Holy figures

From a historic point of view, the circumstances of Saint Francis's conversion have never been clear and the only sources describing them are the hagiographies. It would appear that his frustrated desire to become a knight and fight in the crusades played an important role, but more than anything an increasing sense of compassion for the weak, lepers, pariahs, the sick and the marginalized influenced his decision. This compassion would then be transformed into a real "fever of love" for his neighbors. His twenty-fourth birthday (1204) marks the beginning of his conversion: he abandoned his friends, his careless youth, for a life of intense prayer, his meeting with and kissing of a leper, his meeting with the crucifix in San Damiano, his pilgrimage to Rome and his first experience with poverty. He gave up his family wealth and restored the three churches of San Damiano, of San Pietro della Spina and of the Porziuncola. In 1208, Francis took on his evangelical and apostolic vocation; in the same year his first companions began to gather around him, becoming the First Franciscan Order. Four years later, Francis consecrated Clare to God by cutting her hair and dressing her, thus officially beginning the Second Franciscan Order.

The fame of Francis grew enormously as did the number of Franciscan monks. In 1217, Francis called for the first general chapter meeting of the Order, which was held at the Porziuncola: these meetings arose from the need to set up community life rules, organize prayers, strengthen unity inside and out, and to decide on new missions, and was thus held every two years. At the first one, the great expansion of the order in Italy was organized and missionaries were sent to Germany, France and Spain. During the Fifth Crusade, Saint Francis even went to Egypt. Besides the active life of Francis, who was possibly sick, he felt the continuous need to retreat to solitary places to find himself and pray (for example, the Hermitage of the Prisons of Assisi, on the peaks of Mount Subasio; Isola Maggiore on Lake Trasimeno; the Hermitage of the Cells in Cortona). These places offered the monk the silence and peace that allowed him to pray more intimately. Between 1224 and 1226, by now gravely ill in his eyes, he wrote the "Canticle of the Sun". On October 3, 1226, at age 44, Francis died at the Porziuncola. In 1230 the solemn translation of Saint Francis's body from San Giorgio to the new Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi took place.

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In 1969 he gave up all of his responsibilities to dedicate himself fully to his new role as priest, which he held until 2000, in the "Grotta Rossa" neighborhood in the suburbs of Rimini. Here he began an innovative pastor experience with other young priests: to decide everything together with the churchgoers, working with the faithful and not for them, requiring responsibility and awareness of their role as king, priest, and prophet and of their mission throughout history. From the moment in which he was ordained, Don Oreste found himself fulfilling his duty as a priest alongside young people and teenagers, and so he understood the importance of spending time with them. Moved by an innovative spirit, he made a revolutionary proposal for that era: to take disabled children on vacation, who were at that time "closed" in their family homes or in institutions.

In 1971, Don Oreste founded the association for the religious training of adolescents “Papa Giovanni XXIII”, which is today called the Community Papa Giovanni XXIII, of which he was general director until November 2, 2007, the day on which he returned to Our Father. The history of the Community Papa Giovanni XXIII is inextricably interwoven with his personal story. In 1973, he opened the first Casa Famiglia of the Community in Coriano, to «give a family to those who are without» and to “regenerate” with love children, disabled persons, people alone and abandoned, the elderly and whoever needed to be welcomed and helped everyday. His compassion for these kinds of people extended to drug addicts, minors without families, nomads, homeless people, prisoners, victims of cults, women working on the streets, and the elderly even when he went on missions. Easily recognizable by his long, threadbare tunic and his rosary always in hand, he changed many people's destiny. All of those that knew him remember his knack for being able to see into people's hearts, to see each person's strengths and uniqueness. The Community Papa Giovanni XXIII was recognized by the Holy See in 2004 as an international association of the faithful with pontifical rights. Today the Community sits down at the table, every day, with more than 41,000 people around the world thanks to 500 different outposts with family homes, fraternities, food banks for poor people, social centers, therapy communities, Bethlehem Mangers for the homeless, open families and prayer houses. Since 2006, APG23 has been part of the United Nations with the status of Consultative Special in the Ecosoc (Social and Economic Council of the United Nations), as a spokesperson for the forgotten people of the world where the world leaders decide on the fate of humanity. Thanks to the strength of its members, volunteers, and those who support it, the Community Papa Giovanni XXIII has carried on the great project of solidarity of Don Oreste: being a family for those who do not have one.

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In order to defend the Church against heresy, Pope Innocent III sent him as a papal legate to Southern France to preach against the Cathars, who were particularly numerous in that area.

St Dominic stayed in Languedoc for ten years, during which he converted heretics using the sacrament of Reconciliation, public preaching, prayers and persuasion, never once resorting to violence. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream and showed him the Rosary, instructing him to use it against heresy and sin. 

Dominic realised that in order for the Cathars to be converted, monks and clergy needed to set the example by leading an ascetic life, in line with the gospel's message. This is why he sought to establish a new kind of order, one that would bring the Cathars back to the Catholic Church. In 1216, Pope Honorius III finally granted written authority for him to form the Order of Preachers. The order was built on four pillars—study, prayer, preaching and common life—and quickly spread throughout Spain and to the main European university cities, like Bologna.  

