Saint John of Tufara

John of Tufara (Italian: Giovanni da Tufara; Latin: Ioannes de Tuphária) also known as John the Hermit (Italian: Giovanni Eremita; Latin: Ioannes eremítæ; 1084 – 14 November 1170) was an Italian hermit, monastery founder, and saint in the Catholic Church. He is the patron saint of his birth town Tufara and of Foiano di Val Fortore where he died. John was born in 1084 in Tufara. He had a strained relationship with his parents Mainardo and Maria who disapproved of John's strong religious feelings. As such, aged 18 John decided to leave his family for Paris. However, he did not feel comfortable in the busy city and instead preferred the quiet of the countryside. John returned to Tufara where he learned that his parents had died. He stayed briefly in the town with his brother Benedetto, before giving away all of his possessions to the poor and deciding to live as a hermit in the caves surrounding Baselice. John remained in these caves for the last 46 years of his life, during which time he amassed a small following of local men who admired his way of life. In 1156, obtained authorisation from Pope Adrian IV to build a monastery. In the same year, he began the construction of the monastery of Santa Maria di Gualdo Mazzocca (English: Saint Mary of Gualdo Mazzocca) in Foiano di Val Fortore. The name of the monastery refers to its dedication to Mary, mother of Jesus, as well as its location next to the Mazzocca woods and the feudal lord to whom the land had previously belonged. This later became an abbey which went on to offer prayer and assistance to the poor. Following a violent fever and physical exhaustion, on 14 November 1170—aged 86—John died in his monastery. The monks at the abbey buried his body in a hidden location in the forest for fear that it would be stolen. Following John's death, the brothers of the abbey several times petitioned the pope to make him a saint.