Blessed Angelo of Acri

When Luke Anthony reached his eighteenth year, he thought seriously of leaving the world and embracing the religious state. The Order he chose was that of the Capuchins. Before executing his design, he made it a habit to spend part of the day in the church of the Capuchin convent in Acri, and when he could not go there during the day, he would go at night to the door of the same church. Having spent some time learning the observances of the institute he intended to embrace, he presented himself to the superiors who admitted him as a postulant, and he began his novitiate; but soon, yielding to the suggestions of the devil, he returned to the world, where his heart could find no peace. He therefore returned to the novitiate, and, after some time, left it again. He was taken in by one of his uncles, who was a priest, and who wanted to engage him in marriage. Luke Anthony could not bring himself to respond to his uncle's views, and showed him all the repugnance he felt for that state of life. His inconstancy in religion mortified him greatly and made him keenly feel his weakness. He finally understood that he must ask God for and expect from Him a strength he did not possess himself. Filled with these pious thoughts, he presented himself once more to the Capuchin novitiate, and was received for the third time; but his temptations began again immediately, and the devil made new efforts to disgust him with religious life, by representing to him that he could easily save his soul in the midst of the world. Austerities were the means that Brother Angelo (this was the nam e given to frère Ange Capuchin friar and celebrated 18th-century Italian preacher. him upon taking the habit) used to defeat the tempter; he added to them the exercise of mental prayer. His struggles earned him victory, and he persevered until the moment he pronounced his vows. At that instant, it seems that God clothed him with a new courage to fulfill with perfect fidelity all the obligations of the religious state during the course of his long career. The virtues of his profession then took on a new growth in him. His purity became angelic, and he preserved it in all its brilliance, like a lily among thorns; his poverty was extreme, since he never possessed the slightest thing as his own. His obedience was entire, and for the rest of his days he did nothing but by the motive of that virtue.

Brother Angelo, after making his vows, was assigned by his superiors to the study of philosophy: he distinguished himself in it and achieved success; but that was not his most important concern: he aspired above all to acquire the science of the Saints; thus, he neglected no means to advance on the path of perfection. All the time he was not obliged to give to study, he devoted to the contemplation of divine things. Convinced that it is almost impossible to subject the body to the spirit without the help of mortification, he afflicted it with bloody disciplines and mastered his senses through a great number of other secret penances. Father Anthony, who had instructed him in his youth, was then provincial; he came to Acri, was informed of the young religious's virtue, and wished to assure himself by his own observation if his virtue was as solid as it appeared to be; he therefore treated him harshly at first, put him to the test several times, and became so convinced that Brother Angelo was a Saint that, filled with admiration for him, he henceforth proposed him to the other religious as a model of perfection. At that time, the servant of God, called to the priesthood, prepared himself, through a redoubling of fervor, for the distinguished honor he was about to receive. His first Mass was remarkable for the abundance of tears he shed and for the profound ecstasy into which he fell after the consecration. This respect for the holy mysteries was not a passing sentiment for him, and it took him no less than an hour to offer the holy sacrifice, so frequently did he experience ecstasies during it. The rest of his conduct was worthy of the tender piety he displayed at the altar. Retreat, silence, prayer, and penance were his delights; the choir and his cell were the only places in which he was to be found; he even forbade himself entry to the convent garden. Full of humility, and believing himself good for nothing, he ardently desired to spend his days in the exercises of a hidden and entirely interior life; but God had other designs for him, and He did not delay in manifesting them.

As soon as Brother Angelo had finished his studies, his superiors assigned him to the role of preacher. Perfectly submissive to their wishes, he applied himself to composing a series of sermons for Lent, and when he had finished, he received the order to go and announce the word of God in a place not far from Acri. He began his station with fervor; but, although he did not lack memory, he soon noticed that an invincible obstacle prevented him from reciting his sermons as he had written them. He could not understand this conduct of Providence toward him. At the end of Lent, he returned to his convent and began to pray with fervor, begging God to make known to him His holy will regarding preaching. He continued to pray with humility in this way, when one day, during his prayer, he heard a voice near him that told him to fear nothing. "I will give you," it added, "the gift of preaching, and from now on all your labors will be blessed." Astonished to hear these words, the servant of God asked: "Who are you?" — "I am Who am," replied the voice with a sound loud enough to shake the cell. "You will preach in the future in a familiar style, so that all may understand your discourses." Seized with a holy fear, Brother Angelo fell to the ground, almost fainting. Then, having come to himself, he wrote down these words, and every time he read them or heard them read, he felt a trembling of his whole body. This revelation enlightened him and made him know the cause of the little success he had obtained while preaching Lent. Immediately he abandoned his writings and all books, to limit himself to the study of the Holy Scripture and the great book of the Crucifix. Such were the sources from which he drew hencefort h during the long cours grand livre du Crucifix Central theme of the saint's meditation and preaching. e of his preachings. Such was the doctrine that he constantly proposed to the peoples he evangelized. He explained the passages of the Holy Scripture with such wisdom and depth that the most learned men were filled with admiration, and said that God Himself had taught him the way to penetrate the secrets of His divine word. It was above all in the meditation of the passion of Jesus Christ that the holy man learned the sublime truths he announced, and he did nothing but communicate to others the sentiments with which he himself had been penetrated. It is thus that God, who gives His grace to the humble, rewarded with consoling success the profound humility of His servant.

