Antonio E-Book

Madeleine Pecora Nugent

• Herausgeber: anna ruggieri
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

He preached to thousands. Inspired heretics to return to the Church. Performed miracles. Lived in deepest intimacy with Christ.

The story of Saint Anthony of Padua has been told many times. But never like this.

In this compelling biography, Madeline Nugent, CFP, seamlessly unites historical facts with engaging narrative that reads like a novel. She draws on primary sources, scholarly research, time spent in Italy, and interviews with Franciscan experts to vividly present the world of Saint Anthony through the eyes of those who knew him best—and through the words of Anthony himself.

Leseprobe

Antonio

Antonio

A Story of Saint Anthony of Padua

By Madeline Pecora Nugent, cfp

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021951760

CIP data is available.

ISBN-10: 0-8198-0878-4

ISBN-13: 978-0-8198-0878-3

Originally published as Anthony: Words of Fire, Life of Light (Second Edition) by Madeline Pecora Nugent, copyright © 2005, 1995, Pauline Books & Media.

Cover design by Ryan McQuade

Excerpts are taken from Sermons for the Easter Cycle by George Marcil, OFM (© Franciscan Institute, Saint Bonaventure University, 3261 West State Road, St. Bonaventure, NY, 14778). Reprinted by Pauline Books & Media. Used with permission.

Excerpts are taken from the Messenger of Saint Anthony (© Edizioni Messaggero Padova, Via Orto Botanico 11, 35123, Padova, Italy.) Reprinted by Pauline Books & Media. Used with permission.

Excerpts are taken from Religious Dissent in the Middle Ages by Jeffrey Burton Russell (© John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ, 07030). Reprinted by Pauline Books & Media. Used with permission.

Other Scripture quotations herein are from the The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, © 1965, 1966, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

“P” and PAULINE are registered trademarks of the Daughters of St. Paul.

Copyright © 2022, Daughters of Saint Paul

Published by Pauline Books & Media, 50 Saint Pauls Avenue, Boston, MA 02130-3491

www.pauline.org

Pauline Books & Media is the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of women religious serving the Church with the communications media.

To all holy priests of all time who, like Antonio, preached Christ’s message, namely, “Repent and believe the good news.”

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introductory Materials

Early Sources

Notes on Chronology

Anthony’s Appearance

Anthony’s Intellect

Anthony’s Preaching

Helpful Cultural Information

Translation of Foreign Words Used

Penance—Then and Now

The Lay Franciscan Charism Today

Abbreviations for Primary Sources Referenced in the Chapter Notes

Prologue

The Eyes of His Mercy

Scettico, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church (Spring 1232)

Part One

Go to Christ Your Friend in This Night

1. Mestre João (1220)

2. Maria (1220)

3. Emílio (Early Spring 1221)

4. Fra Felipe (1221)

5. Fra Aroldo (1222)

6. Fra Graziano (March 19, 1222)

Part Two

In Such Need of Bread

7. Benedetto (1222)

8. Bononillo (Holy Week 1222)

9. Dom Vito (Early 1224)

10. Fra Giusto (June 1224)

Part Three

A Serpent Creeps by Hidden Ways

11. Fra Monaldo (September 1224)

12. Fra Martin (Spring 1225)

13. Seigneur Varden (Summer 1225)

14. The Seigneur de Châteauneuf-la-Forêt (Early Spring 1226)

15. Gifferd (1226)

16. Seigneur Cerf (Mid-1226)

17. Amélie (1226)

18. Minette (November 1226)

19. Agathe (Late 1226)

Part Four

Hope Is the Opposite of Looking Back

20. Pope Gregorio IX (Late April 1227)

21. Madonna Delora (Fall 1227)

22. Fabio (Lent 1228)

23. Count Tiso da Camposampiero (Fall 1229)

24. Suor Elena Enselmini (Spring 1230)

25. Messer Girolamo di Giovanni di Gualterio (Mid-May 1230)

26. Fra Giovanni Parenti (May 30, 1230)

27. Fra Elia Bonbarone (Early June 1230)

Part Five

His Grace Will Come Down to Us

28. Ezzelino da Romano (May 1231)

29. Count Tiso da Camposampiero (May 1231)

30. Fra Luca Belludi (May 30, 1231)

31. Fra Ruggerio (June 13, 1231)

32. Paduana (June 13, 1231)

33. Abbot Thomas de Gaule (June 13, 1231)

Works Consulted

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the following for helping to make this book possible:

The editors at Pauline Books & Media patiently and thoroughly worked on this manuscript.

Father Leonard Tighe, Father Jack Hoak, and Father Claude Jarmak read the original manuscript and made invaluable comments. In addition to his written comments, Father Tighe also met with me in person for a lengthy and profitable discussion of my manuscript.

I also thank my husband, Jim, and our children, James, Amelia, and Frances (now Sister Veronica of Jesus, CN), for their important teenage critiques of the original manuscript.

Paul Spaeth obtained for me a pre-publication copy of the translated Sermons of Saint Anthony of Padua and Brother Edward Coughlin granted permission to quote from this text.

Father Sebastian Cunningham assisted in contacting Father Livio Poloniato, editor of the book Seek First His Kingdom. The Edizioni Messaggero Padova editorial staff and rights manager (Padua, Italy) granted permission to quote from this text of Saint Anthony’s sermon notes, from Praise to You Lord: Prayers of St. Anthony, from The Life of St. Anthony “Assidua,” and from the Messenger of Saint Anthony magazine.

Father Claude Jarmak translated many of the sermon notes in Seek First His Kingdom, mailed me additional translated sermons not included in the book, and allowed me to quote from them. Father Jarmak also researched for me in non-English texts. He located information that I could not otherwise have found and translated information for me. He shared copies of his notes regarding the burial of Francis, the translation of his body, Francis’ tomb in the basilica, and the chapter meeting of 1230, as well as copies of two bulls issued by Gregory IX. He also mailed me photocopies of articles on the causes of Saint Anthony’s death and on the 1981 study of his corpse. In addition to all of this, he kindly allowed me to borrow his well-used copy of the translated Lectio Assidua.

