St. Bernardine of Siena 1380-1444

francismonks.gif (8917 bytes) St. Bernardine of Siena 1380-1444

This 'star of Tuscany' came of the noble Sienese family of the Albizeschi. Born at Massa Marttima, where his father was governor, on September 8th, 1380, and left an orphan at six, he was brought up by his aunts. At school in Siena he was remarkable for intelligence and a general popularity in no way lessened by outstanding goodness and purity. When he was seventeen, he joined a Marian confraternity at the La Scala hospital and began a secluded religious life. Yet in 1400, he willingly emerged to become the successful organizer of the hospital services during a severe outbreak of the plague. Although he escaped infection, he fell ill through exhaustion and never entirely recovered.

In 1402 he joined the Franciscans, throwing in his lot with the 'Observant' reform-party. Their spectacular growth in the ensuing period owes much to his influence; for twelve years (1430-1442) he was to be their vicar general. His ordination in 1404 was followed by a dozen years hidden life, but the rest of his career is a record of indefatigable preaching journeys, usually afoot, all over Italy. He was the greatest popular preacher of his time, a worthy successor to St. Vincent Ferrer, a true 'apostle of Italy.'

His habitual topics were the need of penance and denunciation of prevalent vices, especially civil and political strife, usury, gambling and 'vanity' in dress and social behavior. He treated these worn themes in a fresh manner, using pregnant anecdotes and illustrations, holding vast crowds for hours and bringing about impressive conversions.

He will be remembered for his promotion of the cult of the Holy Name of Jesus, of Mary as dispenser of the graces merited by her divine Son, and of St. Joseph. He was accustomed to preach holding a board on which were the first three letters of the Savior's name in its Greek form--'IHS'--surrounded by rays, and he persuaded people to copy these plaques and erect them over their dwellings and public buildings. His last sermons--on Inspirations--show him to have been a profound psychologist on the mystical way and a liberal-minded teacher of the theory of contemplative prayer.

He died, worn out with missionary labours, on May 20th, 1444, at Aquila in the Abruzzi, and was buried there. The miracles at his tomb induced Nicholas V to canonize him only six years later. In the Roman rite both mass and office on his feast day are taken from the Common of Confessors, but the Franciscans have a proper mass and office, including the hymn Sidus Etruscis and a homily on apostolic poverty from one of his own sermons.

The preaching of St. Bernardine, especially the verbatim versions of his popular sermons in Italian, still deserves attention in an age no longer much addicted to pulpit oratory. Modern readers will at least admire the rugged forthrightness, often earthiness, of his style. They will applaud his social awareness and the eminently practical methods he adopted to drive his lessons home and make them permanent.

The Saints: A Concise Biographical Dictionary, ed. John Coulson