at Barcelona in the cathedral basilica, on 10 August, its foundation, in the year 1223, Peter was chosen as the Leader of that new army, clothed in a tunic, cowl, and scapular of white color, with a white cross on a red shield, and beneath it four red pale bars on a gold field insignia (the public arms of the Kings of Aragon) sewn before the breast on the right side of the garment.

[3] In the year 1235 at last, the twelfth from its first institution, the Order was legitimately approved by Gregory IX, on 17 January, in the eighth year of his pontificate, as is clear from the Bullarium of Laertius Cherubini: Approval. whence you may correct most of the writers of the Annals of that Order, who refer its beginnings to the year 1218 and its confirmation to 1230; since in the year 1218 Raymond had not yet been admitted into the family of S. Dominic, nor was Gregory elevated to the pontificate until 20 March 1227, since Honorius III had died three days before; so that the year of Christ 1230 could not have been the eighth year of his pontificate, in which the bull was issued at Perugia on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of February. Other Pontiffs afterward adorned that Order with various privileges, which may be read in the same Bullarium.

[4] At first they were called Brothers of the House of S. Eulalia, because the house which they first adapted to their use had previously been a hospice under the title of S. Eulalia; not because it is established that S. Eulalia formerly dwelt in those buildings, much less because in the cathedral basilica, ennobled by the relics of Eulalia, the congregation was first inaugurated with the sacred habit and insignia having been bestowed: First monastery. that would be too far-fetched a derivation of the name. Moreover, what we said about that being the first monastery must be understood of a religious dwelling separated from the habitation of secular persons. For a part of the palace had been assigned to them by the King, and the care of the royal chapel: and afterward there was, and even now there is, a Royal Chaplain at Barcelona from that Order. But the duties of the religious life could not be carried out with the peace and tranquility that befitted them amid the tumult of the Court: so that Nolasco judged it necessary to seek other quarters of their own, proper and suited to sacred functions and mystical leisure.

[5] While he was planning this, enormous difficulties were thrown in his way. That is a Christian omen of happiness. The more fiercely the envy of the evil demon and the wickedness of men assail the pious plans of holy men, the more pleasant is the sense of victory for them, the more certain the despair of recovery for the others, and for the rest there is both an incentive to follow and support, and a hope of earning more ample help from God sooner, by whose gift the very beginnings were undertaken. Nolasco experienced all of these things. Indeed, he even turned adversity itself to his aid. A certain citizen of Barcelona had sold to them, for the site and buildings destined for the construction of a monastery, a nearby and clearly useful house. When his son protested and raised great and numerous disturbances, the contract was forced to be rescinded, to the great annoyance of Nolasco and his companions. They yielded their legitimately purchased house, relying on confidence in divine help. At the hours when the reading of some pious author was customarily established in the chapel or refectory, he had ordered the books of S. John Climacus to be read: Founded with divine help. it happened at that time that the reader recited these words from him: "A heart loving labors, insults, and sorrows is an open door, through which in the time of departure it will find pasture." When Nolasco had taken this in with his ears, he stood for some time with his mind abstracted from his senses, then declared that his companions would soon prove the truth of the prophecy by brief experience. On that very day the young man named Paul, who had contested the sale of his father's house, sought, with the support of his friends, to be admitted into the Order, and having been admitted after his constancy had been tested for some days, he established a holy life.

[6] The Order was afterward widely propagated through the other provinces of Spain as well: Its propagation. many labors were undertaken by its members for the salvation of souls, and many grave dangers were faced. Almost innumerable numbers endured what was tantamount to martyrdom, while, in order to ransom captives, they visited the lands of the cruel Moors and surrendered themselves as hostages until the ransom of the others was produced: but when that ransom was sometimes brought too late, or because they condemned the impure sect of Muhammad, Many Martyrs, or through some other deed having provoked the ferocity of the Barbarians, very many were slaughtered. It would be too long to review even the names of those who are celebrated in their annals either for the laurel of martyrdom or otherwise for the praise of outstanding virtue. Two they honor with public sacred rites: Peter Nolasco and Raymond Nonnatus.

[7] But for very many who are otherwise adorned with the titles of Blessed and Saint, The feast of S. Peter Nolasco, the feast day is not specified in those same Annals. We have learned from the Order of reciting the divine office printed in Spain that the celebration of S. Raymond is held on 30 August, and of S. Nolasco on 29 January. Andrew du Saussay, although he calls Nolasco a Saint, nevertheless counts him only among the Blessed, since Pope Urban VIII decreed that he be publicly venerated by his Order. Thus du Saussay writes of him on 10 August: "On this very day the holy Peter de Nolasco, a Frenchman by nation, founded the Order of the Blessed Mary of Mercy for the Redemption of Captives, in the year of the Lord 1228. He himself, however, a blessed man, on the day before the Kalends of January in the year 1249, was translated to the heavenly tabernacles and received the well-deserved rewards of mercy and abundant redemption with God." Others also write that he died in that year; but since they would have him preside over the Order for thirty-one years, and it was not instituted until the year 1223, it must be admitted that he did not die before 1254, if that interval of his governance were established.

[8] We give his life as written by Francisco Zumel of the same Order, at that time Provincial in the kingdoms of Castile and Portugal, but afterward Master General, Life. in a booklet on the Lives of the Fathers and Masters General. Alfonsus Remon described his deeds more extensively in the Annals of the Order in Spanish, and he cites the histories of that Order written by Melchior Rodericius, Bernardino de Vargas, Natalis Gabor, and Philip de Guimeran. Silvester Maurolycus treats of the Order and its most holy founder in the Ocean of Religious Orders, Raphael Volaterranus in book 21, Juan de Mariana in his History of Spain, book 12, chapter 8, Clement VIII, Supreme Pontiff, in the Bull of canonization of S. Raymond of Penafort, which we gave on 7 January, Francisco Diago in his History of Valencia, Gaspar Escolano in his History of Valencia, who in book 5, chapter 7 reports that his body is preserved at Valencia. Finally, all who write the deeds either of S. Raymond or of King James of Aragon, surnamed the Conqueror, also make mention of S. Peter Nolasco.

LIFE by Francisco Zumel.

By Francisco Zumel.

PREFACE.

To the most vigilant Pastor, the Master General, Brother Francisco de Salazar, Doctor in Sacred Theology, his Brother Francisco Zumel, Provincial of Castile and Portugal, dedicates and consecrates this work.

[1] What commonly befalls merchants who traverse the open sea and distant oceans for the sake of greater profit, while they struggle with unconquerable waves and billows that contend both with one another and with raging winds, and, engulfed in darkness and tossed by the storm, expecting shipwreck with almost no hope of salvation -- if a small gleam of a saving star shines upon them in their peril, perceiving its light they breathe again and raise their spirits, and they exhort the helmsman sitting at the tiller to perform his office more eagerly; and he, lifting his eyes, beholds the splendor and, using it as a guide, avoids and wards off the fury of the storm, and directs the ship to its true course; The deeds of the Saints guide mortals. nearly the same things are accustomed to happen to those navigating this sea of life and diligently striving for the safe harbor of the age to come. For to those laboring under the incredible surge of temptations and beset by the assault and snares of demons as if by the densest darkness, the deeds accomplished by outstanding and holy men, set before their eyes, dispel the darkness with their splendor, and, overthrowing the violence of disturbances with divine teaching, bring the most pleasant tranquility, and most easily convey them, laden with precious wares and rejoicing, to their desired inheritance. You will find, therefore, some adorned with one virtue, others with another: this one excels in the integrity of abstinence; that one shines in mercy, piety, defense of the faith, and sometimes in temperance, and shows how the arrogance of intemperance may be overcome; another teaches that this life is to be trampled underfoot; another declares that the glory of the world is to be despised.