Paul Spilsbury graciously shared with me his own personal translations of four early biographies of Saint Anthony and granted permission to quote from them. The texts are: The Life of Saint Antony of Padua by Jean Rigauld, OFM; The Second “Life” of St Antony, by Brother Julian of Speyer, together with extracts from The Office of St Antony, composed by the same brother; extracts relating to Saint Anthony from the Dialogus Sanctorum Fratrum Minorum; and The Life of St Antony of Padua by John Peckham, commonly called The Benignitas.

Paul Spilsbury and the publisher Edizoni Messaggero Padova also granted permission to quote from Paul’s four-volume translation of Anthony’s sermon notes Sermons for Sundays and Festivals.

Dom Julian Stead, OSB, translated from the Italian a text on the possible causes of Saint Anthony’s illness and death.

Dr. Alex A. McBurney, Dr. John T. McCaffrey, and Dr. Charles McCoy studied Anthony’s symptoms and physical appearance and diagnosed what could possibly have been the cause of his illness and death.

Marilyn London, forensic anthropologist for the state of Rhode Island, studied photos of and articles on Anthony’s remains and offered medical judgments about his health.

Sister Mary Francis Hone shared valuable information on the lives of the Poor Ladies of the time and verified some information on Sister Elena Enselmini and Brother Philip. She also made available an English translation of the first biography of Saint Anthony.

Father Michael Cusato, Jean François Godet-Calogeras, and Father Claude Jarmak offered insights into events involving Brother Elia.

Franciscan scholar Jean François Godet-Calogeras answered many questions and clarified several points, including how to write names in Italian and whether Anthony made more than one trip to the pope.

Franciscan Pilgrimage director Bret Thoman, OFS, was extremely helpful regarding the Umbrian language and place and character names in this book.

Therapists Thomas Carr and Sister Katherine Donnelly were extremely helpful in understanding the possible psychology of Mestre João. Mr. Carr edited the chapter concerning this abusive prior.

Professional artist Joseph Matose read the manuscript and created a drawing of Saint Anthony which accurately captures his personality and which was used in the first edition of this book. Mr. Matose also fervently prayed for the completion of the original manuscript.

Joan and Butch Hitchcock of Signal Graphics spent much time in reproducing out-of-print texts to use in this research.

Dr. Michael DeMaio translated the beginning sentences of Quo elongati.

The library staff at Salve Regina University in the reference and library loan departments, particularly Joan Bartram, Nancy Flanagan, and Klaus Baernthaler, researched and obtained through their interlibrary loan most of the texts used in writing this book.

Reference librarian Theresa Shaffer and others in the reference department at St. Bonaventure’s Library researched Sister Elena Enselmini, Brother Luke Belludi, Brother Philip, the Second Life of St. Anthony, and the papal bull Quo elongati, and also photocopied and mailed materials to me.

Thanks to Elizabeth Lemire, Sue Swank, Erica Faunce, Erica Noll, Sandy Seyfert, Tish Sak, and Kay-Marie Bougher, who worked tirelessly from October into January in the CFP Holy Angels online gift shop so that I could take that time to update this manuscript prior to its third printing.

My deepest thanks goes to all those who prayed for me and for this text, particularly my mother, Amelia Pecora, and my ecumenical prayer group, for their fervent and continual prayers for the original edition. Subsequently, thanks to the numerous friends, the Poor Sisters of Saint Clare and other religious, and my Franciscan brothers and sisters in Christ who supported this effort with their prayers from the very beginning and continue to do so now. I also especially thank Leonardo Defilippis and Father John Randall, whose prayers enabled me to complete the chapter on Brother Elia, Saint Anthony himself, and the Trinity, whom I invoked daily. Anything good in this book is the result of powers far more perceptive than my own.

Introductory Materials

“Tony, Tony, come around,

Something’s lost and can’t be found.”

Saint Anthony is the only Doctor of the Church who is invoked when someone loses a pencil. Why? Because Saint Anthony cares. And he is effective.

Anthony was born eight hundred years ago, but his message is as fresh as if he were living now.

Today our Catholic Church is challenged from within and without. Some who call themselves Catholic openly challenge Church teaching on the sanctity of human life, God’s divinity, or humankind’s redemption by Christ. Some reject the Church’s interpretation of certain Bible passages. Anthony faced the same challenges. Society seems to value capable, intelligent, and healthy people more than the incapacitated, mentally deficient, and incurably ill. This was also the society in which Anthony lived and preached.

Anthony was loyal to his Church and fiercely in love with God. His knowledge of and insight into Scripture was phenomenal. Called in his own day “the Hammer of Heretics” and “the Ark of the Testament,” he battled heresies that questioned the value of all life, the authority of the Church, and the very nature of God. He was eloquent and effective in preaching the truth to a society that was generally ignorant of it. Moreover, he not only proclaimed the Gospel, he also totally lived it so that his very life was a witness to the profound truth of his words.

Anthony tenderly ministered to people whom others considered unimportant. Although he lived at a time when some Catholic clergy were dissolute and avaricious, he maintained his own purity and holiness by constant prayer and vigilance. He spoke out forcefully against sin and offered Christ’s infinite mercy and forgiveness to those who repented. Thus, he was one of the most forceful and yet most gentle of saints.

Anthony believed that a preacher’s goal must be to bring listeners to repentance and penance, and he designed every one of his sermons with this in mind. Repentance means a total and genuine desire to turn away from sin, not just major sins but all sin. Penance means conversion of the individual’s entire spirit, a conversion from sin to goodness, from the world to Christ. Penance necessarily involves contrition, confession, and satisfaction for sin, but not in a superficial sense. Anthony advocated sincere sorrow, thorough confession, and complete and cheerful restitution. Neither repentance nor penance come about by saying a certain number of prayers given by the priest in the sacrament of Reconciliation. They come about by an absolute renunciation of a sinful life (and every person’s life is sinful to some degree) and by entirely embracing and submitting to a completely new life centered in God and God’s perfect will for each person.

Saint Anthony has a powerful message for our time. We need to return to and embrace his values, to experience the breadth and depth of his faith, and to know and love his Christ. We need to totally relinquish our own will as Saint Anthony did so that we may wholly do God’s will for us. Only then will we truly “repent and believe the Good News.”

Early Sources

Saint Anthony is a wonderful saint but most frustrating to write about. We know more about his faith from his sermon notes than we can glean from his biographies. He was asked by his superiors to write these notes as homily outlines for other preachers. Only in modern times have his sermon notes been translated from Latin into English.

