Bienheureux Jean de Verceil
Maître
général de l'ordre des frères prêcheurs (✝ 1283)
Né
dans la province de Verceil en Italie, il était maître en droit canon de
l'Université de Paris lors de son entrée dans l'Ordre dominicain. Elu 6ème
maître de l'Ordre au chapitre de Paris en juin 1264, il demeura en charge
pendant vingt ans. Il recourut plusieurs fois aux conseils théologiques de saint
Thomas d'Aquin et prit sa défense quand celui-ci fut attaqué par
l'évêque de Paris. Il eut une grande influence au concile de Lyon en 1274.
C'est lui qui fit édifier à Bologne le tombeau de saint
Dominique. Austère et pacifique, voyageur infatigable, il promut
avec force l'étude, la pauvreté et la prédication évangélique. Il mourut à
Montpellier le 29 novembre 1283.
À Montpellier, en 1283, le bienheureux Jean de Verceil, prêtre, maître général de l’Ordre des Prêcheurs, qui prêcha avec force le respect dû au nom de Jésus.
Martyrologe
romain
Bienheureux Jean de Verceil
Général
des Frères PrêcheursFête le 1er décembre
Verceil, Piémont – † Montpellier, Hérault, 29 novembre 1283
Né dans la province de Verceil en Italie, il était maître en droit canon de l’Université de Paris lors de son entrée dans l’Ordre dominicain. Élu sixième maître de l’Ordre au chapitre de Paris en juin 1264, il demeura en charge pendant vingt ans. Il recourut plusieurs fois aux conseils théologiques de saint Thomas d’Aquin et prit sa défense quand celui-ci fut attaqué par l’évêque de Paris. Il eut une grande influence au concile de Lyon en 1274. C’est lui qui fit édifier à Bologne le tombeau de saint Dominique. Austère et pacifique, voyageur infatigable, il promut avec force, l’étude, la pauvreté et la prédication évangélique. Il mourut à Montpellier le 29 novembre 1283.
SOURCE : http://www.martyretsaint.com/jean-de-verceil/
Blessed John of Vercelli, OP (AC)
(also known as John Garbella)
Born at Mosso Santa Maria (near Vercelli), Italy; died at Montpellier, France,
in 1283; cultus approved in 1903.
John Garbella was
born early in the 13th century, somewhere near Vercelli. He studied at Paris
and was ordained priest before 1229. He taught canon law at the University of
Paris. While he was professor there, Jordan of Saxony (who was a friend of
Saint Albert the Great) came to Paris, and John saw one after another of his
best pupils desert their careers to join the Dominicans. He seems to have
considered them quite objectively, without reference to himself, until he day
an interior voice spoke to him that it was God's will for him to join the
Dominicans. No one can say that John did not respond with alacrity; he dropped
everything and ran down the street. ("Let me go; I am on my way to
God!") Jordan received him happily and gave him the habit.
In 1232, John was
sent to Vercelli to establish a convent there. He built this and several other
convents in Lombardy as houses of regular observance. While provincial of
Lombardy, he also became inquisitor. It was a particularly difficult moment.
His brother in religion, Peter of Verona, had just been killed by the heretics
in Como. The entire countryside was in a state of war, with roving bands of
heretics and robbers. It was the task of the new inquisitor to try to bring
order out of this chaos, and what John did was remarkable, considering the
situation. In spite of his heavy labors, which included the supervision of 600
friars in 28 different cities (he reached them only by walking), John of
Vercelli established the ideals of study and regular observance in all of his
houses.
It was the good
fortune of John of Vercelli to live in an age that was well peopled by saints.
He formed a close friendship with Saint Louis, the king of France. Several of
his tasks in the order, particularly the Commission on the Program of Studies,
he shared with Saint Albert the Great, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Peter of
Tarentaise (the future Pope Innocent V). In such company one would need to have
a superior set of talents; John did.
In 1264 the chapter
of the order met at Paris. Blessed Humbert had resigned as master general of
the order. John went to the chapter hoping that he could resign as provincial
of Lombardy. Instead of escaping one office, he fell heir to a still more
difficult one. He was elected master general in 1264 and served in that
capacity until 1283. John was then a man in his sixties and was, moreover,
handicapped by a crippled leg. However, he accepted the office which would
require him to walk, not only all over Lombardy, but all over Europe. It took a
brand of courage and obedience that was little short of heroic.
During the
generalate of John of Vercelli, the relics of Saint Dominic were transferred to
the new tomb that had been prepared for it by Nicholas of Pisa. When the
transfer was made, John of Vercelli fixed his seal on the tomb; the seals were
still intact on their examination in 1946. During the translation of the
relics, according to the account in the Vitae Fratrum, when the body of Saint
Dominic was exposed to view, the head was seen to turn towards John of
Vercelli. John, embarrassed, moved to another part of the church and gave his
place to a cardinal. Whereupon, the head of Saint Dominic was seen by all to
turn again in John's direction.
On the death of
Clement IV, John of Vercelli was very nearly elected pope. Being warned of the
possibility, he fled in fright. However, his good friend Cardinal Visconti, was
elected and took the name Gregory X. He appointed John as legate on several
different missions.
He was commissioned
by the pope to draw up the Schema for the second ecumenical council of Lyons in
1274--that council to which Saint Thomas Aquinas was hurrying when death found
him on the road. At the council John distinguished himself for his assistance
by offering to the council the talents of his best men. At the council, he
accepted for the Dominican Order the special commission of promoting reverence
for the Holy Name of Jesus and fighting blasphemy, which was, in that day as in
ours, a prevalent vice. He can thus be considered the founder of the Holy Name
Society, even though the Confraternity was not formed until 1432.
Several precious
relics were suitably enshrined by John of Vercelli. These included several
thorns from the Crown of Our Lord, which had been given him by Saint Louis of
France. The cord of Saint Thomas, with which he had been guided by the angels
and which he had worn until death, was given into the care of the master
general, who gave it to the convent of Vercelli for safe keeping.
John's career was
rapidly reaching its end. In 1279, he presided over the famous chapter of Paris
at which the order made the doctrine of Saint Thomas officially its own. The
following year he laid the foundations of the Church of Santa Maria Sopra
Minerva. One of his last official acts was to provide for a work on the
instruction of novices (Benedictines, Dorcy).
Blessed John of Vercelli, C.O.P.
(also known as John Garbella)
Memorial
Day: December 1st
Profile
John Garbella was born early
in the 13th century, somewhere near Vercelli. He studied at Paris and was
ordained priest before 1229. He taught canon law at the University of Paris.
While he was professor there, Jordan of Saxony (who was a friend of Saint Albert
the Great) came to Paris, and John saw one after another of his best pupils
desert their careers to join the Dominicans. He seems to have considered them
quite objectively, without reference to himself, until one day he had an
interior voice that spoke to him that it was God's will for him to join the
Dominicans. No one can say that John did not respond with alacrity; he dropped
everything and ran down the street. ("Let me go; I am on my way to
God!") Jordan received him happily and gave him the habit.
In 1232, John was sent to Vercelli to establish a convent there. He built this
and several other convents in Lombardy as houses of regular observance. While
provincial of Lombardy, he also became inquisitor. It was a particularly difficult
moment. His brother in religion, Peter of Verona, had just been killed by the
heretics in Como. The entire countryside was in a state of war, with roving
bands of heretics and robbers. It was the task of the new inquisitor to try to
bring order out of this chaos, and what John did was remarkable, considering
the situation. In spite of his heavy labors, which included the supervision of
600 friars in 28 different cities (he reached them only by walking), John of
Vercelli established the ideals of study and regular observance in all of his
houses.
It was the good fortune of John of Vercelli to live in an age that was well
peopled by saints. He formed a close friendship with Saint Louis, the king of
France. Several of his tasks in the order, particularly the Commission on the
Program of Studies, he shared with Saint Albert the Great, Saint Thomas
Aquinas, and Peter of Tarentaise (the future Pope Innocent V). In such company
one would need to have a superior set of talents; John did.
In 1264 the chapter of the order met at Paris. Blessed Humbert had resigned as
master general of the order. John went to the chapter hoping that he could
resign as provincial of Lombardy. Instead of escaping one office, he fell heir
to a still more difficult one. He was elected master general in 1264 and served
in that capacity until 1283. John was then a man in his sixties and was,
moreover, handicapped by a crippled leg. However, he accepted the office which
would require him to walk, not only all over Lombardy, but all over Europe. It
took a brand of courage and obedience that was little short of heroic.
During the generalate of John of Vercelli, the relics of Saint Dominic were
transferred to the new tomb that had been prepared for it by Nicholas of Pisa.
When the transfer was made, John of Vercelli fixed his seal on the tomb; the
seals were still intact on their examination in 1946. During the translation of
the relics, according to the account in the Vitae Fratrum, when
the body of Saint Dominic was exposed to view, the head was seen to turn
towards John of Vercelli. John, embarrassed, moved to another part of the
church and gave his place to a cardinal. Whereupon, the head of Saint Dominic
was seen by all to turn again in John's direction.
On the death of Clement IV, John of Vercelli was very nearly elected pope.
Being warned of the possibility, he fled in fright. However, his good friend
Cardinal Visconti, was elected and took the name Gregory X. He appointed John
as legate on several different missions.
He was commissioned by the pope to draw up the Schema for the second ecumenical
council of Lyons in 1274--that council to which Saint Thomas Aquinas was
hurrying when death found him on the road. At the council John distinguished
himself for his assistance by offering to the council the talents of his best
men. At the council, he accepted for the Dominican Order the special commission
of promoting reverence for the Holy Name of Jesus and fighting blasphemy, which
was, in that day as in ours, a prevalent vice. He can thus be considered the
founder of the Holy Name Society, even though the Confraternity was not formed
until 1432.