[2] But if you consider the deeds of our Fathers and ancestors, who preceded us in ancient times, Why the Author writes this. and also of the most pious and most holy Peter Nolasco, Master General, you will see, as in a most flourishing garden, the flowers and seeds and examples of all virtues. That I might pursue these with due history and praise, I undertook the task with a willing spirit, moved by the prayers of many and relying on the help of God: not that I might win glory for the almost divine and wondrous Peter Nolasco and the more ancient Fathers of our Order (for what glory can be obtained for them from my discourse, which is far inferior to their virtues?), but rather, on the contrary, that by recounting the deeds accomplished by some of them, I might both adorn my history and offer assistance to those who strive to imitate them. Although at the very outset, before I enter the arena of this praise and history, I feel myself unequal to so great a burden. Wherefore, placed as a judge amid these whirlpools, what shall I do? I shall therefore linger for a time on the virtues of certain of our elder Brothers, to show what in particular the holy man Peter Nolasco and our greater Fathers, inflamed with love of the Creator, despised and counted as nothing. Then I shall turn myself entirely to weighing their lives and especially the succession of the Masters General.

CHAPTER I. The birth, piety, and renunciation of wealth of S. Peter Nolasco.

[3] That admirable man, the first and most vigilant Master of the Order of Redeemers of the Blessed Mary of Mercy, was brought forth by that fatherland which, as if adorned with the dignity of empire and nobility, surpasses most other nations as much as it is fitting for a queen to excel her subjects: Peter Nolasco born in France, of honorable station, concerning which, though I would say much, I am prevented both because its glories cannot be explained in any easy and brief discourse, and because they are known to the inhabitants of all parts of the earth that the sun illumines. Peter Nolasco, therefore, that most holy man, drew his origin from the province of France, but not far from the city of Barcelona, where he lived almost from infancy. And for this reason the city of Barcelona, as the home of his dwelling and upbringing, rather claimed him as its own. His parents are not openly identified by writers; but report held that he was begotten by a most honorable man likewise called Nolasco and his wife: and for this reason Peter was likewise called "Nolasco," so that he took his surname from his father and wished to be so called. He was born of parents worthy of such a fatherland, who abounded in wealth, military glory, and every virtue.

[4] And Peter Nolasco, that outstanding and illustrious man whose life we must now praise, was born heir to this most ample inheritance. From boyhood devoted to almsgiving, When he had been brought forth from his mother's womb into the light, even as a tiny infant he freely gave away to the poor whatever he had -- which is a thing quite foreign to the condition and state of childhood. By the surpassing beauty of his body he indicated a similar candor and excellence of soul. For he seemed to be not the son of a mortal man, but rather of God, giving himself entirely to God from infancy, and from his very birth to the very end of his life illustrious and excellent in all virtues. Of modesty, For it is established that in the preludes of his boyhood, before he put on the garb of religion, he led a gentle, most holy, and most righteous life, and spent it in the liberal disciplines, and that his habit in boyhood was such that he would give most generously to the first needy person he met at daybreak, even without being asked. He was also accustomed to come to church even in the silence of midnight, of piety; and there to hear the sacred words of God and Matins.

[5] But his father, having lived in this world only a short time after this, left his boy and young son, his most dear Peter Nolasco, when he was only fifteen years of age. His father having died, And while he remained under the rule of his mother's blessing, he was obedient and subject to his mother, as is fitting, beyond measure: though abounding in wealth and enriched with the riches of his paternal inheritance, he was not troubled so as to be carried away by the allurements of the world or to desist from his holy purpose. Wherefore he resolved to lead a celibate life. For already at that time of his life he was being urged by many citizens solicited to marry, to choose a bride with whom he might pass a quiet life and from whom he might expect desirable offspring. But he, pondering these things within himself, his mind intent upon divine matters and dwelling on loftier things, desiring to fulfill his purpose and his celibacy, was not at all swayed by these persuasions.

[6] But on a certain night, when he had awakened and sat up in his bed to pray, and was turning over divine things with his whole mind, and revolving the frequent persuasions of his mother and his relatives about entering into marriage, he began to speak with himself alone thus: The course of life, as is clear, is short and uncertain. For no mortal knows when death will arrive, Having considered the vanity of human affairs, and dismiss us hence to that future judgment which is common to all, in which an account of all deeds done must be rendered under severe questioning, where one shall not answer for a thousand, as the most holy Job said; since sometimes men are snatched away unprepared and burdened with heaps of sins, and, stripped of the beauty of created things, they will be consumed by the bitterness of every torment and by everlasting fire; and though they have possessed certain small goods -- if indeed those things are to be called goods which are such only in appearance and opinion -- they are tortured by innumerable calamities far graver than death itself. Job 9:3. I pass over how brief and unstable are the things that are possessed. Riches, unless you use them rightly, are ministers of vice rather than of virtue, exposed to the snares of many, and they slip away before they are acquired. What of the beauty of a wife or bride, which consists in a certain sweetness of complexion and a well-proportioned figure? Is it not extinguished by time or withered by disease? And what is more vain than human glory, especially if it is compared with that eternal glory which neither eye has seen nor ear heard? Wherefore there is no reason to count it among goods. And since these things are so, I renounce the laws of the flesh and of nature; I wish to gaze upon heavenly things, and to remain alone like the Angels of God, and to reject and spurn with a ready spirit the things that do not endure forever.

[7] These and many other things that most devout Peter Nolasco, young in body but old in prudence, was saying to himself; and like a dove of Christ and a turtledove of solitude, a burning lover of chastity, set on fire with the love of Christ and overcoming womanly weakness, and vowing chastity to God in all things that were honorable, he promised that he would lead a celibate life in perpetuity. For he spoke thus: He resolves to preserve his virginity, It is far more excellent always to preserve whole the beauty of chastity and the crown of virginity than to corrupt it in part. Is it not better to reject the vain hope even of children and embrace what is certain? It is far more praiseworthy to take up the sweet and light yoke of Christ from my youth than, devoting all my effort to these vain and perishable things, to grow lukewarm in the love of God. Revolving these and similar things in his mind, he rose from the bed (God confirming his purpose by a miracle) where he had been sitting, and when he felt himself wounded by the divine impulse, he prostrated himself on the ground and gave thanks to the Creator. And when he had spent the night in the prayer of God and so passed the night, his entire chapel was filled with the fragrance of a sweet odor, and this indeed was a sign of the divine presence.

[8] Burning, therefore, with so great a flame of divine love, when he heard an excellent preacher delivering a sermon on the divine word, reciting the words of Christ our Savior, that a rich man shall hardly enter the kingdom of heaven, he utterly despised the riches of the deceitful world, considering that those first lights of the world, namely the Apostles, had left all things when they followed Christ: carefully observing that not only had the disciples and friends of Christ left all things, but that they had also followed the Lord. Matt. 19:23. For it is assuredly foolish, according to Plato and Diogenes and certain other Philosophers, to trample upon the riches of this life, and to give his goods to the poor, and to do this not for the sake of attaining eternal life, but for the sake of capturing the vain praise of mortals, without hope of future rest and peace. And Christ likewise said to the young man who asked for perfection, in Matthew 19: "If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and follow me." Matt. 19:21. Peter Nolasco, contemplating these things in his mind, felt that they had been spoken by Christ to him as a young man. Wherefore he resolved in his heart to distribute to the poor the paternal riches that he possessed, lest, burdened with their weight, he should desist from his holy purpose.

CHAPTER II. The redemption of captives procured.

[9] And at that time the Moors and Saracens held by their impious dominion the greater and more prosperous part of Spain. For we were beset on all sides, and oppressed by Barbarians and Moors; many captive Christians among them were passing their lives in misery; many of them cruelly bound in chains, and others of these same captive Christians slaughtered, as men hostile and inimical to the customs of the Moors and pagans. At that time the Turks and Saracens raged fiercely against Christians and strove to exterminate the faith of Christ. He redeems many from the dire servitude of the Moors, Meanwhile, not only in the cities of Spain were captive Christians held in bonds, but an immense multitude of captives reached the African shore. Moreover, it is the custom of the Moors and Barbarians frequently to separate husbands from wives and children from parents among the captives. And the poverty of the captives is truly extreme. For a captive is subject and exposed to every insult, and is forced to submit to punishments and tortures even against his will, since it is in the power of his master to pronounce whatever sentence he pleases. Therefore, when the most holy young man Peter Nolasco saw and perceived that this was the most lamentable and extreme destitution, he resolved to bestow upon the captive poor the riches that he still retained, so that they might be freed from the most savage captivity, and he promised to give them to them. And so, with God's help, it was done by him: for from the city of Valencia, then held by the Moors, having spent all that he had, he rescued and redeemed more than three hundred captive Christians, paying money and pledges. Wherefore he gained great authority for himself in the kingdom of Aragon, and was greatly loved by all, because a man had been found who would snatch captive Christians from the power of the Barbarians.

