Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene (6 October 1480 – 7 August 1547), known in English 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 (; abbreviated CR), is a Catholic order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa on 14 September 1524. Foundation The order wa ...

. He is recognised as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

in the

Catholic Church 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 ...

, 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 co ...

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

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

, in

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

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, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, receiving his degree as ''

doctor utriusque juris A doctor of both laws, from the Latin , , or ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD and UID), is a scholar who has acquired a doctorate in both civil and church law. ...

'' (i.e., in civil and canon law) at age 24. In 1506 he worked as a diplomat for

Pope Julius II Pope Julius 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, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

, with whom he helped reconcile the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

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

until the year 1516. With the death of Pope Julius II in 1513, Cajetan withdrew from the papal court. Recalled to Vicenza by the death of his mother, he founded in 1522 a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

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 The Oratory of Divine Love was an Italian Catholic ecclesiastical reform movement that originated in Genoa at the end of the 15th century. The notary, Ettore Vernazza (father of the mystic nun, Battistina Vernazza), played a key role in its format ...

". He intended to form a group that would combine the spirit of

monasticism Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...

with the exercises of the active ministry.

Theatines

A new congregation was canonically erected by

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano 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 most unfortunate o ...

in the year 1524. One of his four companions was Giovanni Pietro Carafa, the

Bishop of Chieti The Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto (; ; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church which received that name in 1986, when the two separate dioceses, which had been governed by one and the same bishop, were united in one diocese. The diocese ...

, elected first superior of the order, who later became pope as

Paul IV Pope Paul IV (; ; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), born Gian Pietro Carafa, 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 papal nuncio in Spain, he developed ...

. From the name of the city of

Chieti Chieti (, ; , , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Southern Italy, east of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti, in the Abruzzo, Abruzzo region. In Italian, the adjectival form is ''teatino'' and inhabitants of Chieti ar ...

(in ), 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 The Sack of Rome, then part of the Papal States, followed the capture of Rome on 6 May 1527 by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, during the War of the League of Cognac. Charles V only intended to threaten military action t ...

, during which Cajetan was tortured by mutinous soldiers of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * 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 Others * Charles V, Duke ...

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

Jerome Emiliani Gerolamo Emiliani, CRS ( 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 Venice, he spent some time i ...

, 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 ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, 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 ...

. Cajetan died in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

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

San Paolo Maggiore San Paolo Maggioreo may refer to: * San Paolo Maggiore, Bologna, church in Bologna, Italy * San Paolo Maggiore, Naples, church in Naples, Italy {{disambiguation ...

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

Veneration

He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

on 8 October 1629 by

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

. 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 sa ...

Pope Clement X Pope Clement X (; ; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death on 22 July 1676. Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, born in Rome in ...

. Saint Cajetan's

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is celebrated on 7 August.

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionary

Eusebio Kino Eusebio Francisco Kino, Jesuits, SJ (, ; 10 August 1645 – 15 March 1711), often referred to as Father Kino, was an Italian Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer, mathematician and astronomer born in the Prince-Bishopric of Tre ...

in 1691 established the mission San Cayetano de Tumacácori in honour of Cajetan. It is now Tumacacori National Historical Park in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. He is known as 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 Argentina and of the unemployed.

References

External links

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cajetan, Saint 1480 births 1547 deaths Clergy 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