Blessed Matthew of Agrigento

Matteo da Gimara, OFM (also known as Matthew of Agrigento; c. 1376 – 7 January 1450) was an Italian Catholic prelate and a professed member of the Order of Friars Minor. He served as the Bishop of Agrigento from 17 September 1442 until his resignation in mid-1445. He was forced to resign due to clerical opposition to his tenure and rumors spread against him forced this resignation. Matteo was noted for his concern towards the poor as well as for his preaching abilities; he was known to have preached in various Italian cities and had support from Pope Eugene IV who was a benefactor. He also preached across Spain on several occasions being close to the monarch (he is alleged to have Spanish origins) before returning to the Italian peninsula to preach and assume his episcopal duties. He was honored for his saintliness in life and death, which later led to Pope Clement XIII approving his beatification on 22 February 1767. Matteo Guimerà was born in Agrigento sometime in 1376 and is said to be descended from a Spanish line. It has been debated that his name is Matteo de Zizilia due to an entrance record into the Order of Friars Minor at Bologna dated 30 July 1394 while other hagiographers have suggested that he was named after his grandfather with the surname Sciascia; others suggest Limbeni is his surname. He was sent to Bologna for his theological studies and later to Barcelona in Spain where he was ordained as a priest in 1400. He joined the Order of Friars Minor either in 1391 or 1392 at the San Francesco d'Assisi convent before making his religious profession in 1394. It was after his ordination that he was tasked with preaching in Tarragona and then served as a novice master from 1405 until 1416 (he returned home in 1417).