_-_Altare_dell'Addolorata_-_San_Filippo_Benizi.jpg)
Rinaldino di Francia, San Filippo Benizi, Santa
Maria dei Servi (Padua) - Altare dell'Addolorata
Saint Philippe Benizi
Général de l'Ordre des Servites de
Marie (+ 1285)
Martyrologe romain
.jpg)
Carlo Dolci (1616–1686). Saint Philippe Benizi, entre 1640 et 1641, 121 x 95, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Brest
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_philippe_benizi.html
Bernardino Poccetti, San Filippo Benizi
converte due peccatrici, chiostro grande della Santissima Annunziata, Firenze
Also known as
Felipe Benicio
Filip Benizi
Philip Benitius
Philip Beniti
Profile
Born to the Italian nobility.
Brilliant student. Studied medicine at Paris, France,
and Padua, Italy,
receiving his doctorates in medicine and philosophy by
age 19. Practiced medicine for
about a year, but following a vision of
the Virgin
Mary, he quit to join the Servites as
a lay
brother at Monte Senario in 1254. Ordained at Siena, Italy in 1258.
Tried to hide his education so he could remain a simple member of the Order, but
he was persuaded to use his gifts and background to further the Servite mission. Novice
master at Siena in 1262.
Sent to Forli, Italy to
resolve a conflict between the papacy and
the emperor, he was heckled and then physically attacked while preaching.
Philip turned the other cheek. Father Philip’s
non-violent ways caused a converion in Peregrine
Laziosi who later became a Servite saint.
Superior of several Servite friaries.
Elected prior-general
of the order on 5 June 1267,
much against his protests. Attended the Council of Lyons. Codified
the Servite rules,
and defended against attempts to disband it in the wake of the Second
Council of Lyons which put restrictions on mendicant
orders. Worked to bring peace to the Guelphs
and Ghibellines in 1279.
He was considered a candidate for the papacy at
one point; when he heard the rumor, he went into hiding on Mount Tuniato
until Pope Saint Gregory
X was chosen. Worked with Blessed Andrew
Dotti. Helped Saint Juliana
of Cornillon found the Servite third
order. Dispatched the first Servite missionaries to
the East in 1284.
Lived his last few months in retirement in a Servite house
in Todi, Italy.
Miracle worker
and healer.
He once met a leper on
the road, and gave the man his cloak;
the leprosy was
instantly cured.
Born
15 August (Feast
of the Assumption) 1233 at
district of Oltrarno, Florence, Italy
22 August (Octave
of the Assumption) 1285 at Todi, Italy
Name Meaning
lover of horses (Philip)
8 October 1645 by Pope Innocent
X
12 April 1671 by Pope Clement X
Sergio
Osmena, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines
Additional Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Catholic
Encyclopedia: Order of Servites
Catholic
Encyclopedia: Servants of Mary
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
Miniature
Lives of the Saints for Every Day in the Year, by Father Henry
Sebastian Bowden
Saint
Philip Benizi, by Father C
H McKenna, OP
Short
Lives of the Saints, by Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
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MLA Citation
“Saint Philip Benizi“. CatholicSaints.Info. 18
April 2021. Web. 17 May 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-philip-benizi/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-philip-benizi/
Alessandro Allori, Miracolo della fonte con S. Filippo
Benizzi, 1603, da Capp. Spini a Firenze
Short Lives of the Saints – Saint
Philip Beniti, Confessor
Entry
Saint Philip Beniti was general of the Order of
Servites, or Servants of Mary. He preached through all the prominent cities of
Europe, and was so universally reverenced for his sanctity that, on the death
of Pope Clement IV, the cardinals wished to elevate him to the Chair of Saint
Peter. But the humble Servite fled away to evade the dignity. Italy was then
torn by the factions of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Saint Philip devoted
himself to reconciling the opposing parties and restoring peace to families.
But his noble efforts were often met by the roughest usage on the part of his
enemies. He was threatened, beaten, and dragged through the mud, his heavenly
patience enduring all so sweetly that his most inveterate foes became his
ardent admirers. One of them even came to throw himself at Saint Philip’s feet,
craved his pardon, and afterwards, entering the Order of the Servites, died a
most edifying death, The gentle Beniti himself passed to his reward in 1285.
. . . And let us learn that man,
Toiling, enduring, pleading (calm, serene),
For those who scorn and slight, is likest God.
– Mrs. M. J. Preston
Favorite Practice – To often repeat: “Patience
hath a perfect work; that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing.”
MLA Citation
Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly. “Saint Philip Beniti,
Confessor”. Short
Lives of the Saints, 1910. CatholicSaints.Info.
18 April 2021. Web. 17 May 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/short-lives-of-the-saints-saint-philip-beniti-confessor/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/short-lives-of-the-saints-saint-philip-beniti-confessor/
Giovanni Bellini (vers 1430 –1516). Compianto sul Cristo morto con Giuseppe d'Arimatea, la Vergine e la Maddalena, tra s. Marta e Filippo Benizi, circa 1515, 444 x 312, Galeries de l'Académie
Servants of Mary
(Order of Servites)
This order was founded on the feast of the Assumption,
1233 when the Blessed Virgin appeared to seven noble Florentines, who had
repaired to the church to follow the exercises of the Confraternity of
the Laudesi, and bade them leave the world and live for God alone. On the
following feast of her Nativity, 8 September, they retired to La Camarzia, just
outside the walls of the city, and later on to Monte Senario, eleven miles from
Florence. Here again they had a vision of the Blessed Virgin. In her hands she
held a black habit; a multitude of angles surrounded her, some bearing the
different instruments of the Passion, one holding the Rule of St. Augustine,
whilst another offered with one hand a scroll, on which appeared the title of
Servants of Mary surrounded by golden rays, and with the other a palm branch.
She addressed to them the following words: "I have chosen you to be my
first Servants, and under this name you are to till my Son's Vineyard. Here,
too, is the habit which you are to wear; its dark colour will recall the pangs
which I suffered on the day when I stood by the Cross of my only Son. Take also
the Rule of St.
Augustine, and may you, bearing the title of my Servants, obtain the palm
of everlasting life." Among the holy men of the order was St. Philip
Benizi, who was born on the day the Blessed Virgin first appreared to the Seven
Founders (15 August), and afterwards became the great propagator of the order.
The order developed rapidly not only in Italy but also
in France and Germany, where the holy
founders themselves spread devotion to the
Sorrows of Mary. Their glorious son St. Philip continued the work and thus
merited the title of Eighth Founder of the Order. The distinctive spirit of the
order is the sanctification of its members by meditation on the Passion of
Jesus and the Sorrows of Mary, and spreading abroad this devotion.
The order consists of three branches. Concerning the
First Order or Servite Fathers, see SERVITE ORDER. The
Second Order (cloistered nuns) was probably
founded by Blessed Helen and Blessed Rose shortly after the death of St. Philip
in 1285. This branch has houses in Italy and Austria as well as
one at Bognor, England.
The Third Order of
Mantellate was founded by St. Juliana Falconieri to
whom St. Philip gave the habit in 1284. This branch occupies itself with active
works after the example of its holy foundress. From Italy it spread
into other countries of Europe. The Venerable
Anna Juliana, Archduchess of Austria, founded several
houses and became a Mantellate herself. In 1844 it was introduced into France, and was thence
extended into England in
1850. The sisters were the first to wear the religious habit publicly in that
country after the so-called Reformation. They are at
present one of the leading religious orders
for women in
what was once "Mary's Dowry", having been active missionaries under
Father Faber and the Oratorians for
many years. In 1871 the English province sent sisters to American, but they
were recalled in 1875. The superior general being very desirous to see the
order established in the United States sent
sisters a second time in 1893. They have now a novitiate at
Cherokee, Iowa,
and mission houses in other states. They devote themselves principally to
the education of
youth, managing academies and taking charge of parochial schools and
workrooms. They also undertake works of mercy, such as the care of orphans, visiting the
sick, and instructing converts, etc. Above all, in imitation of their holy
foundress, St.
Juliana, they do all in their power to instill into the hearts of those
under their care a great love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. At
the last general chapter held in London, 31 July, 1906, a
vicaress general for America was appointed.
Sources
HEIMBUCHER, Orden u. Kongregationen, II (Paderborn,
1907), 218 sq.
Servants of Mary (Order of Servites)." The
Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1910. 17 May
2021 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09750a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for
New Advent by Dawn Felton Francis.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil
Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John
M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020
by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09750a.htm
Andrea del Sarto (1487–1530), Liberation
of the Woman possessed by the Devil, 1509-1510, fresco, 364 x 300, basilique de la Santissima
Annunziata
A Garner of Saints – Saint Philip
Benizzi
Article
Of the noble family of the Benizzi of Florence, where
he was born in the year 1253. Of his childhood but little is known, except that
he always desired to become a monk, and when only twelve months old he had
cried, Behold the Servants of Mary, on seeing some Servite monks in Florence.
One day, being in an ecstasy he saw a vision of the Virgin who said, Philip,
come and join yourself to my chariot. Accordingly he entered the order of the
Servites, but on account of his humility he would only be a lay brother.
Immediately after his reception he was sent to a convent at three leagues from
Florence, where he displayed the utmost diligence. He would retire into a
cavern near the church to meditate, while at other times he scourged himself,
his devotions proving so pleasing to God that a fountain sprang up bn the spot.
Two Dominicans who chanced to visit him were so struck by his piety that they
forced him to become a priest. When he said his first mass, celestial voices
were heard singing the Sanctus at the elevation of the host. Passing through
all the grades of the order, he was at length made General, though it is said
he would not accept that high office until he received a divine command. One
day he met a leper, who asked an alms. Having neither silver nor gold the saint
took the man aside and gave him his tunic, and as soon as the leper had put it
on he was made whole. Going to Arezzo which was besieged by the Florentines, he
found the Servite friars there half dead of hunger. He knelt down to pray in
front of an image of the Virgin, and before he had been there long a knock came
at the door and the porter received from an unknown hand enough white bread for
the nourishment of all the convent. Being in Viterbo at the time when the
sacred college was assembled there, Philip would have been made pope had he not
fled away. After this he departed to a mountain called Montamiata to do
penance. Here he suflered from a lack of water, and accordingly by striking the
rock three times with his staff”, he caused those springs to flow which have
ever after been known as the baths of Saint Philip. When the time came he left
this solitude and passed through France, Germany and other foreign parts. And
one day when he was being insulted by some evil persons whom he had reproved
for wasting their time in playing under some trees, a storm came up and a flash
of lightning killed them all, as the man of God had predicted. Returning from
France, he and his companions lost their way in a forest and were three days
without food. On the fourth day some shepherds found them, and set them at a
table made ready with bread and good fresh water. And when they wished to thank
the shepherds, they immediately disappeared. Returned to Italy, Philip
endeavoured to make peace between the factions of the Guelfs and Ghibellines.
Preaching at Forli he accused the people of being the enemies of the Church,
upon which they attacked him, leaving him half dead outside the city. In the
year 1285 he resigned the generalship of his order to Fra Lottaringo della
Stufa, and went to Perugia to obtain the pope’s confirmation of his action.
This done, he proceeded to Todi, where he died not long after. In his life he
healed many sick persons, and wrought numerous miracles during the three days
that his body was awaiting burial, as well as in the succeeding years. Among
these miracles two dead were raised, one being a child which had been strangled
by a wolf, two men possessed by devils were made whole, and many sick were
healed. His canonisation took place in 1516. 23rd
August.
