vendredi 13 mars 2015

Bienheureux AGNELLO (AGNELLUS) da PISA, religieux franciscain


Bienheureux Agnel de Pise, religieux

Né à Pise vers 1194, compagnon de saint François d'Assise en 1212, envoyé par lui en France en 1217 comme provincial puis en Angleterre en 1224 pour créer la nouvelle province, il a assisté au chapitre général à Assise en 1230. Il meurt à Oxford en 1235/1236.

SOURCE : http://www.paroisse-saint-aygulf.fr/index.php/prieres-et-liturgie/saints-par-mois/icalrepeat.detail/2015/03/13/13671/-/bienheureux-agnel-de-pise-religieux

Saint Frère Ange

Un des six premiers compagnons de saint François d'Assise (+ v. 1235)

Bienheureux Agnel de Pise ou saint Ange. 

Né à Pise en Toscane, il est reçu chez les franciscains et chargé d'implanter l'Ordre en Angleterre. Avec huit compagnons, il fonde des couvents à Londres, à Cantorbery et à Oxford. Ils sont si pauvres que l'un d'entre eux faillit mourir de froid, faute de bois de chauffage. De nombreux étudiants d'Oxford se joignent à eux, dont le célèbre Roger Bacon. Angelo devint même le conseiller du roi Henri III et le porte-parole des évêques, ce qui lui permit de les réconcilier avec le Pape.

Né à Pise vers 1194, compagnon de saint François d'Assise en 1212, envoyé par lui en France en 1217 comme provincial puis en Angleterre en 1224 pour créer la nouvelle province, il a assisté au chapitre général à Assise en 1230. Il meurt à Oxford en 1235/1236. Culte confirmé par le pape Léon XII.

À Oxford en Angleterre, le bienheureux Agnel de Pise, qui fut envoyé par saint François en France, puis en Angleterre, où il établit l’Ordre des Mineurs et promut les sciences sacrées.

Martyrologe romain

SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/index.php?page=st&x1=799

AGNELLO DE PISE (BIENHEUREUX)

Le 25 novembre 2015 Non classé

Agnello de Pise (1194-1236)

Frère mineur, compagnon de François, custode de Paris, puis fondateur de la Province d’Angleterre.

Agnello est né à Pise, vers 1194. La tradition le situe dans la noble famille des Agnelli, mais cela reste incertain.. Au cours d’une prédication de saint François à Pise, étant encore adolescent, il résolut d’entrer chez les Frères mineurs et reçut l’habit des mains de François lui-même. Il se fit aussitôt remarquer par son ardeur à vivre selon la règle.

CUSTODE DE FRANCE 

En 1217, François avait désigné plusieurs frères pour se joindre au frère Pacifique de la Marche, chargé d’implanter la fraternité franciscaine en France. On ignore si Agnello fit partie de ce premier groupe, mais dès 1219, François le nommait custode de Paris, chargé d’y implanter un lieu pour les frères. Le pape Grégoire IX, pour faciliter l’implantation des frères hors d’Italie, avait publié la lettre Cum dilecti filii (11 juin 1219) pour les recommander aux évêques. L’historien Luc Wadding a publié une lettre d’obédience qu’il attribue à François et qui désigne Agnello comme custode en France, mais le texte en est probablement apocryphe.