Several precious relics were suitably enshrined by John of Vercelli. These
included several thorns from the Crown of Our Lord, which had been given him by
Saint Louis of France. The cord of Saint Thomas, with which he had been guided
by the angels and which he had worn until death, was given into the care of the
master general, who gave it to the convent of Vercelli for safe keeping.
John's career was rapidly reaching its end. In 1279, he presided over the
famous chapter of Paris at which the order made the doctrine of Saint Thomas
officially its own. The following year he laid the foundations of the Church of
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. One of his last official acts was to provide for a
work on the instruction of novices (Benedictines, Dorcy).
Born: 1205 at Mosso Santa Maria, Italy as John
Garbella
Died: September 1283 at Montpelier, France of natural
causes; buried at the Dominican convent at Montpelier; his tomb was desecrated
by Calvinists in 1562, and his body disappeared
Beatified: 1903 by Pope Pius X (cultus confirmed), 1909
elevated him to the honors of the altar
Name meaning: God is gracious; gift of God (John)
Patronage: Holy Name Society
Prayers/Commemorations
First Vespers:
Ant. Strengthened by holy intercession, O John , Confessor of the Lord,
those here present , that we who are burdened the weight of our offenses. Maybe
relieved by the glory of thy blessedness, and may thy guidance attain eternal
rewards.
V. Pray for us, Blessed John .
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ
Lauds:
Ant. Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been
faithful in a few things, I will set thee over many, saith the Lord.
V. The just man shall blossom like the lily.
R. And shall flourish forever the Lord.
Second Vespers:
Ant. I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock.
V. Pray for us, Blessed John
R. That we may be made worthy of the Promises of Christ.
Prayer
Let us Pray: O God, who hast willed that Blessed John should
shine with wonderful prudence and fortitude: grant through his intervention
that Thy family may always and in all places be governed by salutary
discipline. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Novena Prayers
FIRST DAY: John Garbella was born in
Vercelli, a town of northern Italy, in 1205. He was a very bright, studious
boy, and because of his great promise, he was sent to the University of Paris
where he eventually gained the Doctorate in law. He remained there as a
teacher, and later returned to Vercelli to begin a university in his home town.
His love of learning and constant study prepared him well for his future as a
leader in the Church.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, source of all
Truth, You sent your divine Son into the world to share with us the truth that
makes us free – free to seek You with quiet minds and joyous hearts. Through
the intercession of Blessed John of Vercelli, grant us a deep love of sacred
truth, and a growing desire to know You more clearly and love You with greater
ardor. We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who lives and
reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
SECOND DAY: When Blessed John was about
25 years old, and busy at his teaching in Vercelli, there came to that town the
head of the newly-founded Order of Preachers, or Dominicans, as they were called
because of Dominic, their founder. This successor of the great preacher,
Dominic, preached so movingly that the young professor, John Garbella, was
touched by God’s grace to ask for admittance to the new Order of Preachers.
Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the Dominican Master General, gave him the habit of
the Friars Preachers, and sent him to the city of Bologna to begin his
preparation for the priesthood, and for an outstanding career in the history of
the Order and the Church.
Let us pray: Lord, our God, You have
planted deep in the heart of man a thirst for the truth, and a desire to attain
union with You in love. As the young John of Vercelli sought the truth, and
surrendered himself lovingly to your vocation to a great apostolate, grant that
we, too, may seek You with constancy, and serve You with all our hearts.
Through the intercession of Blessed John, we ask in particular that You attract
the hearts of many young people to your gospel, your love, and a vocation of
service in your Church as priests and religious. We ask this in the name of
Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
THIRD DAY: After 15 years of sacred
study and very successful preaching in the university city of Bologna, John was
sent back to his home town of Vercelli to establish a Dominican priory there.
He was made its superior. The small states of those times were wracked with war
between the Germanic emperor and the papal states. John’s remarkable gift of
peace-making became evident, and he was sent to Venice to reconcile that
city-stae with its former enemies. He succeeded so well at this, that for the
rest of his life, the Popes made use of his sanctity, prudence, and diplomacy
to establish peace between warring rulers and states.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, You have
revealed yourself to us as a God of peace, justice, and unity. Through the
grace of your divine Son, the Prince of Peace, bring peace to our divided
world, justice for all men, unity to the human family. Through the intercession
of Blessed John, help us root out of our own hearts the pride, selfishness, and
indifference to others that lie at the root of discord and disunity. Make us
truly peacemakers, as befits those who call themselves Christians. We ask this
in the most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with
You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
FOURTH DAY: God’s grace continued to
bear much fruit in the life of Blessed John. His religious superiors sent his
as official visitator to the newly established houses in Hungary; he was
elected Prior of the large priory in Bologna; he was likewise appointed
spiritual guide of the Dominican nuns in that city. At the age of 52, he was
elected Provincial of the province of Lombardy, and in that position, had to
fight the heresies that had sprung up in northern Italy. In all of his works,
he turned to God through prayer and the sacraments as his source of remarkable
success in the vineyard of the Lord.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, You gave to each
of us a mission – a task in your kingdom. And you likewise prepare for us the
graces we need to accomplish our tasks with success, so as to contribute to the
extension of your kingdom, and our own sanctification. Let us imitate Blessed
John in turning constantly to You, for the strength, the wisdom, and the
resources to do your holy will and thus attain our salvation. We ask this in
the most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
FIFTH DAY: In the year 1264, at the age
of 59, Blessed John was elected Master General of the Dominican Order, the
fifth successor of St. Dominic himself. He did not believe himself worthy of
the great trust. He wrote to his brethren: "My fears at my inability
should be yours as well, wherefore I beg you to give me the help of your
prayers so that divine mercy may supply that which I lack in my own
strength". As Master General, he combatted the growing spirit of
competition between the nations, so as to establish a truly catholic spirit
within the spreading Order. He provided a uniform way of celebrating the sacred
liturgy for the entire Order, thus ensuring the dignity and beauty of divine
worship, and he counselled his priests and brothers constantly to be men of
prayer and penance.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, Your divine
Son commands us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His holiness".
Make us truly men and women of prayer, frequenting the sacraments, loving God
and our neighbor, and conforming ourselves to Christ, our savior. Through the
intercession of Blessed John, grant that we may always give to you the first
priority in our lives, and love You with our whole heart, our whole mind, our
whole strength. We ask this in the most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns, with You and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
SIXTH DAY: Pope Clement IV had such
admiration for Blessed John, and depended so heavily upon his wisdom and
counsel that the Pope requested that John go to live in Viterbo, where the
papal court was then located. Blessed John remained with the Pope until Clement
died. A number of cardinals wished to elect Blessed John, but he had no such
ambition, and was destined to govern his own Order, until his death. Again, he
was called upon to make peace between the feuding states of Venice and Genoa,
and between France and Castille. He wrote to his priests and brothers:
"Watch the little things. He who grows careless in little things, little
by little falls. He who does not push himself to make progress, goes
backward."
Let us pray: Lord, our God, grant us the
generosity to seek opportunities for doing good; the prudence to do it wisely
and well; and the humility to rely upon God for all that we need, and to trust
in Him unquestioningly. In imitation of Blessed John, help us to be true
apostles of Jesus, our Lord, and faithful followers of His gospel of peace and
humility. We ask this in the most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord, who
lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
SEVENTH DAY: In April, 1273, Pope Gregory
X announced an ecumenical council to be convoked in May, 1274, in the city of
Lyons in southeastern France. Among the acts of that council, in which Blessed
John actively participated, was a decree that greater reverence, should be paid
to the Holy Name of Jesus by all Christian people. Pope Gregory entrusted
Blessed John with the leadership of this renewed devotion to the Holy Name of
Jesus throughout Europe. In his letter to Blessed John, Pope Gregory wrote:
"Let them honor with special reverence that Name which is above all names,
the only Name given by heaven to men for their salvation, which is the Name of
Jesus, who saved His people from their sins".
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, by the
message of an Archangel, You instructed both Mary, the Mother of the Savior,
and St. Joseph, his foster-father, that his name was to be JESUS,
meaning "God is Savior". Grant us a deep reverence for this HOLY NAME
of JESUS, and a constant gratitude to our Divine Savior for the graces of
redemption, which He has lavished upon us by his life of sufferings, death, and
resurrection. We ask this in that Most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
EIGHTH DAY: Upon receipt of Pope
Gregory’s commission to spread devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus throughout
Europe, Blessed John immediately wrote to all Dominicans as follows:
"Desirous of protecting the honor of God, of obeying this apostolic
command, and of promoting in our neighbor an increase in devotion, we beseech
you to stir up your zeal to the end that you personally see to it that this
request of the Holy Father receives full compliance by having your subjects
preach with convincing arguments and with scrupulous diligence the need for
reverencing the Holy Name". Confraternities of the Holy Name were founded
in every Dominican church; altars were dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. As
the movement spread and gathered momentum, it coalesced into the Holy Name
Society as we know it today, brought into being by an ecumenical council and
nurtured and spread by Blessed John of Vercelli.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, give to all
of us a warm, loving reverence for the Holy Name of Jesus, your divine Son, our
Lord. Bless and prosper the work of the Holy Name Society throughout the world.
As it has existed and functioned for seven centuries, grant that its purpose of
spreading reverence and respect for the Name of Jesus may continue and grow to
your glory and the good of souls. We ask this in that most Holy Name of Jesus,
your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns, with You and the Holy Spirit, one
God, forever and ever. Amen.