Attributes
Three crowns are held over his head by an angel, or
are suspended in the air, symbolic of his having refused the triple crown of
the papacy. He wears the habit of the Servite order.
MLA Citation
Allen Banks Hinds, M.A. “Saint Philip Benizzi”. A Garner of Saints, 1900. CatholicSaints.Info.
26 April 2017. Web. 17 May 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/a-garner-of-saints-saint-philip-benizzi/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/a-garner-of-saints-saint-philip-benizzi/
Andrea del Sarto (1487–1530), , San Filippo risana un lebbroso,
1509-1510
St. Philip Beniti,
Confessor
From the Annals of
the Order of Servites, compiled by Giani, with the notes of Garbi, printed at
Lucca in 1719, in two vols. fol. and the notes of F. Cuper the Bollandist,
Augusti, t. 4, p. 654; also from Paulus Florentinus in his Dialogues, De
Origine Servorum B. Mariæ V. published in the Deliciæ Eruditorum, Romæ, 1754,
t. 10; and Chronicon Rerum Ordinis Servorum B. M. V. a Fr. Mich. Florentino.
Florentiæ, 1567, 4to.
A.D. 1285.
ST. PHILIP BENITI or
BENIZI, the principal ornament and propagator of the religious Order of
the Servites in Italy, was descended of the noble family of Benizi in Florence,
and a native of that city. His virtuous parents were well persuaded that the
right or wrong state of human nature depends as necessarily upon the education
of children, as that of a plant upon proper culture; and that the whole of this
art consists, not only in strengthening the body by suitable exercise, and opening
and improving the faculties of the mind by proper studies, but above all by
forming in youth strong and lasting habits, and inspiring them with the most
noble sentiments of all virtues. Through their care, assisted by a special
grace, Philip preserved his soul untainted by vice and the world, and daily
advanced in the fear of God. Having gone through the studies of humanity in his
own country, he was sent to Paris to apply himself to the study of medicine, 1 in which charity was his
motive; and Galen, though a heathen, was a strong spur to him in raising his
heart continually from the contemplation of nature to the adoration and praise
of its great Author. From Paris he removed to Padua, where he pursued the same
studies, and took the degree of doctor, which then was the same in that faculty
as in Arts. 2 After his return to Florence he
took some time to deliberate with himself what course to steer, earnestly
begging God to direct him into the path in which he should most perfectly
fulfil his divine will.
The religious
Order of Servites, or servants of God under the special patronage of the
Blessed Virgin, had been instituted in that country fifteen years before. Seven
very rich merchants of Florence had laid the foundation of this institute,
having by mutual agreement retired to Monte Senario, six miles from that city.
They lived there in little cells, something like the hermits of Camaldoli,
possessing nothing but in common, and professing obedience to Bonfilio Monaldi,
whom they chose superior. The austerities which they practised were exceedingly
great, and they lived in a great measure on alms. Bonfilio Monaldi, the first
superior of this fervent company, at the request of certain pious persons,
founded a small convent near one of the gates of Florence, with a chapel under
the title of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. St. Philip happening to
hear mass in this chapel on Thursday in Easter week, was strongly affected with
the words of the Holy Ghost to the deacon Philip, which were read in the
epistle of that day, 3 Draw near, and join thyself to
the chariot. His name being Philip he applied to himself these words of
the Holy Ghost, as an invitation to put himself under the patronage of the
Blessed Virgin in that holy Order. The night following he seemed to himself, in
a dream or vision, to be in a vast wilderness (representing the world) full of
precipices, rocks, flint stones, briers, snares, and venomous serpents, so that
he did not see how it was possible for him to escape so many dangers. Whilst he
was in the utmost dread and consternation, he thought he beheld the Blessed
Virgin seated in a chariot, calling him to this new Order. The next day Philip
revolved in his mind, that great watchfulness and an extraordinary grace are
requisite to discover every lurking rock or sand in the course of life in the
world, and he was persuaded that God called him to this Order, established
under the patronage of his Mother, as to a place of refuge. Accordingly he
repaired to the little chapel where he had heard mass, and was admitted by F.
Bonfilio to the habit, in quality of lay-brother, that state being more
agreeable to his humility. He made his religious vows on the 8th of September
in 1233, and was sent by his superior to Monte Senario, there to work at every
kind of hard country labour.
The saint cheerfully
applied himself to it in a perfect spirit of penance, but accompanied his work
with constant recollection and fervent prayer; and all his spare hours he
devoted to this holy exercise in a little cave behind the church; where,
inebriated with heavenly delights, and in ecstasies of divine love he often
forgot the care which he owed to his body. He most industriously concealed his
learning and talents, till they were at length discovered; in the mean time
those who conversed with him admired the heavenly prudence and light with which
he spoke on spiritual things. He was charged with the care of a new convent
that was founded at Sienna, where he undesignedly displayed his abilities in a
discourse on certain controverted points, in presence of two learned Dominicans
and others, to the great astonishment of those that heard him. The superiors of
his Order were hereupon engaged by others to draw this bright light from under
the bushel, and to place it on the candlestick. Having therefore obtained a
dispensation of his holiness, they took care to have him promoted to holy
orders, though nothing but their absolute command could extort the humble
saint’s consent to such a step. He was soon after made definitor, then
assistant to the general; and, in 1267, the fifth general of his Order.
Upon the death of
Clement IV. the cardinals assembled at Viterbo began to cast their eyes on him
to raise him to the apostolic chair. Having intelligence of this design, in the
greatest alarm he retired into the mountains with only one religious companion,
and lay concealed there till Gregory X. was chosen. He rejoiced to find in this
retreat an opportunity of redoubling the macerations of his body, and giving
himself up to the sweet exercise of heavenly contemplation. All this time he
lived chiefly on dry herbs, and drank at a fountain, since esteemed miraculous,
and called St. Philip’s bath, situate on a mountain named Montagnate. He
returned from the desert glowing with holy zeal, to kindle in the hearts of
Christians the fire of divine love. After preaching in many parts of Italy he
appointed a vicar-general there to govern his Order, and with two religious
companions undertook an extensive mission, preaching with great fruit at
Avignon, Toulouse, Paris, and in other great cities in France; also in
Flanders, Friesland, Saxony, and Higher Germany. After two years’ absence he
came back to hold the general chapter of his Order at Borgo in 1274, in which
he used all his endeavours to be released from the burden of the generalship; but
was so far from being heard that he was confirmed in that dignity for life.
Indeed no one was more worthy of it than he who most sincerely judged himself
to be, of all persons living, the most unworthy. In the same year he repaired
to the second general council of Lyons, from which he obtained the confirmation
of his Order, Pope Gregory X. presiding there in person. The saint announced
the word of God wherever he came, and had an extraordinary talent in converting
sinners, and in reconciling those who were at variance. Italy was at that time
horribly divided by intestine discords and hereditary factions, particularly
those of the Guelphs and Gibellins. 4 Holy men often sought to apply remedies
to these quarrels, which had a happy effect upon some; but in many, these
discords, like a wound ill cured, broke out again with worse symptoms than
ever. St. Philip wonderfully pacified the factions when they were ready to tear
each other to pieces at Pistoia, and in many other places. He succeeded at
length also at Forli, but not without first exposing himself to many dangers.
The seditious insulted and beat him in every part of the city; but his
invincible patience at length disarmed their fury, and vanquished them. St.
Peregrinus Latiozi, who was their ringleader, and had himself struck the saint,
was so powerfully moved by the example of his meekness and sanctity, that he
threw himself at his feet, and with many tears begged his pardon and prayers.
Being become a perfect model of penitents he was received by him into the Order
of Servites at Sienna, and continued his penance in sackcloth and ashes to his
happy death in the eightieth year of his age. So evident were his miracles and
other tokens of his heroic sanctity and perseverance, that he was canonized by
Benedict XIII. in 1726.
St. Philip made
the sanctification of his religious brethren the primary object of his zeal, as
it was the first part of his charge. 5 Nor was he a stranger to the
maxim which the zealous reformer of La Trappe so strenuously inculcated, 6 that
a religious community in which regular discipline is enervated, and those who
profess the Order are strangers to its true spirit, is not a harbour or place
of refuge, but a shipwreck of souls. Scarcely could a saint be able to resist
such a torrent of example, or the poison of such an air, in which, as in the
pest-house, every one is confined. Though gross crimes of the world are shut
out, the want of the religious spirit, and a neglect of the particular duties
of that heroic state, are enough to damn souls. To preserve his family from so
fatal a misfortune, our saint never ceased to watch and pray. Judging at length
by the decay of his health that the end of his life drew near, he set out to
make the visitation of the convents of his Order at Florence, Sienna, Perugia,
and other places. Arriving at Todi, he went straight to the altar of our Lady,
and falling prostrate on the ground prayed with great fervour, and said: “This
is the place of my rest for ever.” The day following he made a moving sermon on
the glory of the blessed. His disorder manifested itself by a sharp fever on
the feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God. The time of his sickness he
employed in admirable sentiments of compunction; and on the octave day, falling
into his agony, he called for his book, by which word he usually meant his
crucifix, and devoutly contemplating it, calmly expired. To give place to the
octave of the Assumption, his feast is kept on the following day, the
twenty-third of the month. He was canonized by Clement X. in 1671; but the bull
was only published by Benedict XIII. in 1724.
In the lives of the saints we see the
happiness of a rooted virtue, which by repeated fervent exercises, is formed
into strong and lasting habits of temperance, meekness, humility, charity, and
holy zeal. Such a virtue is never warped by selfish views: it never belies or
is inconsistent with itself; it vanquishes all enemies, discovers their snares,
triumphs over their assaults, and is faithful to the end. If ours be not such,
we have reason to fear it is false, and unworthy of a crown.
Note
2. Hist. Littéraire,
t. 9, p. 191. [back]
Note
4. The Guelphs were those who adhered to
the popes; and the partizans of the emperors in their contests about
investitures, &c., were called Gibellins. The distinction of these two
factions was first heard of in Germany. In 1140, the Emperor Conrad III.
disposed of the duchy of Bavaria in favour of his brother Leopold, margrave of
Austria, expelling the family of the Guelphs, who had long enjoyed it. Guelph
VII. maintained by arms the right of his family, in favour of his ward Henry,
surnamed the Lion, to whom Conrad’s successor, Frederic Barbarossa, afterwards
restored it. Conrad was born at Waiblingen in Suabia, whence his adherents were
called Waiblingi, which word by the Italian pronunciation was softened into
Gibellini. These factions subsisted in Germany for above a hundred years; but
in Italy almost four hundred; they not being quite extinct there before the
reign of Charles V. See Rimius’s History of the House of Hanover, and Barre’s
Histoire d’Allemagne. [back]
Note 5. The Order of the Servites was
approved by Alexander IV. and Benedict XI. St. Philip propagated it in most
parts of Italy, and built some convents in France. It is at present divided
into twenty-seven provinces. The chief house is that of the Annunciation in
Florence. The primitive austerity of this institute was in process of time much
relaxed. Wherefore, in 1593, it was by a severe reformation brought back to its
original manner of living in the hermitages on Monte Senario. These reformed
religious men are called Hermite Servites. In the fifteenth century the Popes
Martin V. and Innocent VIII. declared the Servites a fifth mendicant Order, and
associated it in this respect with the four former Orders of Mendicants, the
Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Carmelites, and the Hermits of St.