[10] Deeming them true treasures, with S. Lawrence: And in this matter the sweet memory of the most holy Martyr Lawrence stirs my heart, who by the command of the most blessed Pope Sixtus distributed and gave the treasures of the Church to the poor. When he was seized by the Prefect Valerian and thrown into prison, he was held in chains not only to sacrifice to the gods in contempt of Christ, but also to reveal the treasures of the Church. And it was a wondrous thing that when the impious and most wicked Valerian again demanded the treasures from him, the most holy Deacon of Christ, Lawrence, asking for a delay in order to show them, thereupon gathered the poor and brought them before Valerian, saying: "Behold, these are the eternal treasures, which never fail." This memory, I say, is sweet. For the most pious Peter Nolasco also, from his infancy, bestowed upon the poor and captives his paternal inheritance and great riches, which at that age are wont to beguile young men. He considered these to be eternal treasures that would never perish. For he would say, with S. Lawrence, when he beheld the wretched captive children of Christ our Redeemer: "Behold the eternal treasures, which never fail."

[11] When, therefore, he was compelled to witness the calamity of the many still detained and held captive among the infidels, moved with compassion, he begged God with tears to help them. Whence on a certain night, as was his custom, betaking himself to the church after the first quiet of the night, He is encouraged by a mystical sign of the olive tree in a dream: he spent the night attentively in prayer, and after the nocturnal prayers were finished, when dawn was breaking, he withdrew to his house for a brief sleep, and lying there on a bench, he was stirred by a dream of this sort. An olive tree of remarkable size appeared fixed in a vast courtyard, and he imagined himself to be dwelling beneath that tree, and sometimes sitting there. Certain grave and honorable men had approached him, who said they had been sent by a great King to assist him, lest the tree under which he was resting should be dug up by anyone. Others in turn had come forward, who, bringing axes and digging tools, were striving with the greatest haste to uproot and dig out the beautiful tree. But meanwhile, while this was being done by them, the more they tried to uproot the beautiful olive, the denser and more tenacious its roots became. Indeed, soon from those remaining roots innumerable and beautiful shoots emerged and filled the entire courtyard. Assuredly any wise person will be able to perceive this clearly if he considers the matter carefully: the beautiful olive tree signified the faithful of Christ, adorned with the beauty of baptism and the faith; and the most holy Peter Nolasco was resting in and beneath that tree; and certain most grave and honorable men had been sent to him by the illustrious James, the Conqueror of the Moors, King of Aragon, to assist him, lest adversaries should rage against the defense of that most beautiful tree. In which matter, if one carefully considers (as I said), he will easily understand that this vision indicated the beginning of a new religious order to be established. For when the most wicked Moors were striving to destroy the faithful of Christ utterly and, as it were, to cut them all down with an axe, God, moved by mercy, resolved to send from the other side the most powerful James, to rescue the faith of Christ and its children from the cruelty and sword of their adversaries. And the more the enemies of the Cross of Christ and the perfidious Saracens tried to cut down the Christian religion, the more new shoots emerged from the firmer roots of the newly born olive. Daily the most powerful Conqueror James emerged triumphant and victorious from battle, routing the armies of the Moors, overthrowing the cities and walls of the Moors, and planting the standards of Christ on high. And from the other side, the most holy man Peter Nolasco, who was happily engaged in rescuing the wretched captive Christians, and was a lasting comfort in the great courtyard of religion -- not only he himself, but also his Brothers and most dear sons were a comfort to the captive Christians: when they saw and heard that a new Order and new men had arisen, endowed by God, who would assist in the ministry of redemption to rescue them from the most harsh servitude of the Moors and strive to set them free.

CHAPTER III. The Order of Mercy established.

[12] Already at that time the distinguished man Peter Nolasco had joined to himself certain most faithful companions, He joins companions to himself; that they might be partners in this ministry -- men, indeed, who with the most holy Peter Nolasco, first persevering in the prayer of God, and then daily and earnestly engaged in the province of Catalonia and the kingdom of Aragon in collecting the alms of the pious faithful for the fulfillment of the most holy work of redemption. And so indeed it came about that every year, by the most holy man and his companions, considerable liberations and redemptions of the faithful and of Christians were carried out.

[13] He was constantly engaged with his dearest companions in the exercise of holy redemption, and so continually advanced in the ministry of this most weighty work in favor of the faith that, lest any of the captive Christian faithful should succumb, and the Christian religion be newly despised among the barbarous Saracens, he was an object of admiration to all. He vigorously comforted the captive faithful and exhorted them to the confession of faith and to firm perseverance, because he saw the danger of association with pagans. These things happened in the third year after the twelve hundredth. With them he labors strenuously for the redemption of captives: Wherefore the Order of the Blessed Mary of Mercy for the Redemption of Captives, as to its beginning, commenced from that time when the most holy man Peter Nolasco with his companions was ardently carrying out the Redemption of the faithful of Christ. And when he saw the extreme calamity of the captives, the unceasing labor, the enormous dangers, and the most grievous hardships of the faithful living among the Moors, he frequently shed tears and earnestly implored God in prayers that the exercise of holy Redemption be established in the kingdom of Aragon and throughout the whole world, and that henceforth there would be in perpetuity men consecrated to this same office.

[14] Wherefore he was heard by God in this matter. For in the year of the Lord 1218, when James, King of Aragon, was reigning, and while he was praying and petitioning with the most ardent desire for the freedom of Christians [He is bidden by the Blessed Virgin, appearing to him, to the King, and to S. Raymond, to establish the Order of Mercy,] and the expulsion of the Moors from the borders of Spain, surrounded by divine splendor and light, the histories attest that the Blessed Virgin appeared to the same King James. From her lips he received a divine oracle concerning the foundation of a new Order for the perpetual redemption of captive Christians, as we have said more fully in our writings on the foundation of our Order. And indeed, after the customary night vigils and prayers, the most holy man Peter Nolasco seemed to see, in a certain vast courtyard, a wonderful multitude of people flocking to him, and in the midst of the crowds a certain extraordinary and venerable matron had approached him, wondrous in countenance and attire, accompanied by a most beautiful company of Virgins, whom he clearly recognized to be the most Blessed Virgin Mary. When she directed and addressed her speech to the most pious man Peter Nolasco, who was inwardly moved by celestial light, we read that she spoke these words: namely, that a new Order was to be established, from whose society and family the professed Brothers, following the example of her Son and thus clinging to the footsteps of Christ Jesus himself, would redeem and liberate the captive faithful of Christ held in the power of the Moors and Turks; so indeed that, if it were expedient for the fulfillment of the most illustrious work of redemption, they would give themselves in exchange and as a pledge for the liberty of the captives. Wherefore the most holy man, surrounded by the splendor of heaven, clearly heard from the Virgin Mother of God that the work of redemption which he was undertaking was most dear and most pleasing to her Son, our Savior; and she indicated that she wished a religious order to be established under the title of the Redemption of Captives of the Blessed Mary of Mercy, and that he ought to be the first Brother of our Order. In the more ancient manuscripts we read that the Blessed Virgin commanded him to be the first Brother of the new Order to be established, and that he should be the first to put on the garb of the Order of Redeemers, and she revealed that this was the will of Almighty God and of her Son. And for this reason the most holy Virgin appeared not only to the same Peter Nolasco, but also to the most Serene King James and to Blessed Raymond of Penafort, his Confessor.

