Blessed Thomas of Tolentino

Thomas of Tolentino, OFM (Italian: Tommaso di or da Tolentino; c. 1255 – 8 April 1321) was an Italian Franciscan missionary who was martyred with his three companions in Thane, India, for blaspheming Muhammad. His relics were removed to Quanzhou, China, and Tolentino, Italy, by Odoric of Pordenone. He was canonized in 1321, with his feast day now held on April 9. Thomas was born in Tolentino in the March of Ancona within the Papal States around 1250 to 1260. Becoming a Franciscan early in life, he developed a reputation for his strict adherence to its rule, particularly concerning his vow of poverty. A fellow of St Nicholas of Tolentino and one of Angelo da Clareno's Spiritual Franciscans, Thomas was jailed twice for his excessive condemnation of luxury. After being released through the intervention of Raymond Godefroy, a new minister general who sympathized with the Spiritualists, Thomas traveled with Angelo da Clareno, Marco da Montelupone, Pietro da Macerata, and Angelo da Tolentino to mission in Lesser Armenia in 1289. In 1291, its King Haython II directed him to return to the courts of Rome, Paris, and London to seek help against his Muslim foes. His efforts to raise a new crusade were unsuccessful and he returned east, departing a second time to gather more missionaries. Returning with twelve companions in 1302, he worked in Armenia and Persia. He debated Armenian Christians he considered heretics at Sis in 1305 and participated in the Council of Sis that notionally reunited the Armenian and Roman Catholic churches in 1307. While in Persia, two letters dated 1305 and 1306 arrived from John of Montecorvino, the Franciscan missionary to China, and Thomas again traveled to Europe, delivering the correspondence to Rome in 1307. While there, he addressed a public consistory of the pope and cardinals, praising John's work in China and asking for assistance in developing his mission.