MINISTRE PROVINCIAL D’ANGLETERRE 

Agnello ne demeura que peu de temps à Paris, car après le chapitre de 1224, François l’envoya fonder une province en Angleterre. Selon le récit de Thomas d’Eccleston, De adventu Fratrum minorum in Anglia, Frère Agnello était accompagné de 8 frères : cinq frères laïques et trois clercs. Agnello lui-même était diacre, il ne fut ordonné prêtre que quelques années plus tard, après avoir fréquenté le couvent d’études qu’il avait fondé à Oxford. Les frères se rendirent à Fécamp, bien accueillis dans la célèbre abbaye bénédictine, et obtinrent des moines d’être transportés outre-manche. Ils débarquèrent à Douvres, le 12 septembre 1224. Ils furent d’abord les hôtes des Frères prêcheurs d’Oxford, et obtinrent rapidement un terrain pour y édifier une petite maison de bois. Là, les frères recrutèrent rapidement d’autres frères parmi les étudiants de l’université, encouragés par le maître séculier Robert Grossetête, le chancelier, qui devint par la suite évêque de Lincoln et demeura toujours le protecteur des frères. Agnello n’était pas lui-même un intellectuel, mais il encouragea les frères à faire des études. Devenu prêtre, il se consacra à la prédication, à l’accueil des nouveaux frères et à la fondation de plusieurs maisons. Sa prudence, sa sagesse et sa sainteté étaient reconnues par tous. Sous l’impulsion d’Agnello, la province d’Angleterre se développa rapidement et dût se subdiviser en plusieurs custodies. Agnello fut un ministre provincial très actif, et sa réputation d’homme pacifique lui valut de nombreuses amitiés, dont celle des évêques britanniques qui le choisirent pour une mission auprès du pape, et celle du roi Henri III d’Angleterre qu’il conseilla pour éviter un grave conflit avec les Gallois. A l’âge de 42 ans, il tomba gravement malade et mourut à Oxford, le 13 mars 1236. Enseveli dans l’église du couvent d’Oxford, il fut l’objet d’un véritable culte. Quelques années après sa mort on retrouva son corps intact, et les frères lui élevèrent un mausolée qui subsista jusqu’à la ruine du couvent sous Henry VIII.

En 1882, le pape Léon XIII approuva son culte pour l’Ordre des Frères mineurs et pour le diocèse de Pise.

BIBLIOGRAPHIE

Grado Giovanni Merlo, Au nom de saint François, Cerf Histoire, Éditions franciscaines, Paris, 2006 pp. 74, 83, 94 et 99.

© 2019 - Ecole Franciscaine de Paris

SOURCE : http://ecole-franciscaine-de-paris.fr/agnello-de-pise-bienheureux/


Alexander of Hales (left bottom), Jon Duns Scotus (center bottom), William Ockham (right bottom), Agnellus of Pisa (center left) and John Gennings (center right) after Unknown artist line engraving, 17th century 6 3/4 in. x 4 3/4 in. (172 mm x 122 mm) paper size Given by the daughter of compiler William Fleming MD, Mary Elizabeth Stopford (née Fleming), 1931 Reference Collection


Blessed Agnellus of Pisa

Also known as

Agnello

Memorial

13 March

7 May (Franciscans)

Profile

Born to the Italian nobility. Received into the Franciscans by Saint Francis himself. Deacon. Custos of Saint-Denis, the first Franciscan friary in ParisFrance. Worked with the University of Paris. Appointed by Saint Francis to introduce the Franciscans into England in 1224. With eight associates he established houses in Canterbury and London, then a school for friars in Oxford. Friend of King Henry III. Helped prevent civil war between Henry and Earl Marshall. Known for his personal piety and his strict adherence to the Franciscan Rule, especially on the matter of poverty.

Born

c.1195 in PisaItaly

Died

7 May 1236 at OxfordEngland of dysentery

body reported incorrupt up to the time the Oxford house was dissolved by King Henry VIII

Beatified

4 September 1892 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmed)

Additional Information

Catholic Encyclopedia

New Catholic Dictionary

books

Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate

Dictionary of Saints, by John Delaney

Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints

other sites in english

Catholic Online

Catholic Online

Katherine Rabenstein

Medieval Religion Listserv, by John Dillon

Wikipedia

sitios en español

Martirologio Romano2001 edición

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Cathopedia

Santi e Beati

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Den katolske kirke

MLA Citation

“Blessed Agnellus of Pisa“. CatholicSaints.Info. 9 May 2020. Web. 12 March 2022. <https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-agnellus-of-pisa/>