[15] The Order having been founded, The Order of Redeemers of the Blessed Mary of Mercy was therefore founded by divine revelation on the tenth day of the month of August, on the feast of the most holy Martyr Lawrence, in the year 1218, in the city of Barcelona, with the greatest acclamation of the whole people and that province, and the aforesaid most holy man Peter Nolasco received the first habit of the Order in the presence of the most Serene King James, as has been fully stated in the account of the foundation of the Order. So that the distinguished Peter Nolasco might exercise himself in the preludes of his future warfare for Christ, he began with his companions to act most fervently, and to collect the most pious alms of Christians, in order to serve God more gravely and excellently in the work of redemption; so indeed that he frequently approached the infidels and the Moors, he redeems captives; and often redeemed the captive faithful of Christ and liberated them from the power of the Barbarians. And assuredly he gained great authority for himself not only in the kingdom of Aragon among the faithful of Christ, but also among the pagans and Barbarians. His cheeks were radiant, even when his spirit was benumbed with grief over the calamity of the captives; he comforts others, his bright lips commended doubly the honey of his words, when he comforted the captives in the faith, and he raised their hope toward the easy and swift future redemption and liberation from the Moors and Barbarians among whom they were living, to be hoped for. Wherever he turned his eyes, his appearance proclaimed the serenity of his mind, and in him there was speech fashioned and fitted for the instruction and consolation of the captives. Often, moreover, he offered himself to martyrdom among the Infidels and Barbarians, so earnestly and ardently did he exalt the faith of Christ and pursue the redemption of captive Christians.

[16] Again he showed his cheeks full of tears when he beheld a vast throng of Christians held in the most cruel servitude among the barbarous infidels, Compassionating their miseries and solicitous for the dangers to their souls, and thus his tears flowed streaming down. And when again he observed that the people lacked so many children of God, and contemplated the cities of the Christians possessed by the enemies of the faith, and how the altars and sacrifices in the cities of the Moors were being trampled upon, like another Jeremiah the Prophet, seeing the desolation of religion and the city of the Christians laid waste, he would say: "How does the city sit solitary that was full of people? How has she become tributary?" The people of God was being led captive into Babylon; but Jeremiah the Prophet also wept. So therefore the first Master of the Order, Peter Nolasco, when lifting his eyes he beheld the captive people of God, was drenched in tears, saying repeatedly: "How has the princess of the provinces become tributary, the mistress of the nations?"

CHAPTER IV. Valencia captured. The monastery at El Puig.

[17] Amalek and his captains and soldiers smote the city of Ziklag with the sword and burned it with fire, and led captive the women and children, from the least to the greatest. But when David and his men came to the city and saw that it had been burned with fire, and that their wives and sons and daughters had been led captive, David was greatly grieved; and when the people wept, David was strengthened in the Lord his God and consulted the Lord. And David went forth and pursued Amalek with six hundred men, and when he had come to the place where Amalek and his men were reclining, eating and drinking and celebrating as it were a feast on account of the plunder and spoils they had taken from the land of Judah, David smote them from evening until the evening of the next day, and David rescued all that the Amalekites had taken, wives and sons, and freed all the captives and led them back to their own country. Do we not recall that the most illustrious man Peter Nolasco accomplished something similar? Who, when he saw men, He prays for the liberation of the captives, sons, children, and wives daily seized captive by the Amalekites, by the Moors and infidels, and dragged from the people of God by force and arms, being greatly grieved, he consulted the Lord, poured forth prayers continually, and wept with a mighty cry: he asked of the Lord the expulsion of the Moors, and the conquest of the city of Valencia, and especially that the city of Valencia be restored to the faithful and freed from the hands of the Hagarenes, so that in that place the standards of Holy Church might be raised, and the people of God, who were for the most part held captive there, might be brought out of the most harsh servitude.

[18] Indeed the most holy man was heard by God. For at that time the city of Valencia was taken by the most Serene King James, in the twenty-fifth year of his reign, and the twentieth from the foundation of the Order. At which time also the aforesaid Peter Nolasco was happily governing the Order. Which was besieged and taken by King James, Indeed, he himself was present with King James on the day when that city was conquered and rightfully occupied by the Christian soldiers. For Valencia was besieged by the most powerful King James the Conqueror, who marshaled all his army and troops of soldiers and battle lines of his camps, and pitched his tents at the town of El Puig, near the city of Valencia. In which place King James immediately founded a monastery of the Order of Redeemers of the Blessed Mary, in honor of the most holy Virgin and as a sign of victory, and he gave it to the most devout man, S. Peter Nolasco being present, his dear Peter Nolasco. And at the very entry into the city he likewise gave and granted to the Order and to the aforesaid most illustrious Master General Peter Nolasco a mosque of the Muhammadans, which in the common tongue is called La Mezquita de los Moros. On that day, among the captive Christians overflowing with joy, the most holy Master General was frequently found in their midst, exhorting them to the praises of God and urging them to render due thanks for the singular benefit they had received. It is incredible how much Peter Nolasco, that most holy man, was loved by those captives, and how they accompanied him wherever he went. A monastery of Mercy having been erected there. They all called him Father and declared him their liberator. Whence there was founded and erected at Valencia a monastery of the Order of the Blessed Mary of Mercy consecrated to her in that same mosque of the Muhammadans, where to this day God himself is honored with the worship of religion. And in the monastery of El Puig, which the Blessed Virgin inhabits, there exist and take place to this day almost infinite miracles, by which it shines gloriously.

[19] Truly immense and incredible is the divine love, and his supreme care and providence toward us. For in that age, and at that time when the most unconquerable King James conquered the city of Valencia by force of arms and divine aid, By a celestial portent he received from God a prophecy of that victory. And when the tears and sighs of the most holy Peter Nolasco cried out from the earth, they moved God. Wherefore, when the troops of soldiers and the armies of war, the battle lines of the camps and the tents had been duly arranged and pitched by the most powerful Conqueror James near the fortress of the town of El Puig, from which place he was preparing a siege against the Hagarenes and barbarians stationed at Valencia, seven gleaming stars were seen for several days descending from the sky to the earth. This sight seized the whole army, the soldiers of war, and the Christian people, and especially the most holy Peter Nolasco and Lord Guillermo de Entenza, the commander of the Christian army, with wonder; and they conferred with one another about the divine portent and inquired what God had wished to show by this. For the thing was wondrous to all, [An image of the Blessed Virgin found at the town of El Puig, given to the Order of Redeemers,] but not understood. Wherefore, on the advice of the most illustrious man Peter Nolasco and by the command of the most excellent commander Guillermo de Entenza, the place to which those seven stars and gleaming lights descended was searched. And since nothing at all was found on the upper surface of the earth, conceiving that something more wondrous and greater lay hidden, they caused the earth to be dug up and opened. Immediately at the very beginning of the excavation, the earth breathed forth a divine fragrance of nectar and ambrosia, and the field of the entire countryside was filled with an immense sweetness of scent. For in that place, beneath the earth, a wondrous and most devout image of the most holy Virgin Mary was found, which to this day is happily venerated in the most celebrated monastery of the same Virgin Mary at the town of El Puig, near the city of Valencia. This image was enclosed beneath the earth under a great bell or bronze cymbal. And this was truly no small consolation to all the soldiers, and as it were the beginning of the future victory. For it refreshed the spirits of all and eagerly promised the hope that by sword, arms, and prayers poured out to God, the perfidious enemies of Christ the Lord and his Mother, the Moors and Saracens, were to be driven from the city of Valencia. Indeed, of this most illustrious image there exist to this day many divine miracles, and it is most devoutly venerated and adored with the most glorious worship by all the inhabitants of that province. It has been placed back in the very same spot by the Brothers, Renowned for many miracles thence, where it was found by the Christian army, in the aforesaid monastery, whose title is also S. Mary of Mercy of El Puig. Indeed, when it was moved by the most devout Brothers from that place and position in which it is now seen and appears, in order to be placed and set up on the high altar of the holy church itself, not once but twice, and again, the Mother of God herself transported herself back to the place where she had been found and where she is seen by us to this day.

CHAPTER V. The first monastery of Redemption. An ancient example of the institute.

[20] The first habitation of the Order in the palace: The Catholic King James, from the very first beginning of the foundation, brought Brother Peter Nolasco with him to dwell in the royal court and royal residence, and there, with the most serious example of holiness, he dwelt for some time. But when the number of Religious and his companions in the newly established Order had grown, he wished to depart from the royal palace and residence. Wherefore, with the alms of a certain citizen of Barcelona, Raymond of Plegamans, who was known and a friend of remarkable devotion to the same Peter Nolasco, he purchased a piece of land near the seashore of Barcelona, and there the first house or monastery of the Order was founded and erected by him, and the aforesaid Peter Nolasco betook himself there and withdrew with his dearest companions, Another monastery soon founded, in order to lead the monastic and religious life more happily. He also founded a monastery at Valencia, and likewise another house at the town of El Puig, and many others in the kingdom of Catalonia and Valencia, of which we shall speak in their proper places.