Father Livio Poloniato’s book, Seek First His Kingdom, has excerpts of many of Anthony’s sermon notes and is an excellent introduction to his spirituality and faith.

Father Claude Jarmak translated many of Anthony’s beautiful prayers in the book Praise to You, Lord: Prayers of St. Anthony.

The Franciscan Institute has translated Anthony’s Easter Cycle of sermon notes (Sermons for the Easter Cycle), which includes his complete sermon notes for Easter and the six Sundays following.

Paul Spilsbury translated all of Anthony’s sermon notes in a four-volume set, Sermons for Sundays and Festivals.

Although we have these marvelous works, no stenographer took down word for word what Anthony actually preached. Very few of his spoken words are recorded. When speaking and preaching, he must have often expressed the same ideas that he wrote in his sermon notes, but just what did he say?

In this book, Anthony speaks, for the most part, words he either said on a particular occasion or wrote in his sermon notes. If he had read his sermon notes word for word as his homilies, his listeners would have been lost in a quick barrage of references, history, and allegory. But the notes were not meant to be preached verbatim. They were intended to give his fellow friars source material from which to build their own sermons. So he himself must have developed his themes, expanding on one point before moving to the next. His sermons and counsel in this book, using his own written words as much as possible, attempt to follow that pattern. The notes at the end of each chapter tell which sermon notes provided the basis for his counsel, prayer, or preaching.

Saint Anthony is called “the miracle worker.” Yet most scholars accept only a few miracles during his lifetime as genuine, and different traditions accord these to different locations. Many other miracles took place following his death. Were some of these transposed, in the oral tradition, as taking place during his lifetime? The chapter notes detail the current scholarship.

Biographers during Anthony’s time recorded few personal details about their hero. Later writers fleshed out his history, but how accurately? Again, the chapter notes tell of some of the discrepancies in his story.

This book looks at Anthony through the eyes of those who knew him, thus giving the reader a sense of what it may have been like to know the saint. Most of the characters in the book actually existed. Any fictional characters and imagined details are indicated in the chapter notes. In all cases, descriptions of historical places and events are as accurate as possible. The book remains true to Anthony’s teaching style and vocal expression. The background and miracles attributed to him are in the histories. Scholars can refer to the references at the end of this book for a more in-depth study of what we know and believe about Saint Anthony.

This book is about Saint Anthony and those whose lives he touched. In that sense, it is a book about us. In many characters, readers will find some characteristics of their own. By identifying with those who knew the saint, we meet the saint. By God’s grace, may Saint Anthony help us to come to genuine repentance and heartfelt penance that enable us to more deeply know, love, and serve the Lord to Whom Anthony so totally and freely gave his life.

Notes on Chronology

Certain dates in the life of Saint Anthony, like the dates of the first Franciscan martyrs, his entry into the Franciscan Order, the death of Saint Francis, and the issuing of Quo Elongati, are recorded in history. The exact dates for many other events in his life are uncertain. Regarding the events recorded in the life of Saint Francis, this book generally follows the chronology in the French edition of Early Documents with emendations suggested by Jean-François Godet-Calogeras, professor emeritus of theology and Franciscan studies at Saint Bonaventure University (Saint Bonaventure, New York) and general editor of Franciscan Studies.

Antonio: A Story of Saint Anthony of Padua helps the reader to see Anthony through the eyes of his contemporaries without replicating events covered in Francesco: A Story of Saint Francis of Assisi and Chiara: A Story of Saint Clare of Assisi. This book can be read on its own. However, reading all three books will give a more complete picture of how each of these saints, all contemporaries of one another, helped determine the direction of the early Franciscan movement.

Francesco portrays the friendship between Francis and Elia, Francis’ conversion, the early brotherhood, and its expansion and magnetism. It also relates how laypeople, like this book’s Count Tiso da Camposampiero, lived the penitential Rule of Life, written for them by Cardinal Ugolino at Francis’ request.

Chiara details the sisters’ life in the convents of the Poor Ladies, such as that of Sister Elena Enselmini, whose spiritual director was Anthony. Several of Anthony’s sermon notes expand themes for instructing enclosed religious women. Chiara also continues the life of Brother Elia after Anthony’s death.

In addition to this general outline, specific incidents covered more completely in the other books are:

1220: Cardinal Ugolino, at Francis’ request, becomes Cardinal Protector of the Order: Francesco, chapter 98.

1221: Additional information on the Pentecost Chapter: Francesco, chapter 106.

1221–23: The progression of Francis’ Rule for the Lesser Brothers: Francesco, chapters 105, 113.

1224: Unrest over Elia’s governance of the Lesser Brothers: Francesco, chapter 117.

1224: Francis receives the stigmata: Francesco, chapter 119.

1226: Francis’ progressive illness and death: Francesco, chapters 123 through 127.

Anthony’s Appearance and Health

A 1981 study of Saint Anthony’s skeletal remains and the historical record of his appearance and health history yield some important information. He was robust and just under five feet, six inches tall, slightly taller than a medium-sized person of his time. He had a long, narrow face with large, deep-set, penetrating eyes (presumably black or dark brown since he was Portuguese), dark hair, and an aquiline nose. His legs and feet were very sturdy, and his hands were long with thin fingers. His beautiful, regular teeth showed very little wear for a man of his age. This means that he ate little, probably mostly vegetables.

In 2014, these findings were verified by a group of forensic experts. In a team effort that included the University of Padua’s Anthropology Museum, the Antoniani Studies Center, and a 3-D tech group, these experts reconstructed the face of Saint Anthony from a digital copy of his skull. The reconstruction revealed a long-faced young man with deep-set eyes, a prominent, straight nose, small, narrow lips, round cheeks, and a peaceful expression.

Examination of Anthony’s skeleton revealed knees that showed signs of long hours spent in kneeling. The left knee had evidence of bursitis and osteitis and an infection under the kneecap. This could have been caused by a fall or, more likely, by excessive kneeling on that particular knee. His three lower ribs on the left side were also distended abnormally. This could have been caused by any number of factors: carrying heavy loads on that side (his books and manuscripts, perhaps?), or kneeling, or the swelling of an internal organ (perhaps a lobe of the liver), or pressure of some sort on his corpse.

Anthony is variously described as being a bit stocky as a youth, then growing thin upon entering religious life (presumably from excessive fasting), and then, later in life, as corpulent. His skin is described as being brown, ruddy, bronzed. When he died, it immediately whitened and became like an infant’s.