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-agnellus-of-pisa/

Bl. Agnellus of Pisa

Friar Minor and founder of the English Franciscan Province, born at Pisa c. 1195, of the noble family of the Agnelli; died at Oxford, 7 May, 1236. In early youth he was received into the Seraphic Order by St. Francis himself, during the latter's sojourn in Pisa, and soon became an accomplished model of religious perfection. Sent by St. Francis to Paris he erected a convent there and became custos. Having returned to Italy, he was present at the so-called Chapter of Mats, and was sent thence by St. Francis to found the Order in England. Agnellus, then in deacon's orders, landed at Dover with nine other friars, 12 September, 1224, having been charitably conveyed from France by the monks of Fecamp. A few weeks afterwards they obtained a house at Oxford and there laid the foundations of the English Province, which became the exemplar for all the provinces of the order. Though not himself a learned man, he established a school for the friars at Oxford, which was destined to play no small part in the development of the university. But his solicitude extended beyond the immediate welfare of his brethren. He sent his friars about to preach the word of God to the faithful, and perform the other offices of the sacred ministry. Agnellus wielded considerable influence in affairs of state and in his efforts to avert civil war between the King and the Earl Marshal, who had leagued with the Welsh, he contracted a fatal illness. Eccleston has left us a brief account of his death. Agnellus's body, incorrupt, was preserved with great veneration at Oxford up to the dissolution of the religious houses in the time of Henry VIII. The cultus of Blessed Agnellus was formally confirmed by Leo XIII in 1882, and his feast is kept in the Order on 7 May.

Donovan, Stephen. "Bl. Agnellus of Pisa." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 13 Mar. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01212c.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Christopher Schaeffer.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Copyright © 2021 by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01212c.htm

Blessed Agnellus of Pisa, OFM (AC)

Born in Pisa, Italy, in 1194; died at Oxford, England, 1236; cultus confirmed in 1892. Saint Francis of Assisi himself received Agnellus as a Friar Minor and sent him to Paris to open a new house. Francis later appointed him the first Franciscan provincial in England. Agnellus landed in Dover in 1224 and founded houses at Canterbury and Oxford. He also spent time in London. He established a famous school at Oxford (Benedictines).

SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0313.shtml

Blessed Agnellus of Pisa

(Benedetto Agnello di Pisa)

Feast Day - March 13

It was the privilege of Blessed Agnellus to have been received into the order by St Francis himself. He descended from an ancient noble family at Pisa. The government of the Parisian province of the order was entrusted to him. Later on the holy Founder sent him to England with eight companions. Here Agnellus found it possible to establish several convents of his order and to unite them into a province. Due to his zeal and to his virtuous life, many young men, some from the most prominent families in England, took the habit of the Poor Man of Assisi.

In order to provide the young clerics with a thorough education he established a school of theology at Oxford. Meanwhile, however, he infused into them a great desire for perfection and a holy fidelity to the rule of the order, in all of which he led them by his own good example.

His humility was so profound that under no circumstances could be be prevailed upon to receive holy orders. Finally, however, he yielded in obedience to the general chapter. A great part of his time was devoted to meditation. At holy Mass and in choir he was so overcome with interior affections that he was frequently found weeping

Blessed Agnellus died the death of the saints in the year 1232, when he was but thirty-eight years old. His grave and the church in which he was buried were destroyed during the persecution of the Catholics in the reign of Henry VIII. Pope Leo XIII solemnly confirmed the uninterrupted veneration that had been accorded to Blessed Agnellus of Pisa.

Blessed Agnellus of Pisa knew that while the ambitious are always ill at ease as to whether or not they will be properly esteemed, or whether their dignity will be duly acknowledged, the humble live in continual peace of soul. They do not wait for approval and do not fear ill success. Their will is directed solely to the honor of God. They expect a reward from Him alone.

from: The Franciscan Book Of Saints, ed. by Marion Habig, OFM

SOURCE : http://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/blessed-agnellus-of-pisa.html

Blessed Agnellus of Pisa is remembered as the founder of the English Franciscan province, credited with bringing the Franciscan rule to Great Britain in 1224. Admitted into the Order by Saint Francis himself, Agnellus was a tireless missionary of God’s love, going wherever he was asked, enduring harsh and inhospitable conditions.