It is easy to understand, from what has just been said, that the Lord wished to make the holy religious a new Apostle, if not of the whole world, at least of Calab ria. He Calabre Region of Italy where the saint exercised the majority of his ministry. traveled through this country for thirty-eight years, and, through the exercise of the apostolic ministry, he snatched a great number of victims from the demon and reconciled many sinners with God there. Hell made a thousand efforts to stop his conquests, either by causing him bodily accidents or by obsessing him with the most delicate and painful temptations for a virtuous man; but these accidents could not stop the effects of his zeal; and through the rigor of his penance, he triumphed so well over these temptations that he was delivered from them for the rest of his days.

The preparation that the servant of God brought to preaching was a holy and fervent prayer, whether he was preaching Lent or giving a mission. His custom was to begin the course of his preachings in the month of November and to continue them until the month of June. At that time, he would return to his convent, where he would preach in the church on feast days, and his sermons produced much fruit. Wherever he announced the word of God, whether in the city or in the country, he always spoke in a familiar tone and in a manner intelligible enough for the most ignorant to understand him; he enlightened the minds of his listeners with the light of evangelical doctrine. His habit was not to shout or make exclamations; on the contrary, he spoke to the people with gentleness and in a pathetic tone. After having convinced his audience, he would present to them, in the form of a meditation, a point of the passion of Jesus Christ. Soon his zeal and fervor so mastered the minds that the most obstinate sinners could not resist him. The shaking was general: everyone wept, and, striking their breasts, they detested their sins and asked God for mercy. These wonderful effects occurred in all the places he evangelized; thus it was very rare that he found hardened hearts that were not touched and resolved to change their lives. It was in this way that, by preaching Lenten stations and conducting missions, the servant of God traveled through the two Calabrias. He made himself heard in all the cities and in all the somewhat populous villages, always speaking the same language, and producing abundant fruits everywhere, just as God had promised him. It was quite ordinary to see, after his sermons, blasphemers kissing the floor of the church, gamblers burning their cards or at least tearing them up, the debauched going with ropes around their necks to ask forgiveness for their scandals, the unjust making restitution for their injustices, and women publicly detesting their vanity. In a word, he reformed morals everywhere, and what is most remarkable, the change was not fleeting, as happens only too often; the impressions he produced were so deep that they were always lasting.

It is the custom of missionaries to inspire the peoples they evangelize with certain particular devotions. Father Angelo took special care to establish, in all the places where he preached, devotion to Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament. He impressed it so strongly upon the minds of his listeners that nothing could erase it. At his final sermon in each church, he would have the altar adorned with all possible magnificence in order to expose the Blessed Sacrament. Then, in the presence of his divine Master, whom his faith allowed him to discover, he would address the people with an animated discourse that strengthened belief in this august mystery, fortified hope and inflamed the charity of those who had the happiness of hearing him. The preacher himself was so penetrated by the subject he was treating that he was seen to fall into ecstasy several times.

One day, while preparations were being made for such a ceremony, an incident occurred that greatly surprised those inhabitants of the place where it happened who witnessed it. The servant of God, seeing the candles being prepared that were to be placed on the altar, said: "Among these candles, there is one that Our Lord does not want." When they set about lighting them, there was one that it was not possible to make burn, although the others lit very well. "Did I not tell you," the Blessed one then added, "that Our Lord did not want it? Take it away and throw it out." His instructions were carried out. Upon examining the matter afterwards, it was recognized that the candle had been given by a person who had only gone to the sermon once, and even then to mock the missionary, and who died shortly after in a manner that could hardly reassure one about his salvation. People admired the knowledge that the holy religious had of the secrets of hearts and understood that God punishes sooner or later those who despise His ministers.

After devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the one that Father Angelo recommended the most was the remembrance of the Passion of Jesus Christ and the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin. He spoke on these matters with such force that he deeply impressed them upon the minds of his listeners. God alone knows what fruits he produced in souls. Everywhere he preached, he planted a Calvary, in order to recall more vividly to the people the truths he had announced to them; and since then, these Calvaries have been held in great veneration. Devotion to the Mother of Sorrows became so established in Calabria that even today many people recite her office every day.

Such were the wonders of zeal and charity that the holy preacher performed during the course of his long ministry. He taught sinners the means to make a solid and lasting conversion, and the righteous how to persevere in good. Through his simple and familiar discourses, he made all the faithful understand the duties they had to fulfill. But it was not only through his sermons that Father Angelo announced the truths of salvation to the people; his example alone was a preaching as eloquent as his words. Everyone could see that it was the zeal for their salvation that led the holy man to suffer very great inconveniences, to walk on muddy or snow-covered paths, across torrents and overflowing rivers, and, after so much fatigue, to devote himself to the work of the pulpit and the confessional with an ardor that barely allowed him to take a little rest. Everyone knew that in exchange for so many hardships, he did not accept the slightest thing, not even the smallest gift, and that he asked for no other reward than to see Christians abandon sin and reconcile with God. Such disinterested conduct caused him to be regarded everywhere as a saint.

