Angelo da Furci (1246 - 6 February 1327) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and a professed member of the

Order of Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine (), abbreviated OSA, is a mendicant order, mendicant catholic religious order, religious order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who ...

. He was a friend and student of

Giles of Rome Giles of Rome (; ; – 22 December 1316) was a medieval philosopher and Scholastic theologian and a friar of the Order of St Augustine, who was also appointed to the positions of prior general of his order and as Archbishop of Bourges. ...

and served as Prior Provincial of the

Abruzzi Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

branch of the congregation. The recognition of his "cultus" (or popular following) allowed for

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

to preside over his beatification on 20 December 1888.

Life

Angelo da Furci was born in 1246 to Adalitto and Albazia. The couple was childless and begged for the intercession of Saint Michael the Archangel for a son. During his childhood he was sent to a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

where his maternal uncle served as the

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

. He received his education there at the convent of Cornaclano until the death of his uncle in 1264, which prompted him to return home; he completed his philosophical and literary studies with high results. Adalitto fell ill in 1265 and revealed to his son the truth about the circumstances of his birth while suggesting that his son become a member of the

; his father died not long after. The death of his father solidified his decision to do so but he did not seek admission straight after since he remained at home with his aging and despairing mother in order to care for her. In 1266 he left his home and requested permission to join the order while starting his period of

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

and making his profession. He underwent theological studies until 1270 when he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood. He was then sent to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1271 for further studies where one of his teachers was

- the latter became a close friend as well. The priest earned a Lector's Degree in 1276 and then taught theological studies back in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

for 5 years. Officials made the unanimous decision in a meeting of 1287 to elect him as Prior Provincial of the Abruzzese branches of the order and he refused at first before Clement of Osimo required him to accept the nomination. He proved competent and became well known for his evangelic zeal and his uprightness as well as being noted for his gentleness of spirit. He was also a skilled orator. The priest also renounced episcopal appointments to the sees of

Melfi Melfi ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,768. Geography On a ...

and

Acerra Acerra () is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, about northeast of the capital in Naples. It is part of the Agro Acerrano plain. History Acerra is one of the most ancient cities of the regi ...

that

Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV (; born Girolamo Masci; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death, on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be elected pope.McBrie ...

offered to him. He retired at the age of 81 due to his declining health and died not long after in 1327. His remains were later transferred in August 1808.

Beatification

His beatification received the approval of

on 20 December 1888 in approval of the "cultus" (or popular devotion) to the late priest. The process for sainthood was formally opened on 22 March 1922.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furci, Angelo da 1246 births 1327 deaths 13th-century venerated Christians 13th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests 14th-century venerated Christians 14th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Augustinian friars Beatifications by Pope Leo XIII Italian beatified people People from Chieti University of Paris alumni Italian expatriates in France