Born in Pisa of noble family, as a youth he encountered Saint Francis, and was admitted directly into the Seraphic Order, where he became known for his pursuit of holy perfection. Saint Francis, recognizing in this young man not only zeal for God’s law, but also the meekness and humility required to counsel great leaders, mediate misunderstandings, and secure the spread of the order. Saint Francis first dispatched Agnellus to Paris, where he erected a convent, and upon success was ordered to England to establish the province. Along with nine companions, Agnellus traveled to Dover in the winter of 1224, subsisting on the alms and kindness of those they encountered, truly living the rule of poverty. They survived the winter, eating little but bread and fermented beer. Within months, Agnellus had secured a house in Oxford, which eventually became the examplar for all Franciscan provinces. Agnellus, despite his lack of personal schooling, established a school for friars at Oxford, which led to the development of the university there.

Blessed Agnellus sent his brothers across the region, and throughout Europe, spreading the word of God. He was counselor to Kings and Prices, and worked tirelessly to assist these leaders in finding political options in avoidance of war and suffering. Given his strict observance of the rule of poverty, his frequent fasting and mortification, and his travels, is was not surprising when he contracted a fatal disease. Upon returning to Oxford, he eagerly awaited death, crying out repeatedly for three days, “Come, Sweetest Jesus, Come!” His body, incorrupt, was buried in Oxford.

SOURCE : http://365rosaries.blogspot.ca/2010/03/march-13-blessed-agnellus-of-pisa-saint.html

St. Agnellus of Pisa

Franciscan founder and diplomat. He was born in Pisa, a member of the noble Agnelli clan. St. Francis of Assisi personally received Agnellus into his order and sent him to Paris to start a Franciscan mission there. Agnellus also attended the "Chapter of Mats" and was then sent by St. Francis to England. Agnellus was only a deacon at the time. He and nine other Franciscans landed in Dover on September 12, 1224. They obtained a house in Oxford and began the Franciscan English Province. He became a friend of King Henry Ill (r. 1216-1272), who admired the saint's purity and holiness, calling upon Agnellus to avert a civil war between the throne and the Earl Marshal. Agnellus worked to calm the situation, contracting a serious illness in the process. He died in Oxford on May 7, 1236, and the body remained incorrupt, venerated in Oxford until the reign of King Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547) and the dissolution of the English religious houses. Pope Leo XIII declared Agnellus' beatification in 1882.

SOURCE : http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=1177

Blessed Agnellus of Pisa

As a missionary, St. Agnellus took the Franciscan way of life—poverty, simplicity, prayerfulness, community—to England in both word and deed.

He was born to a family of nobles in Pisa, Italy, in 1195. St. Francis himself received him into the Franciscan order. Even though he was a deacon, he was sent to Paris to start a Franciscan mission there. From there, he was sent to England with nine other Franciscans.

True to the spirit of St. Francis, they set out for England with no money. A monastery near the coast paid for their passage to Dover. When they arrived, they settled at Canterbury in a building that was used as a school by day. They had to stay huddled in a back room while students were in the building, and after they had left, the Franciscans could come out and make themselves feel at home with a fire. For sustenance, they had only a little bread and a thick beer that had to be diluted with water. These conditions, however, did not dampen their spirits and they were quickly known for their simple piety, cheerfulness, and enthusiasm. The community grew and they secured a place to live in London and a school at Oxford.

King Henry III befriended Agnellus, and admired his holiness and purity. He asked Agnellus to serve as a diplomat and to negotiate a dispute between the king and an earl that threatened civil war.

Agnellus was known as a deeply prayerful man. He shed tears continually during Mass because he was moved so deeply, but he did not make any kind of show of his piety. He strictly followed a commitment to poverty. He only consented to build anything when it was a last resort, it was said, and one of the infirmaries was built so simply that its ceilings were only barely higher than a person.

He died at the age of 41 of natural causes in 1236, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.

Blessed Agnellus, you were the Franciscan missionary who founded centers of study and prayer in England--pray for us!

SOURCE : http://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sid=1210&gid=609&pgid=13749&cid=28560&ecid=28560&crid=0

Blessed Agnellus of Pisa

Dates: 1194? - 1235/6 

Memorial Day: 10th September

Agnellus was probably born around 1194 to a noble Pisan family. He met St. Francis during the latter's preaching tour of Tuscany in 1212. In 1217 Agnellus was sent to found the first friary in Paris, where he later became Custos (responsible for a group of friaries within a province).

