Saint Homobonus (, , ) is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of business people,

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

s, shoemakers, and

cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is n ...

workers, as well as of

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

, Italy. He was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

in 1199 at the urgent request of the citizens of Cremona. He died on November 13, 1197, and his feast day is celebrated on November 13.

Life

Homobonus was a cloth merchant from

, northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Born Omobono Tucenghi, he was a married

layman In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. ...

who believed that

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

had allowed him to work in order that he would be able to support people living in a state of

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

. His name is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''homo bonus'' ("good man")."St. Homobonus", Saint John Institute
/ref> Homobonus was able to pursue this calling in life easily as a result of the inheritance he received from his father, a prosperous

and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

. He practiced his business at Cremona with scrupulous honesty. Though he and his wife were well off, they lived and dressed simply as Homobonus gave much of their money away. He devoted himself to the practice of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and attended to the burial of the abandoned dead.John Paul II. "Letter to H.E. Msgr. Giulio Nicolini, Bishop of Cremona", 24 June 1997, Libreria Editrice Vaticana
/ref> A legend says that while travelling, he gave all his food and drink to a beggar and as he refilled his flask from a stream, the water miraculously turned into wine. It was his custom every night to go to the church of St. Giles, a little before midnight, and to assist at matins. Homobonus would remain until the morning Mass. On November 13, 1197, Homobonus died. Fourteen months later Homobonus was

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

. In the

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

of Homobonus's canonization Pope Innocent III called him "father of the poor", "consoler of the afflicted", "assiduous in constant prayer", "man of peace and peacemaker", "a man good in name and deed", "this saint, is still like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in our time."

Veneration

Omobono Tucenghi is the patron saint of Cremona, and the protector of merchants, textile workers and tailors. His body is preserved in a crypt of the cathedral of Cremona.Agasso, Domenico. "Sant' Omobono di Cremona", Santi e Beati, February 1, 2001
/ref> In 1592, the Cremona Cathedral was dedicated to him and to St Mary’s Assumption. In 1643, the City Council chose him as patron of the city. Bishop Nicolini of Cremona dedicated to his memory the period between 13 November 1997 and 12 January 1999, calling it "The year of St Homobonus", to be celebrated with special spiritual, pastoral and cultural initiatives. When the church of ''San Salvatore in Portico'' was given to the "Università dei Sarti" (the association of tailors) in 1575, the church was dedicated to their patron saint;

Sant'Omobono Sant'Omobono is a church in Rome at the foot of the Capitoline Hill in rione Ripa. It was built in the 15th century and called ''San Salvatore in Portico''. When the church was given to the "Università dei Sarti" (the association of tailors) in ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

is dedicated to him. In

a ''comune'' is named after him (

Sant'Omobono Terme Sant'Omobono Terme (previously Sant'Omobono Imagna; Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northwest of Bergamo. Sant' Omobon ...

). Saint Homobonus Hospital is located in

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

, Sierra Leone.

References

Sources

External links

San Omobono
{{DEFAULTSORT:Homobonus Medieval Italian saints 12th-century Christian saints 12th-century births 1197 deaths Businesspeople from Cremona Italian merchants