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Tommaso da Olera | |
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 Mosaic in Olera | |
| Born | Tommaso Acerbis 1563 Olera,Bergamo,Duchy of Milan |
| Died | 3 May 1631 Innsbruck,Tyrol,Austria |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 21 September 2013, Bergamo,Italy by CardinalAngelo Amato |
| Feast | 3 May |
| Attributes | Capuchin habit |
Tommaso da Olera (1563 - 3 May 1631) - bornTommaso Acerbis was aRoman CatholicItalianfriar of theCapuchins.[1] Leading a life of humility and service, Acerbis, initially a shepherd with no formal education, joined theOrder of Friars Minor Capuchin inVerona at the age of seventeen. He served in various convents, offering spiritual guidance to the sick and impoverished. Acerbis spoke out against the spread ofLutheranism, defending theRoman Catholic Church through his love for "the impassionedChrist". His influence extended to sponsoring convents and spiritually guiding notable individuals, includingBernardina Floriani and scientistIppolito Guarinoni. Acerbis's devotion earned him papal veneration, withPope John XXIII recognizing him as "a saint and a true master of the spirit". The beatification process, initiated in 1967, culminated in his proclamation asVenerable on 23 October 1987. A miracle further validated his cause, leading tobeatification on 21 September 2013, presided over byCardinal Angelo Amato on behalf ofPope Francis.
Tommaso Acerbis was born in 1563 to poor parents and he worked as ashepherd as a child without ever having received proper schooling.
He joined theOrder of Friars Minor Capuchin on 12 September 1580 inVerona at theconvent of Santa Croce di Cittadella where at the age of seventeen he learnt how to read and write. He made his solemn profession on 5 July 1584 and served in theconvents in Verona (1605–12) andVicenza (1612-17) as well asRovereto (1617–18).[1][2] He was later sent toPadua in 1618 as the convent's porter, while not long after in 1619 he was sent to a new province of the order inAustria at the request of the archdukeLeopold V.[2][3]
Out of those convents he visited the sick people and also helped the poor. He often encouraged and championed a love of the faith to those who listened to him. WhenLutheranism began to take root in the area he spoke out and also wrote in defense of the Roman Catholic Church. He chose not to confront but to instead speak on his love of "the impassionedChrist" and the church that He founded.[1] In Vicenza he had sponsored the opening of a convent for thePoor Clares which from 1612-3 was built at Porta Nuova. At Rovereto he sought permission from city authorities to make another convent for the Poor Clares which was built in 1642 and it was there that he met and spiritually guided Bernardina Floriani while in 1617 became a friend and thespiritual director of the scientistIppolito Guarinoni. He was also a spiritual guide to the archduke and his wifeClaudia de' Medici and Acerbis frequently met and corresponded with the two.[2]
He died in mid-1631 inInnsbruck. His remains are housed in Innsbruck.[1]
Pope John XXIII was noted for having enjoyed the writings of the late Franciscan and even said that he was "a saint and a true master of the spirit". The pontiff received a gift from Doctor Joseph Mitterstiller from Innsbruck on 24 November 1959 which was a book of the spiritual writings of the late friar, and the pope's private secretaryLoris Francesco Capovilla later wrote of the occasion and said that the pope had "declared his great esteem and veneration" for him.[2] Capovilla later wrote that on 20 May 1963 the dying pope asked that Capovilla, the pope's nurse, Fra Federico Bellotti and the two helpers Guido and Giampaolo Gusso read for him on his deathbed the late friar's works amongst others.Pope Paul VI also spoke of his esteem for Acerbis.
The stages of the beatification process commenced on 28 February 1967 in an informative process that concluded its work on 19 April 1968 with thePositio dossier later submitted toRome in March 1978. This occurred despite the fact that the formal introduction of the cause was not granted until 4 December 1980 with the declaration of "nihil obstat" (nothing against). Theologians approved all his spiritual writings on 12 February 1974 while historians also approved the course of the cause and deemed no historical obstacles existed - on 7 March 1979. The diocesan process was later validated on 28 May 1982 which led to theologians approving the cause on 2 December 1986 and theCongregation for the Causes of Saints following this decision as well on 30 September 1987. He was proclaimedVenerable on 23 October 1987 afterPope John Paul II recognized his life ofheroic virtue.[3]
A miracle led to a diocesan tribunal from 26 October 2006 to 4 October 2007 to investigate and later submitted its findings to the C.C.S. who validated the process on 16 January 2009. A medical board issued their approval to it on 24 February 2011 while theologians likewise approved it on 22 October 2011 as did the C.C.S. on 7 February 2012.Pope Benedict XVI issued the final approval needed for it on 10 May 2012 and CardinalAngelo Amato - on the behalf ofPope Francis - celebrated the beatification mass in Bergamo on 21 September 2013.[3] Thepostulator assigned to this cause is Fra Carlo Calloni.[4]
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