NINTH DAY: In the year 1276, Blessed
John had the great happiness of seeing one his own brethren, Peter of
Tarentaise, elected as the first Dominican Pope. Two years later, when John was
73 years old, Pope Nicholas III appointed him to be Archbishop of the city of
Jerusalem. Besides his basic modesty which shied away from the honor of the
episcopacy, his prudence dictated that a man of his years and declining health
was not up to the job of governing a diocese wracked by war between Christian
crusaders and Moslems. He begged to be released from that appointment, and to
be allowed to retire as Master General of his Order. The Pope acceded to his
first request, but left to the Dominican brothers the decision as to his
retirement. They would not hear of it, and he thus served his brethren as their
General until his death in 1283, at the age of 78. His Dominican brothers, and
all who know him, realized that a saint had gone to his eternal reward. In
1903, Pope St. Pius X officially inscribed the name of John of Vercelli among
the Blesseds of the Church; we await the day when he will be accorded the full
recognition of canonization.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we give you
thanks and praise for the life, the accomplishments, and the virtues of Blessed
John. Through his intercession, we commend to your love and your protection the
Order of Preachers to which he devoted his life, the Holy Name Society, which
he founded, and the devotion to the most Holy Name of Jesus, which he promoted
with such great zeal. We pray in that most Holy Name of Jesus, your Son, our
Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and
ever. Amen.
Readings
Watch the little
things. He who grows careless in little things, little by little falls. He who
does not push himself to make progress, goes backward.
-Blessed John, writing to his priests
Desirous of protecting the
honor of God, of obeying this apostolic command, and of promoting in our
neighbor an increase in devotion, we beseech you to stir up your zeal to the
end that you personally see to it that this request of the Holy Father receives
full compliance by having your subjects preach with convincing arguments and
with scrupulous diligence the need for reverencing the Holy Name.
-Blessed John, writing on the creation of the Holy Name Society
SOURCE : http://www.willingshepherds.org/Dominican%20Saints%20November.html#John
Garbella
BLESSED JOHN OF VERCELLI
JOHN OF VERCELLI
PREACHER OF PEACE
An Historical Sketch of
The Founder of the Holy Name Society
by
REGINALD M. COFFEY, O.P.
The National Association of the Holy Name
Society
First printed Feast of the Purification, 1949It was in the year of Our Lord 1232 and the Italian university town of
Vercelli was buzzing with excitement. The reason for the excitement was not, as
one might think, the arrival of a group of jugglers or strolling players; nor
was it a startling bit of scandal concerning the private lives of the
higher-ups. It was a reason that was peculiar to the middle ages, the ages of
Faith - when a saint could draw a bigger crowd than any spectacle and when
holiness of life was a question of paramount concern even to notorious sinners:
a famous preacher had arrived in the small university city and was setting the
town by its ears. Jordan of Saxony, the second Master General of the young but
up-and-coming Order of Preachers, was preaching daily in Vercelli and with
great effect.
LEARNED ATTRACTED
The citizens of Vercelli had heard of Brother Jordan and the stir that
he had caused throughout all Italy, particularly in university towns such as
Bologna. A former university man himself, he directed his message in a
particular way to this most influential sector of medieval life, and his
success had been stupendous. He had succeeded in filling the ranks of the preaching
friars with famous professors and brilliant students. It was said in university
circles that where Jordan passed scholarship suffered a hard blow because he
took the best of the scholars with him.
However, at Vercelli there were several militant professors who were
determined that their university would not suffer such a fate, and among these
capable and fluent men were two outstanding leaders-Walter of Germany, a
professor of physical science, and John Garbella, a renowned professor of both
canon and civil law. These two men led the attack (or should we say defense)
against Jordan. Daily they harangued their students, warning them not even to
go to hear Jordan preach because, as Waiter put it, "Like a courtesan he
tries to seduce people by his winning address." But in spite of all the
eloquent efforts of Walter and John and the other professors many students and
professors, too, were attracted by the voice of the angelic siren-and many of
them never returned.
THE LEADER SUCCUMBS
Then a dreadful thing happened. Walter of Germany himself; impelled by
his overwhelming curiosity, went to hear Jordan. Unlike Ulysses, who had
permitted himself within range of the siren's voice only after having been
bound to the mast, Walter took no such precautions. He depended upon his strong
will alone to protect him from the blandishments of the great preacher. Waiter
became a member 'of the Order of Preachers.
Walter's defection had a great effect upon the other leader of the
professors, John Garbella. Upon hearing of it, relates the author of the Vitae
Fratrum, ".... at once forgetting self and the open books before him,
which he did not even wait to close, and his household goods, set off alone to
the convent, like one crazed. Meeting a friend in the street who desired to
know where he was bound in such haste and without his servant, he replied
without stopping, `l am going to God.’ Upon reaching the place where the
brethren were staying ... and finding Master Jordan among the brethren, he
threw off his silken gown, fell to his knees and cried out, 'I belong to God.'
Without further inquiry or delay Master Jordan answered, 'Since you belong to
God we then in His Name deliver you over to His service. And raising him from
the ground he gave him the habit." Thus it was that John Garbella, who was
to become known to history as the founder of the Holy Name Society under the
title of Blessed John of Vercelli, was received into the Order of Preachers in
the most holy Name of God. He was about thirty.
JOHN A DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR
John was born, according to the reckoning of the distinguished Dominican
historian, Pere Mortier, in the closing years of the twelfth or the opening
years of the thirteenth century at Mosso Santa Maria, a little village near the
town of Vercelli. After preparing himself by study at a monastery near his
home, he went to the University of Paris, then the greatest seat of learning in
the Christian world, at the age of sixteen or seventeen. He received his
doctorate in both laws when he was about twenty-one.
Even at that early age he enjoyed enough of a reputation as a scholar to
open a school of his own at the University, and it seems that he was
successful, for he remained in Paris until 1229. The reason for his departure
was not lack of success but the force of circumstances. For in 1229 there broke
out one of those feuds between town and gown that made the occupation of a
student in those days one that was far from boring. However, the riot of 1229
was different. In this case the throne sided with the city authorities against
the University. The University authorities were outraged and every professor
but one quit Paris. John returned to his native heath and opened a school at
the progressive university there. He was happily engaged in his scholarly pursuits,
basking in the limelight that his ability as a professor cast about him, and
enjoying to the full the good things of this world when his false peace was so
rudely shattered by Jordan of Saxony.
MADE A SUPERIOR
For a time, after entering the Order, Brother John disappears into the
obscurity of novitiate life. He is not heard of again until 1245, when he
became prior of the Dominican convent at Vercelli. But from that point on he
stamps his impression upon the pages of history with increasing clarity. His
great learning in the law coupled with his ability as a preacher soon drew to
him the attention of the Holy See, and in 1251 Innocent IV appointed him legate
apostolic to Lombardy and inquisitor. He was sent to Venice, and there he
succeeded in making peace between the warring city-states of Lombardy and
establishing religious concord.
In 1255, at the general chapter of the Dominican Order at Milan, Humbert
de Romanis, the Master General of the Order, appointed him Vicar for Hungary.
This was one of the most difficult and dangerous positions in the Order.
Hungary, then as now, was under the heel of a conqueror. The tartar hordes from
the Steppes of Russia were overrunning the country, They were a barbarous,
pagan host and martyrdom among the Christians of Hungary was an everyday
occurrence. Whole convents of Hungarian Dominicans had been wiped out and their
inmates killed, often by torture. How history does repeat itself! Brother John
took the difficult assignment without a word of objection. A detailed account
of his adventures in Hungary would, no doubt, make lively reading. But the only
chronicler who mentions it is Sebastian D'Olmedo, whose only comment upon the
mission is contained in one sentence: "Brother John, appointed Vicar for
Hungary by the Master General, proved himself worthy of the post in the
accomplishment of his mission.
ENERGETIC SUPERVISOR
That he won the esteem of his brethren, who probably heard what heroic
acts the "accomplishment of his mission" entailed, is evidenced by
the fact that immediately upon his return he was elected prior at Bologna, one
of the most important convents of the Order. He held this post only a short
time, for at the provincial chapter of 1257 he was elected Provincial of
Lombardy. The old writers tell us that during his term of office as Provincial,
John had no fixed abode. He spent his time continually upon the road, traveling
from house to house and preaching as he went. This constant visiting of the
houses of his province was no easy task, for John always traveled on foot in
spite of a crippled leg which forced him to limp, and he kept, even on his
journeys, the fasts and other observances of the Order. As a result of his
constant visitations the houses of Lombardy were kept on the qui vive.
In the spring of the year 1259 he was in attendance at the general
chapter of the Order of Valenciennes, a chapter notable not only in Dominican
history but in the history of the Church, for it was there that plans were made
for the reorganization of the Dominican courses of studies, a curriculum which
has served as a model for Catholic seminaries to this day. The task of drawing
up a suitable course of studies was entrusted to the hands of three of the
greatest scholars in the history of the Church: Thomas Aquinas, Albert the
Great, and Peter of Tarentasia (who later became Innocent V). At the next
General Chapter, held in Paris in 1264, John, who had been retained in his
position as Provincial of Lombardy, was elected Master General of the Order. He
was a bit elderly for such a strenuous position because at that time he was
over sixty years of age, and the position, particularly in John's time when all
visiting of convents throughout the whole world was done on foot, called for a man
who was in the prime of life.
LABORS EXTENSIVE
Nevertheless, John threw himself into the work of his new office with
enthusiasm by merely acting on a world-wide scale as he had acted when
Provincial of Lombardy. He was constantly on the toad. The Dominicans of the
world found themselves in the same predicament that the Lombards had been in
when he was provincial. No Englishman, Frenchman or German could ever be sure
that the next traveler who knocked upon the door of the convent would not be
the Master General. Not that John was at all frightening of aspect. On the
contrary, he was a pleasant-looking little man, whose small size and limp made
him appear pathetic rather than terrifying. Still, it was known throughout the
Order that he could be very severe when he came across gross negligence.