[21] He ruled and governed the Order from the year of the Lord 1218 to the year 1249, for thirty-one years, and indeed happily and holily, with great charity and peace. Confirmation of the Order. And in his time the aforesaid Order of Redeemers of the Blessed Mary of Mercy, while he was still alive and governing the Order, was confirmed and approved by the Holy Apostolic See through Gregory IX, Supreme Pontiff, on the day of S. Anthony, in the month of January, in the year of the Lord 1230. And in the confirmation of the Order, after he had approved its institute, he adorned the Order with many graces, indulgences, and privileges, at the petition of the most unconquerable and most powerful King James, who was the first founder and institutor of the sacred Order of the Blessed Mary of Mercy for the Redemption of Captives. Who indeed, by the prayers and supplications of the Brothers of his Order, and by the zeal for the Christian religion with which he was armed, conquered the kingdom of Majorca and brought it under Christian rule in the year of the Lord 1229, and likewise took the city of Valencia with the kingdom of Murcia, and reduced and subjected them to Christian rule on the day of S. Denis, in the year of the Lord 1238, and in the twentieth year from the creation of the Order of Redeemers of the Blessed Mary. Indeed, at the very beginning of the religious order, before it was confirmed by Gregory IX, the aforesaid Peter Nolasco was called the General Procurator of the Redemption of Captives. Nolasco, Master General. But from the day on which our Order was confirmed and recognized as a religious and canonical body in the Church of God, he was called Master General of the Order of Redeemers of the Blessed Mary of Mercy.

[22] This institute of holy Redemption, which we believe was given from heaven in favor of the faith, many have laudably followed, especially Blessed Leonard, who, born in France, had illustrious parents The institute of redeeming captives is ancient, of great dignity and authority under King Clovis, although Clovis was at first a pagan. Concerning this most blessed Leonard we read that, since he was consecrated by a special gift of God to the redemption of captives, when certain illustrious and noble men of his region were contending among themselves, a certain one of them from the village of Nobiliacum, devoted to the most holy Leonard, was captured by a certain most wicked tyrant. He, fearing and being afraid, as he later recounted, lest Blessed Leonard should help that captive man, spoke thus within himself: A famous miracle of S. Leonard in this kind. "If I bind this man in iron, I am utterly afraid that I shall lose him; for as wax before fire, so at the nod of Blessed Leonard iron melts. If I enclose his feet in stocks or thrust him into a dungeon, I shall be no more secure; for the same power belongs to Leonard there as well. Plainly I am anxious what to do with this man so taken, from whom I have determined to extort a thousand solidi if he wishes to be ransomed. But now I know what I shall do. I shall order a very deep pit to be made in the innermost part of my tower, and into it I shall plunge him bound in iron fetters and manacles; for Leonard has not yet descended underground; and although he will perhaps dissolve the iron chains, he will not be able to lead the man out of the underground pit. Moreover, I shall also place a wooden chest at the mouth of the cave, and in it I shall order soldiers to keep watch night and day to guard him." The cruel man therefore did all these things; but nevertheless he was not able to prevent the prisoner, even though he was in darkness and the great distress of chains, from casting away hope and confidence, nor from doubting that he would be rescued by the most blessed Leonard, whom he frequently invoked even in the hearing of the guards, praying at the same time to the Lord that he would free him through the most illustrious and most devout Leonard. But behold, on a certain night, when the prisoner had fallen asleep from weariness, Blessed Leonard appeared with great splendor and light, overturned the chest in which the soldiers were lying, descended into the pit, and called the captive man bound in chains with a loud voice, saying: "Are you sleeping or awake? Behold, I am Leonard, whom you have sought." That captive man, awakened and seeing the immense light, said to him: "Lord, help me." Immediately, the chains having been broken and dissolved and scattered like mud, with his own hands and arms he drew him out of the tower and carried him away, and journeying and walking with him, he exchanged familiar conversation, as friends are wont to do with one another. At last he led him to his own country and brought him to the village of Nobiliacum, where he was placed out of danger. When the sun rose, he recounted to neighbors and friends what he had suffered from the tyrant and most cruel enemy while held in captivity, and what benefit he had in turn received from the most holy Leonard. At which all marveled and were filled with incredible joy and gladness.

CHAPTER VI. Holy men from the Order of Mercy.

[23] After this most holy man, the same institute of Redemption of the Blessed Mary of Mercy and the wondrous work of the redemption of captives was followed by Blessed Raymond Nonnatus, Various holy men from this Order; who originated from and was born in the province of Catalonia. Before he put on the garb of the religious order of the Blessed Mary of Mercy, as an infant strenuously exercising himself in the preludes of good works, having banished the feasts of the flesh and conquered the appetites S. Raymond Nonnatus, that are wont to excite infants from their earliest cradles, he fasted not once or twice but many times in the week, and spoke with God night and day in supplications and prayers poured out to him. Before he was born according to the common law of nature, as others are accustomed to proceed and be born from the maternal womb and the female body, his mother having died while he still remained and lay hidden enclosed in his already dead mother's womb, her belly and womb were cut open, and he came forth and entered into this light. Wherefore he was called and named "Non-natus" (Not-born), since he truly did not come forth from the womb by that birth of nature as others do -- by the customary laws of nature, I say. And for this reason he always received from boyhood that surname, so that he was called Raymond Nonnatus. This most holy Raymond Nonnatus was distinguished in life and deeds, so that he was an object of admiration in the province of Catalonia; testimony of which exists to this day, for his body and sepulchre are venerated with great reverence, and an immense throng of people and the faithful flocks to him, and he shines with miracles. And that most vigilant first Brother and Master of the Order, Peter Nolasco, raised him as his disciple. Whose words in speaking also, especially with the barbarians and infidels, were so efficacious and, by the gift of God, so divine, that he sometimes drew many of them to the faith. And for this reason we read that the Moors and Saracens often wished to put him to death; whence his tongue was locked in a metal clamp by the impious enemies of the faith of Christ, lest by his words he should invite more of the same infidels to the faith of Christ. And this Blessed Raymond Nonnatus was a companion of the most holy Serapion the Martyr.

[24] Blessed Serapion was therefore an illustrious and most devout Brother of our Order and of outstanding holiness, B. Serapion, and an example of virtue, who used the most sparing food and was most vehement in the prayer of God and most ardently devoted to the redemption of captives. And at last he was cruelly and fiercely scourged by the King of England.

[25] S. Raymond also, who in the beginnings of the Order was vigorous in collecting the alms of the pious faithful, when he was treating with heretics concerning the undue oppression of certain faithful, addressing them Another Raymond, Martyr, and beseeching them not to persist in doing this, they resolved to punish them more cruelly. Wherefore the man of God again painfully and lamentably would turn repeatedly to those most savage heretics and barbarians, and with a steadfast and intrepid spirit he would say that although they were held by them in that servitude, they were nonetheless created in the likeness and image of God, and were their companions in nature, and that this life was to end swiftly. The man of God therefore lamented the bitter servitude of the captives and would say, raising his voice to the air: "O unburied and miserable burial! But when was the barbarous hand not in the service of wrath, which always thirsts for human blood? When was it not ready to kill?" When these words were heard by the most cruel heretics and barbarians, he too was cruelly killed by them. Whence in ancient manuscripts I have read that this most holy Raymond was a Martyr for the redemption of captives. He had a most vigilant companion who, following the footsteps of his Raymond, was an object of admiration to all. With what purity of soul and what candor of life he lived for a long time after the martyrdom of his most holy Father Raymond is truly remarkable; he was likewise his companion both in life and in death, James Soto, Martyr, and is numbered among the most holy men of our Order, and was called by his own name, Brother James de Soto. And in certain manuscripts I have found him inscribed with the name of S. James de Soto. Moreover, the aforesaid Blessed Raymond, who was just now reviewed by me, is not that Raymond Nonnatus of whom we wrote somewhat above.

