Giovanni Dominici | |
|---|---|
| Apostolic Administrator ofBova | |
.jpg) Painting of Giovanni Dominici atSanta Maria Novella,Florence | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Bova |
| Appointed | 21 April 1412 |
| Term ended | 10 June 1419 |
| Predecessor | Nicolas |
| Successor | Sante |
| Other post(s) |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1380 |
| Consecration | c. 1408 |
| Created cardinal | 9 May 1409 byPope Gregory XII |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Giovanni Dominici c. 1355 |
| Died | 10 June 1419 (aged 64) Buda,Kingdom of Hungary |
| Buried | Church of Saint Paul the Hermit, Buda,Hungary |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 10 June |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 9 April 1832 Saint Peter's Basilica,Papal States by Pope Gregory XVI |
Giovanni Dominici, OP (English:John Dominicc. 1355 – 10 June 1419[1]) was anItalianCatholicprelate andDominican who became acardinal.[2][3] His ideas had a profound influence on the art ofFra Angelico, who entered the Dominicans through him.
Dominici originally encountered difficulties becoming afriar due to aspeech impairment that his superiors believed would rule him ineligible for both profession and thepriesthood.[4] Despite this, Dominici became a noted theologian and preacher and was tireless in establishingmonasteries andconvents in cities such asFiesole andLucca.[5]
He attempted to resign his cardinalate in 1415 during theCouncil of Constance after he succeeded in convincing the pope to abdicate in order to end theWestern Schism. The council refused to accept his resignation, though he had resigned from the archbishopric that he held. He spent the remainder of his life as apapal legate forPope Martin V until he died inBuda.[4][6]
He had been first named as a Blessed since 1622 though he had not been recognized as such until he was beatified on 9 April 1832.[2][3][4]
Giovanni Dominici was born inFlorence inc. 1355 to the poor but devout Domenico Dominici (a silk merchant) and Paola Zorzi.[3] His father died while his mother was pregnant with Giovanni.[4][5]
In his childhood he spent hours in theDominican-runSanta Maria Novella church. If someone needed to see him, his mother directed them to the church and said: "There he spends all his hours". It therefore stood to reason that in 1370 he sought admission into the order.[3] But he suffered from a severespeech impairment which – combined with a lack of formal education – made the friars doubt his vocation to their order. They refused him admission a number of times until 1372 and even insisted that he should remain home to care for his mother. But his mother insisted that Dominici should follow his calling for it was not for her to stand against hisreligious calling.
He was then accepted and began hisnovitiate with the friars there and he began his studies inPisa and Florence.[2] The friars were surprised to see that he had a sharp mind with a good grasp of the complexities of theological and philosophical subject so much so that he was sent to thecollege inParis to further his studies. On his return from Paris when he completed his theological studies his speech impairment became the problem which the authorities of the order had feared from the beginning.[3] Preaching was an expected part of each friar's life which would prove to be problematic for Dominici. He sought the intercession of the DominicansecularSaint Catherine of Siena and he was cured of this impairment. Dominici wasordained to thepriesthood in 1380. He was then appointed as a professor and preacher and held that post for over a decade inVenice. Dominici became the prior for the order's house at Santa Maria Novella in 1381 and retained the position until serving as the prior from 1386 to 1387.[2] He was teaching at San Zanipolo in Venice from 1388 until 1389 when he left.[4]
In 1392 he was appointed as theVicar Provincial for the Romanprovince of the order in 1392. It was a time of disorder for the Dominicans for the order had suffered major losses in membership through a great plague. Theconvent in Venice had lost 77 friars in a matter of months as an example. TheMaster GeneralRaymond of Capua authorized Dominici to establish priories of strict observance in Venice (1394) andFiesole (1406). It was in the latter that the talented artists and brothers Giovanni and Benedetto entered the order around 1407. Giovanni would later be known asFra Angelico. Dominici also founded theCorpus Domini convent in Venice for the Dominicannuns of the strict observance; an account of his life was found in thechronicle andnecrology of that place afterBartolomea Riccoboni discovered it.[7] He also corresponded withChiara Gambacorti and advised her on how to restore discipline to Dominican nuns.[2]
