ON B. BONIZELLA THE WIDOW
OF TREQUANDA IN THE DIOCESE OF SIENA.
YEAR MCCC
CommentaryBonizella the Widow, of Trequanda, in the territory of Siena (B.)
D. P.
Cult on the 3rd Sunday of May Not far from the diocese of Siena, to the marshes of the Clanian extending, on the Eastern end is seen the town of Trequanda, nearly there where the springs of the river Ombrone emerge, about 20 miles from the metropolis. The parish church of this town the day of B. Bonizella yearly festal celebrates, with peoples gathering at the festival of her sepulchral altar, as on May VI have the Fasti of Siena, by the Academy of the Inthronati in the year 1669 a second time edited, and dedicated to the Most Eminent Flavio and Sigismondo Chigi Cardinals of the H. R. C. body intact above the altar. About her asked to teach more, R. P. Sebastiano Conti, author of the eulogy soon to be proposed, replied, that the feast is celebrated on the third Sunday of May: and above, or rather beyond the altar, against the wall facing the celebrating Priest, is preserved her intact corpse: at whose feet lies also B. Guido her grandson, with little body equally intact, as can be seen through the crystal placed on the front of the ark, when the cover, by which the ark is closed, is opened: which cover when closed is preserved with three keys, in the keeping of the Mayor of the town, the Prior of the Community, and the Parish priest of the church remaining: in the same cover, placed in this century is read this title: Bonizella of Trequanda, fountain of miracles: yet no miracles are there written or painted, at least those authentically proved. So he by letter dated July XXV in the year MDCLXXVI. The Eulogy, which I said, is such.
[2] Acts consumed by flames: The flames, which in the year MCCCLXXXIV or the following consumed the archive of the Episcopate of Arezzo, have stripped Bonizella's deeds, worthy of better light, related there in commentaries, of the admiration of venerable posterity. Yet fame, with continual flow brought down to us, does not allow it to be doubted that she, from tradition it is held that she was nobly born although produced from the illustrious lineage of the Cacciaconti (who namely with the title of Counts of Scialenga, had long ago possessed Asciano, Sinalunga, Foiano, Trequanda, Penoium, and other towns in the Sienese territory; and not a few in the Florentine, by the name of Counts of Palazzolo and Fabrica) had nothing more ancient, than to attain by heroic piety that her nobility she should not owe to her lineage. Wherefore, to have died in the year 1300 after Naddo Piccolomini her husband was taken from her by death, retiring to the village of Belsedere, the rest of life, that is up to the year MCCC, the supreme of her mortality, she lived according to the laws of Christian perfection.
[3] By the more severe in herself, through the flight from mortal enticements and the affliction of the body, and to have excelled in liberality toward the poor. the more humane toward the needy, she expended her ample revenues on relieving ulcerous and beggars, and those holy religious whom needs of family affairs pressed. Most wisely provident, through the poor, God's bankers, the perishable riches she exchanged for eternal: and so money, solicitous good for others, became safest for her and entirely to be enjoyed. But of the holiness, on which the deadly, as we have said, splendor of the flames seemed to bring the darkness of oblivion, by an admirable change the very shadows of the sepulcher restored the light of immortal glory. For when in the outer wall of the temple of Trequanda, the corpse of Bonizella, with three white marbles placed, had been laid; finally thus the Heavenly Ones willed the holy treasure to be revealed for the public good.
[4] Bees, through the chinks of those marbles, not perfectly joined, going back and forth in solicitous discourse seen to come, with concealed beehive enclosed combs roused some to hope, By the indication of bees passing through the cracks of the sepulcher, and induced the stones to be moved. When behold they behold Bonizella's corpse, in whose service the bees' zeal was hot, having forgotten their nature, which dreads even from dead flowers, much less from corpses, to settle. But it could not seem to be a dead body, the body is found incorrupt, which entirely free from all decay, and covered with no soil of mortar or antiquity, even still breathed the integrity of a most holy mind. And indeed to her blessed hands the ingenious swarm had flowed. How well! For if to sit on the mouth of the infant Plato, then also portending that sweetness of most sweet eloquence; how much more worthily they would surround Bonizella's hand, witnesses of sweetness, which from her by far most lovable her liberality expressed toward the wretched? But that the sweetness of so great piety could not be sufficiently shadowed by any honey, holding in her hands a wax chalice made by them: omitting their nectar's work, the wax among her sacred palms the dedalian fowls fashioned into a chalice, to the mysteries of the altar destined most similar. Lest indeed it could be doubted, that the Lord, to whom through the hands of the poor the riches Bonizella had distributed, had been the most considerable part of His inheritance and His chalice. The mind certainly, into so great piety bent waxen, what could more aptly than wax be referred?