[26] There followed again in the institute of redemption of the Blessed Mary that blessed and distinguished Brother Peter Armengol, Peter Armengol, who died gloriously in defense of the redemption. For when he had liberated many of the faithful from the power of the Moors and was redeeming them, seeing certain boys and youths imperiled in the faith on account of the cruelty and savagery of the torments, and when he admonished them not to desert or trample upon the faith, he gave himself in exchange and was willing to remain in the power of the Saracens as a pledge for them, until he too should escape by the payment of money and ransom. When therefore he had redeemed a certain number of the faithful, Who was left as a hostage for captives, for the aforesaid reason in favor of the faith, and for a thousand gold coins, for the payment of which he surrendered himself as a hostage and, as it were, a pledge of peace to those same infidels and barbarians, when the money had not appeared by the day and time stipulated in the bond, by which he should have paid the agreed price with the Saracens for the liberation and redemption he had made for the aforesaid captives, He was hanged by the Moors, they wished to kill the same Blessed Peter Armengol, as a mocker of their sect and a faithless man, on the gibbet of the cross. Wherefore an immense throng of Barbarians gathered together, and when the money had again not appeared, they proclaimed that he had been a spy and a vehement enemy and foe of the Muhammadan institution; and for this reason, by common consent, alleging that the money had not appeared by the time appointed in the contract, he was hanged on the gibbet and left hanging on the gallows; by whose death they seemed to have been appeased.

[27] But this was divine counsel. For a few days later, when our Order had sent money to free Brother Peter Armengol and rescue him from those Barbarians, lest being held as a pledge he be ill-treated, when those who brought the money had reached the shore, they heard of the most cruel deed perpetrated a few days before against the servant of God, Brother Peter Armengol. Disturbed and shaken among themselves by this stupefying deed and crime, they wished to reach the place where their companion and Brother had been hanged by a noose by the Saracens. When they had seen him hanging in the holy habit of the Order, they wept bitterly and could not contain themselves. And as they wailed in lamentation and groaning, the body of Blessed Peter Armengol stirred. When the Brother Redeemers saw this, immediately conceiving something greater, they cried out to one another. And the blessed Brother Peter Armengol, hanging on the gallows, spoke to them in a loud voice, saying: "Dearest Brothers, do not be grieved; put away your tears. He was sustained for three days by the Blessed Virgin lest he be suffocated, For I am not dead. For there are still three days since a certain matron surrounded by choirs of Virgins, who is without doubt the most blessed Virgin Mary, has always been present with me and freed me from death, so that in this deed the Barbarians and Saracens might rather perish in confusion than think it glorious to carry off a triumph over the Christian name. For the enemies of the Cross of Christ shall know how little their devices profit them, and their cruelty and malice against the followers of Christ." But all were stupefied, and for joy could scarcely speak, and they rushed forward at once and took him down from the gallows where he hung, He was rescued alive, at which stupendous deed all the Moors also were thrown into confusion. But

"The jar will long retain the odor of that with which it was once imbued when new" --

and therefore among the impious infidels some said it had been done by the art of the devil, others did not believe he was the same man whom they had hanged. For thenceforth the blessed Brother Peter Armengol always walked with his head inclined for all the days of his life, and with the color of his face as it were changed. At last he led the most devout life for all the days of his life, A most holy man, and content with herbs and vegetables, he never relaxed his spirit from prayer and fasting, until he was carried by the holy Angels to that heavenly blessedness.

[28] I also find another man of our Order, a Brother and Master General, who endured very many labors for the redemption of Christians and the defense of the Catholic faith, who is called Blessed Brother Lawrence Company, Lawrence Company, the twentieth Master General of the Order, of whom we shall speak in his proper place.

CHAPTER VII. Other men and women illustrious for holiness. The death of S. Peter Nolasco.

[29] There was also a most fervent zealot of the same institute, Blessed Peter Malasang, and the most holy William, and the most pious Peter, Commander of the house of Perpignan, Others who suffered much, and the most illustrious Brother John of Granada, Provincial of Castile, who endured martyrdom at the hands of the Moors. Furthermore, many other Redeemers of our Order were captured by Saracen and Turkish pirates in the middle of the sea, and sometimes stripped of their goods, sometimes led into captivity; because the barbarians and infidels very often do not keep faith, nor do they honor the safe-conduct of their Princes or the public pledge of their Kings. And therefore they suffer insults, reproaches, and notable injuries from the Moors and Saracens daily. Sometimes, moreover, they are swallowed by the very whirlpools of the sea, or are placed in the greatest peril.

[30] Indeed, in this most holy institute of our Order, our Order has always persevered and has persevered to this present day. For there exist today many of our Redeemers who have endured almost infinite labors for Christ and religion in redeeming captives. For among others, for the sake of honor I mention that excellent and most prudent man, the Redeemer Master Brother Rodrigo de Arce, Provincial of Castile, The Rodrigos de Arce, who carried out three complete redemptions, and after he had suffered innumerable calamities, he was finally judged to be a spy by the most savage tyrants, and under that pretext they wished to kill him and his companion, alleging that they had passed beyond the borders of Africa, because they had directed their steps outside the gate of the city of Algiers to the shores of the African sea to observe a certain spectacle. And indeed, had they not been warned there by captive Christians, they would without doubt have perished, though gloriously. But when on a second occasion he was carrying out the redemption of captives, and when he was among the African barbarians, especially from the city of Tunis and from royal Fez, he liberated an immense multitude of captives from the impious Saracens. And it is incredible how faithless and violators of agreements, words, and contracts the impious Saracens and barbarians were. And since so great was the throng of captive faithful among those same enemies of the Cross of Christ Louis Matienco, (for many were imperiled in the faith), it was therefore necessary that his companion, Brother Louis Matienco, be given in exchange and as a pledge for the redemption and liberation of many of the faithful, lest the faith be despised by the Barbarians and the standard of the Cross of Christ be trampled. Wherefore, the aforesaid Brother Louis Matienco, already an old man, was left among those same Saracens and Barbarians as a kind of sign and pledge of peace, and he remained detained by them for three years on account of twelve thousand gold coins, given over as it were in exchange. And when so great a sum of money and number of gold coins had not appeared, he was ill-treated by the perfidious Saracens: sometimes they spat in his face, sometimes they struck him with slaps, sometimes laying false charges against him they thrust him into a dungeon, until, having paid the price and money, he escaped.

[31] I also recall the distinguished and most illustrious Brother George del Olivar, a Brother and alumnus of our institute from Zaragoza, George del Olivar, who, when he had reached the African shore of the Moors, after suffering a great loss of his own goods, from the city of Algiers, held by the impious Moors, redeemed a great number of captives and freed them from the power of the Barbarians. The number of the men, women, and children is to be enumerated elsewhere. He, burning with the ardor of charity toward the faithful and inflamed with goodwill toward the faithful of Christ and the wretched captives, when his companion and fellow Master Brother George Ongay had returned to Spain with that immense multitude of captives, the distinguished Brother George del Olivar nevertheless gave himself to the Moors and Saracens as a pledge of peace, among whom he remained and endured dangers to his blood and life. For among certain infidels, because he called the Muhammadan sect a "sect," he was censured and accused as a mocker of their religion and of the Muhammadan institution. For which reason he was summoned before the King and Judges to recant and again honor the Muhammadan institution with honorific words. Which, when he heard it, he steadfastly refused; and for this he was judged worthy of death, and they resolved by their decrees to kill him, to satisfy themselves. When Brother George del Olivar himself perceived this, he resolved with an eager spirit to offer himself to death He faced mortal peril, for the defense of the faith of Christ. Whence he immediately distributed among the poor captives all the goods he had with him. And when these things had been done, I know not by what spirit the King of the Moors was moved; for having called his counselors he said: "If we perpetrate this deed, no security remains for us, since access to the Christians lies open to us if we sojourn among them; for if having broken faith we kill them, why should we not be killed by them with the same broken faith? Therefore let him not be killed, for his death will profit us little and can bring great disadvantages." Whence he escaped unharmed, and now lives established in the best religious life and endowed with it.

[32] Finally, I find most holy women of our institute who put on the habit of holy religion, especially S. Maria de Socos, most pure and wondrous in the innocence of her life, S. Maria de Socos, whose body remains intact after two hundred and more years to this very day in the monastery of our Order at Barcelona, together with the undamaged and uncorrupted habit of the vestments of our Order. I also find of the same institute the distinguished Virgin S. Collagia. Concerning all of these, S. Collagia, we shall say more at length in their proper places, if God grants.