Anthony suffered a severe fever in Morocco; no one knows what this was. However, he was ill off and on during the remainder of his life and many scholars of the saint believe that the fever was responsible for this chronic illness. We do know that, later in life, he suffered from dropsy (edema), which is water retention in the body tissues. This was most likely the cause of his corpulency.

By studying paintings of Anthony by contemporaries, his description in the histories (see, for example, Purcell 91), and his bodily remains, one may make some very tenuous conclusions about the illness that caused this man to die before the age of forty. Innumerable causes of dropsy exist, including a poor and unsubstantial diet. Some diseases that cause dropsy are kidney disease, heart disease, some cancers, and hepatitis.

No one can say with certainty what caused Saint Anthony’s final illness and death. At least one author attributes the cause to asthma and diabetes. This book describes Anthony’s physical appearance without diagnosing its cause. The description closely resembles that of a person afflicted with chronic active hepatitis, which he may have contracted from unsanitary conditions or contaminated fish on his journey to Morocco.

Anthony’s Intellect

Anthony was a brilliant man. Calling him “the Ark of the Testament,” a pope declared that, if the Bible were lost, Anthony could rewrite it from memory (Assidua 13, Rig 12, Ben 3, Dialogus 2). Scholars know that he had the Bible memorized because he occasionally misquotes a reference in his sermon notes. He used this knowledge not only to enliven the faith of his Christian audiences but also to refute heresy, which was rampant at that time. So effective were his arguments that he was remembered as the “Hammer of Heretics” (Ben 4).

His studies as an Augustinian grounded him not only in Scripture but also in natural sciences as they were known at the time. Apparently he memorized a medieval bestiary that shared biological information (as then known) along with scriptural allegory about the beasts discussed. He frequently used and expanded such references in his sermon notes. No doubt he also preached on these topics, thus enthralling his audiences with the spiritual relevance of both exotic and mundane creatures.

Anthony’s Preaching

When Anthony entered the religio, the Rule stated, “Let no brother preach contrary to the rite and practice of the Church or without the permission of his minister. Let the minister be careful of granting it without discernment to anyone” (FA:ED I 75). All the brothers, however, had permission to share a simple exhortation encouraging the people to repentance (FA:ED I 78). While exhortation involved a call to repentance, preaching expanded that call by developing themes using Scripture and Church doctrine. Permission to preach was granted to priests and canons who had an educational background in spiritual matters and whose preaching could hold an audience’s attention and move them to spiritual reform. Fra Elia, minister general of the Lesser Brothers, granted Anthony permission to preach.

Helpful Cultural Information

Biblical Quotations: At the time of Saint Anthony, there were no standard verse divisions in the Bible, and standardized chapter divisions were just being introduced. In this book, biblical quotes are from the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, except when they are part of a quotation from the writings of Saint Anthony or another early source. The citations are given in the notes found at the end of each chapter.

Canonical Hours: Time was divided into three-hour segments. The friars, like all penitents, clergy, and religious at the time, prayed, at specific “hours,” certain set prayers called “offices.” The modern name for the “hour” is given in parentheses:

Matins (Office of Readings): First prayer of the morning, usually combined with Lauds

Lauds (Morning Prayer): Prayer at dawn

Prime (This office is no longer prayed): 6 a.m.

Terce (Midmorning Prayer): 9 a.m.

Sext (Midday Prayer): Noon

None (Midafternoon Prayer): 3 p.m.

Vespers (Evening Prayer): between 3 and 6 p.m.

Compline (Night Prayer): 9 p.m. or when darkness was falling

Capitalization: All pronouns referring to God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are capitalized except those which Anthony or his copyists did not capitalize in his quoted writings.

Cathars: The term “Catholic,” used in reference to the followers of the Bishop of Rome, came into use only around 1600. The Christian faith, which we now call the Roman Catholic faith, was the one accepted by papal authority. Sects, who called themselves Christian but didn’t accept papal authority, were considered heretical. The Cathars (Albigensians) were a prominent heretical sect that was making many converts in northern Italy and southern France. Anthony was sent to preach the true faith in these areas.

The Cathars believed that sexual procreation was from Satan and that the good God was spirit but the evil god made the material world. They did not eat any food that came from sexual intercourse. Fish was considered to be a clean animal, as well as all amphibians (toads, frogs), because they were believed to reproduce by spontaneous generation.

Chapter Notes: Chapter notes at the end of each chapter provide important and interesting background information. They indicate some of the major references used in that chapter, including the source of Saint Anthony’s words, and distinguish material in the historical record from what is supposition. In these notes, the references generally refer to the earliest mention of the incident in the historical record. Later histories may also mention, and often expand, the incident or information.

Characters: Names of the characters are as they would have been in their native tongue. People are named in relation to their ancestors. In Umbrian, Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone means “Francis, son of Peter who is the son of Bernard.” The word “di” may be written as “de” or “dei” and in this usage means “child of” or “from.” Other than Francis, Clare, Anthony, and the popes, history records little, if anything, about the physical appearance of most of the people in this book.

Social Class: Medieval people were honored according to their social class, e.g., emperor, king, queen, lord, lady, baron, count. In the Church, clergy were also ranked: pope, cardinal, bishop, priest, deacon, cleric. The term “prelate” referred to any religious authority. The poor had no titles.

Social Mores: Power rested with the nobles, high religious leaders, and military. The merchants and middle classes were attempting to rise in power. The lower classes were powerless and generally disregarded. Below them were the beggars and then, at the lowest social level, the lepers, robbers, and other outcasts.

Stages of Becoming a Religious Order: Francis began his conversion as a voluntary penitent. His first brothers were also lay penitents. Clare followed this example as well as that of other penitents whom she knew. However, penitents generally lived in their own homes, not in community. As Francis gained followers who lived a common life with him, their group began to resemble a “religio.”

“Religio” was the canonical term applied to a group of Christians who lived together a faithful life with certain common practices. The Church monitored a religio closely. Should it become sufficiently organized, a religio could become an approved “ordine” (religious order). The Church required a religio to submit a written rule of life, which the Church had to approve before designating a religio as an ordine. When Anthony joined the brothers who were following Francis, the group was a religio. It became an ordine when the pope approved Francis’ Rule in 1223.