Austin. [back]
Note
6. Abbé Rancé, Maximes et Oblig. de l’Etat
Relig. &c. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume
VIII: August.The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : https://www.bartleby.com/210/8/231.html
Andrea del Sarto (1487–1530), Punizione dei bestemmiatori, 1510
Miniature Lives of the Saints –
Saint Philip Benizi
Article
Saint Philip Benizi was born in Florence on the feast
of the Assumption, 1233. That same day the Order of Servites was founded by the
Mother of God. As an infant at the breast Philip broke out into speech at the
sight of these new religious, and begged his mother to give them alms. Amidst
all the temptations of his youth he longed to become himself a servant of Mary;
and it was only the fear of his own unworthiness which made him yield to his
father’s wish, and begin to practice medicine. After long and weary waiting his
doubts were solved by our Lady herself, who in a vision bade him enter her
Order. Still Philip dared only offer himself as a lay-brother, and in this
humble state he strove to do penance for his sins. In spite of his reluctance
he was promoted to the post of master of novices; and as his rare abilities
were daily discovered he was bidden to prepare for the priesthood. Thenceforth
honours were heaped upon him; he became general of the Order, and only escaped
by flight elevation to the Papal throne. His preaching restored peace to Italy,
which was wasted by civil wars; and at the Council of Lyons he spoke to the
assembled prelates with the gift of tongues. Amid all these favours Philip
lived in extreme penitence, constantly examining his soul before the judgment seat
of God, and condemning himself as only fit for hell. He died, a true child of
Mary, at the Ave Maria, on the Octave of the Assumption, 1285.
Meditation on the Last Things
Endeavour so to act as you would wish to have acted
when you stand before your Judge. This is the rule of the Saints, and the only
safe rule for all.
‘My God, the nearer I approach to Thee, the greater
need have I to humble myself in the dust. O my God, who art Thou, and what am
I?’ — Saint Philip Benizi
Saint Philip, though he was free from the stain of
mortal sin, was never weary of beseeching God’s mercy. From the time he was ten
years old he said daily the Penitential Psalms. On his deathbed he kept
reciting the verses of the Miserere with his cheeks streaming with tears; and
during his agony he went through a terrible contest to overcome the fear of
damnation. But a few minutes before he died all his doubts disappeared, and
were succeeded by a holy trust. He uttered the responses in a low but audible
voice; and when at last the Mother of God appeared before him, he lifted up his
arms with joy and breathed a gentle sigh, as if placing his soul in her hand.
‘In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou
shalt never sin.’ — Ecclesiasticus 7:40
MLA Citation
Father Henry Sebastian Bowden. “Saint Philip
Benizi”. Miniature
Lives of the Saints for Every Day of the Year, 1877. CatholicSaints.Info.
28 November 2020. Web. 17 May 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/miniature-lives-of-the-saints-saint-philip-benizi/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/miniature-lives-of-the-saints-saint-philip-benizi/
Cosimo Rosselli, Vocazione di san Filippo Benizi, 1476, basilique de la Santissima Annunziata
Cosimo Rosselli, Vocazione di san Filippo Benizi, 1476, basilique de la Santissima Annunziata
Pictorial Lives of the Saints –
Saint Philip Benizi
Saint Philip Benizi was born in Florence, on the Feast
of the Assumption, 1233. That same day, the Order of Servites was
founded by the Mother of God. As an infant at the breast, Philip broke out into
speech at the sight of these new religious, and begged his mother to give them
alms. Amidst all the temptations of his youth, he longed to become himself a
servant of Mary, and it was only the fear of his own unworthiness which made
him yield to his father’s wish and begin to practise medicine. After long and
weary waiting, his doubts were solved by our Lady herself, who in a vision bade
him enter her Order. Still Philip dared only offer himself as a lay brother,
and in this humble state he strove to do penance for his sins. In spite of his
reluctance, he was promoted to the post of master of novices; and as his rare
abilities were daily discovered, he was bidden to prepare for the priesthood.
Thenceforth honors were heaped upon him; he became general of the Order, and
only escaped by flight elevation to the Papal throne. His preaching restored
peace to Italy, which was wasted by civil wars; and at the Council of Lyons, he
spoke to the assembled prelates with the gift of tongues. Amid all these
favors, Philip lived in extreme penitence, constantly examining his soul before
the judgment-seat of God, and condemning himself as only fit for hell. Saint
Philip, though he was free from the stain of mortal sin, was never weary of
beseeching God’s mercy. From the time he was ten years old, he said daily the
Penitential Psalms. On his death-bed he kept reciting the verses of the
Alisercre, with his cheeks streaming with tears; and during his agony, he went
through a terrible contest to overcome the fear of damnation. But a few minutes
before he died, all his doubts disappeared and were succeeded by a holy trust.
He uttered the responses in a low but audible voice; and when at last the
Mother of God appeared before him, he lifted up his arms with joy and breathed
a gentle sigh, as if placing his soul in her hand. He died on the Octave of the
Assumption, 1285.
Reflection – Endeavor so to act as you would wish to
have acted when you stand before your Judge. This is the rule of the Saints,
and the only safe rule for all.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-philip-benizi/
Statuen von Ordensgründern: Philippus Beniitus,
Generalprior der Serviten, Bad Schussenried, Pfarrkirche St. Magnus (ehemalige
Klosterkirche); Chorgestühl von Georg Anton Machein (und Werkstatt), 1715–1717
Weninger’s Lives of the Saints –
Saint Philip Beniti, Confessor
Article
Saint Philip Beniti was born at Florence, and before
his birth the Almighty had revealed to his pious mother, that he would become
illustrious for his holiness. It seemed to her that a bright shining light
emanated from her, which, spreading more and more, at last illumined the whole
world with its rays. This was one of the inducements which led her to neglect
nothing that was necessary to form in her son the mind and heart of a Saint.
She was still more strengthened in this by the following event. Two Religious
of the newly founded order of the Servites came to her house. Philip, at that
time only five months old; after looking at them for some moments, said:
“Behold the servants of Mary, give alms to them, my mother.” All present,
greatly surprised at this miracle, concluded rightly that God had ordained a
remarkable future for this child. The same might be divined from his entire
conduct, while yet but a child: all his actions seemed to be imprinted with the
seal of holiness.
Having finished his studies, he was one day thinking
about his vocation, and it being the Thursday after Easter, he went into the
Chapel of the Servites, which stood on the outskirts of Florence, to attend
holy Mass. At the Epistle were read the words of the Holy Ghost to Saint
Philip: “Draw near, and join thyself to the chariot.” Having heard these words,
he went into an ecstasy, and it seemed to him that he was alone in a vast
wilderness, where nothing was to be seen but sterile mountains, steep rocks and
cliffs, or marshes, overgrown with thorns, swarming with poisonous reptiles,
and full of snares. He screamed with fear, and looking around how to save himself,
he saw, high in the air, the Blessed Virgin in a chariot, surrounded by Angels
and Saints, and holding in her hand the habit of the Servites. At the same
time, he heard from the lips of Mary the words which had just been read in the
Epistle. “Draw near, and join thyself to the Chariot.” After this revelation,
Philip no longer doubted that he was called to enter the order of the Servites,
and going, the following day, to the dwelling of the seven founders of this
order, he desired to be received as a lay-brother. He was readily accepted, but
after having served in that capacity a few years, his talent, knowledge and
holiness were so manifest, that he was made priest: after which he was raised
from one dignity to another, until he was at last made General of the entire
order. Although he at first humbly opposed this choice, yet when forced to
obey, he became zealous in his labors to disseminate the principles of the holy
Order, whose object is to reverence the Blessed Virgin and to promote her
honor. He sent some of the religious to Scythia, to preach the Gospel and to
spread the veneration of the Blessed Virgin. He himself with two companions
went through an incredible number of cities and provinces, everywhere exhorting
sinners to repentance, endeavoring to calm the contentions which at that period
disturbed the Christian world, disabusing by his sermons those who refused
obedience to the Pope, and animating all to greater love of God and devotion to
the Blessed Virgin. The Lord aided him visibly in all his undertakings, and
obtained for him the highest regard from both clergy and laity. When the
Cardinals, assembled at Viterbo to elect a new Pope, were unable to agree, they
at length unanimously chose Philip, as all deemed him worthy of this high
dignity. Philip, informed of it, was terrified and fled into the desert of
Mount Thuniat, where he remained concealed in a cavern, until another was
elected Pope: which was not less an evidence of his humility, than his election
had been of the high regard in which his virtues and the many miracles he had
performed were held by the Prelates of the Church. His innocence and purity he
carried unspotted to the grave, but in order to preserve them he was very
severe to himself. He possessed in an eminent degree, the spirit of prayer;
for, besides occupying a great portion of the night in devotional exercises, he
also raised his mind to God, during his various occupations, by means of short
aspirations. He never undertook anything without first recommending it in
prayer to God, and the more important the affair, the longer and more fervent
were his prayers. The only object of his many and laborious voyages was the
glory of God and the good of men, and his constant endeavor was to prevent
offences of the Divine Majesty and to work for the salvation of souls. But how
shall we express his tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin, whom he had loved
and honored as a mother from his earliest childhood? In her honor while yet a
youth, he kept several festivals and performed many prayers, and he entered the
Order of the Servites, because they regarded it their duty to promote her
veneration and honor. In every sermon, he admonished the people to honor Mary
and to call upon her in all their troubles. In a word, he neglected nothing which
he deemed necessary or useful to institute and disseminate due devotion to the
Queen of Heaven. Although in many places, he had to endure much hardship and
persecution, his love of God and the Blessed Virgin could not be discouraged
from continuing in his apostolic labors. Meanwhile, the weakness of his body
manifested plainly that his last hour was approaching. He therefore went to his
convent at Todi, and there first visited the Church. He prostrated himself
before the Altar, and when, after a long and fervent prayer, he again rose, he
said: “Lord, receive my thanks; here is my place of rest.” On the festival of
the Assumption of Our Lady, he preached his last sermon with such eloquence and
unction, that all his listeners were greatly moved. On leaving the pulpit, he
was seized with a fever, which, although by others thought of no consequence,
was regarded by himself as a messenger of death. Hence, ha had himself carried
into a special apartment and laid down; but could not be persuaded to divest,
himself of the rough hair-shirt which he constantly wore. The days that he
remained on earth after this, he employed in instructing and exhorting his
religious, in prayers to God, and invoking the intercession of the Blessed
Virgin; in repenting of his sins and in longing to be admitted to the presence
of the Most High. After having received, with great devotion, the holy
Sacraments, he requested his brethren to say the litany of the Saints. When
they came to the words: “We sinners; we beseech Thee to hear us!” he fell into
an ecstacy, and lost his consciousness to such a degree that he seemed already
to have expired. In this state he remained for three hours, when one of his
friends loudly called him. He awakened as if from a deep slumber, and related
how fearful a struggle he had had with Satan; how the latter had reproached him
with his sins, and endeavored to make him despair of the mercy of God. But when
the combat was at its height, the Blessed Virgin had appeared to him, and,
driving away Satan, had not only saved him from all danger, but had also shown
him the crown which awaited him in the other world. Having related this to
those around him, who were all awestruck, he requested what he called “his
book,” the Crucifix, and pressing it to his heart, he intoned the hymn of
praise of Saint Zachary, and after it, the 30th Psalm: “In thee, O Lord, have I
hoped!” Arriving at the words: “Into thy hands I commend my spirit,” ha looked
once again at the Crucifix, and ended his holy and useful life, on the octave
of our Lady’s Assumption, in the year 1285. The biography of this Saint
contains many miracles which he performed during his life, and many more which
took place, by his intercession, after his happy death.