[33] Therefore, all these and very many other sons and disciples belong to that most holy Brother Peter Nolasco, the first Brother and first Master, ruler, and governor of the Order; who, after he had completed a life most illustrious in holiness, S. Nolasco, having piously instructed his followers, dies, seeing the dissolution of his body approaching and perceiving that he was near to death, he called his companions and dearest comrades and Brothers, that he might commend to them the religious life and the most holy exercise of redemption, that they might be strengthened in it. Wherefore, surrounded by his Brothers before he breathed his last, in the presence of Brother William of Bas, his successor in the mastership of the Order, and Brother Berengar Cassano, and Brother Dominic Doso, and Brother Raymond de Ulstret, Brother Bernard of Corbaria, on whom he himself had first bestowed the habit of the Order, and Brother William of S. Julian, Brother John of Lercio, and Brother Bernard of Cassols, and Brother Raymond Cassano, and Brother Peter of Solanes, Brother Arnald de Patris, Brother Peter of Caldas, and Brother Pontius of Solanes, Brother Bernard Shona, and Brother Ferrarius of Gerona, Brother Raymond of Montoliu, Brother Peter of Castelloli, and Brother Peter of Huesca -- he delivered a most sweet discourse to them, and like a swan in his last song he marvelously set forth the institution of the Order, and invited them to the most illustrious work of redemption, and commended the Order. And with his hands raised to heaven, commending and entrusting his soul to God, he contemplated the redemption of Christ our Savior, and pondered in his mind that Christ had descended from heaven to earth to free us from the captivity of the devil; he grieved vehemently for his sins, and with tears streaming forth, a torrent of tears as it were flowed from his eyes; and when he had uttered those words, "The Lord sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever," he departed from this calamitous world to the Lord, in the convent of Barcelona, which he himself had first founded, in the year of the Lord 1249, after he had governed the Order for thirty-one years.

ANALECTA ON S. NOLASCO from the history of Alfonsus Remon.

From Alfonso Remon.

Section I. Adversities bravely endured.

[1] The customary training ground of virtue is the endurance of adversity, whether through the envy of the evil demon lest any glory redound to God or to mortals, or through the providence of the Divine Being itself, testing how faithful and vigorous the human spirit will be in the future, and at the same time strengthening it for greater things. Nolasco too was exercised by this training. We shall briefly touch on a few things out of many that Alfonsus Remon treated more fully. When first migrating from France to Barcelona, either already meditating in his mind the holy work that he afterward accomplished, or at least having already given many proofs of outstanding virtue, he was assailed by the snares of demons. He had turned aside to Manresa during his journey; he entered a lodging He eludes the snares of the demon laid for him, which he thought was most quiet and free from the noise of a thronging crowd. Here certain people, as if out of kindness, warned him of their own accord that the owner of that house had died not long since with a reputation not entirely favorable; that the house was therefore infested by nocturnal specters; and that, lest any harm befall him, he should seek any other lodging; they said they lived in the neighborhood and had been moved by compassion for a stranger. He replied that he thanked them, but that, being a lover of solitude, he could make use of a lodging with which other guests had been content; and that, trusting in the name of Jesus, the protection of Mary the Queen of Angels, and the patronage of Peter the Apostle, he was confident that he would be kept free from all harm for a single night. As soon as he uttered the names of Jesus and Mary, those officious warners vanished like smoke, leaving behind an intolerable stench; and their voice was heard from afar, horrible: "Alas, Peter! Why could I not divert you from this journey! What great evils you will one day inflict upon me!"

[2] From that time onward he learned not only to overcome bravely, but also to perceive shrewdly, the frauds of the devil. A certain young Italian named William, from Parma as he said, earnestly begged to be admitted into that holy Order. His constancy having been tested, as was fitting, a day was also appointed on which he was to be admitted into the religious house. He came the day after that appointed day, A youth who continually deferred entering the Religious life, and promised that he would be ready on the following day; and thereafter he repeatedly postponed the day. It happened by chance in those days that ill health confined Peter to his room; having heard of William's procrastination, and also that the monks, offended by it, had resolved that if he came again they would bar the doors and deny him entry altogether, he forbade this to be done, but ordered that if he returned he should be brought to him. When he had come, therefore, Peter asked him who he was and where he was from. "I am from Parma," he said, "from the not ignoble family of the Fieschi among the Ligurians, related by blood also to Pope Innocent IV himself. The Emperor Frederick, raging with hatred of this most holy man, when he came to Parma, killed or proscribed all whom he found bound to him by any tie of kinship, and demolished their houses and palaces. Both my parents died in exile; an orphan, I have wandered through various lands these years, and at length, perceiving the vanity of mortal goods, when I had conceived my prayers before the famous statue of the Mother of God at Montserrat, I resolved, inspired by some heavenly impulse, to come to Barcelona and put on this Angelic habit. "Why then," said the Saint, "do you delay?" He, somewhat disturbed in mind as it appeared, He understands that the youth is being deceived by a demon, said, "Very often imprudent mortals undertake things of which they afterward repent too late; wherefore I think I need more mature deliberation before undertaking so great a thing." "Leave off such talk," said the Saint. "I perceive by whose counsel you are being retarded, and indeed who is speaking in you. What you related about your family and the cause of your exile is entirely true; the rest was uttered not by you but by the devil, the father of lies and wickedness. You were planning to deceive me as you do others, and to say what was suggested by him."

[3] Then, turning to his companions who were standing by, he warned them that the devices of the devil are many, and he related what had happened to him at Manresa, as already recounted. Then addressing William again, he said: "Who is preventing you from giving yourself wholly to the religious life, as you have so often wished?" "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to confess what the truth is." William collapsed to the ground half-dead; And he causes him to recognize and confess it, but when he had come to himself, drawing an immense groan from the bottom of his heart, he said: "Father, a certain man of fierce appearance has stood by me until now, continually making threats and sternly warning me that the religious life was not suited to me; he would offer me another kind of life in which I could serve God with a quiet and tranquil spirit. But when you began to recount what had happened to you at Manresa, he ceased to appear, so that I think and plainly understand that it is the same one who wished to delude you there and has miserably deluded me until now. And now free from his sight, I seem an entirely different person, inflamed with an unwonted feeling of piety and a desire to die in this most holy congregation." When he had said this, falling at the holy man's knees, he shed an immense flood of tears, continually drawing such sighs that he moved those standing by to compassion for him. The holy man enrolled him in the number of lay Knights of that Order, prophesying that he would lead his life with a great reputation for holiness; yet he did not attain a long life, for in the seventh month he died most piously, He predicts his holy end, leaving a great longing for himself. At the same time Nolasco warned his followers to test the spirit of novices prudently; for often the frauds of the demon lurk both beneath unbridled ardor and beneath a more languid zeal.

[4] Thus from the things he himself had suffered, he learned to cure the ailments of others and to ward off dangers. Another kind of temptation assailed him at the very beginnings. For when he saw that, in the flower of his age, he must constantly involve himself in the midst of the turmoil of human affairs, and must approach every class of men either to solicit alms or to bring and receive help, He is tempted to embrace a quiet life, and even the Barbarians abandoned to every crime, and understood well enough that this could scarcely be done without some danger to his own salvation, he cast his eyes upon the safe and quiet life of the ancient Fathers, and was greatly troubled in spirit whether it would not be better to withdraw to some rocky peak of Montserrat, where, far from human sight and cares, he might devote himself solely to the study of heavenly things and taste how sweet the Lord is. He disclosed this plan of his to S. Raymond, He is confirmed in his purpose by S. Raymond, without whose counsel he was accustomed to undertake nothing of any importance. The most wise man did not hesitate to pronounce that this was a deception of the demon: for although the repose of the contemplative life is holy when it is undertaken at the leading of the Godhead, nevertheless the manner of life he had already begun seemed far more suited both to the amplification of God's glory, to the procurement of the salvation of souls, and to the attainment of the perfection of Christian virtue. Nolasco acquiesced in his admonitions and immediately obtained the utmost serenity of mind.