THE HOLY NAME SOCIETY
Brother John held the office of General until his death in 1283. In that
time he traveled much and did great things for the Church and the Order.
However, in a short sketch such as this it is not possible to give the life of
a great man in detail. Let it suffice, then, to concentrate upon the greatest
act of his generalship and his life (a fact, incidentally, often ignored by his
biographers), the foundation of the Holy Name Society. It is not the intention
of this writer to go into a detailed history of the devotion to the Holy Name
of Jesus nor does he intend to throw down the gauntlet to any student of
Franciscan history who may be champing at the bit only too ready to dash off
into battle to defend the claim laid by the Order of Friars Minor to the origin
of the devotion to the Most Holy Name. We merely state here that the first Holy
Name Society bounded with Papal approbation was founded by Blessed John of
Vercelli at the command of Gregory X. It might he better to call the Pope’s
brief upon the subject a suggestion rather than a command - but it was a
suggestion upon which Blessed John acted with vigor and celerity. It was, let
it be repeated, the greatest act in a great life.
First, let us briefly glance at the great Pope, Gregory X, whose
inspiration it was to foster the preaching of reverence to the Holy Name and
entrust its promulgation to another great and holy man John of Vercelli.
Gregory is known to history as "the Peacemaker" because it was due to
his efforts, strenuous and unrelenting, that peace was maintained throughout
the Christian world during his reign. Gregory succeeded in his time in
establishing peace between warring factions in Germany and Italy and in ending
the strife between parties within the German Empire. He also succeeded in
re-uniting the Greek Church with Rome, "He desired furthermore,"
writes Father Theodore English, a competent historian, "to promote peace
among individuals as well as nations. To this end he sought to crush the
widespread evils of profanity, obscenity, blasphemy and perjury. At his
insistence, the closing session of the Council at Lyons on July 17, 1274,
unanimously passed a decree ordering that increased reverence for, and devotion
to, the name of the Deity be shown by all Christian peoples."
DOMINICANS COMMISSIONED
On September 20, 1274, the Pope issued his history-making brief, Nuper
in Concilio to the Master General of the Order. After the usual beginning and a
few general remarks the Pope wrote: "Recently during the Council held at
Lyons, we judged it proper to urge the faithful to demonstrate mote reverence
for that Name above all names, the only Name in which we claim salvation, the
Name of Jesus Christ Who has redeemed us from the bondage of sin. . . .
Wherefore, with a view of obeying that apostolic precept, 'In the Name of Jesus
let every knee be bent,' We wish that at the pronouncing of that Name, every
one should bow his head as a sign that interiorly he bends the knee of his
heart. Therefore, We by Our Apostolic authority enjoin upon you and the members
of your Order to use solid reason when preaching to the people, that thus they
may be led to comply with Our desires,"
Blessed John of Vercelli lost no time in putting the Pope's instructions
into action. He sent copies of the Pope's letter with one of his own appended
to every Provincial of the Order throughout the world. The General wrote:
"Desirous of increasing the honor of God, and anxious to obey the
apostolic precept laid upon Us, and to incite the faithful to increased
devotion, We command that as we personally are fulfilling the will of the
Pontiff, you also shall see to it that the preachers subject to your authority
carry out the orders of the Pope with utmost diligence, and by methods best
calculated to bring conviction." And John, as we have seen in the sketch,
was not one to let an order lapse through inactivity. That he followed up this
letter by personal supervision is indicated by the fact that in the two general
chapters left during his lifetime the Pope's edict was reiterated.
LASTING DEVOTION
The Dominicans throughout the world, under John's leadership and
constant encouragement, threw themselves into the preaching of the devotion to
the Holy Name with all the eloquence and ability for which they were famous, a
fame that had decided the Pope to entrust this important work to them. Within a
short time an altar dedicated to the Most Holy Name was erected in every
Dominican Church, and it was at this altar that every procession began and
ended. With their experience in organization behind them - an experience
gathered in forming a group of lay apostles called the Militia of Jesus Christ,
and later in forming the Third Order of St. Dominic, both societies composed of
laymen to combat heresy and to raise the standards and increase the faith of
the people - the Dominicans realized that a devotion could be made permanent
and effective if it were entrusted to an organized group. Thus, the origin of
the Holy Name Society.
The founding of the Holy Name Society, although the greatest act of
John's life and generalship, was not the last. The old man (he was about
seventy-five when the Society was founded) had nine more years of life left to
him. And, since for these nine years he retained his post as General, he was
able to see that the project so near to his heart, the establishment of the
Holy Name Society, was indeed made a vigorous reality.
The nine last years of Blessed John's life were lived as strenuously as
the seventy-odd preceding them. During these years he saw one of his subjects
elevated to the Papal throne under the title of Innocent V. John himself
refused the patriarchate of Jerusalem offered him by Nicholas III. He was
entrusted by the Holy See with peace-making missions to the ever restless
Italian states, and, as previously, he succeeded in bringing an end to discord.
He was constantly on the road, in spite of his age, visiting Dominican convents
throughout the world. In 1278 there reached the ears of the ever vigilant
General a report that certain English Dominicans were publicly repudiating the
writings of the Order's greatest teacher and John's friend, Thomas Aquinas, now
dead. John sent a visitator to England with instructions to bring the rebels
into line, by harsh measures if necessary. In 1280 John himself went to Oxford
for the general chapter of the Order. Upon that occasion he had the opportunity
to see how his instructions had been carried out. He was satisfied with what he
discovered. The English had returned to ways of sound doctrine.
ANOTHER
JOURNEY
Returning from England, the General decided to visit the Dominicans in
northern continental Europe, so he set off through Flanders for Germany. It is
said that he returned from the trip with enfeebled health because he had been
subjected to the rigors of a northern winter. In 1282 the little Italian once
more set off for the cruel north on foot to attend the general chapter at
Vienna, visiting Dominican convents on the way. From Vienna, to commemorate the
approaching canonization of St. Thomas Aquinas, he addressed an encyclical
letter to the brethren, "a sweetly serene letter" in which he
exhorted them to be mindful of the greatness of their ancestors, the Dominics,
the Thomases, the Jordans, the Humberts, and to let such glorious example
inspire them to greater efforts to perfect their own lives. It is the last
letter we have from his pen. Upon leaving Austria, John traveled through
France. It must have been a touching sight to see the little old man limping along
the roads of Europe headed for far-distant Italy. But this time he didn't make
it. Having stopped at Montpelier, France, to preside at a chapter being held
there, he was unable to continue his journey. He made a valiant effort to do so
but fell sick after he was on the road for two days. He was carried back to a
Cistercian Monastery, where he died in September 1283. He was buried in the
Dominican convent at Montpelier.
The tomb of Blessed John was desecrated by the Calvinists in 1562, but
so vivid was his memory in the diocese of Vercelli and in the Order of
Preachers, that Pope Plus X in spite of the fact that his body could not be
found for examination (a deterrent to canonization) raised him to the altars of
the Church in 1903, an unusual honor to be accorded after the lapse of six
centuries.
SOURCE : http://www.stpaulshns.org/vercelli.htm
(Confraternity of the Most
Holy Name of God and Jesus).
An indulgenced confraternity in the Catholic Church. The primary object of the society is to beget due love and reverence for the Holy Name of God and Jesus Christ. The secondary object is to suppress blasphemy, perjury, oaths of any character that are forbidden, profanity, unlawful swearing improper language, and, as far as the members can, to prevent those vices in others (Pius IV, 13 April 1564). It had its origin in the Council of Lyons, 1274, which prescribed that the faithful should have a special devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, that reparation might be made for insults offered to it by Albigenses and other blasphemers. The Friars Preachers were preaching everywhere with the zeal of St. Dominic; it was natural, then, that Gregory X selected the Dominicans to preach the devotion, which he did by a letter to Blessed John of Vercelli, master general of the order, 20 September 1274 (Constit. "Nuper in"). The master general immediately wrote to all the provincials of the order, expressing the pope's wish, and enjoining upon all the duty of labouring for its fulfilment (Litterae Encyclicae Mag. Gen Ord. Praed., Reichert, 1900). The brethren gave their best energies in executing the command, preaching everywhere the power and glory of the Holy Name of Jesus; and to give permanency to the devotion excited in the hearts of the people, it was ordained that in every Dominican church an altar of the Holy Name should be erected, and that societies or confraternities under the title and invocation of the Holy Name of Jesus should be established. St. Peter, Martyr (d. 1252); John of Vercelli, a contemporary of St. Dominic; Blessed Ambrose of Siena (d. 1286) are said to have been great propagators of the devotion. In the fourteenth century Blessed Henry Suso (d. 1365) is the most notable apostle of devotion to the Holy Name.
The history of the society in the fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries is somewhat obscure, but that it continued to exist is certain from papal Bulls addressed to the Order of St. Dominic. Boniface IX in his Constitution "Hodie" 31 October, 1401, granted indulgences to those visiting the altar of the confraternity in the Dominican monastery at Schusen, Diocese of Werden, Saxony. In 1432 at Lisbon the devotion preached by a retired Dominican bishop, Andrea Diaz, was a means of stopping the ravages of a plague that was then afflicting that city. In gratitude for their deliverance, the people of all classes in Lisbon held, on 1 Jan., 1433, what was probably the first procession in honour of the Holy Name of Jesus. At this period St. Bernardine of Siena, an Italian Franciscan gained great renown as a promoter of the devotion in Italy. In the sixteenth century Emperor Charles V and King Philip II, moved by the prevalence of blasphemy and sacrilege, exhorted and encouraged the Dominicans to spread the devotion and to establish the society throughout their dominions. Among the preachers engaged in this apostolate, the most celebrated was the Spanish Dominican, Didacus of Victoria (d. 1450), who may be properly called the great preacher of the devotion of the Holy Name of God. He founded a confraternity known as the Society of the Holy Name of God, of which the special object was to suppress the horrible profanation of the Divine Name by blasphemers, perjurers, and by men in their ordinary conversation, and to this end he drew up a rule and constitution for its government.
