Arcangelo Placenza da Calatafimi (

Calatafimi Calatafimi-Segesta, commonly known as simply Calatafimi, is a ''comune'' in the province of Trapani in the Italian region of Sicily. It has 6,019 inhabitants. The full name of the municipality was created in 1997 and is meant to highlight the pres ...

, 1390 – Alcamo, 24 luglio 1460) was an Italian

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

and

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

: today he is venerated as Blessed by the Catholic Church.

Biography

Born at Calatafimi, (province and

Diocese of Trapani The Diocese of Trapani () is a Latin Church, Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Palermo. History Trapani was subject to the see of Mazzara, from the Norman Conquest until 1844, when the di ...

), at about 1390 in the local noble family of the Placenza, he left his paternal home and went to live in a cave, near the church of Santa Maria del Giubino, where we experienced frequent apparitions of the

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

, who would appear him over a cypress while he was praying. After the news of the apparitions and miracles spread, the place became increasingly frequented by believers, and relatives tried to persuade him to give up his intentions. In search of meditation, Arcangelo moved to

Alcamo Alcamo (; ) is the fourth-largest town and communes of Italy, commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometr ...

, where he cared for sick people in the old hospital of Sant'Antonio, which he restored after a period of neglect. In his free time he retired in a cave near the present

Chiesa di Santa Maria di Gesù (Alcamo) Chiesa (Italian, 'church') may refer to: People with the surname *Andrea Chiesa (born 1966), Swiss Formula One racer * Anthony della Chiesa (1394–1459), Italian Dominican friar * Bruno della Chiesa (born 1962), European linguist *Deborah Chiesa ...

Francesco Maria Mirabella, Cenni degli alcamesi rinomati in lettere, arti, armi e santità, Alcamo, tip. Gaetano Surdi, 1876. to pray and do penitence. After the suppression of

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

s in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

by Pope Martino V, he became a friar of the Minor Order of Observants in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, of the

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 ...

of Santa Maria di Gesù. After becoming 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, the Blessed Matteo Guimerà from

Agrigento Agrigento (; or ) is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonists from Gela, Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading cities during the golden ...

, his immediate superior, gave him the right to open new

s: Arcangelo returned to the hospital of Sant'Antonio in

, to open a

. He was also elected provincial Vicar of his order and devoted himself to

preaching A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

. He lived in the

of Santa Maria di Gesù in

until his

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

on 24 July 1460. His body is kept in an

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...

placed above the altar of Saint Conrad, in the Chiesa di Santa Maria di Gesù. Pope Gregorio XVI proclaimed him blessed, thanks to the various

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

s attributed to him, on 9 September 1836.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Placenza da Calatafimi, Arcangelo Italian beatified people 1460 deaths 1390 births 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests

Biography

See also

References

Sources