At the 1223 General Chapter the friars adopted the plan of establishing themselves in England. Previous experience had taught them that these establishments needed to be well planned and so Agnellus, supported by the Minister Provincial of France, Gregory of Naples, prepared the introduction of the Friars to England with care. He included five Englishmen within the group of 9 friars who, according to the chronicler Thomas of Eccleston, arrived in England on 10th September 1224. 

Leaving a group in Canterbury, the ecclesiastical capital of England, Agnellus went on to found friaries in London and Oxford, the political and intellectual capitals of the country. At Oxford he founded a school at the friary where the brilliant Robert Grosseteste, later Bishop of Lincoln, was the first teacher of the Friars.

His careful planning bore abundant fruit and 23 friaries were founded in the Province by the time of his death. Within 50 years there were 1,500 Friars in the Province of England.

In 1233 Agnellus was an envoy of King Henry III of England to the rebellious Richard Marshall, Earl of Pembroke and in 1234 he was part of a delegation representing the English Bishops at the Roman Curia.

Agnellus died after a short illness at the friary in Oxford on 13th March in either 1235 or 1236. He was buried there before the high altar and, a few years later, his body was found still incorrupt. 

The Oxford friary and church were sadly destroyed during the time of Henry VIII and the site is now only marked by a plaque to Roger Bacon on a wall nearby. It is impossible to verify without an archaeological dig, but many believe that Agnellus is still buried there.

His cult was confirmed by Pope Leo XIII on 30th August 1892 and he is remembered at the altar on 13th March.

SOURCE : http://www.friar.org/saints-and-blessed


Beato Agnello da Pisa Francescano

13 marzo

Pisa, 1194 circa - Oxford, Inghilterra, 1235/1236

Fu compagno di san Francesco d’Assisi dal 1212; da lui fu inviato nel 1217 in Francia come provinciale e poi nel 1224 in Inghilterra per istituirvi la nuova provincia francescana. Assisté al capitolo generale di Assisi nel 1230. Culto confermato da Papa Leone XII.

Etimologia: Agnello = messaggero, dal greco

Martirologio Romano: A Oxford in Inghilterra, beato Agnello da Pisa, sacerdote, che, mandato da san Francesco prima in Francia e poi in Inghilterra, vi istituì l’Ordine dei Minori e promosse lo studio delle scienze sacre. 

Nel 1211, dopo una visita di S. Francesco, i Francescani si insediarono a Pisa. In quell’occasione il giovane Agnello conobbe il santo d’Assisi e, attratto dal suo ideale di vita, entrò nel primitivo convento, sorto presso la chiesa della SS. Trinità.

Nel Capitolo Generale del 1217 si decise che un gruppo di frati si sarebbe recato in Francia. Francesco cominciò il viaggio ma, incontrato lungo la strada il Cardinale Ugolino (futuro Papa Gregorio IX), dietro sue insistenze, decise di restare in Italia. A capo della spedizione fu posto Agnello, che era ancora un diacono. Giunti a Parigi, Agnello aprì nei dintorni alcuni conventi ed ebbe la felice intuizione di fondare una comunità per i francescani studenti universitari, considerando che la capitale francese era tra le più importanti dal punto di vista culturale. Dopo sette anni S. Francesco nominò nuovamente Agnello capo di una missione, composta da otto frati, questa volta diretta in Inghilterra. Tra questi vi erano tre inglesi, tra cui un sacerdote, Riccardo di Ingworth.

Passato il Canale della Manica, il gruppo sbarcò nell’isola il 10 settembre 1224. Si insediarono a Canterbury, trovando per qualche tempo soggiorno notturno presso una scuola, quando era chiusa agli studenti. Sopportarono molti disagi per le temperature rigide e per il poco cibo, ma il loro contegno e il loro entusiasmo destarono molta ammirazione. Ricevettero in dono, poi, un terreno poco ospitale su cui costruirono un convento. Da qui, due inglesi e due italiani, tra cui Agnello, si recarono a Londra dove, dopo essere stati accolti dai Domenicani, affittarono una casa. Grazie alle numerose vocazioni fu successivamente aperto un convento anche a Oxford con scuola teologica che grazie al Beato di Pisa, assunse un’importanza straordinaria.

