Blessed Bernardine of Feltre

Bernardine of Feltre (sometimes Bernardinus of Feltre; 1439 – 28 September 1494) was a Friar Minor and missionary who was born in Feltre, Italy and died in Pavia. He is remembered in connection with the monti di pietà of which he was the reorganizer and, in a certain sense, the founder, together with Michele Carcano. The feast of Blessed Bernardino is kept in the Order of Friars Minor on 28 September. He was beatified by Pope Innocent X on 13 April 1654 via the confirmation of his cult. The cause for his sainthood was opened on 7 April 1870. Born Martin Tomitani, he belonged to the noble family of Tomitano and was the eldest of nine children. In 1456, while a law student in Padua, he heard James of the Marches preach the Lenten course and was inspired to enter the Franciscan order, taking the name Bernardino, after Bernardino of Siena. In May that year he joined the "Observantine" Franciscans, an austere branch of the Franciscan friars. He completed successfully his studies at Mantua and was ordained priest in 1463. He was small, shy, and stammered but his superiors assigned him to preach home-missions. Cured of an impediment in his speech, Bernardine began his apostolate up and down the Italian peninsula. Every city of note and every province from Lombardy in the north to Sardinia and the provinces of the south became successively the scene of his missionary labours. He was an extremely popular preacher because he spoke simply and powerfully against the vanity, ambition and greed rife at the time. The crowds that flocked to hear him were too large for the local churches, so he addressed them in the city squares and the fields. Like many other missioners of his century, he had made a vast outdoor bonfire called "burning the Devil's stronghold". The crowds were asked to throw into the fire all objects of vanity and sin such as playing cards, dice, pornographic books and pictures, jewelry, wigs, superstitious charms, cosmetics, and so forth.