In the early times when the friars became organized into provinces, each province (provincia) was divided into custodies (custodia). At the head of the province was a provincial minister, and at the head of each custody was a custos. The superior of each convent was called a guardian.

Time: In Anthony’s time, the new year began on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation. However, because that system confuses modern readers, the years in this book reflect current usage.

Titles: Titles for the major sections of this book are from Saint Anthony’s sermon notes on “The Litanies” (SSF IV, pp. 231–46).

Titles for Francis and His Brothers: At some point, Francis was ordained a deacon, but he never became a priest. Out of respect, the brothers sometimes called Francis “Father” because he was a spiritual father to them. Generally, the brothers humbly called one another “Fra,” which is a short from of frater or fratello (brother), even though some of these men were ordained priests. In this book, all of the brothers, no matter their nationality, are called “Fra” among themselves.

The title of respect for a Franciscan Order priest, used by those not in the brotherhood, was Padre in Italy and Père in France. Diocesan and Benedictine clergy were titled Dom, which is a short form of Domino (Lord).

In papal documents from 1219–28, the brotherhood was called the “Lesser Brothers” (FA:ED I 558–64). With the issuance of Quo elongati in 1230, the designation changed to the “Order of Minors” (FA:ED 570).

Tonsure: Hair was an object of beauty in the Middle Ages. Tonsure, which involved cutting the hair in unattractive ways, was a sign that a person had abandoned a sinful life and was consecrated to God. A male religious kept his hair short and had a bald patch shaved in the center of his scalp. He went bareheaded except in inclement weather, when he might wear a cap or a hood. A female religious had her hair cut up to her ears, kept her hair short, and covered her “baldness” with a veil.

Translation of Foreign Words Used

Buono: Good

Cathar, Cathars (plural): A heretical sect that believed the material world was evil

Comune: City-states that developed throughout northern and central Italy in the twelfth century

Consolamentum: A Cathar rite of spiritual baptism by which one was made a perfecti

Custos, custodes (plural): Governing friar of a custody

Del, della: “Of” (“I Piazza del San Rufino” means “the Piazza of the Cathedral of San Rufino”)

Dom: Title of respect for secular and diocesan priests

Fra: Colloquial name for a religious brother, shortened from Fratello

Grazie: Thank you

Madame: My lady

Madonna, Madonne (plural): Informal Old Umbrian term for My Lady (My Ladies), used for noble girls and women

Mamma: Mommy, Mum

Mercato: Marketplace

Merci: Thank you

Messer, Messers (plural): Old Umbrian title of respect for a man: Mister, Sir, Lord

Mestre: Master

Monte: Mountain

Nonna, Nonno: Grandmom, Grandpop

Ordine: Religious Order

Oui: Yes

Pace e bene: The greeting Francis gave his brothers to use: “Peace and all good”

Padre: Priest

Papà: Daddy

Père: Father (priest)

Perfecti: Highest rank among the Cathars, the “perfected one.” Comparable to a priest.

Piazza: A wide, open space where several streets come together

Podestà: The elected head of the comune, who had a council to advise him

Porziuncula: Little portion of land

Religio: Intermediate step in becoming a religious order (ordine)

San/Santa/Sant’/São: Saint

Seigneur: Lord (as in the title of a nobleman)

Sì: Yes

Suor: Colloquial name for a religious sister

Sometimes history did not record the name of a real character. At other times a character was created to illustrate a certain point. In both instances, characters were assigned names or names were created for them that indicate one of their qualities. In this book, the created and assigned names and their meanings are:

Agathe: French name for “kindhearted woman” (peasant woman who hosted Anthony in her house)

Amélie: French for “hardworking” (maid sent to bring vegetables to the friars)

Aroldo: Italian for “army ruler” (superior of Monte Paolo)

Cerf: French for “deer, hart, stag” (Lord of Châteauneuf-la-Forêt)

Drago: Italian for “dragon” (robber band leader)

Fabio: Italian name for “boy who grows beans” (robber converted by Anthony’s preaching)

Gifferd: French male name for “plump-faced” (martyred notary)

Martin: French Saint Martin of Tours (novice who stole Anthony’s psalter)

Minette: French name meaning “faithful defender” (fictitious prostitute as an example of the many prostitutes converted by Anthony)

Scettico: Italian for “skeptic” (cardinal who felt Anthony’s canonization was rushed)

Varden: Old French name meaning “from the green hills” (fictitious heretic as an example of the interactions between Anthony and heretics)

Penance—Then and Now

Penance means conversion as well as the sacrificial methods that foster it, such as fasting from food, giving alms, confessing sins, praying, living chastely, having minimal possessions, and doing good works.

Modern minds associate the season of Lent with penance. Lent is a time to see where one has strayed from following God, then do what is necessary to draw closer to Him. However, we are called to conversion and good works not only during Lent, but always. Penance turns us away from self-indulgence and turns us toward God.

For many people in Anthony’s time, penance was more than a seasonal practice. Since they saw hell as a very real possibility for those who sinned seriously, it was appealing as a means of gaining heaven through expiating serious sins. By defeating sinful human desires, penance also kept a person from seriously sinning again.

In medieval times, those who confessed grave sins were enrolled in the Order of Penitents, a recognized order in the Church, until completing the satisfaction given for the forgiveness of these sins. Penitents who had sinned mortally might be told, for example, to take a pilgrimage (or pilgrimages) to holy places, to build a hospital or a church, or to abstain from conjugal relations for a time.

Before Anthony was born, a great penitential movement began to sweep Europe. No one knows exactly how it began, but many people began to see the need for a deeper relationship with God and realized that living a penitential life was a means to that end. Because they had not sinned mortally, they were not required to enter the Order of Penitents. Nevertheless, many laypeople voluntarily began to live penitential lives because they wished to distance themselves from worldly concerns. Voluntary penitents embraced prayer, fasting, abstinence from food, simplicity of life, and doing good works as disciplines to help them surrender their own wills to God. Saint Francis of Assisi began his conversion as one of these voluntary penitents.

The Lay Franciscan Charism Today

An Internet search will reveal numerous Franciscan male and female religious orders. Some of these evolved from Francis’ original foundation, while others are trying to live his original expression today. Lay expressions of the Franciscan charism include not only the largest group, the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS), but also many smaller ones. Those seeking a lifestyle resembling that of Francis’ first lay followers, among them Count Tiso da Camposampiero, may wish to consult the Confraternity of Penitents, whose members “live the Rule of 1221 as closely as possible to its original intent.” For more information, see www.penitents.org or write to Confraternity of Penitents, 1702 Lumbard Street, Fort Wayne, IN, 46803, USA.