Fedeli a “sorella povertà”, in tutti i conventi si viveva in modo austero e il tempo da dedicare agli studi non doveva compromettere la preghiera. Anche a Cambridge venne fondata una importante facoltà teologica, che però non eguagliò quella di Oxford. Il Beato Agnello, la cui fama di santità in vita raggiunse Re Enrico III, fu punto di riferimento anche per i secoli a venire. Tra i maggiori teologi che studieranno in seguito nelle scuole da lui fondate, basti citare Bacone e il Beato Duns Scoto.

Il Beato, nonostante la malferma salute, volle tornare brevemente in Italia. Ristabilitosi ad Oxford, morì il 13 marzo del 1235 o 1236, a soli quarantuno anni.

Il suo culto è stato confermato da Papa Leone XIII il 4 settembre 1892.

Autore: Daniele Bolognini

SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90358

AGNELLO da Pisa

di Riccardo Pratesi - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 1 (1960)

AGNELLO da Pisa. - Nato intorno al 1194 a Pisa dalla nobile famiglia degli Agnelli, secondo una tradizione non documentata, fu ricevuto nella famiglia francescana dallo stesso s. Francesco, di passaggio da Pisa nella sua missione in Toscana del 1211-1212. Destinato in Francia da s. Francesco (1217), fu custode dei conventi della regione parigina. Nel capitolo generale del 1223, essendo solamente diacono e appena trentenne, ebbe l'incarico d'introdurre l'ordine minoritico in Inghilterra, dove egli si recò nel 1224 con altri otto confratelli: la provincia inglese si distinse ben presto non tanto per il numero delle Case (raggruppate poi in sei custodie) e dei religiosi, quanto per la virtù e la dottrina dei suoi componenti. Convinto che fosse opportuna per i suoi confratelli una buona formazione culturale, fondò ad Oxford una scuola teologica, dove invitò come docente lo stesso cancelliere dell'università Roberto Grossatesta.

A. ritornò in Italia nel 1230 per il capitolo generale e, ancora poco tempo dopo, per trattare con la Curia romana alcuni affari riguardanti il clero inglese e le relazioni di questo con i religiosi, ottenendo dal papa Gregorio IX assicurazioni per gli stessi. Amico della corte e specialmente del re Enrico III, suo munifico benefattore, si adoperò per ristabilire buoni rapporti tra questo e il duca del Galles, non risparmiandosi disagi e viaggi. Morì nel convento di Oxford il 13 marzo 1235 o 1236 e qui fu sepolto.

Qualche anno più tardi, in occasione di una traslazione, la sua salma fu trovata incorrotta e anche per questo gli fu eretto un monumento, che sparì con la distruzione della chiesa e del convento di Oxford al tempo dello scisma di Enrico VIII.

Il culto prestatogli ininterrottamente nell'Ordine dei frati minori e a Pisa e in Inghilterra fino al sec. XVI fu confermato il 30 ag. 1892 da Leone XIII, che lo dichiarò beato. I francescani ne celebrano la festa il 13 marzo.

Fonti e Bibl.: T. Eccleston, De adventu Fratrum Minorum in Angliam, di cui si hanno quattro edizioni: la prima in Monumenta Franciscana, I, a cura di J. S. Brewer, London 1858, pp. 5-72; la seconda in Analecta Franciscana, I (1885), pp. 217-255; la terza, a cura di A. G. Little, Paris 1909, fu poi nuovamente edita a Manchester, nel 1952, da J. R. H. Moorman sul manoscritto preparato dallo stesso Little. Una modesta biografia è quella di C. Mariotti, Il Beato A. da P., Roma 1895; notizie criticamente accertate in E. Cristiani, I dati biografici e i riferimenti politici dei rimatori pisani del Dugento, in Studi Mediolatini e Volgari, III (1955),p. 9.