Practical Considerations
• Saint Philip Beniti was tried before his end by a
great struggle. Satan reproached him with his sins, although they had been
small and had been long since repented of, thus endeavoring to drive him to
despair. If this happened to the green wood, what will be done with that which
is dry? What combat will be in store for sinners, who during their lives,
unheedingly committed iniquities, not troubling themselves about penance? If
Satan thus alarmed Saint Philip by recalling to him his small sins, how will he
terrify those to whom he can point out great sins and perhaps sins not well
confessed? If Satan dared to endeavor to cause despair in so holy a man, how
much more will he tempt him, who, during his life, has so often and so wantonly
offended the Almighty, and who has drunk sin like water! Ah! be careful, oh
sinner! and learn not to believe Satan. When he tempts you to do wrong, he
represents everything as very easy; he says nothing of the greatness of sin. He
speaks to you of the mercy of God, saying: “You can confess it. God is merciful.
He will forgive you.” Consider it well; by representing to you the mercy of
God, he tempts you to sin; but in the hour of your death, he turns that very
mercy against you. Then he represents the greatness of your sin and the strict
justice of God, in order to fill your soul with despair. Hence, do not believe
him now. Place before your eyes at present the greatness of sin and the justice
of the Almighty, that you may avoid evil, or, if you have become guilty of it,
that you may do penance. If you do this now, you may in your last hour, comfort
yourself with the thought of the Divine mercy. “Never trust thine enemy.”
(Eccl. 12)
• Saint Philip Beniti was visibly aided in his great
struggle by the Divine mother, who drove Satan away, and showed to the dying
Saint the crown that awaited him in heaven. Thus did the most loving mother
recompense the devotion of her faithful servant. If you wish to receive her
aid, honor her with true filial devotion. Ask her frequently and fervently to
obtain from God the grace to combat valiantly the temptations of Satan now, as
well as at the hour of your death. She will hear your prayers and will assist
you. The evil spirits, who fear the name of Mary, will flee from you. “The
spirits of hell,” says the pious Thomas a Kempis, “fear the Queen of heaven and
flee as soon as they hear her name.” Saint Bonaventure writes: “Visible enemies
fear not a well drilled army, so much as the evil spirits fear the name of
Mary.”
MLA Citation
Father Francis Xavier Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Philip
Beniti, Confessor”. Lives of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
28 April 2018. Web. 17 May 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-philip-beniti-confessor/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-philip-beniti-confessor/
_in_Eger%2C_2016_Hungary.jpg)
Servite Church. Saint Peregrine Laziosi and Philip
Benizi de Damiani. - 7 Szaicz Leó Street, Eger, Heves
County, Hungary.
Szervita templom. Műemlék
Azonosító: 5565. A
templom oldalain lévő szoborfülkékben található Szent Peregrinus (1265 k.-
1345.), és Benizi Szent Fülöp (Firenze, 1233.-Todi, 1285.) barokk szobrai
(Singer Mihály, 1763). - Heves
megye, Eger,
Belváros, Szaicz Leó utca 7.
Saint Philip Benizi, by Father C H
McKenna, OP
On the 15th of
August, 1233, Philip Benizi was born. The son of an excellent
Florentine family, his birth was hailed with joy by all who knew his parents.
They had been married for years without offspring, and Philip was regarded,
like Samuel, as an answer to their prayers. His biographers tell us that the
boy was born at the hour when the Con fraternity of the Laudesi were chanting
the praises of Mary, and at the very time when Mary was communicating to the
Seven Sainted Founders the secrets of Heaven.
Albaverde, like the mother of Saint Dominic, had a
premonition of her son’s future sanctity. If Blessed Joanna saw her child under
the figure of a whelp, with lighted torch, running hither and thither, setting
the world on fire, Albaverde saw Philip as a brilliant flame, illumining the
world by its brightness. Our Blessed Mother must have smiled on the new-born
boy, for his mission was to propagate devotion to her sorrows. Philip was
destined not only to give form and stability to her new Order of Servants, but
to him was given, more than to any other man since the days of the disciple of
love, to lift the veil that hides her sorrowing heart, and gaze down into that
fathomless sea of woe which engulfed her soul on the heights of Calvary.
Philip was one of the Florentine infants, who, long
before the dawn of reason, proclaimed the sanctity of the Seven Founders, and
gave the name to their future Order; for, when yet but a few months old, he
begged his mother, in clear, unmistakable words, to give relief to the Servants
of Mary. Like the manger of Bethlehem, Philip’s cradle was his first pulpit,
whence he commenced to preach to a sensual world the doctrine of prayer and of penance,
and to point out by his example the narrow path that leads to Heaven. For, long
before the period when reason asserts its sway over the mind of children,
Philip began on fast days of the Church to deny himself his food, and as soon
as he was able to crawl out of his little bed, he would be found by his nurse
either prostrate on the floor, or kneeling apparently absorbed in prayer.
For a time his good mother and his nurse did all they
could to make their charge take his food on fast days, thinking, says his
biographer, his was only a childish freak; but they were finally forced to
desist, and let him have his own way, or rather, leave him to follow the
attractions of grace.
To a sensual age like our own, how strange all this
must appear! Our children must be indulged, pampered, kept as hot house plants;
yet they wilt and die by the thousands. Our young people must seek every remedy
for bodily ills, every preventive against diseases, every means of prolonging
life; yet the cemeteries are filled with their graves, whilst many of God’s
saints, who ever treated their bodies as their enemies, have lived to a round
old age.
Witness the life of Anthony of the desert, of Paul the
first hermit, of Basil, Jerome, and so many others. Who today has a brighter
intellect, or works harder than our illustrious Pontiff; yet who has lived more
abstemiously? The same was also true of England’s late Cardinals.
But apart from the life of the body, which abstinence
and fasting help to prolong, the saints knew no other path to Heaven. It was
the lesson taught by the Master. For if in one place He tells us that we must
renounce all to be His disciple, in another He declares that we must deny
ourselves and take up our Cross daily and follow Him. He said, “The grain must
rot and die before it can bring forth fruit,” and His Holy Spirit already began
to speak to the heart of Philip, though yet a child, teaching him to commence
the life of an apostle by self-denial, prayer, and fasting. The venerable
ascetic Benedictine, Father Baker, says: “Our duty in our present state, the
whole employment of our lives, should be to co-operate with divine grace;
endeavoring constantly to conquer self-love, pride, sensuality, and other vices
of our fallen nature. And by the practice of the opposite virtues, we should
daily aspire to unlimited holiness, even to that perfect union with God enjoyed
by Adam before his fall.” “Self-love and all affection for creatures must be
utterly extinguished in us,” he says, “except in as far as we love creatures in
God, and for Him; and that they help us to aspire to God.” To this union with
God all arc called, for all arc called to be perfect, and to this God’s Spirit
urges all men. But, like the seed that fell among thorns, the divine voice is
stifled in most men by the cares of the world, and by the demands of
sensuality. The flesh will brook no contradiction. It must be satisfied, even
to the ruin of soul and body.
Like most of God’s saints, Philip was given a holy
mother, which, says the Cure of Ars, is one of the greatest blessings that can
be given to a child. Albaverde and her devout husband were delighted with the
early manifestations of piety in their boy, and, knowing the necessity of
surrounding his youth with every safeguard of virtue, they sought for him a
learned religious tutor. Alas, that in our days parents are so indifferent with
regard to the environments of their children! They permit, nay, they force
their little ones to associate with the offspring of the degraded, the vile,
the adulterous, unmindful that a “bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit.”
These parents seem satisfied with the teachings of institutions to which God
never promises His Spirit. To His Church alone He gave power to teach the
nations those principles of faith and of morality without which conscience is
blinded by passion; and men and nations hasten to their ruin.
Philip’s tutor left nothing undone to advance his
pupil in virtue and learning. Before the age of ten, he daily recited the
Litany of the Saints, the Seven Penitential Psalms, the Office of the Dead, and
the Little Office of our Blessed Lady, practices which he maintained during his
laborious life. It was edifying, said one of his biographers, to see the little
boy assist with his good mother at the services of the Church, and to notice
with what recollection he was present at Mass, and how eagerly he drank in the
instructions and sermons of the preacher. He was scarcely twelve when he was
sufficiently advanced in his studies to enter the University, and his father
concluded to send him to Paris.
Paris had then the most famous University of the
world. Its University was also one of the most dangerous places to the morality
of youth. Why, it may be asked, did James Benizi expose his boy to the dangers
of the University, where so many immoral young men from all parts of Europe
were congregated? One reason is given, that he dreaded least his son should
enter some Religious Or der, whilst he desired for Philip some honorable
position in society. The father was proud of the wonderful talents manifested
by the boy, which were surely destined to lead to a brilliant future.
At that time Florence was filled with religious
enthusiasm. The world was ringing with the fame, both of the Sons of Saint
Dominic and of Saint Francis. Their respective novitiates were crowded with men
of all ages, desirous of serving God in the more perfect way. In Florence
itself the fame of the seven holy founders was daily increasing, and many of
her best young men were knocking for admittance at the gates of Monte Senario.
Whether James Benizi dreaded that his gifted son might
seek admission into one of tho Religious Orders, or whether he simply sought
his higher education, we know not; he certainly spared nothing for the
advancement of his boy’s temporal interests, and we have reason to believe that
he strongly hoped our Blessed Mother, whom his son so ardently loved, would
preserve him from the corruptions of the University.
Nor was the father disappointed in his boy. Philip
continued in Paris the same life of prayer and of mortification, which he had
pursued in his father’s house. Nay, he redoubled his austerities, and gave more
of his nights to prayer, lest the enemy of his virtue should gain any entrance
into his virgin heart.
The University of Paris was then chiefly noted for its
faculty of Theology. The Dominicans came to Paris in 1217, and the Franciscans
one year later. Among the latter, Alexander Hales had taught with wonderful
fame, “leaving his mantle to one of his Order greater than himself,” the Seraphic
Saint Bonaventure. Among the Dominicans, Albert the Great was then at the
zenith of his glory. So vast was the number of young men who flocked to hear
him that no building could contain them. His chair was placed in an open square
which to-day is known as Place Maubert, or place of Master Albert. Among the
pupils of Albert was one of his own brethren, the great Aquinas, “great as the
master himself, nay, greater, one whom to have trained honors the teacher more
than all his works.” It is impossible to describe the effect of such men’s
teachings on the brilliant religious mind of Philip.
James Benizi did not leave his son to finish his
studies in Paris, but sent him to the University of Padua, which in law and
medicine excelled even Paris, and there, when “he had hardly completed his
twentieth year, he passed the customary examinations in philosophy and medicine
so brilliantly, that his degrees were conferred amidst unanimous applause.”
Philip returned to his proud parents, and commenced the practice of medicine.
In a short time the city was full of admiration of the skilful young physician,
so retiring, so humble; at the same time, so charitable, and so attentive to
the poor. Philip was now courted by the best society in Florence, but he
shunned its enchanting snares, frequented the churches and the sacraments more
than ever, and hungered for that peace and solitude which the world cannot give
or understand.
One of the shrines, in which Philip delighted to pray,
was the Annunziata, which was among the most devotional places in Florence.
Here, pilgrims came from all parts of Europe to pray, and to gaze on its
miraculous picture of the Annunciation. This chapel was built by the new Order
of Servites; and, in gratitude for the wonderful vision which they received on
the Feast of the Annunciation, they determined to have a picture of our Lady as
represented in that Mystery. A large space was reserved behind the altar for
the fresco, and one Bartholomew, then famous as a painter, was selected for the
work. The artist, a devout man, prepared himself for his work, as was his
custom, by confession and communion, and commenced by first painting the Angel
Gabriel, then the neck, hands, and body of our Lady, but hesitated to paint her
face. It may be he had a vision of the Immaculate One which overpowered him.
