Franz von Paola

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Engraving (1645) by Michel l'Asne (1590–1667) of a contemporary portrait (1507) of St. Francis of Paola made by Jean Bourdichon

Franz von Paola (also Francesco d'Alessio, Latin Franciscus de Paula ) (born March 27, 1416 in Paola , Italy , † April 2, 1507 in Plessis-lès-Tours , France ) founded the order of the Paulans and is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

Life

Franz von Paola was born as the first child of Giacomo ( Eng . Jakob ) Martolilla (also Martorella ) d ' Alessio (also de Salicon , 1370-1465) and his wife Vienna L'Appunto di Fuscaldo (married 1401). He had two siblings, one of which was Brigida ( Brigitte ). Nicolas and Andréa d'Alesso were sons together with their husband Antoine. Andréa was under the reign of Louis XI. called to his court to be his servant and butler .

Some sources report that the family was poor, another source calls them “noble” , other sources name the adjective “wealthy” or give them ownership “of a few pieces of land that they cultivated themselves” . However, it is also reported that Franz von Paola grew up in a dilapidated hut with a sheep and six chickens. They are said to have often starved. They waited in vain for their first son for fifteen years of their marriage and successfully turned to St. Francis of Assisi , to whom they also dedicated the name of their son.

Franz von Paola was born blind in the right eye. As a boy he contracted a serious eye disease which also endangered his eyesight in his left eye. Due to the healing of even both of his eyes after nine days of devotion to Francis of Assisi, his grateful parents promised him a year in a Franciscan monastery .

At the age of 13 he was now working as a kitchen boy in the Franciscan monastery of San Marco Argentano near Cosenza , but did not decide to join the monastery.

At the age of 14 he went on a pilgrimage to Assisi , Loreto and Rome with his parents . There he was negatively impressed by the splendid clothing of the high clergy. He decided on a future ascetic hermit life , which the church and his parents approved.

After the journey home he retired a few miles from Paola on the bed of his parents in a hidden rock cave by the sea in the mountains of Calabria . He lived on the herbs of the forest and slept on a stone or on the ground. Soon he was tending a small garden where he was growing medicinal herbs. He walked barefoot, did not change his habit or shave. He ate once a day at most. Attracted by his deep piety, several young men soon gathered around him and a small spiritual community developed. At the age of 19 (1435/36) he built a small chapel with his companions and founded the Order of Minor Brothers (Paulaner) with them . In 1446 there is an exchange of letters with Simone Alimena (* 1417 in Montalto, son of Todesco Lucifera and Guglielmo Alimena ), who later became chief official of the Aragonese regional administration, first president of the province of Calabria, viceroy of Apulia and regent of the vicariate in Naples under king Ferrante I became. Between 1452 and 1454, Francesco and his companions, supported by wealthy townspeople out of esteem, built the first monastery and the first church of their community in Cosenza . This is the actual beginning of the new order of the “least brothers”.

A great spiritual radiance emanated from this community, as a result of which several monasteries were founded in southern Italy in a short time. The rules to which Franz von Paola obliged his monks were tough: they had to promise constant, strict fasting , a vegan diet and regular penance exercises. In 1474 Pope Sixtus IV confirmed the rule of the order. Over the years, Franz von Paola became known as a saintly man and miracle worker . It is said that through his blessings the blind regained their sight, the madmen regained their minds, and those with leprosy were "cleansed" from leprosy. He is said to have raised seven dead, including Nicolas d'Alessio, a son of his sister Brigida. Before 1481 he founded the Milazzo monastery . Ferdinand I of Naples called him to his court and was closely connected with him.

In 1483, the French King Louis XI. Call him through Pope Sixtus IV. to his sickbed in Plessis-lès-Tours near Tours . Charles VIII , the son of Louis, kept the pious man close and took him into his service as an advisor. He built a monastery for the founder of the order in Plessis-lès-Tours, where he died on April 2, 1507, Good Friday , and was buried. 1562 his grave was during the religious wars of the Huguenots / Kalvanisten devastated and burned his remains. There are numerous legends surrounding Franz von Paola .

Canonization and patronage

In 1519 Franz von Paola was canonized by Pope Leo X. His feast day is April 2nd .

For the patronage see Franz-von-Paola-Kirche and Paulanerkirche .

Representations

Statue on the Calvary of Heiligenkreuz Abbey

There are several artistic representations of Franz von Paola. The most famous paintings were made by Ubaldo Gandolfini , Bartolomé Esteban Murillo , Jacopo Tintoretto and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo . The composer Franz Liszt wrote a piano piece based on the legend in which Franz von Paola, walking across the sea, crosses the Strait of Messina .

literature

Web links

Commons : Francis of Paola  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ AA VV: Vol. 03 - Raccolta Rassegna Storica dei Comuni - Anno 1971 . Istituto di Studi Atellani ( google.de [accessed on May 24, 2020]).
  2. ^ Comune di Paola (CS) - Città di San Francesco. Retrieved May 23, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b Andrea Pino: April 2 / San Francesco da Paola. Tutti i segreti del santo terribile fondatore dei minimi. Retrieved May 30, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Christian Wenzin de Tujetsch: Legenda della vita de nies Segnier, e de Maria sanctissima, dils soings apostels, martirs, confessurs, purschallas per ils meins gener, favrer, mars, avril . Gius. Tumaisch Kalin, 1830 ( google.de [accessed on May 23, 2020]).
  5. ^ François de Paule. Retrieved May 24, 2020 .
  6. ↑ a b 2 avril Saint François de Paule. Retrieved August 22, 2020 .
  7. ^ Giuseppina Basile: Saint François de Paule et son époque . L'Harmattan, 2009, p. 10 .
  8. ^ Généalogie de Andréa d'Alesso. Retrieved August 22, 2020 (French).
  9. ^ Edited by a society of German scholars: Vol. 1–4 . Brüggemann, 1834 ( google.de [accessed on May 23, 2020]).
  10. ↑ a b FRANCIS OF PAOLA. Retrieved May 30, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Sila Greca - a travel guide. Retrieved June 4, 2020 .
  12. ↑ St. Franz von Paula. Retrieved June 4, 2020 .
  13. ↑ St. Franz von Paula. Retrieved May 23, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Saint Franz von Paula - Chiemgau Blätter 2019 - Traunsteiner Tagblatt. Retrieved August 14, 2020 .
  15. ↑ FRANCIS OF PAOLA. Retrieved August 14, 2020 .
  16. ↑ St. Franz von Paula. Retrieved on August 14, 2020 (German).
  17. ↑ FRANCIS OF PAOLA. Retrieved August 14, 2020 .
  18. ↑ FRANCIS OF PAOLA. Retrieved August 14, 2020 .
  19. ^ AA VV: Vol. 03 - Raccolta Rassegna Storica dei Comuni - Anno 1971 . Istituto di Studi Atellani ( google.de [accessed on August 14, 2020]).
  20. ^ 2 avril Saint François de Paule. Retrieved August 22, 2020 .



personal data
SURNAME Franz von Paola
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Order founder and saint of the Roman Catholic Church
DATE OF BIRTH March 27, 1416
PLACE OF BIRTH Paola , Italy
DATE OF DEATH April 2, 1507
Place of death Plessis-lès-Tours , France