May the Lord direct you as you seek to know Him better and serve Him more faithfully!

Abbreviations for Primary Sources Referenced in the Chapter Notes

Early Documents Regarding Saint Anthony

Assidua: The Life of Saint Anthony by a contemporary Franciscan (1232)

2LJS: The Second “Life” of St. Antony by Brother Julian of Speyer (1233–34)

Dialogus: Dialogus Sanctorum Fratrum Minorum (1246)

Ben: Benignitas

Rig: Rigaldina

Writings of Saint Anthony

Praise: Praise to You Lord: Prayers of Saint Anthony

SE: Anthony of Padua: Sermons for the Easter Cycle

SK: Seek First His Kingdom

SSF: Sermons for Sundays and Festivals

Early Documents Regarding Saint Francis

FA:ED: Early Documents I (The Saint), II (The Prophet), III (The Founder)

Later Biographies

Fortini: Helen Moak’s 1981 English Translation Francis of Assisi of Arnaldo Fortini’s Nova Vita di San Francesco

Purcell: Saint Anthony and His Times by Mary Purcell

Adm: The Admonitions (undated) (FA:ED I 128–37)

2LF: Later Admonition and Exhortation to the Brothers and Sisters of Penance (Second Version of the Letter to the Faithful) (1220?) (FA:ED I 45–51)

IC: The Life of Saint Francis by Friar Thomas of Celano (1228) (FA:ED I 180–308)

AP: The Anonymous of Perugia composed by Friar John of Perugia (FA:ED II 34–58)

L3C: The Legend of the Three Companions composed by three of Saint Francis’ early followers, Friars Leo, Angelo, and Rufino (FA:ED II 66–110)

AC: The Assisi Compilation seemingly compiled by Friars Leo, Angelo, Rufino, and possibly others (FA:ED II 118–230)

2C: The Remembrance of the Desire of a Soul by Friar Thomas of Celano (FA:ED II 239–393)

Other Biographies and Books

1.5C: The Rediscovered Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Friar Thomas of Celano

13CC: Thirteenth Century Chronicles

1MP: Mirror of Perfection (Lemmens Edition)

3C: Treatise on the Miracles of Saint Francis (FA:ED II 399–468)

LMj: The Major Legend by Saint Bonaventure (FA:ED II 525–649)

Fioretti: The Little Flowers of Saint Francis (abbreviated Fioretti, its name in Italian)

24Gen: Chronicle of the Twenty-Four Generals of the Order of Friars Minor

Fortini: Arnaldo Fortini, Assisi mayor and historian, delved into Assisi archives and shared his research in Nova Vita di San Francesco. References in this book refer to Helen Moak’s 1981 English translation unless otherwise stated.

Prologue

The Eyes of His Mercy

Scettico, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church

Bedchamber, Rome, Italy (Spring 1232)

The old cardinal lay in bed, tossing and turning in the total blackness of his cold, damp sleeping quarters. This room always felt dank. Often he’d considered it a privilege to suffer the chill for the love of Christ, but tonight the nip in the night air of Rome was troublesome.

Or maybe it wasn’t the frost in the room. Maybe it was the chill in the consistory court. He didn’t like to make enemies, and here he was, making plenty. Sure, he was skeptical. So skeptical that he overheard some of the other cardinals calling him Cardinal Scettico. If that were to be his new nickname, so be it. He liked it, actually. A cardinal of the Roman Church shouldn’t be gullible.

The whole city of Padua and its surrounding towns hated him. Whom did he number among his adversaries? The common people. The Order of Minors, known as the Lesser Brothers until just a few years ago. The Poor Enclosed Ladies. The priors of several monasteries. The university students and faculty. The podestà who governed Padua and his council and knights. The bishop of Padua and the bishop of Palestrina. Ottone, the son of the Marquis di Monteferrato. The cardinal of San Nicola. He had made enemies of all of them. All because he was cautious. They wanted Antonio of the Order of Minors canonized now. Scettico wanted to wait.

Over these past days, he hadn’t been the only one, but he’d been the most pugnacious of those who insisted that canonizing Antonio was a bit premature. The man hadn’t even reached forty when he died, a young age to achieve the ranks of sanctity, and he hadn’t been dead even a year. Certainly, the Church’s declaration of sainthood should stand the test of time, not be in response to some popular movement to canonize a hero. Why, less than a month after Antonio’s death, bishops and clergy, government officials and nobility, commoners and knights had sent a delegation to the papal court. They had come with a long list of extraordinary miracles taking place at his tomb and begging Lord Pope to begin the canonization process. Then the letters began to come, and more envoys, month after month in a continuous stream, all begging the same favor. Canonize Antonio.

Scettico turned on his pillow, burying the prickly gray stubs of his whiskers into the silk coverlet. If only he could stop reliving the afternoon. The images kept tumbling through his brain like a glass, bouncing, bouncing when it should have shattered. Fifty-three miracles attributed to Antonio’s intercession, and approved, all but one of them taking place after his death. That afternoon in the consistory, Fra Giordano, prior of San Benedetto, had read the list orally in his deep, monotone voice.

A hunchbacked woman straightened at Antonio’s tomb.

A man severely crippled in a fall from a church tower able to walk away from the tomb without his crutches.

A blind brother from the Order of Friars Minor restored to sight after venerating Antonio’s relics.

A man deaf for twenty years hearing laughter again after praying to the dead friar.

A young man, unable to speak his entire life and painfully bedridden for fourteen years, carried to Antonio’s tomb, walking away freed from pain and paralysis and singing loud praises to God.

And that image of the glass. That one image that Scettico couldn’t erase from his mind. After Antonio’s death, a heretic knight from Salvaterra had come to Padua. At lunch, his family and friends were praising Antonio’s miracles. Angry, the knight emptied his drinking glass in one huge gulp and challenged, “If he whom you call a saint will keep this glass from breaking, I will believe all that you say about him.” Scettico kept seeing the knight flinging the glass against the stone floor. The glass bounced, bounced again, and finally slid to rest. Unbroken. Believing, the knight carried the glass to the friars, where he confessed. Now that knight was proclaiming the wonders of Christ and beseeching Lord Pope for Antonio’s canonization.

