Blessed Andrea da Segni

Andrea dei Conti (1240 – 1 February 1302) was an Italian Franciscan who was born as a member of the noble house of Conti di Segni. The priest was best known for his humble life of solitude in which he was subjected to demonic visions and attacks though his faith in God saw him emerge time and time again as the victor. He lived his life in a small grotto in the Apennines. Conti was the paternal nephew of Pope Alexander IV and is reported to be the maternal uncle or cousin - though related in some form - of Pope Boniface VIII in addition to being both the ancestor of Pope Innocent XIII and medieval pontiffs Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX; he was also related to a total of five Italian cardinals from his noble stock. His descendant Innocent XIII approved the Franciscan's beatification on 11 December 1724. Andrea dei Conti was born into the noble house of Conti di Segni in 1240 in Anagni to Stefano - the brother of Pope Alexander IV. His sister was the mother of Pope Boniface VIII or he and his sister were the future pontiff's cousins. In his adolescence he saw around him the world and its vainness and decided to live a life opposite to it in order to pursue the religious life. He renounced his wealth and left his father's castle where he sought refuge at the San Lorenzo convent in the mountains in the Lazio region. Conti became a hermit living in the Apennines and had routine visits and attacks from demons in a series of visions in which his ardent faith in God saw him emerge as the victor time and time again. It was in the mountains that he found a grotto and with the permission of his superiors made his abode there; the cavern he lived in was so narrow and low that he had to kneel or bend over when inside due to his tall height.