Tommaso Bellacci (1370 - 31 October 1447) was an Italian member of the

Third Order of Saint Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis, or Franciscan Tertiaries, is the third order of the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. Francis founded the Third Order, originally called t ...

. Bellacci was a butcher and became a religious after turning his life around from one of sin to one of penance and servitude to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. Bellacci travelled across the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and the Italian peninsula to preach and administer to people despite not being an

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 ...

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 ...

. His beatification was celebrated in 1771.

Life

Tommaso Bellacci was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in 1370 in the neighborhood of the Ponte alle Grazie. His parents came from Castello di Linari in Val d'Elsa.;. He became a butcher like his father. During his youth he got into a good deal of trouble on various occasions, and led such a wild and dissolute life as an adolescent that parents warned their sons to keep their distance from him. Persuaded by a friend to change his ways, he tried to enter a religious order but found strong resistance to being accepted. Bellacci was accused of having committed a serious crime in 1400 that he in fact did not do and so he wandered the streets of Florence until he met a

who listened to Bellacci and took him in and helped clear his name. The incident shocked him so much - coupled with his appreciation of the priest - that he shed his life of sin and decided to live a life of total penance and service to

. He joined the

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. ...

under the spiritual guidance of Friar Giovanni da Stronconio and became noted for keeping vigils and

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

. Bellacci was very particular in keeping to a literal interpretation of the Franciscan Rule. As novice master, despite not being a priest, he led by example. He became part of the Observant reform and in 1414 accompanied another friar to Naples to introduce the Observant practice in the Franciscan houses there. He remained in Naples six years, preaching and helping to spread the reform. He founded friaries in

Corscia Corscia () is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. It contains the Corscia hydroelectric power station, which is fed by water channeled from Lac de Calacuccia and discharges into the Barrage de Corsci ...

Pope Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the We ...

called him to preach in the northern cities against the "Fraticelli" who were a group of heretical Franciscans and was also made Vicar General at the pope's behest; he and Albert Berdini of Sarteano in 1438 were later sent to the

to cities such as

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

in order to promote the reunification of the

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

and

Western Churches Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic Ch ...

when he was over 70. Alberto had to leave due for back home due to his ill health which left Bellacci on his own. He attempted to travel to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

but the Turks captured him three times. The Florentine merchants helped to secure his release the first two times. The third time he was again captured and suffered enslavement and persecution for several years.Rogers, Francis M. ''The Quest for Eastern Christians'', University of Minnesota Press, 1962, p. 40

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Republic of Venice, Venetian, and a nephew ...

helped secure his release. He returned home in 1444 and spent his time in a

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 ...

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 ...

until 1446. He was known for his diet of water and vegetables. Bellacci died in

Rieti Rieti (; , Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 47,700. It is the administrative seat of the province of Rieti and see of the diocese of Rieti, as well as the modern capital of the Sabina region. T ...

while on a visit to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to visit the pontiff. He planned to ask him for permission to return to the Orient. His remains were relocated in 2006.

References

External links

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellacci, Tommaso 1370 births 1447 deaths 14th-century venerated Christians 14th-century people from the Republic of Florence 15th-century venerated Christians 15th-century people from the Republic of Florence Beatifications by Pope Clement XIV Italian beatified people Religious leaders from Florence Third Order of Saint Francis