The miracles were authentic. Jean of Abbeville of France, Archbishop of Besançon and Bishop-Cardinal of Santa Sabina, and his learned committee had investigated every single miracle carefully. They had discarded many. But these fifty-three they accepted. Oh, they were authentic, all right. But make Antonio a saint? Now?

The haste troubled Scettico. Antonio had barely died at the convent of the Poor Enclosed Ladies in Arcella when the nuns and the friars who lived in Padua began to argue over which convent should house the remains. What an embarrassing mess that was, with townspeople taking up arms and choosing sides. Peace returned only when the bishop of Padua and the clergy plus the minister provincial of the friars declared that the brothers would get the body because Antonio himself had requested burial at the friars’ Church of Santa Maria. Backing up the decision were the podestà of Padua and his city council.

So Antonio was buried at Santa Maria, where the processions to his tomb were outlandish. The numbers visiting choked Padua, and the murmuring of prayers at his grave sounded persistently like the hum of crickets in the swamps at night.

Worst of all were the outrageous candles lugged by pilgrims to the tomb. Each new devotee seemed determined to outdo the others. Many candles were so huge that they had to be lopped off to fit in the church. Others were so heavy that two oxen pulling a cart could barely drag them. Many tapers were ornately decorated with churches or flowers or battle scenes of wax. So much flame surrounded the tomb, both inside and outside the church, that night was as bright as day. It was another miracle that neither the small wooden church nor the town of Padua caught fire. This was faith that bordered on superstition; this was hysteria that pushed for canonization.

Scettico’s pinched nose had smelled heresy in the air for three quarters of a century. His dark eyes, once gentle as a deer mouse’s, had grown wary as a rat’s for having seen the brutal slaughter of an infidel and the equally vicious butchering of a Christian missionary.

He had watched Pierre Vaudès appear, dressed like John the Baptist and preaching repentance and poverty. His followers claimed to imitate Christ and the apostles, but after twenty years, the Church denounced Vaudès’ teachings. He had blasphemed the Church, its customs, and its clergy. He claimed that his group alone was the Church of Christ, obedient to God alone, and refused to submit to papal authority and excommunication.

Scettico had seen, too, the growing strength of the Cathars, a more dangerous heretical sect. They rejected the very foundation of the faith by claiming that Christ had never taken human flesh, for flesh was created not by God, but by Satan.

Scettico had seen supposedly holy priests fall into sin and generous monks grow greedy. He knew that time is a great test of sanctity and wondered why so many wanted to rush this particular follower of Francesco into heaven. Was it because this Antonio had been the noble son of a Portuguese knight? Had the public been snared by the romance of a young dandy giving up his riches to embrace the poverty of Christ? And had the romance given weight to the miracles and perhaps even caused them through some public mass hysteria and adulation?

Scettico had come to see his mission as defeating the canonization. Yesterday he had pressed his points in the consistory. The pope had listened intently. He seemed to agree that perhaps he was acting too hastily in canonizing Antonio now. Tomorrow the consistory would meet again. This time ambassadors from Padua would be present. Scettico would press on. If God knew that he was right, the canonization would wait a few years until the world was certain about this Antonio’s holiness.

Scettico pressed his palms against his temple. All he wanted was a little rest. If only he could relax. He tried to lie still. Eventually he drifted into a fitful sleep troubled by glasses bouncing through candle flames and knights kneeling at tombs.

Then the quality of his dreams changed. The vision clarified and became a scene. The pope, dressed in pontifical vestments, stood before the altar in a church that had to be new since every stone, every slab glimmered without a scratch, without dust, without the stain of candle smoke. Around Pope Gregorio IX, cardinals were clustered, Scettico among them. The stately prelates in red stood prayerfully as the pope proceeded to consecrate the altar, then looked about in confusion. He could find no relics of the saints to seal within the altar.

In the center of the church stood a casket in which lay a body covered with a white veil.

“Take relics from that,” Lord Pope said, pointing down the aisle toward the corpse.

The cardinals exchanged glances, their noses wrinkling slightly at the idea. No one moved.

“Lord Pope, there are no relics. Only a body,” one cardinal said.

“Take courage and go quickly,” the pope said. “Take off the cloth and see what is inside. The body will provide new relics.”

Finally, one cardinal pursed his lips and nodded slightly. He bowed to the pope and stepped forward, walking down the aisle with a purposeful gait.

The others followed. The first cardinal lifted the veil and touched the long, thin fingers that lay folded in prayer on the bosom of a patched gray habit. A fragrance so sweet that Scettico could smell it in his dream wafted from the corpse. The scent was of myrrh, incense, and aloes.

“Sant’Antonio,” one of the cardinals said with reverent softness. The word swept through the group. “Sant’Antonio! Sant’Antonio!” The cardinals began to pluck at the body, at the wool habit, at the black hair cut in a tonsure, each greedy to snatch a relic to hide away for his personal reverence.

Scettico woke in a cold sweat. Too shaken to move, he lay staring into the darkness.

“Messer Cardinal, it’s dawn. Are you praying your morning Office today?”

Scettico roused himself at the cleric’s voice. Ugh! Candlelight brightened the bedchamber. The clerics who were his aides hadn’t overslept. They’d lit the candles as usual.

Scettico pushed back his coverlet and waved the cleric aside. “Go ahead. I’ll be right there.”

Scettico secured his breeches and under-tunic, then wrapped himself in his mantle and hurried through the torchlit halls to the house chapel where the three clerics and some others were waiting. As soon as Scettico stood in his place before the altar, the assigned cleric began the Office.

Scettico tried to focus on the words in his worn breviary, on the chants and the prayers. Instead, he kept remembering that corpse in the coffin. As he struggled to pray, calmness seeped into his soul like broth into newly baked bread. He looked up from his breviary to a cross of the crucified Christ suspended above the altar.

You want this, don’t You?

Scettico didn’t need an audible answer. He knew.