His confraternity was approved by Pope Pius IV 13 April, 1564, who richly endowed it with indulgences, commanded all ecclesiastical authorities to favour it with all their power, and, in a special letter, recommended it to the laity (Bullarium Ord. Praed., tom. I, v). Later, this confraternity was merged into the Society of the Holy Name of Jesus. Thereafter the society was called by both titles. It also bore the title of "Confraternity against Oaths". Following the example of Pius IV, the popes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, notably Innocent XI, made the society an object of special solicitude, encouraging its promotion, granting indulgences, and regulating its organization. St. Pius V, in the Motu Proprio "Decet Romanum", 21 June, 1571, absolutely restricted the canonical erection of the society to the Dominican order. Letters patent from the master general of the Dominicans are required for the canonical establishment of the society (for the United States these letters are issued through the bureau of the Holy Name Society, New York). In missionary countries special provision is made for the establishment of the society.
The acts of the general chapters of the order held since 1571 contain numerous regulations and admonitions insisting upon zeal in propagating the confraternity. Great encouragement to the development of the society was given at the close of the nineteenth century by Pope Leo XIII, who decreed through the Congregation of Indulgences, 20 May, 1896, that the bishops may dispense from the Clementine decree "Quaecumque", requiring that there should be only one confraternity in a town or city. Before this the society had existed in many churches of various cities of the United States, by virtue of the dispensations obtained from Rome. Since then branches of the society have multiplied very rapidly and in several dioceses; following the example set in the Archdiocese of New York, 21 May, 1882, they have been formed into diocesan unions under a director general appointed by the ordinary. Being thus united, the men of the society in the United States (they number about 500,000) are able to accomplish great good by public yearly processions of many thousands professing reverence for the Name of Jesus Christ, and abhorrence of blasphemy, profanity, and immorality. They are required to receive Holy Communion in a body at least once every three months; in most places the rule prescribes Communion on the second Sunday of every month, when they may gain plenary and partial indulgences granted by Gregory XIII. A complete list of indulgences, all of which may be applied to the souls in purgatory, is contained in the "Pocket Manual of the Holy Name Society" (new edition, New York, 1909), by the Dominican, Father McKenna, who for many years has been recognized as the apostle of the Holy Name in the United States. In 1907 the monthly publication of "The Holy Name Journal" (New York) was begun by the Dominican Fathers.
Thuente, Clement. "Society of the Holy Name." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 3 Dec. 2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07420b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Paul Koenen. Dedicated to Kathleen, Brigid, Deirdre, Liam, Patrick, and the Holy Name Society of St. Paul's Parish in Hingham, Mass.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Fondò un convento in Vercelli, del quale fu priore. Papa Innocenzo IV ed i suoi successori nutrirono in lui illimitata fiducia e sin nella più tarda età gli affidarono importantissimi e spinosi incarichi. Fu Ambasciatore a Venezia, Genova, Pisa, Firenze, Bologna. In quest’ultima città fu anche priore del convento domenicano. Legato Pontificio alle corti di Francia e Castiglia, fu consigliere di Papa Clemente IV. Intraprese una grande opera di pacificazione tra le repubbliche italiane ed i sovrani europei e fu uno dei più attivi organizzatori della Crociata. Non gli mancò molto per essere chiamato ad ascendere al soglio pontificio, tanta era la stima di cui godeva universalmente.
Nel 1264 Giovanni fu eletto sesto maestro generale dell’Ordine dei Predicatori, ufficio in cui si distinse per diciannove anni, mantenendolo nel suo splendore e consolidando l’opera dei suoi predecessori. In questa veste provvide alla decorosa sistemazione della tomba di San Domenico. Visitò continuamente le più lontane Provincie ed i suoi interminabili viaggi a piedi sono infatti rimasti leggendari. Giovanni era abbastanza piccolo di statura, infatti nella sua prima lettera ai confratelli si descrisse come un “povero ometto”, ma pieno di energia, instancabile nelle sue visite e nelle riforme dei monasteri domenicani d’Europa. Durante i suoi viaggi rispettò comenque sempre tutti i digiuni prescritti dalla Chiesa e dal suo ordine. Monumento imperituro della sua sapienza sono le 21 Lettere encicliche conservate negli Atti dei Capitoli Generali.
Quando fu eletto papa nel 1271, il Beato Gregorio X incaricò Giovanni ed i suoi frati di farsi portatori di pace fra gli stati italiani in conflitto fra loro. Tre anni dopo gli fu commissionato uno schema per il secondo concilio di Lione, in cui conobbe Giovanni d’Ascoli, successore di San Bonaventura quale ministro generale dei francescani e poi papa con il nome di Nicola IV. Insieme scrissero una lettera indirizzata all’intero ordine dei frati. Successivamente la Santa Sede li inviò entrambi quali mediatori tra i sovrani Filippo III di Francia ed Alfonso X di Castiglia, occasione che permise a Giovanni di rivelarsi valido negoziatore e fautore di pace.
Da alcuni anni era ormai cessata l’Inquisizione seguita alla campagna di Simone di Montfort contro i catari. Papa Gregorio X scelse allora nuovamente Giovanni da Vercelli per curare la divulgazione del culto del nome di Gesù, soluzione che il concilio di Lione aveva individuato onde riparare all’eresia degli albigesi. In tal senso Giovanni indirizzò tutti i priori provinciali e si decise di erigere un altare dedicato al Santo Nome di Gesù in ogni chiesa domenicana e di attivarsi contro la blasfemia e la profanità. Nel 1278 inviò un ispettore in Inghilterra, ove alcuni frati stavano attaccando gli insegnamenti di San Tommaso d’Aquino, che era stato suo amico, e due anni dopo si recò personalmente ad Oxford per tenere un capito generale e difenderne la dottrina.
Più volte Giovanni rifiutò l’episcopato ed una curia a Roma, ma avrebbe desiderato rinunciare anche al generalato del suo ordine. Fu però indotto a mantenere tale incarico sino alla morte. Spirò il 30 novembre 1283 nel convento di Montpellier, in Francia. Le sue reliquie, deposte nella locale chiesa dei domenicani, furono disperse dagli eretici nel XVI secolo. Il Sommo Pontefice San Pio X il 7 settembre 1903 confermò il culto tributato “ab immemorabili” al Beato Giovanni da Vercelli. Ancora oggi è commemorato dal Martyrologium Romanum nell’anniversario della morte, mentre l’Ordine dei Predicatori lo festeggia al 1° dicembre.
Autore: Fabio Arduino
GIOVANNI da Vercelli
Society of the
Holy Name
An indulgenced confraternity in the Catholic Church. The primary object of the society is to beget due love and reverence for the Holy Name of God and Jesus Christ. The secondary object is to suppress blasphemy, perjury, oaths of any character that are forbidden, profanity, unlawful swearing improper language, and, as far as the members can, to prevent those vices in others (Pius IV, 13 April 1564). It had its origin in the Council of Lyons, 1274, which prescribed that the faithful should have a special devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, that reparation might be made for insults offered to it by Albigenses and other blasphemers. The Friars Preachers were preaching everywhere with the zeal of St. Dominic; it was natural, then, that Gregory X selected the Dominicans to preach the devotion, which he did by a letter to Blessed John of Vercelli, master general of the order, 20 September 1274 (Constit. "Nuper in"). The master general immediately wrote to all the provincials of the order, expressing the pope's wish, and enjoining upon all the duty of labouring for its fulfilment (Litterae Encyclicae Mag. Gen Ord. Praed., Reichert, 1900). The brethren gave their best energies in executing the command, preaching everywhere the power and glory of the Holy Name of Jesus; and to give permanency to the devotion excited in the hearts of the people, it was ordained that in every Dominican church an altar of the Holy Name should be erected, and that societies or confraternities under the title and invocation of the Holy Name of Jesus should be established. St. Peter, Martyr (d. 1252); John of Vercelli, a contemporary of St. Dominic; Blessed Ambrose of Siena (d. 1286) are said to have been great propagators of the devotion. In the fourteenth century Blessed Henry Suso (d. 1365) is the most notable apostle of devotion to the Holy Name.
The history of the society in the fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries is somewhat obscure, but that it continued to exist is certain from papal Bulls addressed to the Order of St. Dominic. Boniface IX in his Constitution "Hodie" 31 October, 1401, granted indulgences to those visiting the altar of the confraternity in the Dominican monastery at Schusen, Diocese of Werden, Saxony. In 1432 at Lisbon the devotion preached by a retired Dominican bishop, Andrea Diaz, was a means of stopping the ravages of a plague that was then afflicting that city. In gratitude for their deliverance, the people of all classes in Lisbon held, on 1 Jan., 1433, what was probably the first procession in honour of the Holy Name of Jesus. At this period St. Bernardine of Siena, an Italian Franciscan gained great renown as a promoter of the devotion in Italy. In the sixteenth century Emperor Charles V and King Philip II, moved by the prevalence of blasphemy and sacrilege, exhorted and encouraged the Dominicans to spread the devotion and to establish the society throughout their dominions. Among the preachers engaged in this apostolate, the most celebrated was the Spanish Dominican, Didacus of Victoria (d. 1450), who may be properly called the great preacher of the devotion of the Holy Name of God. He founded a confraternity known as the Society of the Holy Name of God, of which the special object was to suppress the horrible profanation of the Divine Name by blasphemers, perjurers, and by men in their ordinary conversation, and to this end he drew up a rule and constitution for its government.
