Simone Ballachi (1240 - 5 November 1319) was an Italian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

professed member of the

Third Order of Saint Dominic The Third Order of Saint Dominic ( la, Tertius Ordo Praedicatorum; abbreviated TOP), also referred to as the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic or Lay Dominicans since 1972, is a Roman Catholic third order affiliated with the Dominican Order. Lay ...

. Ballachi served as a former soldier in Rimini before renouncing that path in favor of the religious life where he became a gardener noted for his strict adherence to the rule of

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

. Ballachi's popular devotion received approval from

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

on 14 March 1820 which allowed for him to approve the late friar's beatification.

Life

Simone Ballachi was born in Rimini in 1240 to the nobleman Count Rodolfo Ballachi. His noble household had close connections to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

since his two paternal uncles would serve as the

Bishops of Rimini A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

while a little brother of Ballachi's would become a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. The uncles served one after the other as bishop and were Lorenzo (d. 1302) who was a member of the

Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

and Federico (d. 1321). Ballachi received training as a soldier and was expected to take over his father's estates though against the latter's wishes he renounced this and joined the

in 1267. Ballachi served as the convent's gardener - despite having a limited knowledge of how best to care for a garden - but grew to love it almost as soon as he began working in the garden. He would sweep the convent each week. He became noted amongst the friars there for his simple life and for his strict adherence to the order's rule while becoming a renowned

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

for children. He also began to discipline himself with corporal penances for the conversion of sinners while for two decades wearing an iron chain as penance. For five entire

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

en seasons he fasted on bread and water alone and his fasting's weakened him to the point where his superiors had to intervene in order for him to sustain his health and not damage it. He experienced several visions from the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

but also received visions from the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

. He also had visions of

Dominic of Osma Saint Dominic, ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scienti ...

and Peter of Verona who would speak to him to console him in times of hardship. Some friars even reported seeing his cell glowing and heard angelic voices from his cell. One time a voice even said to him: "Fear not Simone for thou hast found favor before God". Ballachi also fostered a special devotion to

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...

and on one occasion she appeared to him and healed him when he was suffering from a severe headache. He became blind in 1297 and devoted the remainder of his life to solitude. Ballachi died on 5 November 1319.

References

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops)
Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballachi, Simone 1240 births 1319 deaths People from the Province of Rimini Italian Dominicans 13th-century Italian Christian monks 14th-century Italian Christian monks Dominican beatified people Dominican tertiaries Lay Dominicans Italian beatified people Venerated Catholics Beatifications by Pope Pius VII