SOURCE : https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/agnello-da-pisa_(Dizionario-Biografico)

Den salige Agnellus av Pisa (~1194-1235/36)

Minnedag: 13. mars

Den salige Agnellus (it: Agnello) ble født rundt 1194 i Pisa i regionen Toscana i Midt-Italia. Han kom fra den adelige familien Agnelli. Han ble opptatt i fransiskanerordenen (Ordo Fratrum Minorum – OFM) av den hellige Frans av Assisi selv da han besøkte Pisa, trolig i 1211. Et kloster ble grunnlagt i byen, og der opplevde Agnellus å bli båret av sted på den første bølgen av den tidlige fransiskanske gløden.

På kapittelet i 1217 ble det bestemt at brødrene skulle utvide sin virksomhet til Frankrike. Frans ønsket å reise sammen med gruppen og fulgte dem også et stykke på veien, men i et tilfeldig møte med kardinal Ugolino, den fremtidige pave Gregor IX (1227-41), ble han overtalt til å akseptere at hans plass heller var i Italia. Frans selv utnevnte Agnellus, som da var diakon, som leder for gruppen, som skulle fortsette som planlagt.

Abbeden av Saint-Denis ga brødrene tillatelse til å bruke et hus, og i løpet av svært kort tid åpnet brødrene andre hus i regionen rundt Paris, som Agnellus var custos for i noen år. Men det viktigste skrittet som Agnellus tok i Paris var å starte et nytt kloster der for de fransiskanske studentene ved universitetet, og dermed startet han forbindelsen mellom fransiskanerne og det mest innflytelsesrike utdanningssenteret i middelalderen. Etter å ha vendt tilbake til Italia var Agnellus også til stede på det såkalte «Mattekapitlet».

Syv år etter at Agnellus kom til Frankrike gjorde Frans ham i 1224 til leder for en gruppe på åtte brødre som skulle reise til England og grunnlegge fransiskanerklostre der, og han ble ordenes første provinsial i England. Det var tre engelskmenn i gruppen, og en av dem, Richard av Ingworth, var presteviet, mens Agnellus fortsatt bare var diakon. Gruppen ble mottatt gjestfritt på den franske siden av kanalen av munkene i Fécamp, som i tillegg betalte reisen til Dover. Dit kom de den 10. september 1224 og fortsatte til Canterbury, hvor de ble innlosjert i De fattige prestenes hus og sov i en bygning som ble brukt til skole på dagtid. Mens elevene var der, var brødrene stuet sammen i et lite rom på baksiden, og først da guttene var gått hjem, kunne brødrene komme frem og tenne opp i ovnen.

Det var vinter, og de må ha hatt det svært ukomfortabelt, særlig ettersom kosten deres bare besto av brød og fortynnet øl. Deres munterhet og glød gjorde at de vant beundring fra erkebiskop Stephen Langton av Canterbury, som så i dem en legemliggjøring av apostlenes ånd og refererte til dem som «Brødre av apostlenes orden». Etter hvert fikk de et stykke land av forstanderen i De fattige prestenes hus. Det var sumpaktig og udrenert, men der bygde de seg hytter hvor de bodde i rundt femti år.

De to engelske brødrene Richard av Ingworth og Richard av Devon hadde straks dratt til London sammen med to italienske brødre. Der ble de varmt mottatt av dominikanerbrødrene, som ga dem husrom i to uker inntil de fikk leie sitt eget hus i Cornhill. De to engelske brødrene fortsatte da til Oxford, mens Agnellus dro opp til London for å overta ledelsen av klosteret i Cornhill. Et år senere flyttet brødrene fra Cornhill til et hus i Stinking Lane – et navn som sier noe om strøket. Huset der ble i 1229 utvidet på grunn av det store antallet av kall. Agnellus selv var sterkt gjennomsyret av Frans' fattigdomsideal, og han ville ikke tillate brødrene å motta mer land en det som var strengt nødvendig eller å ha store bygninger. Senere, da en sykestue ble bygd til klosteret i Oxford, gjorde han takhøyden så lav at en mann av normal høyde bare så vidt kunne stå oppreist der.