His confraternity was approved by Pope Pius IV 13 April, 1564, who richly endowed it with indulgences, commanded all ecclesiastical authorities to favour it with all their power, and, in a special letter, recommended it to the laity (Bullarium Ord. Praed., tom. I, v). Later, this confraternity was merged into the Society of the Holy Name of Jesus. Thereafter the society was called by both titles. It also bore the title of "Confraternity against Oaths". Following the example of Pius IV, the popes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, notably Innocent XI, made the society an object of special solicitude, encouraging its promotion, granting indulgences, and regulating its organization. St. Pius V, in the Motu Proprio "Decet Romanum", 21 June, 1571, absolutely restricted the canonical erection of the society to the Dominican order. Letters patent from the master general of the Dominicans are required for the canonical establishment of the society (for the United States these letters are issued through the bureau of the Holy Name Society, New York). In missionary countries special provision is made for the establishment of the society.
The acts of the general chapters of the order held since 1571 contain numerous regulations and admonitions insisting upon zeal in propagating the confraternity. Great encouragement to the development of the society was given at the close of the nineteenth century by Pope Leo XIII, who decreed through the Congregation of Indulgences, 20 May, 1896, that the bishops may dispense from the Clementine decree "Quaecumque", requiring that there should be only one confraternity in a town or city. Before this the society had existed in many churches of various cities of the United States, by virtue of the dispensations obtained from Rome. Since then branches of the society have multiplied very rapidly and in several dioceses; following the example set in the Archdiocese of New York, 21 May, 1882, they have been formed into diocesan unions under a director general appointed by the ordinary. Being thus united, the men of the society in the United States (they number about 500,000) are able to accomplish great good by public yearly processions of many thousands professing reverence for the Name of Jesus Christ, and abhorrence of blasphemy, profanity, and immorality. They are required to receive Holy Communion in a body at least once every three months; in most places the rule prescribes Communion on the second Sunday of every month, when they may gain plenary and partial indulgences granted by Gregory XIII. A complete list of indulgences, all of which may be applied to the souls in purgatory, is contained in the "Pocket Manual of the Holy Name Society" (new edition, New York, 1909), by the Dominican, Father McKenna, who for many years has been recognized as the apostle of the Holy Name in the United States. In 1907 the monthly publication of "The Holy Name Journal" (New York) was begun by the Dominican Fathers.
Thuente, Clement. "Society of the Holy Name." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 3 Dec. 2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07420b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Paul Koenen. Dedicated to Kathleen, Brigid, Deirdre, Liam, Patrick, and the Holy Name Society of St. Paul's Parish in Hingham, Mass.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Beato Giovanni Garbella da Vercelli
Sacerdote domenicano
Mosso Santa Maria, Vercelli, 1205 circa -
Montpellier, Francia, 30 novembre 1283
Nato nei primi anni del sec. XIII a Mosso Santa Maria (Vc), conseguita
brillantemente la laurea in diritto romano e canonico a Parigi, insegnò a
Parigi e poi a Vercelli. Qui nel
1229 entrò nell'Ordine dei Predicatori su consiglio del Beato Giordano di Sassonia
e fondò un convento di cui fu anche priore. Ricoprì diversi incarichi e dal
1264 fu Maestro dell'Ordine. In questa qualità provvide alla decorosa
sistemazione della tomba di San Domenico. Fu operatore di pace tra le città
italiane, legato papale in Francia e in Castiglia e consigliere di papa
Clemente IV. Religioso austero e paterno, attese al consolidamento dell'Ordine.
Fu legato da profonda amicizia con San Tommaso d’Acquino, di cui venerò la
memoria e seguì la dottrina. Fu sempre sereno nelle difficoltà della vita,
convinto che Dio è onnipotente ed è nostro amico. Morì a Montpellier il 30
novembre 1283.
Martirologio
Romano: A Montpellier in Provenza in Francia, beato Giovanni da Vercelli
Garbella, sacerdote, che, Maestro Generale dell’Ordine dei Predicatori,
raccomandò intensamente nella predicazione la devozione al Nome di Gesù.
Giovanni
Garbella nacque a Mosso Santa Maria, nei pressi di Vercelli in Piemonte, nel
1205 circa. Conseguì brillantemente la laurea in diritto romano e canonico a
Parigi, ove insegnò, prima di far ritorno a Vercelli, sempre come insegnante.
Entrò nell’Ordine dei Frati Predicatori nel 1229, assumendo il nome di Giovanni
da Vercelli, conquistato dalla persuasiva eloquenza del Beato Giordano di
Sassonia, successore di San Domenico. Ricevette la sua formazione religiosa nel
convento di Bologna, ove sulla tomba del glorioso patriarca attinse un
indomabile zelo ed una robusta santità, che fecero di lui una delle più belle e
caratteristiche figure di domenicano. La prudenza e la fermezza, l’energia e la
più amabile moderazione, l’amore ardentissimo di Dio e delle anime, fecero sì
che riuscisse ad adattarsi mirabilmente alle più delicate e difficili mansioni,
dentro e fuori dell’Ordine.
Fondò un convento in Vercelli, del quale fu priore. Papa Innocenzo IV ed i suoi successori nutrirono in lui illimitata fiducia e sin nella più tarda età gli affidarono importantissimi e spinosi incarichi. Fu Ambasciatore a Venezia, Genova, Pisa, Firenze, Bologna. In quest’ultima città fu anche priore del convento domenicano. Legato Pontificio alle corti di Francia e Castiglia, fu consigliere di Papa Clemente IV. Intraprese una grande opera di pacificazione tra le repubbliche italiane ed i sovrani europei e fu uno dei più attivi organizzatori della Crociata. Non gli mancò molto per essere chiamato ad ascendere al soglio pontificio, tanta era la stima di cui godeva universalmente.
Nel 1264 Giovanni fu eletto sesto maestro generale dell’Ordine dei Predicatori, ufficio in cui si distinse per diciannove anni, mantenendolo nel suo splendore e consolidando l’opera dei suoi predecessori. In questa veste provvide alla decorosa sistemazione della tomba di San Domenico. Visitò continuamente le più lontane Provincie ed i suoi interminabili viaggi a piedi sono infatti rimasti leggendari. Giovanni era abbastanza piccolo di statura, infatti nella sua prima lettera ai confratelli si descrisse come un “povero ometto”, ma pieno di energia, instancabile nelle sue visite e nelle riforme dei monasteri domenicani d’Europa. Durante i suoi viaggi rispettò comenque sempre tutti i digiuni prescritti dalla Chiesa e dal suo ordine. Monumento imperituro della sua sapienza sono le 21 Lettere encicliche conservate negli Atti dei Capitoli Generali.
Quando fu eletto papa nel 1271, il Beato Gregorio X incaricò Giovanni ed i suoi frati di farsi portatori di pace fra gli stati italiani in conflitto fra loro. Tre anni dopo gli fu commissionato uno schema per il secondo concilio di Lione, in cui conobbe Giovanni d’Ascoli, successore di San Bonaventura quale ministro generale dei francescani e poi papa con il nome di Nicola IV. Insieme scrissero una lettera indirizzata all’intero ordine dei frati. Successivamente la Santa Sede li inviò entrambi quali mediatori tra i sovrani Filippo III di Francia ed Alfonso X di Castiglia, occasione che permise a Giovanni di rivelarsi valido negoziatore e fautore di pace.
Da alcuni anni era ormai cessata l’Inquisizione seguita alla campagna di Simone di Montfort contro i catari. Papa Gregorio X scelse allora nuovamente Giovanni da Vercelli per curare la divulgazione del culto del nome di Gesù, soluzione che il concilio di Lione aveva individuato onde riparare all’eresia degli albigesi. In tal senso Giovanni indirizzò tutti i priori provinciali e si decise di erigere un altare dedicato al Santo Nome di Gesù in ogni chiesa domenicana e di attivarsi contro la blasfemia e la profanità. Nel 1278 inviò un ispettore in Inghilterra, ove alcuni frati stavano attaccando gli insegnamenti di San Tommaso d’Aquino, che era stato suo amico, e due anni dopo si recò personalmente ad Oxford per tenere un capito generale e difenderne la dottrina.
Più volte Giovanni rifiutò l’episcopato ed una curia a Roma, ma avrebbe desiderato rinunciare anche al generalato del suo ordine. Fu però indotto a mantenere tale incarico sino alla morte. Spirò il 30 novembre 1283 nel convento di Montpellier, in Francia. Le sue reliquie, deposte nella locale chiesa dei domenicani, furono disperse dagli eretici nel XVI secolo. Il Sommo Pontefice San Pio X il 7 settembre 1903 confermò il culto tributato “ab immemorabili” al Beato Giovanni da Vercelli. Ancora oggi è commemorato dal Martyrologium Romanum nell’anniversario della morte, mentre l’Ordine dei Predicatori lo festeggia al 1° dicembre.