Again and again he made the attempt to finish his picture, but to no purpose.
Bartholomew slept, and on awaking, behold! a wondrous face had been given to
his Madonna. The news spread with lightning speed. The whole city was moved.
Artists came from afar to gaze on the miraculous painting, so beautiful, so
heavenly. Michael Angelo, the great painter, was asked by the Duke of Tuscany
his opinion of the painting. He said: “If any one were to tell me this was painted
by human hands, I should say that it was untrue, and I know something of my
business.”
It was on the 25th of March, 1252, when the miraculous
painting appeared, and, immediately, wonderful miracles began to be performed
in favor of those who came to pray before it. No wonder Philip loved to visit
this miraculous image! A short time previously, whilst his heart burned with
love for God, and with an ardent desire to leave the world and all its goods,
and consecrate himself forever to his Master’s service, he heard a voice as if
coming from the crucifix to his heart, saying: “Go, Philip, to the high hill;
ascend to the spot where the Servants of My Mother dwell, and thou wilt do what
is pleasing to My Father.”
Philip’s heart seemed to melt within him. His name was
uttered with such sweetness! His tears flowed in abundance. Here was another
proof of the love of Jesus for the Servants of Mary, and for those who love to
honor her sorrows. Though this should have sufficed to point out his vocation
to Philip, he wanted a clearer evidence of the will of Heaven. For this purpose
he sought the aid of the Annunziata, and poured out prayers and tears before
the miraculous Madonna. Suddenly his soul was stilled. A wondrous vision opened
before him. He saw the world like a frightful desert, full of yawning abysses.
Hissing serpents and savage beasts appeared on every side ready to destroy him.
Paralyzed with fear and terror, he raised his eyes to the Madonna, when he
heard a sweet voice calling him by name. In a clear blue sky he saw a
magnificent chariot surrounded by angels, and seated in the chariot on an ivory
throne hung with black drapery, our Immaculate Mother, brighter than ten
thousand suns, with a crown of stars on her head, and clad in a long, flowing
black mantle. Then he heard the words: “Draw near, and join thyself to the
chariot.” At the same time our Lady beckoned him to approach, and showed him
the Servite Habit. Philip was roused from his ecstasy by a brother of the
convent telling him it was time to close the church. That night Philip spent in
prayer in his own room. The vision was repeated. He could no longer doubt. He
hastened in the morning to beg admittance among the Servites, imploring, with
tears in his eyes, to be admitted as a by brother, a servant^of the Servants of
Mary. Philip was received with joy, sent to Monte Senario, and there by
vigorous penances and long vigils he prepared himself for that wondrous life of
labor in spreading his Order, and in inflaming the hearts of men with love and
pity for our Mother of Sorrows.
– text from the article “Saint Philip Benizi” by Very
Rec. C. H. McKenna, O. P. from the The Rosary
Magazine, August 1895
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-philip-benizi-by-father-c-h-mckenna-op/
Antonio Raggi - Saint Philippe Benizi refusant la tiare,1686), San Marcello al Corso, Roma
San Filippo Benizi Sacerdote
Firenze, 1233 - Todi, 22 agosto 1285
Nasce a Firenze nel 1233. Dopo aver studiato medicina
e filosofia, nel 1254 si sente ispirato ad entrare nel piccolo ordine dei servi
di santa Maria, allora nato da una decina d'anni. Diventa sacerdote e poi
priore generale. Attirato dalla vita umile ed evangelica, nel servizio alla
Madre di Dio, dei frati del Monte Senario, entra nel loro monastero. Prima di
diventare Superiore generale si interessa di serbare memoria degli inizi
dell'Istituto e dei suoi fondatori, per tramandarla ai posteri. Da priore
generale la sua attività risulta notevolmente intensa, tanto in Italia come
all'estero. Si impegna a difendere l'Ordine in momenti burrascosi, fino a
ottenerne, nel 1287, una lettera di protezione apostolica da parte del papa
Onorio IV. Quindi si ritira presso il convento di San Marco di Todi, senza
avere la fortuna di vedere i favorevoli sviluppi del suo Istituto. Benizi muore
a Todi, in uno dei conventi più poveri dell'Ordine, il 22 agosto 1285. Sarà
canonizzato da Papa Clemente X nel 1671. (Avvenire)
Etimologia: Filippo = che ama i cavalli, dal
greco
Martirologio Romano: A Todi in Umbria, san
Filippo Benizi, sacerdote fiorentino, che, uomo di insigne umiltà e propagatore
dell’Ordine dei Servi di Maria, considerava Cristo crocifisso l’unico suo
libro.
San Filippo Benizi, che la Chiesa festeggia il 22 agosto, fu un grande propagatore dell’ordine dei Serviti. Nacque a Firenze il 15 agosto 1233 da genitori che da tanto tempo aspettavano il dono di un figlio. I suoi genitori appartenevano a due famiglie nobili della città: I Benizi ed i Frescobaldi. Filippo nacque quindi proprio il giorno della festa della Madonna: il 15 agosto. Lo stesso giorno, poco lontano, i Sette Santi fondatori dell’Ordine dei Servi di Maria, ebbero tutti nello stesso momento, la visione mariana che avrebbe dato origine alla fondazione di un nuovo ordine religioso. All’età di tredici anni venne mandato a Parigi per studiare medicina e, a soli 19 anni, ottenne il dottorato in medicina e filosofia all’università di Padova. Lavorò come medico a Firenze per un anno, studiando la bibbia e i Padri della Chiesa nel tempo libero. Il giovedì santo del 1254 Filippo stava pregando a Fiesole quando gli parve che la statua del crocifisso gli dicesse di salire sulla collina per conoscere i servi di sua madre. Filippo prese parte alla celebrazione eucaristica nella cappella di Carfaggio e rimase colpito assai dalla lettura della messa di quel giorno, presa dagli Atti degli apostoli, nella quale lo Spirito Santo aveva ordinato al diacono Filippo: “ Filippo avvicinati e monta sul carro”. Filippo capì allora che la Madonna lo chiamava al sicuro su un carro in un mondo pieno di insidie per la salvezza dell’anima. Andò a Monte Senario ed il Priore generale San Buonfiglio Monadi, probabilmente temendo per lui una certa superbia, lo ammise nell’ordine dei Servi di Maria come semplice fratello laico. Fra Filippo doveva occuparsi del giardino, chiedere la questua e compiere in convento i lavori più umili e faticosi e fu alloggiato in una piccola grotta dietro la chiesa. Il superiore dell’ordine scelse per Filippo un percorso che nascondeva al mondo le sue enormi doti, per temprarlo nell’umiltà e nella preghiera. Furono cinque anni di ottima preparazione al futuro radioso che lo aspettava, durante i quali si occupò delle mansioni più mortificanti.
Nel 1258 fu mandato nella casa di Siena e sulla strada incontrò due frati domenicani, che iniziarono a discorrere con lui. I due frati dell’ordine dei Predicatori rimasero talmente folgorati dalle sua cultura e dalla vivacità della sua intelligenza, che andarono a parlare con il superiore dell’ordine, pregandolo di valorizzare meglio una personalità così spiccata. Allora San Bonfiglio lo promosse agli ordini sacri. Nel 1262 venne nominato maestro dei novizi e fu uno dei quattro vicari che assistevano il priore generale. Nel 1267 fu eletto all’unanimità superiore generale dell’ordine e si occupò della redazione delle regole e della costituzione dei Servi di Maria. Quando papa Clemente IV morì, pare che il cardinale Ottobuoni avesse proposto fra Filippo come papa. Filippo allora per tre mesi si nascose vicino a Radicofani e passato il pericolo di essere eletto papa partì per una visita ai conventi francesi e tedeschi.
Nel 1274 partecipò al secondo concilio di Lione. Nel
1279 papa Nicola III chiese a Filippo di mettere pace tra i Guelfi e i Ghibellini,
compito che egli portò a termine positivamente. Fra Filippo fondò pure il ramo
femminile dei Serviti ed inviò i primi missionari dell’ordine in oriente. Nel
1285 Filippo sentendosi ormai prossimo alla morte si ritirò nel convento di
Todi. Appena arrivato tutta la città lo accolse con gioia: Filippo
immediatamente si recò all’altare della Madonna e prostratosi a terra esclamò:
“ Questo è il mio riposo per l’eternità”. Alle 3 del pomeriggio fece chiamare
la comunità e raccomandò loro. “ Amatevi a vicenda, rispettatevi a vicenda,
sopportatevi a vicenda”. Poi chiese che gli fosse portato il libro da cui aveva
imparato di più. Allora i frati gli portarono, uno dopo l’altro, tutti i libri
sacri, ma egli li rifiutava.
Infine, indicando il Crocifisso, che poi sarà il suo
simbolo nella sua iconografia, disse: “ quello è il mio libro”. Proprio lui,
che per tutta la vita aveva fatto dello studio e dello sviluppo della mente i
suoi punti forti, si era reso conto, prima di morire, che l’esperienza della
croce ci dà l’insegnamento più prezioso che tutti i libri messi insieme.
Filippo morì contemplando il crocifisso il 22 agosto 1285 a Todi e venne
canonizzato nel 1671. Riguardo agli interventi angelici nella sua vita accadde
che in un suo viaggio, essendo con quattro compagni del suo ordine nelle aspre
montagne delle Alpi, egli perde la strada, erra per tre giorni e, alla fine,
soccombe di sfinimento e di fatica. Egli si pone in preghiera; subito delle
voci umane si fanno sentire. Due uomini si presentano, vestiti da pastori, ma
facendo apparire sul loro volto e nelle loro parole una amenità che contrasta
con la rudezza di un pastore della montagna. Essi fanno entrare San Filippo ed
i suoi compagni sotto un tetto rurale e servono loro piatti semplici ma ben
preparati, pani scoppianti di biancore e d’un gusto squisito ed una bevanda
rinfrescante. I religiosi si ristorano rendendo grazie a Dio. i due pastori li
rimettono poi sul loro cammino. Quando il santo vuole ringraziarli, egli
trova che sono improvvisamente scomparsi. Egli rimarrà persuaso che aveva avuto
a che fare con degli angeli del Signore.
Autore: Don Marcello Stanzione
Luca Boncinelli, San Filippo Benizi, 1671, Santissima Annunziata (Florence) - Second Cloister
Padre Vittorio dei Servi di Maria o Serviti, in un giorno del 1254 va da Firenze a Siena. Lo accompagna un taciturno fratello laico, che però interviene con eloquenza sorprendente in una conversazione dottrinale con due domenicani, incontrati per via. Saputa poi la cosa, i Serviti decidono di avviare al sacerdozio questo giovane, che si chiama Filippo Benizi, nato nel sestiere fiorentino d’Oltrarno. I primi testi trecenteschi che parlano di lui sono la Legenda originis ordinis e la Legenda beati Philippi.
In questo caso, legenda non ha ancora il significato che acquisterà più tardi: vuol dire soltanto “cose da leggere”. Ma i due testi, avendo principalmente uno scopo di edificazione, contengono abbondanti narrazioni di fatti prodigiosi e scarse precisazioni storiche.
