Martyrs of Otranto
Antonio Primaldo and companions († August 14, 1480 in Otranto , Apulia ) are among the 800 martyrs of Otranto . They fell victim to an attack by Ottoman forces and are venerated as martyrs and saints in the Roman Catholic Church . Her feast day in the liturgy is August 14th, in Otranto the patron saint is celebrated on July 31st.
Lore
At the beginning of the Otranto campaign , Ottoman forces landed in Apulia on July 28, 1480 under the command of Gedik Ahmed Pasha . There they moved to the city of Otranto and demanded its surrender. When the population refused to surrender and withdrew to the citadel , the siege of the city began, which ended with their capture on August 11, 1480. The urban clergy and a few hundred people took refuge in Otranto Cathedral . One of them was Archbishop Stefano Pendinelli . The Ottomans asked them to convert to the Islamic faith , which was rejected by the included Christians. The refugees were then murdered in the cathedral.
The old tailor Antonio Pezzulla, also known as "Il Primaldo", had been entrusted with running the town. When he too refused the order to convert, he was executed on August 14, along with at least 800 other people. When he was beheaded, the miracle is said to have occurred that his body did not collapse after the standing decapitation and that the executioner also failed to overturn his lifeless body.
Adoration
On October 13, 1481, the bones of the 800 bodies were found intact and buried in the Cathedral of Otranto. Several relics of the martyrs were distributed across Italy, notably in the Puglia region , the Salento peninsula , Naples and Venice . Some relics also got to Spain .
The process of beatification of the 800 Otranto martyrs began in 1539. Pope Clement XIV beatified her in 1771. Since then, Antonio Primaldo and his companions have been the patron saints of the city and the archdiocese of Otranto . On July 6, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI. the canonical recognition of their martyrdom, since the motive of the murder was the "hatred of the faith" ( odium fidei ). On 20 December 2012, the Pope recognized the healing of Sister Francesca Levote that had happened after invocation of the Blessed Antonio Primaldo and companions, as a miracle , and signed the decree for canonization .
On May 12, 2013, Pope Francis canonized Antonio Primaldo and his companions at the first canonization of his pontificate .