Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene (6 October 1480 – 7 August 1547), known as Saint Cajetan (), was an Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer, co-founder of the

Theatines The Theatines officially named the Congregation of Clerics Regular ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium), abreviated CR, is a Catholic order of clerics regular of Pontifical Right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa in Sept. 14, 1524. I ...

. He is recognised as a saint in the

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 ...

, and his feast day is 7 August.

Life

Cajetan was born in October 1480, the son of Gaspar, lord of

Thiene Thiene () is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, in northern Italy, located approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. __NOTOC__ The city has an active and lively industrial sector, composed mainly of small to medium-sized comp ...

, and Mary Porta, persons of the first rank among the nobility of the territory of Vicenza, in

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

Butler, Alban. ''Lives of the Saints'', Vol. VIII, 1866
/ref> Region. His father died when he was two years of age. Quiet and retiring by nature, he was predisposed to piety by his mother. Cajetan studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, receiving his degree as '' doctor utriusque juris'' (i.e., in civil and canon law) at age 24. In 1506 he worked as a diplomat for

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...

, with whom he helped reconcile the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

.Keating, Joseph. "St. Cajetan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 15 April 2013
/ref> But he was not ordained 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 partic ...

until the year 1516. With the death of

in 1513, Cajetan withdrew from the papal court. Recalled to Vicenza by the death of his mother, he founded in 1522 a hospital for incurables there.Foley O.F.M., Leonard. ''Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast'', (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.), Franciscan Media
By 1523 he had established a hospital in Venice, as well. His interests were as much or more devoted to spiritual healing than the physical kind, and he joined a confraternity in Rome called the " Oratory of Divine Love". He intended to form a group that would combine the spirit of monasticism with the exercises of the active ministry.

Theatines

A new congregation was canonically erected by

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

in the year 1524. One of his four companions was Giovanni Pietro Carafa, the Bishop of Chieti, elected first superior of the order, who later became pope as

Paul IV Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pap ...

. From the name of the city of

Chieti Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...

(in la, Theate), arose the name by which the order is known, the "

". The order grew at a fairly slow pace: there were only twelve Theatines during the sack of Rome in 1527, during which Cajetan was tortured by the Spanish soldiers of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

who had mutinied.Mullet, Michael. ''The Catholic Reformation'', Routledge, 2002
The Theatines managed to escape to Venice. There Cajetan met

Jerome Emiliani Gerolamo Emiliani, CRS ( it, Gerolamo Emiliani also Jerome Aemilian, Hiëronymus Emiliani) (1486 – 8 February 1537) was an Italian humanitarian, founder of the Somaschi Fathers, and is considered a saint by the Catholic Church. Born in Ven ...

, whom he assisted in the establishment of his Congregation of Clerks Regular. In 1533 he founded a house in Naples. The year 1540 found him in Venice again and from there he extended his work to

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

. He founded a bank to help the poor and offer an alternative to usurers (who charged high interest rates)."St. Cajetan", Catholic News Agancy
/ref> It later became the

Banco di Napoli Banco di Napoli S.p.A., among the oldest banks in the world, was an Italian banking subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo group, as one of the 6 retail brands other than "Intesa Sanpaolo". It was acquired by the Italian banking group Sanpaolo IMI (the p ...

. Cajetan died in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

on 7 August 1547. His remains are in the church of

San Paolo Maggiore San Paolo Maggiore is a basilica church in Naples, southern Italy, and the burial place of Gaetano Thiene, known as Saint Cajetan, founder of the Order of Clerics Regular (or Theatines). It is located on Piazza Gaetano, about 1-2 blocks north of V ...

in Naples; outside the church is Piazza San Gaetano, with a statue.

Veneration

He was beatified on 8 October 1629 by Pope Urban VIII. On 12 April 1671 Cajetan 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 s ...

. Saint Cajetan's feast day is celebrated on 7 August. Jesuit missionary Eusebio Kino in 1691 established the mission San Cayetano de Tumacácori in honor of Cajetan. It is now Tumacacori National Historical Park in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. He is known as the

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

of Argentina, the unemployed, gamblers, document controllers, and good fortune. He was a spiritual aspirant in the mould of St. Francis of Assisi who gave up his riches for leading a life of Christian piety. Fully committed and dedicated as one who practiced total renunciation of material riches would be, he was unwavering in his pursuit of the spiritual goals he had set for completion and never allowed himself to be distracted from realizing them. To the end, he was immersed in his work; and, after being made the patron saint of the unemployed, he meets, fully and favourably, the hopes and aspirations of those searching for work.

References

External links

"Pope Francis' Message for the Feast of Saint Cajetan", ''Zenit'', August 7, 2013

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cajetan, Saint 1480 births 1547 deaths People from Vicenza Founders of Catholic religious communities Catholicism in Argentina Christianity in Buenos Aires Thiene, Cajetan Count of 16th-century Italian lawyers 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Theatines Beatifications by Pope Urban VIII Canonizations by Pope Clement X

Life

Theatines

Veneration

See also

References

External links