Nicholas of Tolentine
Nicholas of Tolentine
Nicholas of Tolentine
NICHOLAS of Tolentino
Also known as Patron of Holy Souls
Memorial:
10 September
Born:
1245 at Sant'Angelo, March of Ancona, diocese of Fermo
Died:
September 10, 1305 at Tolentino, Italy following a long illness;
relics rediscovered at Tolentino in 1926; in previous times they
were known exude blood when the Church was in danger.
Canonized:
5 June (Pentecost) 1446 by Pope Eugene IV; over 300 miracles
were recognized by the Congregation
Patronage:
Souls in Purgatory, animals, babies, boatmen, dying people,
mariners, sailors, sick animals, watermen
Representation:
Augustinian giving bread to a sick person;
Augustinian holding a container of bread;
Augustinian holding a container of money;
Augustinian holding a lily;
Augustinian holding crucifix garlanded with lilies;
Augustinian with a star above him;
Augustinian with a star on his breast;
basket with bread rolls;
crucifix garlanded with lilies;
lily
Quote:
"The Heavens are not pure in the sight of Him Whom I serve;
how then shall I, a sinful man, stand before Him?"
-Saint Nicholas
STATION 2
ST. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO, CONFESSOR
{1245- 1305} or {1306-1246}
Born at -- Sant' Angelo, in Pontano, near
Fermo, in the March of Ancona
His parents, said to have been called
Compagnonus de Guarutti and Amata de
Guidiani (these surnames may merely indicate
their birth-places), were pious folk, perhaps
gentle born, living content with a small
substance. His mother was a model of
holiness. They were childless until a pilgrimage
to a shrine of the original Saint Nicholas at
Bari, Italy where his mother asked for a son
whom she promised to dedicate to God's
service. When her wish was granted, she
named the boy Nicholas. He soon gave unusual
signs of saintliness. Already at seven he would
hide away in a nearby cave and pray there like
the hermits whom he had observed in the
mountains.
STATION 3
His religious formation was greatly influenced by the
spirituality of the hermits of Brettino, one of the
congregations which came to form part of the "Grand
Union" of Augustinians in 1256, whose communities were
located in the region of the March where Nicholas was born
and raised. Characteristic of these early hermits of Brettino
were a great emphasis on poverty, rigorous practices of
fasting and abstinence, and long periods of the day
devoted to communal and private prayer.
After hearing the inspired preaching by Reginaldo da
Monterubbiano, Prior (local superior) of the Augustinian
monastery in Sant'Angelo, he felt a call to embrace the
religious life. His parents gave a joyful consent. His
piousness so impressed the Bishop of Fermo that he
permitted Nicholas to join the minor orders as young boy.
As soon as he was old enough he was received into the
Order of Augustinian friars and made his novitiate in 1261.
At age eighteen he made his profession and entered the
monastery at Tolentino where he was very active in
administering the sacraments to the local community. He
quickly won over the trust and love of the locals; he was
often called upon to pray for the deceased loved ones and
was affectionately referred to as the "Patron of Holy
Souls".
STATION 4
As Nicholas entered the Order at its inception
he learned to combine the ascetical practices
of the Brettini with the apostolic thrust which
the Church now invited the Augustinians to
practice. At times Nicholas devoted himself to
prayer and works of penance with such
intensity that it was necessary for his superiors
to impose limitations on him.
At one point he was so weakened through
fasting that he was encouraged in a vision of
Mary and the child Jesus to eat a piece of bread
signed with the cross and soaked in water, to
regain his strength.