Sembra che Filippo abbia studiato medicina e filosofia, ma non si sa con certezza dove. E’ certo invece che entra fra i Serviti nel 1254 e che viene ordinato sacerdote nel 1258-59, assumendo presto incarichi di responsabilità nel sostegno ai vari conventi, tutti con una storia ancora breve e operanti in situazioni difficilissime. E’ una continua lotta fra città e città. Molte di esse, poi, e Firenze in particolare, sono come sdoppiate: ai cittadini “di dentro”, cioè a quelli che hanno vinto e comandano, si contrappongono gli “usciti”, quelli che hanno perso e sono stati buttati fuori (è del 1260 la sanguinosa battaglia di Montaperti, toscani contro toscani, con strage di fiorentini).
Filippo Benizi lavora allo sviluppo dell’Ordine e nel 1267 ne viene nominato generale: la massima responsabilità. Il suo è il governo dell’espansione, con fondazione di nuovi conventi, viaggi in Italia e in Germania, creazione di sodalizi laicali accanto all’Ordine, che imprime il suo segno nella spiritualità del tempo. Nel 1268, morto papa Clemente IV, ci sono i famosi tre anni di discussioni fra i cardinali a Viterbo prima di eleggere Gregorio X (Teobaldo Visconti): secondo una Legenda, a un certo punto si è pensato di far Papa proprio Filippo Benizi, che è corso subito a nascondersi. Di questo non c’è prova: ma che la voce sia corsa è un segno certo del suo prestigio ormai universale nella Chiesa.
Frate Filippo partecipa nel 1274 al Concilio di Lione, e poi difende vigorosamente l’esistenza stessa del suo Ordine, in rischio di soppressione per un deliberato appunto di quel Concilio. Altri miracoli gli vengono attribuiti in vita, ma il miracolo vero e continuato sono i numerosi santi e beati che si sono formati alla sua scuola e sul suo esempio, giorno per giorno.
Filippo Benizi muore a Todi, in uno dei conventi più
poveri dell’Ordine, il 22 agosto 1285, di ritorno da Roma. Nell’Ordine si
comincia subito a chiamarlo santo, ma a canonizzarlo solennemente sarà papa
Clemente X nel 1671. Il corpo è custodito a Todi nel santuario a lui dedicato.
I Servi di Maria lo ricordano il 23 agosto.
Autore: Domenico Agasso
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/Detailed/34200.html
Michael Bernhard Mändl. Saint Philippe Benizi, 1714, pont Charles, Prague 1, Malá Strana, Tchéquie
Michael Bernhard Mändl. Saint Philippe Benizi, 1714, pont Charles, Prague 1, Malá Strana, Tchéquie
SAN FILIPPO BENIZI,
PROPAGATORE DELL'ORDINE DEI SERVI DI MARIA
Il nome: dal greco, significa "l'amante dei
cavalli".
Vita Terrena: nasce all'inizio del XIII secolo,
la tradizione dei Servi fissa l'anno al 1233. Muore nel 1285.
Attività e caratteristiche: Nato a Firenze,
Filippo entrò nell'Ordine dei Servi come fratello converso; poi, manifestatosi
provvidenzialmente la sua dottrina, fu ordinato sacerdote. Nel 1267 venne
eletto priore generale, e rimase in questo ufficio fino alla morte. Governò
l'Ordine con estremo equilibrio, lo rafforzò con una saggia legislazione, seppe
diffonderne con tenacia la sopravvivenza, e lo rese celebre con la sua santità.
Accolse un gran numero di fratelli, anch'essi uomini di grande impegno nella
vita religiosa: di questi Filippo fu maestro e modello di vita evangelica e di
servizio alla Vergine. A ragione, perciò, è stato ritenuto "Padre
dell'Ordine".
Legame con altri santi: Sette
Santi Fondatori; beato
Gioacchino da Siena; beato
Bonaventura da Pistoia; beato
Andrea da Borgo Sansepolcro; beato
Ubaldo da Borgo Sansepolcro; san
Pellegrino Laziosi.
Devozioni Particolari: il corpo è venerato nella
chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie di Todi.
Protezione: malati, lebbrosi, giovani in ricerca,
bambini, poveri, affamati e degli assetati (non a caso, nella sua festa, si
benedicono pane ed acqua ... da distribuire)
Diffusione del culto: papa Clemente X lo
canonizzò nel 1671. San Filippo è copatrono della città di Todi.
Ricorrenza: 23 agosto
Letture: Colossesi 3, 12-17; Salmo 30; Vangelo di
Giovanni 13, 12-17.34-35 oppure Marco 9, 33-37. Dove si celebra questa
ricorrenza come solennità si legge: Siracide 51, 13-19; Salmo 118; Colossesi 3,
12-17; Vangelo di Giovanni 13, 12-17.34-35 oppure Marco 9, 33-37.
Segni iconografici distintivi: crocifisso, tiara
papale ai piedi, giglio in mano
Approfondimenti
Legenda
"Vulgata" del beato Filippo da Firenze
Orazione
O Dio, che in San Pellegrino ci hai proposto un
fulgido esempio di uomo penitente e paziente, concedi anche a noi, a sua
imitazione e col suo aiuto, di sopportare virilmente le prove della vita, in
continua e gioiosa tensione verso il regno dei cieli. Per il nostro Signore
Gesù Cristo, tuo Figlio, che è Dio, e vive e regna con te.
FILIPPO Benizi, santo
di Franco Andrea Dal Pino - Dizionario Biografico
degli Italiani - Volume 47 (1997)
FILIPPO Benizi, santo. - Nacque a Firenze, nel
sestiere d'Oltrarno, nel 1233, da Giacomo e da una Albaverde. I suoi dati
biografici divengono sufficientemente precisi solo dopo la sua elezione a
quinto priore generale dell'Ordine dei servi di Maria, tramite la
documentazione archivistica: prima di tale data disponiamo di quelli, in parte
contrastanti, contenuti in una sua Legenda detta "arcaica",
da poco rinvenuta e ritenuta scritta intorno al 1305, nella redazione
definitiva della Legenda de origine Ordinis, posteriore alla traslazione
delle reliquie, del 1317, cronologicamente assai più precisa, e nell'altra
sua Legenda, riduzione della precedente, a lungo invalsa, dell'ultimo
quarto del sec. XIV.
Nella giovinezza F. ricevette una formazione culturale
di rilievo, tramite l'affidamento iniziale a un "maestro religioso",
raggiungendo un livello universitario (al momento di farsi frate è detto
"in medicinalibus doctus"), e si impegnò in un genere di vita
spirituale e devoto conforme ai canoni del tempo: frequenza delle chiese e
perseveranza nell'orazione, recita quotidiana dell'ufficio parvo della Madonna,
di quello dei defunti e dei salmi di penitenza, mortificazione del corpo,
assistenza caritativa dei poveri. Durante una di queste frequentazioni devote,
dopo il periodo quaresimale del 1254(si indica più precisamente il giovedì di
Pasqua, 18 aprile di quell'anno), vissuto con particolare intensità, egli si
sarebbe sentito interiormente ispirato ad entrare nel piccolo Ordine dei
"servi di S. Maria", iniziato nell'eremo di monte Senario prima del
maggio 1247, che dal 1250aveva un insediamento stabile anche presso Firenze. Ad
attrarlo potrebbe essere stato proprio il genere di vita evangelica, umile e
ritirata condotta dai primi frati e la loro dedizione al servizio della
Vergine; lo avrebbe accolto fra' Bonfiglio, lo stesso che col nome di Figliolo
risulta priore di monte Senario nel 1250-51. Inizialmente, per sua esplicita
volontà, semplice frate laico, F. sarebbe stato promosso agli ordini sacri dopo
che la sua "sapientia" era stata accidentalmente scoperta da un
chierico o da due frati domenicani in una itineranza tra un convento e l'altro.
Dopo una prima permanenza a monte Senario o a Firenze, lo troviamo a Siena nel
novembre 1255,dove ricevette con fra' Bandino un versamento del Comune per il
locale convento; nel settembre 1257 partecipò al capitolo generale di Firenze
in cui si decise di inviare due frati presso la Curia romana allo scopo di
ottenere dal benevolo Alessandro IV l'annullamento di restrizioni circa
l'apostolato emanate da Innocenzo IV nell'agosto 1254 e concessioni relative
alle confessioni e sepolture dei fedeli e all'assistenza di donne ai divini
uffici nelle chiese dell'Ordine. Troviamo ancora un fra' Filippo a Siena in un
atto capitolare del novembre 1259.
L'elezione di F. a priore generale del suo Ordine è da
attribuirsi al capitolo generale tenuto a Firenze nel giugno 1267, in cui il
predecessore fra Manetto da Firenze rinunziò alla carica. A tenore della Inducunt
nos, concessa all'Ordine da Urbano IV nel 1263 e confermata nel 1265 da
Clemente IV, si recò certamente allora per la conferma presso la Curia papale a
Viterbo, divenendo generale anche "auctoritate Sedis Apostolice". In
quel periodo sarebbe stato di convento a Cesena, dove peraltro risulta attivo
come mercante - secondo atti rogati nel 1273 dal notaio bolognese Nicolò di
Rolando Bonvignoni - un omonimo, o forse parente, "Filippo detto Lippo,
del fu Giacomo Benizi da Firenze". Ricoprì la carica, che si dice abbia a
lungo occultato ai parenti, fino alla morte, coadiuvato negli ultimi mesi da
fra' Lotaringo da Firenze, poi suo successore.
L'Ordine, al momento in cui F. fu eletto generale,
aveva raggiunto in vent'anni una certa estensione (dieci conventi collocati
tutti nell'Italia centrale eccetto quello di Bologna) ed era ormai convalidato
dal papa nelle sue basi legislative e organizzative e nella sua attività
pastorale. L'adozione della regola agostiniana e di istituzioni ad essa
conformi e l'impegno di povertà assunto collettivamente a Firenze dai primi
frati nell'ottobre 1251 (per cui, come affermò Alessandro IV nel 1255, essi
erano tenuti ad "aliqua immobilia non habere") erano stati
confermati, come "clausola di regolarità", dallo stesso nel marzo
1256 e, ancor prima, da Innocenzo IV. Alessandro IV aveva concesso poco dopo
alla comunità suburbana di Firenze di poter ascoltare le confessioni dei fedeli
e all'Ordine intero, nel 1259, di accoglierli nelle proprie chiese per la
sepoltura, convalidando nel contempo l'autorità del generale. La lettera di
Urbano IV del 1263 aveva riconosciuto all'Ordine di potersi riunire in capitolo
per eleggersi, a tempo debito, un priore generale.
I diciotto anni di generalato di F. si possono
dividere in due periodi: dall'elezione al secondo concilio di Lione del 1274 e
da questo alla morte.
L'attività svolta da F. negli anni anteriori al
concilio di Lione, quale risulta dalla documentazione d'archivio, appare
notevolmente impegnativa. Sotto di lui furono fondati nel 1269 il convento di
Sant'Angelo in Vado nelle Marche e nel 1273 quello di Foligno, con annessa cura
parrocchiale (la prima nell'Ordine); appaiono come già esistenti, dal 1270 e
dal 1273, quelli di Pistoia e di Spoleto, e da assai prima della morte di F.
quello di Todi; dovevano già esistere da prima del concilio (data la difficoltà
di passare poi a nuove fondazioni) quelli di Forlì, di S. Maria del Paradiso di
Halberstadt, di Viterbo, Città della Pieve e Cortona. Si raddoppiò così in
quegli anni il numero degli insediamenti, con espansione dell'Ordine in area
germanica. È pure da attribuire a F. il raggruppamento dei conventi,
territorialmente, in province religiose rette da priori provinciali che vi
godevano dell'autorità che aveva il generale sull'intero Ordine. Dal 1273 è
documentata l'esistenza della provincia del Patrimonio e dal 1276 e 1289
quelle, rispettivamente, di Romagna e di Toscana, che possono avere avuto
origine anche anteriormente.