He was fully dressed and on his way to the consistory when he met the ambassadors of Padua on their way there as well. Before they could speak, he held up his hand and noticed with wonder how vividly his veins stood out in the sunlight. “I’m an old man, beyond my usefulness,” he said. “I fully opposed Antonio’s canonization and had resolved to do all I could today to stop it.” He watched a shadow of pain cross the face of the plumpest, most highly adorned fellow. He knew that he, like a magician, had the power to change that look with a word. “Today God gave me a dream and I am of a totally different opinion now. I know well that Antonio is a saint and is worthy to be canonized. I will do all in my power to hasten his canonization.” He beckoned the ambassadors to follow him, almost feeling on his back the glow on the plump one’s face.

Scettico was as good as his word. Not only did he speak eagerly of Antonio’s greatness, but he also spent the greater part of the day sidling up to opposing cardinals and persuading them to yield to the judgment of those who favored Antonio’s cause.

The cardinals agreed. The pope consented. The Church decreed.

On May 30, 1232, the Solemnity of Pentecost, the canonization took place in the cathedral of Spoleto, where Scettico sat with the other cardinals.

As Pope Gregorio IX read the decree of canonization, Scettico allowed himself to grin in public. To him, the words sounded as forceful as if they came from Christ Himself.

“Surely God . . . frequently is pleased to honor . . . his faithful servants . . . by rendering their memory glorious with signs and prodigies, by means of which heretical depravity is confused and masked and the Catholic religion is more and more confirmed. Of this number was Blessed Anthony . . . of the Order of the Friars Minor. In order that a man be recognized as a saint two things are necessary; namely, the virtue of his life and the truth of the miracles. We have been assured of the virtues and of the miracles of Blessed Anthony, whose holiness We have also experienced . . . when he dwelt for a short time with Us. We have decided . . . to enroll him in the number of the saints . . . and We request that you should excite the devotion of the faithful to the veneration of him and, every year, on the thirteenth of June, that you should celebrate his feast.”

Scettico sighed and closed his damp eyes momentarily. Antonio belonged to the world but lived in heaven. Scettico had done what God had wished. It mattered little if he died that very moment, for now his mission was complete.

Notes

Upon Antonio’s death, the convent at Arcella and the Monastery of Santa Maria at Padua contested for his remains. The bishop of Padua declared that the remains should be interred at Santa Maria (Assidua 26–38, 2LJS 7–8, Rig 17).

Thousands of pilgrims flocked to his tomb. Following custom, many brought votive candles—some so huge that sixteen men had to carry one candle into the church. One candle that had to be lopped off to fit into the church was donated by university students (Assidua 41, 2LJS 9, Rig 17).

Miracles due to Antonio’s intercession were reported in abundance. His cause for canonization was introduced and the pope appointed a learned committee to study the matter. The committee approved fifty-three miracles (2LJS 10–11), including the ones mentioned in this prologue: cure of a hunchbacked woman (Assidua 50–51); cure of a man who fell from a church tower (Assidua 60); cure of a blind friar (Assidua 63); cure of a man deaf for twenty years (Assidua 65); unbroken glass (Assidua 70–71).

One unnamed cardinal opposed the canonization but changed his mind following the dream described. His words to the Paduan ambassadors are on record (Assidua 42–48, 2LJS 9–10, Rig 17–18).

Antonio was canonized on Pentecost Sunday, May 30, 1232, by Pope Gregorio IX. Some of the pope’s actual words are recorded in the prologue.

On the day of Antonio’s canonization, the bells in Lisbon began to ring of their own accord, and the people danced with joy (Ben 13).

Antonio’s tongue and larynx, which remain incorrupt to this day, can be seen in his basilica at Padua. The aromas of incense, myrrh, and aloes, exuding from his corpse, were again noticed when his remains were studied in 1981.

Lack of reliable information about Antonio begins with the year of his birth. Traditionally, this has been given as the feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1195. This would make him nearly thirty-six when he died. However, recent scientific dating of his remains indicate that he was thirty-nine years and nine months old at the time of his death, which would put his birth in 1191. Because the day and year of his birth are contested, this book is purposely vague about his age.

Part One

Go to Christ Your Friend in This Night

1

Mestre João

Santa Cruz Monastery, Coimbra, Portugal (1220)

Mestre João was sitting in his cell at Santa Cruz Monastery in Coimbra, Portugal. Before him on a small table lay an open text of Saint Augustine’s work, On True Religion. Next to it lay the Scriptures, open to Matthew’s Gospel. Mestre João was preparing his lesson for the following day when he heard a tap at his door.

“Come in,” he said as he pushed his body to standing position and shook out his arthritic knees.

As João started toward the door, his hand outstretched in greeting, he saw that the one who had knocked was a slightly built young priest. João broke into a grin. Even his weak eyes could tell who the young man was.

“Fernando, my star student!” João clasped Fernando’s forearm and shook it heartily. Fernando returned the gesture.

“Which philosopher have you come to discuss today? Aristotle? Or the writings of the saints? Bernard, perhaps? Jerome? Gregory? I’m working on Saint Augustine for tomorrow’s lecture. Perhaps you could enlighten me.”

Dressed in the white linen rochet and cord worn by the Canons Regular who followed the Rule of Saint Augustine, Fernando smiled. “I think not, Mestre. You’re the teacher.”

“Here. Sit down.” João tugged him toward the extra chair that stood beside his desk, waiting for inquiring students just like Fernando. As João eased his bulky body into his own chair, he winced at the pain in his knees. “Don’t mind me, Fernando. I’m getting old.”

Fernando settled into the chair, his long hands clasped in his lap. “We’re all getting old, Mestre.”

João propped his elbow on the small table. He planted his chin on his upraised fist and made himself comfortable. He always enjoyed Fernando’s visits. Their discussions often went far into the evening. “So, you didn’t come to talk about age. What is it today?”

“Mestre, I have asked the Lesser Brothers to accept me into their religio.”

What? Had João heard that correctly? His fist fell to the table and he sat bolt upright.

“The Lesser Brothers? Mendicants? They aren’t even an ordine. Since when have you been thinking of this, Fernando?”

“For a long time, Mestre.”

“A long time? You, Fernando, who are the son of a noble knight? Those men live more poorly than Christ Himself. What do they have? A patched tunic. A frayed cord for the waist. Not even sandals. God alone knows the condition of their breeches. They’re beggars. They plead for alms like beggars, sleep like beggars, smell like beggars.”

Fernando was staring at João with that intensely deep look of his. “I know, Mestre. Here we have a powerful priory, lands, a subsidy from the king. The Lesser Brothers have nothing but God. That’s what I want.”