Autore: Fabio Arduino
GIOVANNI da Vercelli
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 56
(2001)
di Luigi
Canetti
GIOVANNI da Vercelli. - Nacque nei primi
anni del sec. XIII, forse nel villaggio di Mosso Santa Maria, nella diocesi di
Vercelli, o in questa stessa città. Priva di attestazioni di sorta è la
tradizione che lo voleva membro della casata dei Garbella, che solo molto più
tardi l'avrebbe annoverato fra i propri illustri antenati, mentre è più
probabile che appartenesse a una famiglia di ricchi allevatori di bestiame
radicata nelle campagne del Biellese. È in ogni caso impossibile precisare i
particolari della sua biografia anteriormente al 1228, quando, dopo un soggiorno
di studio a Parigi (dove si addottorò in diritto canonico e forse vi professò
per qualche tempo la disciplina), fece ritorno a Vercelli per svolgervi
l'attività docente, nei mesi in cui Giordano di Sassonia, allora maestro
generale dei frati predicatori, si adoperava per fondarvi uno Studium. È
in tali circostanze che G. dovette fare il suo ingresso nell'Ordine domenicano,
se egli, com'è stato suggerito, va annoverato tra quei "probos et
litteratos optime viros" ovvero tra quei "magistri" e
"baccalarii probissimi" ai quali si riferiva lo stesso Giordano in
due lettere databili all'estate del 1229; e ancora, se deve identificarsi con
quel maestro di diritto di cui narrano le Vitae fratrum, il quale,
edificato dall'esempio dei suoi stessi allievi, abbandonati inopinatamente la
casa e i libri, chiese di entrare, "quasi amens factus", nella locale
comunità dei predicatori. Non ci è noto però dove G. abbia svolto di fatto il
suo noviziato né dove abbia compiuto gli studi teologici, benché la successiva
tradizione encomiastica, per ovvie ragioni, si sia sempre compiaciuta di
collocare questi ultimi presso lo Studium bolognese; né ci è dato
precisare se egli sia stato effettivamente presente alla fondazione (1234) del
primo convento di Vercelli, presso la chiesa di S. Paolo, dove comunque dovette
dimorare per qualche anno, non sappiamo con quali mansioni. Vent'anni più tardi
i frati si sarebbero installati nella nuova sede intrameniale, ma nel 1255,
quando venne ceduto il vecchio convento a Emilia Bicchieri, futura beata, il
nome di G. non figurava fra i testimoni e i firmatari dell'atto di vendita.
Lo
ritroviamo infatti, con il frate Vincenzo da Milano, destinatario di una
lettera di Innocenzo IV, datata 11 giugno 1251, con la quale il papa - che
aveva già incaricato il provinciale domenicano di Lombardia, Filippo Carisio,
di mettergli a disposizione dei religiosi intrepidi e fidati per svolgere
l'ufficio di difesa della fede - ordinava a G. di percorrere le contrade
settentrionali e di recarsi a Venezia in qualità di commissario apostolico e
inquisitore.
Al
capitolo generale di Buda (16 maggio 1254) Umberto di Romans, neoeletto maestro
generale dell'Ordine, inviò G. come suo vicario e visitatore presso i conventi
della nuova provincia d'Ungheria. In seguito, tra la fine del 1255 e i primi
mesi del 1256, G. fu nominato priore del prestigioso convento di Bologna,
ufficio che doveva reggere fino al 1257, quando, al capitolo provinciale di
Novara, venne eletto priore della provincia di Lombardia, che a quel tempo comprendeva
tutta l'Italia settentrionale e cui facevano capo ormai una trentina di
conventi e circa seicento frati. Nei sette anni in cui mantenne quell'incarico
favorì, tra l'altro, l'attività intellettuale dell'Ordine, come attesta per
esempio l'istituzione (1262) presso il convento milanese di S. Eustorgio di
regolari corsi di logica, dopo che al capitolo generale di Valenciennes (giugno
1259) i grandi dottori dell'Ordine (tra i quali Alberto Magno e Tommaso
d'Aquino) avevano ridisegnato la ratio studiorum dei frati. Si adoperò
altresì, pur tra gravi imbarazzi e non lievi difficoltà, a organizzare
l'attività inquisitoriale, assolvendo con qualche esitazione al dovere
d'ufficio di nomina dei giudici della fede, il controllo dell'operato dei quali
gli venne però sottratto da Alessandro IV, che formalmente lo avocò al Papato
(dicembre 1260). In quegli anni G. promosse anche la fondazione dei conventi di
Torino, Chieri e Tortona; inoltre, negli ultimi mesi del mandato (febbraio
1264), Urbano IV gli affidò la titolarità dell'inchiesta a carico del vescovo
piacentino Filippo Fulgosio, sospetto di ghibellinismo. Quello stesso papa, dal
maggio 1262, lo aveva istituito commissario per la predicazione di una nuova
crociata a fianco dei provinciali di Spagna, Francia e Dacia: tale compito G.
preferì delegare in gran parte, anche per ragioni di convenienza strategica, al
priore del convento di Venezia, dove i sussidi raccolti dai predicatori di
Lombardia potevano meglio essere convogliati e utilizzati a quello scopo. Rimane
tuttavia un mero dato di tradizione, non suffragato da valide prove
documentarie, che in quelle circostanze G. sia entrato in rapporti con il re di
Francia Luigi IX, che l'avrebbe ricompensato per i servigi resi alla causa
crociata offrendogli in dono preziosi libri e reliquie della Passione.
Il 7
giugno 1264 il capitolo generale di Parigi, riunitosi presso il convento di
St-Jacques, venne chiamato al difficile compito di dare un successore al grande
Umberto di Romans, dimessosi l'anno precedente dall'ufficio di maestro
generale. Per le sue doti di fermezza, equilibrio, saggezza e capacità di
governo venne chiamato a succedergli G., che avrebbe poi retto in modo egregio
l'Ordine per i successivi vent'anni percorrendo indefessamente, e quasi sempre
a piedi, fiancheggiato dal socius itineris Bartolomeo da Faenza, tutte
le strade d'Europa (salvo le province più eccentriche di Spagna, Dacia, Polonia
e Grecia) per visitare i conventi e presiedere gli annuali capitoli generali,
oltre che per svariate missioni diplomatiche.
Tutti i
suoi sforzi di governo si orientarono in primo luogo a una fedele conservazione
e, tutt'al più, al perfezionamento del grande deposito normativo e spirituale
ricevuto dalle prime generazioni domenicane, esigendo, con minuziosa vigilanza,
pressanti ammonizioni e severità disciplinare, il rispetto della primitiva e
rigorosa osservanza della regola, e adoperandosi per il mantenimento di
rapporti pacifici e cordiali con il clero secolare e con i francescani, pur
fermo nella difesa delle prerogative pastorali garantite ai suoi frati dalla
Sede apostolica (esemplare, da questo punto di vista, il rapporto privilegiato
di G. con i pontefici Clemente IV, Gregorio X, Niccolò III e Martino IV). Se
gli riuscì in buona parte il progetto amministrativo di articolazione delle
province in vicariati, dovevano invece registrare un sostanziale fallimento,
causa le tenaci resistenze locali, i ripetuti tentativi di istituire nuove
province suddividendo le antiche. Oltre alle encicliche parenetiche da lui
inviate annualmente, secondo l'uso tradizionale, al capitolo generale
dell'Ordine, e a qualche breve sermone ancora inedito, sono state scoperte di
recente alcune sue lettere di approvazione, conferma e istituzione di
confraternite devozionali poste sotto l'egida dei frati predicatori (Friburgo,
Rieti, Lucca, Orvieto).
Negli
anni 1265-66 G. visitò i conventi di Francia e di Germania, presiedendo i
capitoli generali di Montpellier e di Treviri; si registrano, per questo
periodo, almeno una dozzina fra lettere di conferma e privilegi indirizzati da
Clemente IV al maestro generale e all'Ordine nel suo complesso. Il 5 giugno
1267, durante il capitolo generale di Bologna, dopo più di due anni di
preparativi, G. presiedette la solenne traslazione delle spoglie di s. Domenico
nella nuova arca marmorea commissionata a Nicola Pisano, dove tuttora si
conservano: tale circostanza valse alla basilica conventuale la concessione di
una formale indulgenza da parte di Clemente IV. Di lì a poco, dopo aver
sollecitato G. a promuovere nuove missioni dei frati presso i popoli pagani
dell'Estremo Oriente (8 febbr. 1267) e altresì a impegnarsi per l'agognata
unione con la Chiesa greca (9 giugno 1267), persistendo nel predicare e
pubblicare le indulgenze per la crociata, lo stesso papa approvava
ufficialmente (7 luglio 1267) la riforma liturgica domenicana promossa da
Umberto di Romans. A Viterbo, presso la Curia, dove si era tenuto il capitolo
generale di Pentecoste, il 29 nov. 1268 G. assisteva alla morte di Clemente IV
e poteva seguire da presso i primi sviluppi dell'annoso conclave che il 1°
sett. 1271 portò all'elezione di Gregorio X. Negli anni 1269-70 presiedette i
capitoli generali di Bologna e di Montpellier e poté così visitare numerosi
conventi di Francia e dell'Italia settentrionale.
Nella
primavera del 1271 G. sottopose ai tre più celebri maestri domenicani, Alberto
Magno, Robert Kilwardby e Tommaso d'Aquino (della cui dottrina sarebbe stato
uno strenuo promotore difendendola in più occasioni contro i detrattori esterni
e anche interni all'Ordine), una serie di quaestiones di carattere
scientifico-filosofico ed esigendone un'esaustiva risposta scritta. Tali
questioni erano a suo tempo sorte in seguito alla comparsa di una grande cometa
(1264) e vertevano in primo luogo su un tema allora assai dibattuto, il
rapporto problematico tra influssi astrali e libero arbitrio.
Ai primi
del 1272 il nuovo pontefice Gregorio X nominò G. legato per la pacificazione,
anche in vista di un nuovo concilio, delle città di Lombardia e di Toscana; mentre
il suo operato si rivelò inefficace nei confronti dei Fiorentini, ottenne
invece risultati positivi, benché di breve durata, nelle trattative tra Venezia
e Genova e tra Venezia e Bologna.