He was indeed, not only by his contempt for earthly things, but by all the other virtues he practiced in a perfect manner. His humility was profound. He was accustomed to saying that he offered to God all his fatigues and sufferings for the expiation of the great sins he had committed, although it did not appear that he had ever stained himself with a single mortal sin. The low opinion he had of himself made him extremely patient in enduring the insults and injuries he received in the course of his missions; he showed neither emotion nor resentment. In a city where he was preaching, a young man accosted him while he was in the pulpit and treated him in the most insolent manner; not content with this first outrage, he followed him to the confessional, where he offered him a similar affront. The holy religious knelt before this madman and confessed that he deserved such ill-treatment because he had offended God. One must have studied the maxims and examples of Jesus Christ well to be capable of such an act of heroic virtue.

His charity for his neighbor was in a way boundless; he lived only to do good. It was especially when he received sinners at the tribunal of penance that he showed all the tenderness with which his heart was filled for his brothers. The air of kindness with which he welcomed them encouraged the most criminal to hope for everything from divine mercy. He forgot his most pressing bodily needs when it was a question of helping them to convert. His companions urging him one day to spare himself a little, for fear that he might succumb to so much fatigue: "What are you saying, my brothers?" he replied to them; "no, no. Oh! what a soul has cost Jesus Christ. All these fatigues of the world would be well employed to obtain the conversion of a single soul!"

It is easy to conceive that this admirable charity for one's neighbor was produced by an ardent love for God. Father Angelo was all ablaze with it. "Oh! how beautiful it is to love God!" he often exclaimed. "Oh! how beautiful it is to serve God! O Love who are not loved!" Divine love penetrated him so much during the celebration of the holy mysteries that his face appeared all inflamed by it. The fulfillment of the will of God was his only happiness; thus, the most sensitive pains could neither trouble him nor lead him to murmur. One day, when he had caused himself a considerable fracture by falling, he showed no displeasure; on the contrary, he said to his companions: "Let us rejoice, my brothers, Brother Angelo (he called himself this out of humility) has broken his leg."

We will not speak here of the supernatural gifts with which the holy religious was favored; but we cannot omit a fact that proves evidently that God revealed hidden things to him. When Belgrade was retaken from the Turks by the Christian troops under the orders of Prince Eugene, he came out of his cell shouting: "Great joy, great joy! The holy faith has triumphed: at thi s moment our own have taken Belgra Belgrade fut reprise sur les Turcs Military event prophesied by the saint. de."

The reputation enjoyed by Father Angelo made Cardinal Pignatelli, Archbishop of Naples, desir e that Naples Place of the saint's death. he preach in that capital. His superiors having ordered him to do so, he submitted to their will and came to announce the word of God. His first sermon, far from pleasing, displeased all his listeners; one of them in particular used this pretext to ridicule the holy religious; but God struck this mocker with a sudden death, which appeared so clearly as a punishment from heaven that the entire population changed their feelings regarding the preacher and followed him with eagerness. Some miracles that he performed increased the high opinion that had been conceived of his holiness to such an extent that, for him to go to the church and return to his convent, it was necessary to surround him with soldiers and have him guarded by robust men, so that he would not be smothered by the multitude that constantly pressed around him.

God had made known to his servant that he would continue the exercise of the holy ministry until the age of seventy. When he reached this time of his life, he had a revelation of the day and hour of his death; he informed his companion of it, recommending that he say nothing about it. As this moment approached, the holy religious grew in fervor and love of God; thus his ecstasies became more frequent. Six months before his passing, he returned to the Capuchin convent, and he lost his sight; but, admirable thing! he would recover it to recite the office and celebrate Mass, then he would be deprived of it again. A few days before he passed from earth to heaven, he felt burned by an internal heat without any symptom of fever, which led the doctors to believe that it was not a natural illness he was experiencing, but rather a redoubling of love for God. Despite his state of exhaustion, he did not cease to attend the choir day and night. Soon, as the illness progressed, he went to the church to receive the holy Viaticum. During the little time he lived afterward, he occupied himself only with his divine Master. "Oh! how beautiful it is to love God!" he would exclaim. Finally, on the day he had predicted and at the hour he had indicated, he quietly rendered his spirit to his Creator. His blessed death occurred on October 30, 1739.

Scarcely had the servant of God expired, when the people of Acri flocked to venerate his holy body. He was left exposed for three days to satisfy the devotion of the faithful, and from then on, the salutary effects of his power before God were felt. The time that elapsed since his death did not diminish the confidence that one had in his intercession, and several miracles have proven how well-founded it was. Pope Leo XII beatified him in 1825, and the ceremony was performed with solemnity on December 18 of the same year.

The continuators of Godrecourt drew this biography from the Life of Blessed Angelo of Acri, written in Italian and published in Rome in 1825.