[5] Nor did the demon alone attempt to disturb him, whether by external terrors or by internal restlessness of mind; he chose other men as his ministers and helpers in this matter, He suffers the envy of courtiers, namely wicked men. When these perceived King James's supreme goodwill toward him, which he had earned by many services and outstanding courtesy -- since while quite young, when he was detained by the Count of Montfort, Nolasco had constantly visited and consoled him -- they moved every stone to turn the King's mind from him. They complained that a foreigner was being preferred to citizens; that one whose sole aim was to help the needy and the lowly was being involved in the conduct of the greatest affairs; to what end could this tend, except that the hearts of his subjects should be alienated from the King himself? It was not hidden from the King from what source these things sprang; wherefore he never diminished anything of his love for Peter. Peter, however, perceiving the wickedness of the courtiers, came less frequently to the palace, in order either to pacify the envy or at least not to provoke it. S. Raymond ordered him not to yield to the machinations of wicked men, but to go to the King as before, with the same sincerity and confidence.

[6] A new storm was soon stirred up by noblemen, whose sons had begun to follow in the footsteps of Nolasco The complaints of others, and to collect alms for the captives. They complained that under his instruction their sons were becoming spendthrifts, that they were gaping after others' property only to pour it out, and that they were constantly troubling them by urging almsgiving. Threats were also added. But he with a cheerful countenance modestly replied that no one was being solicited by him, or trained to create trouble for his own family. It was God who moved their hearts to be willing to bring help to captive Christians. He gave thanks to him who made use of the service of young men for this holy task, when their elders would rather of their own accord pursue the service of the demon than of God.

[7] Finally, the administrators and directors of hospices and hospitals openly complained against him, The complaints of the directors of hospices, that he was diverting the minds of pious people from the alms customarily bestowed on them -- as if the hand of God were contracted and could not both provide for them as before and succor the captives. Here Peter with a singular piety implored the help of the Virgin Mother of God with constant tears, fasts, and bodily mortification, By the help of the Blessed Virgin he overcomes everything, striving that she might reconcile her Son to him. And indeed, as if by a favorable star, that entire tempest was calmed, and those who until then had been the chief opponents of his endeavors began of their own accord to help him with assistance and counsel. Thenceforth the holy man was wont to say repeatedly: "Let us fear and praise God, who knows how to change the hearts of men."

Section II. Consolations bestowed from heaven.

[8] But the consolations with which Nolasco was flooded, especially from heaven, were no less than the dangers and troubles by which he was harassed; for among mortals S. Raymond alone was the one who restored and cherished him with pious admonitions. But divine consolations rained abundantly into his soul. Very frequently he was refreshed by the sight of Angels. It had happened by chance in the monastery of Barcelona that the Brother whose duty it then was, oppressed by a deeper sleep, failed to rouse the others for Matins at the given signal. Nolasco was keeping watch in his cell S. Peter Nolasco sees Angels singing Matins, and was occupied in prayer. When he perceived that the night was already far spent, supposing that he had been passed over by the one who woke the others, he rushed from his room and hastened to the church. Here he found a company of Angels chanting the Matins prayers. This was a proof of how acceptable to the Angels are the prayers of religious men, at whose appointed hours they are accustomed to be present. They say that on many other occasions also, especially in the early days of that Order, Angels were seen by others as well, singing praises to God and the Mother of God, sometimes conspicuous in the very habit of the Order.

[9] On a certain night, having prayed to God with immense earnestness of spirit to enlarge the family of his Mother -- for he who was so munificent toward other mortals seemed almost niggardly toward his Mother -- saying that as yet there were few monasteries marked with the name of her Order, He obtains the enlargement of the Order by his prayers, and few who embraced the Order itself; if this happened because of his sins and ingratitude, let him place another over the Order; this alone was his desire, that removed from his rank he might rather obey than command. When he had prayed these things to God, he suddenly fell silent, his mind as it were abstracted from his senses, though a copious shower of tears still flowed continually from his eyes. Meanwhile a voice was heard, sent not from any mortal source: "Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you a kingdom." Nolasco arose from that prayer with a joyful and cheerful countenance, so that the very appearance of his face showed the confidence poured into his soul from heaven. Nor did many months pass before many monasteries were founded and a numerous company of distinguished men embraced that holy institute, Nolasco witnessing the fulfillment of the divine promise.

[10] The Mother of God guards his monastery by night. They say that the Queen of Heaven was frequently seen, not by him alone but by other holy men of the same Order, going around the rooms of the Barcelona monastery at nightfall, as one who protected the men dedicated to her even while they slept.

[11] He venerated the Prince of the Apostles, Peter, with a singular piety, being reminded by his very name that he had been entrusted to his patronage from the moment of his baptism. And whatever need arose, he had been accustomed from his very boyhood to take refuge in him, imploring his aid with fervent prayer and tears. He had also resolved, He grieves that he cannot carry out his plan of going to Rome, before he migrated from Narbonnese Gaul to Spain, to go on foot barefoot to Rome to visit his tomb and venerate his relics. But he could not carry this out at that time; much less when the beginnings of the now established Order compelled him to sustain them with his care and presence; nor did any hope appear that he would ever obtain more leisure and means for that journey, since more and greater business presented itself daily, claiming his entire attention. For this reason he was sometimes sorrowful, although he was not bound by any religious vow, yet he grieved that the piety and fruit of his old purpose was being cut off by so many other cares, and by his gradually advancing age. Therefore, after the public prayers toward nightfall, having withdrawn into some hidden corner of the church, he began to lament and bewail this, and was soon seized by a kind of spiritual sleep or ecstasy; but then he was restored to himself, He is confirmed from heaven, or rather awakened by a voice of this kind: "Peter, although you have not visited me, I now visit you." He opened his eyes and turned them toward the direction from which the voice seemed to have come; but he saw nothing at all. Nevertheless he spent the entire night in prayers, beseeching God to indicate what that voice meant for him.

[12] On the next day at the same time all the same things happened to him. The night having again been spent in prayers, since he supposed this was the voice of his Patron, the Apostle Peter, and attributed it to his own sloth and torpor that he could not attain its mysteries, on the third night, after the common prayer was finished, he withdrew to a chapel consecrated to the sorrows of the Virgin Mother of God, Having at length beheld S. Peter after various prayers, where he sometimes used to take a little sleep to refresh the weakness of nature. Here, prostrate before the altar of the Virgin, he begged to be taught the meaning of that voice. And when he raised his eyes to the image of the Virgin, he seemed to see another altar before the altar of Mary, and on it a cross erected by certain men in foreign garb, and affixed to it, head downward, a man who addressed him with these words: "Peter, not every desire of those who serve God is fulfilled in this mortal life; this will be done more fully and happily in the other, the blessed and immortal life. Counseling humility. Acquiesce in the will of God. And because you so greatly desired to see me, contemplate me now, and learn humility even from this form of my crucifixion, and from the example of Christ, who on the day before his death washed the feet of his disciples. All those who are placed in authority over others must be conspicuous for this virtue." At the same time the vision was taken from his sight. He himself, overflowing with incredible delight of soul, gave thanks now to the Virgin Mother of God, now to the Apostle.

[13] Alfonsus Remon recounts many other proofs of divine favor toward Nolasco, as well as many illustrious examples of virtues, certain most deadly dangers faced for the sake of liberating captives, and certain unusual miracles: the crossing of the Balearic Sea on a cloak as on a ship; the aid often brought to King James in his struggles against the Moorish enemy and rebellious subjects, whether by his most prudent counsel or at least obtained by divine intervention. Many other things written about him. But to pursue all the things which that author, in the Spanish language, draws out at length, whether from modern writers, or from the ancient records of the Order (which he cites more sparingly), or by narrating traditions received from his forebears, is neither within our leisure nor our ability, since it is not possible for us to weigh each one, not being sufficiently acquainted with them. It would be desirable for the Life of this most holy man to be written separately from the history of the entire Order, solidly and seriously; and perhaps it has been written, but is unknown to us, just as the Order itself is known to our Belgian countrymen only by hearsay, since there is no monastery of it in these provinces.

[14] Finally, this should not be passed over: that we have read a sermon, printed at Lima in the year 1632, A panegyric at the canonization, which Nicolas Mastrilli Duran of the Society of Jesus, Provincial Superior in the Peruvian kingdom, delivered in that city when the Order of the Blessed Mary of Mercy was paying solemn honors to its most holy father Peter Nolasco, having been enrolled among the Saints. This sermon was sent to us at Naples by our own Antonio Beatillo.