Dopo un
lungo viaggio che lo portò per la seconda volta a visitare la provincia di
Ungheria (dove nella primavera del 1273 presiedette al capitolo generale di
Buda), partecipò attivamente, a fianco dei membri più illustri del suo Ordine,
al secondo concilio ecumenico di Lione, nei preparativi del quale Gregorio X lo
aveva coinvolto personalmente affidandogli lo svolgimento di un'inchiesta
ufficiale sullo stato dei costumi del popolo cristiano. Sempre da Lione, dove
in prossimità dell'apertura del concilio (7 maggio 1274) fu altresì celebrato
il nuovo capitolo generale e si dovette far fronte ai rinnovati attacchi del
clero secolare, il 2 nov. 1274 G. indirizzò, congiuntamente al generale
francescano Girolamo Masci (il futuro papa Niccolò IV), una solenne enciclica
ai religiosi dei due grandi ordini mendicanti sollecitandoli a una
collaborazione fraterna e a rifuggire da rivalità e interferenze nocive.
Nei primi
mesi del 1276 G. fu impegnato nella visita ai conventi di Toscana: in quelle
circostanze - ma il dato rimane di mera tradizione - avrebbe fatto richiesta di
esonero dal suo ufficio di maestro generale al nuovo papa Innocenzo V (il
domenicano Pietro di Tarantasia, eletto il 21 gennaio), che gliel'avrebbe
rifiutata: gli atti del capitolo generale tenutosi in quell'anno a Pisa non
recano alcuna menzione di ciò, pur riportando un affettuoso indirizzo del
pontefice (che morì poco dopo, il 22 giugno) al maestro e ai padri capitolari.
Dopo la brevissima parentesi di Adriano V (11 luglio - 18 ag. 1276) G., che
durante l'estate si trovava ancora a Viterbo, fu coinvolto personalmente nelle
difficili trattative sulla riforma della procedura dell'elezione dei papi, data
la pertinace resistenza del Collegio cardinalizio ad accettare le nuove
restrizioni imposte al conclave da Gregorio X e poi cassate da Giovanni XXI. Il
nuovo pontefice, pur essendo di sentimenti pregiudizialmente avversi agli
ordini mendicanti, volle nondimeno affidare ai due superiori generali dei
predicatori e dei minori, G. e Girolamo Masci, la delicata missione diplomatica
di condurre le trattative di pace tra Filippo III di Francia e Alfonso X re di
Castiglia e León (ottobre 1276). L'incarico, rinnovato dal successore Niccolò
III il 2 dic. 1277, non diede i frutti sperati a causa delle difficoltà
frapposte da Alfonso X, ma tenne impegnato G. in territorio francese per tutto
il successivo anno (durante il quale poté celebrare a Bordeaux il nuovo
capitolo generale e visitare numerosi conventi del Midi) e per i primi mesi del
1278 (a Pentecoste non poté presiedere al capitolo generale di Milano),
protraendosi ancora sino al giugno del 1279.
Il 15
maggio 1278 G. si trovava a Parigi quando il papa lo nominò successore del
confratello Tommaso Agni al seggio patriarcale di Gerusalemme: nonostante il
fermo rifiuto per umiltà e vecchiaia che ci è noto da una successiva lettera
del pontefice (1° ott. 1278), i testi papali dei mesi seguenti designano ancora
G. come patriarca eletto. Cedendo infine alle resistenze, il 13 febbr. 1279,
grazie all'intercessione del cardinale domenicano Latino Malabranca, nipote del
papa, Niccolò III lo esonerò dall'incarico, obbligandolo però a rimanere alla
testa dell'Ordine, responsabilità da cui G. aveva ritenuto troppo
ottimisticamente d'essere stato prosciolto male interpretando un precedente
accenno contenuto in una lettera papale.
Negli ultimi
anni (1279-82) G. fu impegnato in estenuanti viaggi di ispezione nei conventi
d'Inghilterra, d'Irlanda, delle Fiandre, di Germania e d'Ungheria. Già al
capitolo generale di Vienne, nella primavera del 1282, ormai ottantenne, si
trovava in cattivo stato di salute. Nel 1283 si recò a Montpellier per la nuova
assise capitolare (6 giugno). Viaggiò ancora in Provenza nel mese di agosto
(visita al convento di Prouille), ma, già intenzionato a rimettersi in marcia
verso Bologna, dove aveva fissato la celebrazione del successivo capitolo, morì
a Montpellier il 30 nov. 1283 e venne sepolto in forma solenne nella chiesa del
locale convento. Le sue spoglie, venerate per lungo tempo, sono andate disperse
nel corso delle tormentate vicende delle guerre di religione (1562). Il suo
culto fu approvato da Pio X il 7 sett. 1903.
Opere: di
G. sono conservati alcuni sermones manoscritti: Parigi, Bibl. nationale,
ms. Lat. 14953, cc. 116-119: Sermo magistri Ord. Iacobitarum
dom. ante Ascensionem; Erlangen, Universitätsbibliothek, ms. 327, cc.
112-115: Sermo in festo Pentecostes magistri Ord. fr. praed.
(cfr. anche Kaeppeli, Scriptores, III, pp. 42 s.), nonché alcune lettere
edite in Ungedruckte Dominikanerbriefe des 13. Jahrhunderts, a cura di
H. Finke, Paderborn 1891, pp. 55-60; Litterae encyclicae [ad Ordinem
missae], a cura di B.M. Reichert, in Monumenta Ord. fratrum
praedicatorum historica, V, Romae 1900, pp. 63-129; Epistola "De
morte cuiusdam probi lectoris" (a. 1274), a cura di Th. Kaeppeli, in Archivum
fratrum praedicatorum, XXI (1951), pp. 257 s.; Epistola responsiva
patriarche Ierosolimitano, ibid., pp. 258 s.; Epistola qua
sodalitas S. Spiritus Friburgi sub aegidem Ordinis praedicatorum suscipitur (a.
1264), a cura di N. Morard, in Une charité bien ordonnée: la Confrérie
du St-Esprit à Fribourg à la fin du Moyen Âge (XIVe-XVe
siècles), in Le mouvement confraternel au Moyen Âge. France, Italie,
Suisse. Actes de la Table ronde, Lausanne… 1985, Rome 1987,
pp. 277 s. n. 10.
Fonti e Bibl.: Bullarium Ordinis praedicatorum, a cura di A.
Brémond - Th. Ripoll, I, Romae 1729, pp. 481-486, 543, 548 s., 551, 553-556,
560, 565 s., 569 s.; II, ibid. 1730, pp. 1 s.; VII, Supplementum, ibid.
1739, p. 25; A. Potthast, Regesta pontificum Romanorum, II, Berolini
1874-75, nn. 14332, 16295, 19557 s., 20022, 21124, 21323; Gerardus de Fracheto,
Vitae fratrum Ordinis praedicatorum, a cura di B.M. Reichert, in Monumenta
Ordinis fratrum praedicatorum historica, I, Lovanii-Romae-Stuttgardiae
1896, pp. 174 s.; Acta capitulorum generalium Ordinis praedicatorum, I, 1220-1303,
a cura di B.M. Reichert, ibid., III, Romae-Stuttgardiae 1898, pp.
122-226; Chronica et chro-nicorum excerpta, a cura di B.M. Reichert, ibid.,
VII, ibid. 1904, pp. 14-17; Laurentius Pignon, Catalogi et chronica, a
cura di G.G. Meersseman, ibid., XVIII, Romae 1936, p. 15; Les
registres de Nicolas III (1277-1280), a cura di J. Gay, Paris 1938, pp. 13
s., 79-81, 90-93, 98 s., 101-103, 114, 137-141, 159, 351, 396; Acta
capitulorum provinciae Lombardiae (1254-1293) et Lombardiae inferioris
(1309-1312), a cura di Th. Kaeppeli, in Archivum fratrum praedicatorum,
XI (1941), pp. 141-145; Stephanus de Salaniaco - Bernardus Guidonis, De
quatuor in quibus Deus praedicatorum Ordinem insignivit, a cura di Th. Kaeppeli, in Monumenta Ordinis
fratrum praedicatorum historica, XXII, Romae 1949, p. 119; Iordanus de
Saxonia, Epistulae, a cura di A. Walz, ibid., XXIII, ibid. 1951,
pp. 16, 57; R. Creytens, Les écrivains dominicains dans la chronique
d'Albert de Castello (1516), in Archivum fratrum praedicatorum, XXX
(1960), p. 264; Guillelmus de Tocco, Ystoria s. Thomae de Aquino, a cura
di C. le Brun-Gouanvic, Toronto 1996, pp. 69, 120, 133, 138; Revue de
l'Orient latin, I (1893), p. 26; G.P. Mothon, Vita del beato G. da V.,
Vercelli 1903; A. Mortier, Histoire des maîtres généraux de l'Ordre des
frères prêcheurs, II, Paris 1905, pp. 1-170; L. Borello, Il primo grande
biellese e i suoi discendenti, Biella 1927; M.-D. Chenu, Les réponses de
st Thomas et de Kilwardby à la consultation de Jean de Verceil (1271), in Mélanges
Pierre Mandonnet, I, Paris 1930, pp. 191-222; G. Odetto, La Cronaca
maggiore dell'Ordine domenicano di Galvano Fiamma, in Archivum fratrum
praedicatorum, X (1940), pp. 315, 330-333, 345, 357 s.; A. Walz, Compendium
historiae Ordinis praedicatorum, Romae 1948, pp. 41-43; R. Creytens, L'instruction
des novices dominicains au XIIIe siècle, in Archivum fratrum
praedicatorum, XX (1950), pp. 150 s.; Th. Kaeppeli, Corrispondenza
domenicana nell'ars dictaminis di Bartolomeo da Faenza e in un formulario
anonimo, ibid., XXI (1951), pp. 257-259; G.G. Meersseman, Les
congrégations de la Vierge, ibid., XXII (1952), pp. 20, 113-117; G.
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