Prima del 1274 F. risulta presente in non pochi atti
conventuali a partire da quello di Bologna dell'8 luglio 1267, volto a
salvaguardare i diritti della comunità locale nei confronti del rettore della
vicina chiesa di S. Biagio. Il 10 ott. 1269, durante il lungo conclave
successivo alla morte di Clemente IV, ritirò forse personalmente a Viterbo
il vidimus - recapitato poi in Germania - del cardinale Guido di S.
Lorenzo in Lucina riguardante la lettera di Alessandro IV del 1255 circa la
possibilità di avere luoghi propri dotati di oratorio e cimitero, e partecipò
ad Orvieto, nel febbraio 1270, all'accordo tra i frati e i premostratensi della
locale abbazia di S. Severo. Intraprese poi forse, dalla primavera dello stesso
1270 alla metà dell'anno successivo, un viaggio in Germania - attestato dalle
fonti agiografiche - al fine di realizzarvi fondazioni dell'Ordine. Nel gennaio
1272 era a Città di Castello per chiedere al vescovo Nicolò licenza per
costruire una chiesa presso Sansepolcro; presiedette forse ad Arezzo, fra
maggio e giugno 1273, il capitolo generale annuo durante il quale avrebbe
concesso lettere di partecipazione dei beni dell'Ordine alla Società della
laude di S. Maria di Cafaggio. Era di nuovo a Bologna, in un atto di procura
dei frati, nell'ottobre 1273.
F. deve essersi dato anche cura di serbare "memoria"
delle origini dell'Ordine e di adeguarne la legislazione alle nuove esigenze.
Ad un De origine Ordinis da lui scritto, comprendente origine e
sviluppi dei servi fino al suo generalato, fa esplicito riferimento,
la Legenda de origine, che lo dichiara perduto ma che di fatto sembra
potersi identificare con la sezione centrale arcaica della stessa Legenda.
L'impostazione cristocentrica di questa sezione, le caratteristiche della
spiritualità dei "padri" in essa evidenziate (spirito penitenziale e
pauperistico, intenti contemplativi e di fraternità) fanno comunque datare la
sua composizione anteriormente al 1274. Circa la legislazione, risultando
le Constitutiones antique, primo testo conosciuto, sostanzialmente
anteriori al 1295 e notevolmente dipendenti da quelle dei predicatori degli
anni 1241-57, si deve supporre un'importante revisione legislativa, resa più
necessaria dall'approssimarsi del secondo concilio di Lione, proprio al tempo
di Filippo.
Mentre era in pieno, sviluppo questa attività di F.,
il secondo concilio di Lione del 1274 venne a condizionare l'avvenire degli
Ordini mendicanti e in particolare gli ultimi undici anni di governo dello
stesso F., anche se gli effetti del concilio sul suo Ordine non sono
univocamente valutati dalla storiografia recente.
Annunziato subito dopo la consacrazione del nuovo papa
Gregorio X (marzo 1272), il concilio era stato preceduto da un'inchiesta
preliminare che aveva evidenziato, tra i problemi da affrontare, quello
dell'eccessivo numero e dell'invadente attività apostolica degli Ordini
mendicanti. Se ne occupò l'ultima sessione conciliare del 17 luglio 1274 con il
canone 23 Religionum diversitatem nimiam che prendeva particolari
misure contro quelle tra esse cui la professione o la regola proibivano di
avere "reditus aut possessiones", obbligandole a ricorrere alla
"incerta mendicitas". Si stabiliva che esse potessero continuare a
sussistere momentaneamente a condizione di non ammettere più postulanti e di
non fondare nuovi conventi (venendo così a scomparire per consunzione) e
sospendendo immediatamente l'esercizio di privilegi di tipo apostolico. Furono
esentati da tali misure i soli predicatori e minori.
È probabile (come afferma la Legenda arcaica
convalidata da riferimenti indiretti delle fonti archivistiche) che F. si sia
recato a Lione come generale di un Ordine approvato, o lo abbia fatto, come
Pietro da Morrone per i suoi eremiti, dopo la pubblicazione delle costituzioni
del concilio (novembre 1274). Non ottenne comunque alcuna lettera da parte del
papa, e la sopravvivenza stessa dell'Ordine divenne precaria. Che anche
l'Ordine dei servi di origine fiorentina - incluso in alcune cronache del tempo
tra quelli soppressi - sia rimasto come in sospeso in quegli anni non aprendo
conventi, non ricevendo novizi e cercando di qualificarsi come non mendicante,
lo dimostrano, diversi documenti.
In tale situazione, F. deve avere provvisoriamente
ottemperato alle disposizioni del concilio cercando nel frattempo di sostenere
una politica di acquisto di possedimenti da parte dei conventi. Preparò poi una
linea di difesa giuridica dell'Ordine, formalizzata nella risposta negativa
data nel febbraio 1277 da tre avvocati di Curia ad un quesito posto dal
generale e dai frati serviti che, desiderosi di "certificare" la
propria coscienza, domandavano appunto se l'Ordine fosse da ritenere
"cassatus" dalla costituzione conciliare.
Il consilium, espresso con circospezione e con
una qualche reticenza, era motivato dal fatto che né la regola su cui era
fondato l'Ordine né alcuna delle sue costituzioni proibiva di avere
possedimenti (che di fatto non pochi conventi avevano) e che, d'altra parte,
avendo concesso il papa agli stessi frati di tenere capitolo generale
eleggendovi un proprio priore generale, l'Ordine era da ritenere implicitamente
approvato. Due mesi dopo, nell'aprile 1277, Giovanni XXI, con l'unica lettera
pontificia riguardante l'Ordine tra il secondo concilio lionese e il papato di
Onorio IV, confermò una donazione fatta qualche mese prima ai "frati
dell'ordine di S. Agostino, volgarmente detti servi di S. Maria" del
convento di S. Maria del Paradiso, diocesi di Halberstadt.
Questa lettera fu seguita da un lungo periodo di
silenzio da parte del papa. I servi, che cercavano di passare per Ordine
genericamente agostiniano e facevano talvolta uso per i loro membri del titolo
di dominus, continuavano a condurre in quegli anni una vita collettiva e
locale apparentemente ordinaria, anche se la sospensione almeno momentanea
della questua poteva rendere più difficile la loro esistenza. Tennero
probabilmente capitolo generale annuo, come gli eremiti agostiniani,
ricevettero numerosi lasciti testamentari e infittirono acquisti di terreni.
Parteciparono alla vita pubblica di diversi Comuni inserendosi (come a Siena
nel 1280) in trattative di pace, si occuparono dei circoli di
"devoti" gravitanti intorno alle loro sedi.
F. doveva essere l'ispiratore di questa politica
locale che non poteva non influire sulle decisioni del pontefice, anche se il
suo nome non compare in atti capitolari, peraltro rari in quegli anni. Risulta
solo intestatario di una lettera di nomina a priore per Città di Castello,
presentata al vescovo locale nel settembre 1274. Gli si attribuisce, dal sec.
XVI, un incarico da parte di Martino IV di recarsi a Forlì per condurre i
cittadini sotto obbedienza papale: risulta comunque che "al tempo della
scomunica" (marzo 1282 - settembre 1283) F. ricevette un prestito dai
frati del locale convento. Costretto a lasciare la città, avrebbe indotto a
conversione il giovane Pellegrino Laziosi, poi frate e santo.
Nel 1285, proprio quando il pericolo per l'Ordine
sembrò divenuto maggiore, la situazione prese una piega favorevole a seguito
dell'elezione, nell'aprile 1285, di Onorio IV, che riprese contatto anche con
gli eremiti carmelitani e agostiniani. Sotto di lui e il francescano Niccolò IV
i servi si riportarono lentamente in zona di sicurezza: subito dopo
l'incoronazione del nuovo papa (20 maggio 1285), e forse dopo aver tenuto
capitolo generale a Todi, F. si recò con fra' Lotaringo (già associato al
governo dell'Ordine) presso la Curia romana per riallaccíare trattative a più
riprese iniziate e interrotte.
Lo attestano annotazioni autografe di prestiti da lui
ricevuti da frati per la causa dell'Ordine il 1º giugno di quello stesso 1285
conservate nell'Acceptiet expensi liber del successore Lotaringo. L'azione
ripresa da F. e proseguita dal successore porterà questa volta, dopo nuovi
consulti favorevoli all'Ordine, alle prime lettere papali del gennaio-marzo
1287 volte a garantire per il momento singoli conventi. In seguito ad esse,
comunque, nel maggio successivo il vescovo di Foligno rinunziò a una causa in
cui contestava ai frati la facoltà di ricevere novizi.
Di ritorno forse dalla Curia, affaticato e malato ma
anche aperto a nuova speranza, F. tornò nel convento di S. Marco di Todi,
accolto festosamente dal popolo. Provato anche nello spirito e dopo avere -
come si narra - esortato i frati a umiltà, pazienza e carità, e raccomandato al
Signore il "poverello Ordine" dei servi della sua "dolcissima
madre", morì il 22 ag. 1285.
Numerose guarigioni verificatesi attorno alla sua
salma e attribuite alla sua intercessione furono registrate in un Liber
miraculorum degli anni 1285-90, conservato in copia quattrocentesca;
altre, narrate nelle Legendae, avvennero il 10 giugno 1317 durante la
traslazione delle sue reliquie in un'apposita cappella (tali reliquie sono
conservate dal 1599 sotto l'altare maggiore di S. Maria delle Grazie - ora S.
Filippo - dove i frati si trasferirono nel 1598). Da tali miracoli l'autore
della Legenda de origine, il generale Pietro da Todi (1314-44), o un frate
a lui vicino, dice di essere stato indotto a raccogliere notizie circa la vita
del santo. Tra le sue prime raffigurazioni iconografiche va rilevata quella del
1346 conservata nel coro dei frati di Todi (ora monastero di clarisse),
recuperata di recente in tutta la sua ampiezza, nella quale, rappresentato con
la raggiera dei beati e un ramo simbolico in mano, trasmette a s. Pietro
l'anima accolta dalla Vergine e da lei incoronata all'uscita del purgatorio (di
cui si ha qui una delle prime raffigurazioni). Il 24 genn. 1516 Leone X
convaliderà il culto di F. come beato, fissandone la festa al 23 agosto, e il
12 apr. 1671 Clemente X lo dichiarò santo.
Fonti e Bibl.: Constitutiones antiquae fratrum
servorum S. Mariae a s. Philippo Benitio anno circiter 1280 editae, a
cura di P. M. Soulier, in Mon. Ordini servorum S. Mariae,
I,Bruxelles 1897, pp. 7-54; Legenda de origine Ordinis fratrum servorum
Virginis Mariae auctore incerto 1317, a cura di A. Morini, ibid., pp.
55-105; Legenda beati Philippi Ordinis servorum S. Mariae auctore
incerto saeculi XIV, a cura di P. Soulier, ibid. II, ibid. 1898, pp.
60-83; Accepit et expensi liber b. Lotharingi de Florentia sexti
generalis Ordinis servorum S. Mariae, 1285-1300, ibid., pp.
133-190; P. M. Soulier, Chartularium Ordinis servorum S. Mariae
tempore sanctorum fundatorum et s. Philippi 1233-1285, ibid.,
XVI, Montmorency-Wetteren 1916 pp. 97-222; Id., Bibliographia sanctorum
septem fundatorum et s. Philippi, ibid., pp. 39-95; P. M.