Dominici received into the order on 4 August 1405 four men which included the futureArchbishop of FlorenceAntoninus after the latter heard him preach once. The two worked together in Fiesole.Vincent Ferrer was once preaching inGenoa when an invitation was extended for him to preach in Florence. But Ferrer said he would not since a saint (Dominici) was among their number and was preaching.[2]
Dominici was sent as the Venetian representative to thepapal conclave of 1406 in whichPope Gregory XII was elected. He soon became the counsellor and confessor for the pope who on 26 March 1408 appointed him as theArchbishop of Ragusa.[6][5] In mid-1408 the pope named him as acardinal and sent him as ambassador to theHungarian kingdom to secure the adhesion ofSigismund to the pope. On 26 March 1408 he was sent with Giacopo del Torso to negotiate withAntipope Benedict XIII in an attempt to secure the latter's abdication though this was unsuccessful.[4]
Dominici was present at theCouncil of Constance (which he convinced the pope to convoke) on 4 July 1415 when he read the resignation letter that the pope had written. Dominici had advised the pope to abdicate as the surest means of ending theGreat Schism which had arisen to divide the Church. It was also at that point that he tried to resign his cardinalate to make clear to all that he had no desire to advance through his accomplishment. But the Council rejected that resignation and he remained as a cardinal. It had been before this that he tried to convinceAntipope John XXIII to abdicate though that proved useless.Pope Martin V (who sometimes sought his counsel) appointed him as thepapal legate toBohemia on 19 July 1418 but he accomplished little with the followers ofJohn Hus owing to the timid KingWenceslaus IV.[6] But he had been present when Hus wasburnt at the stake back in 1415.[5]
On 23 July 1409 he was named as theabbotcommendatario for the Santi Andrea e Saba convent while namedprovostcommendatario for the Santa Maria dell'Isola Tremici convent. On 1 January 1411 he was appointed as a legate to both Genoa andMilan. He later was named as the abbotcommendatario for theBenedictine convent of Santi Vito e Salvo on 13 January 1411.[4]
Dominici died atBuda on 10 June 1419 from afever and he was buried in the Saint Paul the Hermit church there. His tomb became a site of miracles and his remains were venerated until the destruction of the church during aTurkish invasion.[2] Antoninus of Florence later wrote a memoir on Dominici.[5]
Dominici's holiness had been renowned during his life and he was venerated soon after his death with miracles being reported at his tomb.Pope Gregory XVI beatified Dominici centuries later on 9 April 1832.
Dominici was a prolific writer on spiritual subjects but he was also a graceful poet; his vernacular songs orLaudi show his tact as a poet. HisRegola del governo di cura familiare, written between 1400 and 1405 is a pedagogical work which treats (in four books) of the faculties of the soul as well as the powers and senses of people. He also touched on the uses of material goods and the education of children.
HisLucula Noctis (which he addressed to the Chancellor of the Florentine RepublicColuccio Salutati) is the most important treatise of that time on the studies of the pagan authors. Dominici did not condemn classical studies outright though did express strong criticism of somehumanist tendencies such as the use ofrhetoric in politics and the rise of the professional politician.
There is now an Open Access revised edition of Hunt's 1940 critical edition of theLucula provided onTheManipulus/Lucula noctis Project website.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Bl. Giovanni Dominici".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
| Virgin Mary | |
|---|---|
| Apostles | |
| Archangels | |
| Confessors |
|
| Disciples | |
| Doctors of the Church |
|
| Evangelists | |
| Church Fathers |
|
| Martyrs |
|
| Missionaries | |
| Patriarchs | |
| Popes |
|
| Prophets | |
| Virgins |
|
| See also | |