When he eventually moved to Bologna, Dominic established the Dominican Community of Bologna and held the first two General Chapters of the order. He inspired and promoted the spread of the Order of Preachers until his death in 1221. His remains are still kept in the Basilica of St Dominic, which is why St Dominic is considered one of the most important Saints of the Emilia-Romagna region. 

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According to the hagiography, in the harsh winter of 335 he came upon a freezing beggar clad only in rags and tore his military cloak in two, giving half to the poor man. Later that night Jesus Christ appeared in his dream, dressed in the cloak half he had given to the poor man, and thanked him for covering him up. Moved by this vision, he decided to get baptised, although he kept serving in the Roman army for another twenty years.

He eventually left the army at the age of 40. Shortly afterwards he became a monk and moved to Poitiers, where he founded one of the earliest monastic foundations in the West. In 371 he was made bishop of Tours by popular acclaim on account of his reputation as a just and merciful man and of his stand against Arianism. However, he never let his new role as bishop divert him from his mission as a pastor and from founding new monastic communities centred around prayer, preaching and common life. 

He died in November 397 and was canonised pre-congregation, soon becoming one of the most popular saints in Europe. In Italy, the cult of St Martin is associated with a phenomenon known as “St Martin’s summer”, a period of unseasonably warm weather that sometimes occurs around November 11 (feast day of St Martin). According to folklore, this spell of warm weather is tied to St Martin’s decision to tear his own cloak to keep the poor beggar from freezing to death.

His humble origins, along with his reputation as a kind, merciful Roman soldier, result in Saint Martin being very popular in the Emilia-Romagna region as well, especially in the countryside and in the mountains. He is also the patron saint of many villages and small rural towns. 

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The cult of St Michael the Archangel quickly spread across Europe and Italy, especially after St Michael’s apparition on Mount Gargano. People pray to him to seek protection from the devil. Saint Michael gained a huge following among the Lombards, who built many churches, abbeys and places of worship in his honour, the most outstanding ones undoubtedly being Sacra di San Michele (Saint Michael's Abbey) near Turin and, of course, Mont Saint-Michel, the tidal island in Normandy. 

The cult of St Michael, who is often depicted with his foot firmly placed on the head of a dragon or a demon, has become popular in the Emilia-Romagna region thanks to Saint Columbanus, who was particularly devoted to him.  Over the course of his life, Columbanus founded many churches dedicated to St Michael and in 615 he chose the so-called “Saint Michael’s cave” near Bobbio (along the Abbots’ Way) for his hermitage. He would stay there for long periods of time, to pray and fast. Legend has it that Columbanus was praying in the cave when he died, yet his remains were later found in his cell in the monastery of Bobbio. 

Last but not least, the Via Francigena, one of the most important pilgrimage routes in medieval times, passes through several places that are either dedicated to St Michael or connected to his cult, like the Bobbio Abbey (which is situated along the Abbots’ Way, also known as Francigena di Montagna) and other monastic communities of St Columbanus. 

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Sappiamo che anche la madre – Salome – faceva parte del gruppo di donne benestanti che seguì Gesù e gli apostoli negli anni dell’apostolato, probabilmente sostenendo anche materialmente le necessità del gruppo. La stessa Salome è protagonista del famoso episodio in cui arriverà a chiedere per i suoi due figli – pronti a bere, a loro dire, il calice che Gesù berrà - i posti migliori nel regno che il Messia si sarebbe apprestato ad edificare di lì a poco. La richiesta, come noto, venne con veemenza rispedita al mittente, ma il calice amaro della persecuzione in effetti passò anche per la gola di Giacomo che attorno agli anni ‘40 venne decapitato da Erode Agrippa divenendo il primo Apostolo martire.

Oltre alla tradizione che lo vuole, dopo la morte di Gesù e prima del martirio, in viaggio verso la Spagna per l’evangelizzazione di quella terra, nella Legenda Aurea Jacopo da Varazze narra che, successivamente alla sua morte, i suoi discepoli ne abbiamo trafugato il corpo traslandolo fino alle coste della Galizia. Il sepolcro con le sue spoglie sarebbe rimasto nascosto fino a quando nel 830 fu rinvenuto in seguito alla visione di un fenomeno prodigioso. Nel luogo del rinvenimento (poi soprannominato campus stellae cioè “campo della stella” dalla visione apparsa in cielo) venne poi eretta quella che oggi è conosciuta come Santiago di Campostela, città capoluogo della Galizia, con la sua celeberrima cattedrale dedicata a San Giacomo il Maggiore e punto culminante di uno dei cammini di pellegrinaggio più significativi della storia della cristianità.

Per questa tradizione che lega San Giacomo alla penisola iberica in un momento cruciale per la storia europea - e cioè negli anni della conquista Araba -, il Santo fu anche associato a simbolo della resistenza cristiana fino a diventare icona del combattente invincibile nella lotto contro gli “infedeli” e l’Islam.
Anche per questa fama di zelante patrono difensore della cristianità, il pellegrinaggio al santuario che ne deteneva le spoglie crebbe di importanza e di notorietà, divenendo nel medioevo la metà più importante dopo Roma e la Terra Santa.

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