[5] from this more decently replaced The corpse, so wonderfully conspicuous, with due cult received, and in a coffer skillfully constructed laid, began thereafter to grow famous with various other prodigies; just as the suspended at her tomb votive tablets of those discharging vows for safety, notable for antiquity, make faith. That among other things most worthy of commemoration. Wandering once the troops through the neighboring fields of Trequanda, some soldiers, having entered the temple and beholding the wooden ark, placed on a high spot, intending to scrutinize what lay hidden, forced it open. Where they found the white little body of Bonizella, taking off a gold ring a soldier some sense of piety seized the eyes of the rest, but one most audacious the gold solicited his gaze far more, which sealed with a gem shone from her finger. Therefore that ring when he did not fear to seize, in the very track of the eyes snatched from him, in the crime of the leaders, the light he grieved; and indeed felt, that desire is utterly blind. But thus blind he saw at last his crime and his right hand's violated power, is punished with blindness, and with the eye-salve of penitence he made medicine for his lost eyes. For immediately groaning, with the ring put back, he venerated the hand, accustomed long ago to nourish the virtues of the poor, not crimes, and with the use of his lights restored, he recovered: is healed by the same restored. so that now in place of the celebrated spear of Achilles Bonizella's ring most truly may be looked up to, strong in healing, no less in not bestowing than in driving away.
[6] her uncorrupted clothes also and her grandson buried with grandmother. But over this victory of palm against the sacred hunger of gold, much more nobly the celestial heroine glories, that the forces of time, with greedy tooth consuming all, after so many ages now subjects in perennial triumph, through the most pristine brilliance of her body and very garments, with which it was once buried. Of which inviolate beauty into participation is admitted the buried with her little grandson, precious appendix, B. Guido, by usual now title of sacred honor named. Little indeed it had been to Bonizella, to retain a body free from the force of corruption, which is rare; unless that, what is plainly most rare, into others also she should transmit.
[7] Thus far P. Sebastiano Conti of Pistoia, Priest of our Society, the second, of the Sienese fasti, from whom these things are taken who are the authors? after pious memory P. Joannes Baptista Ferrarius of Siena, of the Fasti aforesaid the author, indicated by the prefixed eulogy with the letter C, just as those things which Ferrarius composed are noted with the letter A. For her own two distinguished alumni, the Academy which had taken care to publish the book did not wish to mark with their proper names in the introduction, but with Academic and among Academics alone known notes, by which this one Amoenus, that one she is wont to call Compositum; I do not know whether by sufficiently approving usage among all; when thus the notice would be subtracted from posterity, who were the authors of the praiseworthy work, unless their names from elsewhere indicated to me, here to be manifested I had judged. Otherwise that so spectacular Sanctity by Filippo Ferrari and Niccolò Brautio was passed over I would wonder, unless so great were the abundance of such sacred pledges through Italy, that of one writer or another's notice and diligence necessarily must many lie hidden, while it is not free to traverse street by street the single regions: and many, by ignorance of things or slackness slow, neglect to indicate of less noble places the proper Tutelars.
[8] The cause of referring in the fasti to this VI of May B. Bonizella has not yet become known to me: why referred to this 6th day? I would believe she is judged dead on such a day: yet the third Sunday of this month chosen, either for greater commodity of the people, or because on such
at the feet placed the infant Guido is also called Blessed, I did not however wish to propose his name in the title, since he has no special cult apart from his grandmother: wherefore neither among the Sienese Saints is he separately named from her.