Rekruttering var trolig hovedformålet for å fortsette til Oxford, men den teologiske skolen som Agnellus etablerte der, skulle bli av umåtelig betydning både for fransiskanernes engelske provins og for universitetet i Oxford. Agnellus selv var ingen lærd mann, og det kan heller ikke sies at Frans var en entusiastisk forkjemper for studier – han var mer opptatt av at hans brødre kunne miste sin enkelhet ved å falle som ofre for tomme ambisjoner. Lærdom var en god ting, så sant den ikke slukket bønnens ånd eller hindre arbeidet til Den Hellige Ånd.

Den engelske provinsen tok opp i seg Agnellus' ånd til en slik grad at selv om dens akademiske standard var den høyeste i ordenen, var deres iver for fattigdomsidealet like fremtredende. Haymo av Faversham, en engelsk fransiskaner som hadde sluttet seg til ordenen i Paris, var lederen for gruppen som utfordret og avsatte Elias, den kontroversielle ordensgeneralen som med sin mangel på sans for fattigdomsidealet hadde opprørt flertallet av brødre. Den engelske provinsen balanserte stødig i de etterfølgende kontroversene i ordenen omkring fattigdomsspørsmålet, og kunne regnes med å være frittalende i spørsmålet på generalkapitlene. Johannes Buralli ønsket at «en slik provins burde plasseres i verdens sentrum slik at alle kunne følge dens eksempel».

Fransiskanernes ankomst til Cambridge bidro til etableringen av et teologisk fakultet der, selv om Cambridge aldri oppnådde den samme betydningen som Oxford i den fransiskanske verden. Mange strålende vitenskapsmenn fra Oxford var forbundet med fransiskanerne: Robert Grosseteste, hvis tjenester som foreleser Agnellus sikret seg nesten helt fra starten på skolen og som kan sies å ha etablert dens ry, ble fulgt av fire andre sekulære magistere før fransiskanerne selv tok over posten. Blant disse var Adam Marsh, Thomas av York, Richard Rufus av Cornwall, John av Wales og de intellektuelle kjempene Roger Bacon, den salige Johannes Duns Scotus og William av Ockham.

Agnellus kunne ikke forutse den intellektuelle briljansen som skulle karakterisere den engelske provinsen og heller ikke den åndelige innflytelsen til så mange menn som var viet til Frans' idealer. Det som var viktig, var at han levde ut disse idealene og satte et levende eksempel på hva det var å være fransiskaner til de unge engelske brødrene han tok opp i ordenen. Hans ry for hellighet var ikke mindre blant legfolket. Han var en venn av kong Henrik III (1216-72), som beundret hans renhet og hellighet, og i 1233 ble han på grunn av sin vennlighet og takt valgt til å føre forhandlingene med den opprørske jarl Marshall. Agnellus arbeidet for å roe situasjonen, men det ble sagt at hans helse ble undergravet i dette arbeidet og av en siste smertefull reise til Italia.

Ved sin retur til Oxford fikk han dysenteri og døde der den 13. mars 1236 (eller 1235), bare 41 år gammel, etter at han i tre dager hadde ropt: «Kom, kjære Jesus» [kilden Catholic Encyclopedia skriver at han døde den 7. mai 1236]. Hans legeme forble intakt, og det ble æret i Oxford til Henrik VIIIs tid (1509-47) og oppløsningen av de engelske klostrene. Han ble saligkåret den 4. september 1892 ved at hans kult ble stadfestet av pave Leo XIII (1878-1903). Hans minnedag er dødsdagen 13. mars, mens fransiskanerne feirer ham den 7. mai. Han feires i erkebispedømmet Birmingham og i fransiskanerordenen.

Kilder: Attwater/Cumming, Butler (III), Benedictines, Bunson, Index99, KIR, CE, CSO, Patron Saints SQPN, Infocatho, Bautz, santiebeati.it - Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden - Opprettet: 2000-08-12 01:21 - Sist oppdatert: 2006-07-06 10:58

SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/apisa