Suárez, Un nuevo codice de la "Legenda b. Philippi",
in Studi storici dell'Ordine dei Servi di Maria, XIV(1964), pp. 48-71; G.
M. Besutti, La "legenda" perugina di
s. F. da Firenze, ibid., XVII (1967), pp. 92-115; La "Legenda
de origine Ordinis" dei servi di Maria. Testo latino e
traduzione italiana, a cura di E. M. Toniolo, Roma 1982; Origins and early
saints of the Order of servants of Mary. Writings of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, con intr. di P. M. Graffius, Chicago 1984; Vita vel
legenda beati Philippi servorum beate Virginis Marie,
in S. F. da Firenze (1233-1285), a cura di P. M. Branchesi,
Bologna 1985, pp. 29-69; A. Giani, Della historia del
b. F. Benizii nobile fiorentino dell'Ordine dei servi di Maria...,
Firenze 1604; P. Soulier, Vita di s. F. B. propagatore
dell'Ordine dei servi di Maria, Roma 1885; P. M.
Soulier, Bibl. sanctorum septem fundat. et s. Philippi,
in Monum. Ordinis servorum S. Mariae, XVI, Montmorency - Wetteren
1916, pp. 35-95; R.
Taucci, Della "Legenda" dell'origine dell'Ordine e del
suo autore, in Studi storici dell'Ordine dei servi di Maria, I (1933), pp.
195-207; P. M. Suárez, Spiritualità mariana dei frati servi di Maria nei
documenti agiografici del sec. XIV, ibid., IX(1959), pp. 121-157, X
(1960), pp. 1-41; A. M. Serra, F. B. …, in Bibliotheca
sanctorum, V, Roma 1964, coll. 736-752, con nota iconografica di D. M.
Montagna, coll. 752-756; Id. Fra Taddeo Adimari (1455 c.-1517) e
il suo "De origine Ordinis servorun libellus et mores beati
Philippi", Milano 1965; Id., Nicolò Borghese (1432-1500) e
i suoi scritti agiografici servitani, Roma 1966; Id., Un santonella
Firenze del Duecento. F. B. da Firenze, con nota iconografica di
D. M. Montagna, Monte Senario (Firenze) 1972; F. A. Dal Pino, I frati servi
di S. Maria dalle origini all'approvazione (1233ca. - 1304),
I-II, Louvain 1972 (i documenti sono editi nel vol. II); D. M.
Montagna, Iconografia beniziana, I. Il beato F. servo della
Vergine e mediatore di salvezza (in affresco del 1346 riscoperto
nell'antico convento di S. Marco di Todi), in Studi storici
dell'Ordine dei servi di Maria, XXIX(1979), pp. 423-427; C. Grondona - M.
Grondona, Todi storica e artistica, Todi 1981, pp. 198-207, 212-215; D. M.
Montagna, L'agiografia beniziana antica: pluralità e cronologia
delle "Legendae" trecentesche, in Studi storici
dell'Ordine dei servi di Maria, XXXIV(1984), pp. 11-33; Id., L'agiografia
beniziana antica: il progetto ufficiale di fra Pietro da Todi, ibid.,
XXXV (1985), pp. 7-28; Id., Nuove schede per il santorale antico dei
servi (secoli XIII-XVI), VI, La tradizione trecentesca
dei "miracula" del beato F. B., ibid., p.
107-113; Id., La "marianità" di s. F. B., dei
servi (1233-1285) secondo le fonti agiografiche medioevali,
in Marianum, XLVII (1985), pp. 543-556; G. M.
Besutti, S. F. B. 1233-1285. Profilo biografico, Roma
1985; E. M. Casalini, F. B. santo
fiorentino († 1285), lettura storico-critica della
prima "Legenda", Firenze 1985; Le fonti per la biografia di
s. F. B. ... Il simposio scientifico di Todi, in Studi
storici dell'Ordine dei servi di Maria, XXXVI (1986), pp. 9-334 (con contributi
di D. M. Montagna, R. M. Fagioli, J. O. Dias, A. M. Serra); O. J.
Dias, Il convento di S. Marco a Todi e i frati tudertini dei servi tra
il 1285e il 1317, ibid., XXXVII (1987), pp. 137-194; N. Mac
Tréinfhir, The Todi fresco and St. Patrick's Purgatory, Lough
Derg, in The Clogher Record, 1987, pp. 141-158; D. M.
Montagna, Il "De origine Ordinis" scritto da
s. F. B.: ipotesi per una ricostruzione, in Studi storici
dell'Ordine dei servi di Maria, XXXVIII (1988), pp. 7-19; G. Besutti,
"Legendae" e libri su s. F.: panorama delle fonti e
della bibliografia, in L'Ordine dei servi di Maria nel primo secolo di
vita. Atti del Convegno storico: Firenze 1986, Firenze 1988, pp.
25-54; E. Casalini, S. F. B. e l'Ordine dei Servi di Maria
nei documenti delle origini (1249-1304), ibid., pp. 181-220; R.
Grégoire, Lettura tipologica della "Legenda de
origine" e della "Legenda beati
Philippi": contributo alla storia dell'Ordine dei servi di Maria nel
Medio Evo, ibid., pp.221-243; Chiese e conventi degli Ordini
mendicanti in Umbria nei secoli XIII-XIV, Invent. delle fonti
archiv. e catal. delle informazioni docum. Gli archivi
eccl. di Città di Castello, a cura di G. Casagrande, Perugia 1989; E.
Casalini, Iconografia di s. F. B. († 1285),
e F. B. santo fiorentino († 1285): lettura
storico-critica della prima "Legenda", in Da "una
casupola" nella Firenze del sec. XIII. Celebrazioni
giubiliari dell'Ordine dei servi di Maria. Firenze 1990, pp. 108-123, 165-198.
SOURCE : https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/santo-filippo-benizi_(Dizionario-Biografico)
Westfriedhof Innsbruck, nördlicher Teil, Arkade 42,
Grabstätte der Serviten, Kreuzigungsgruppe mit hl. Philippus Benizzi und Anna Caterina (Juliana) Gonzaga
von Engelbert Kolp, 1876
Den hellige Filip Benizi (1233-1285)
Minnedag: 23. augustSkytshelgen for Servittene og for barn
Den hellige Filip Benizi [lat: Benitius] (it: Filippo)
ble født den 15. august 1233 i Firenze i regionen Toscana i Italia. Han kom fra
de to adelsfamiliene Benizi og Frescobaldi, og han ble født etter at foreldrene
hadde vært barnløse i en tid. Allerede som barn viste han stor hengivenhet til
Guds mor Maria.
Han ble som 13-åring sendt for å studere filosofi i Paris og fysikk og medisin
i Padova, hvor han som 19-åring i 1253 tok doktorgrader i medisin og filosofi
og begynte å praktisere som lege.
Filip begynte å gå til messe i servittenes nybygde kirke,
og han ble mer og mer interessert i å studere Bibelen og kirkefedrenes
skrifter, og etter et år var han overbevist om at det var Guds vilje at han
skulle gå inn i servitterordenen (Ordo Servorum Mariae – OSM). I 1254
ble han opptatt som legbror i deres hovedkloster på Monte Senario ved Firenze
av den hellige Buonfiglio Monaldi, en av De syv stifterne av
Servitterordenen. Fra 1255 arbeidet han i hagen der i tre år. Han bodde i
en hule bak servittenes kirke og avslørte ikke sin lærdom til noen.
Men i 1258 kom hans talenter for en dag da han ble
sendt på et ærend til Siena. På veien kom han i diskusjon med noen
dominikanere, og i den teologiske diskusjonen røpet han ufrivillig sitt skarpe
sinn for dem og sin medbror Viktor. Ryktene om at en mann med slike gaver hadde
gjemt seg bort, nådde også lederen for servittene, og i 1258 ble Filip
overflyttet til Siena og i 1259 ble han presteviet etter ordre fra sine
overordnede. Etter hvert ble han forfremmet og han ble i 1262 novisemester i
Siena, senere superior for flere kommuniteter og sekretær for generalprioren.
Ordenen var grunnlagt i 1240, og den 5. juni 1267 ble Filip Benizi dens femte
generalprior, svært mot sin vilje og til tross for sine protester. Filip skrev
ordenens regler, som ble godkjent i 1268.
Filips ry som en hellig mann spredte seg, og han skal
ha blitt sett på som en seriøs pavekandidat, og etter at pave Klemens IV
(1265-68) døde i 1268, skal kardinalene ha vært nær ved å velge ham til pave
etter forslag fra kardinal Ottobuoni, servittenes kardinalprotektor. Men om
natten før avstemningen flyktet Filip opp i høydene og gjemte seg i en hule ved
Radicofani, og han holdt seg i skjul til forslaget var blitt trukket tilbake.
Noe lignende skal ha skjedd i Firenze noen år senere, der man etter en 12-årig
sedisvakans ville ha ham til biskop.
Etter at Filip ble valgt til general gikk ordenen, som
lenge hadde vært utsatt for urettferdige angrep fra misunnelige fiender, inn i
sin første krise. Han deltok i 1274 på det 14. økumeniske konsil (Det andre
Lyonkonsil). Det satte ut i livet vedtaket fra Det fjerde Laterankonsil i 1215
som forbød nye religiøse ordener, og oppløste alle tiggerinstitusjoner som ennå
ikke var godkjent av Den hellige Stol. Aggressorene fornyet sine angrep, og i
1276 sendte pave Innocent V (januar-juni 1276) et brev til Filip og erklærte
ordenen for oppløst.
Filip dro til Roma, men før han ankom, var Innocent V
død. Hans etterfølger Hadrian V (juli-august 1276) levde bare fem uker, noe som
gjør 1276 til historiens eneste «fire-pave-år». Endelig bestemte pave Johannes
XXI (1276-77), etter en positiv uttalelse fra tre konsistorialadvokater, at
ordenen skulle fortsette som før. Men truslene ble gjenopptatt i 1281 under
pave Martin IV (1281-85), og selv om andre paver fortsatte å støtte ordenen,
ble den ikke endelig godkjent før den salige pave Benedikt IX (1303-04)
utstedte bullen Dum levamus den 11. februar 1304.
Filip Benizi regnes også som servitterordenens andre
grunnlegger, for gjennom ham vant den ennå ubefestede ordenen raskt betydning
og styrke, og gjennom hans misjonsreiser i Italia, Frankrike og Tyskland ble
den kjent over alt. Den kvinnelige gren av ordenen går også tilbake til ham ved
at han hjalp den hellige Juliana Falconieri med
å etablere en servittisk tredjeorden i 1284. Han reiste mye omkring for å
besøke ordenens mange hus, og gjorde også sitt for å megle mellom de stridende
byene i Nord-Italia, hvor fraksjonskampene mellom guelferne (det pro-pavelige
partiet) og ghibellinerne (de pro-keiserlige) var på det høyeste.
Filip dro på oppdrag av pave Martin IV (1281-85) til
byen Forlì for å forkynne fred for innbyggerne der. På et møte ble stemningen
så opphetet at den unge Peregrinus Laziosi gikk
til fysisk angrep på Filip og slo ham i ansiktet. Filip vendte bokstavelig det
andre kinnet til, og dette gjorde så sterkt inntrykk på Peregrinus og hans
sjenerøse natur, så han angret og ba Filip om tilgivelse, og rundt 1292 gikk
han selv inn i Servitterordenen i Siena. Han levde til 1345 og ble helligkåret
i 1726.
Helt til sin død var det særlig skjebnen til de
fattige og syke som lå Filip særlig på hjertet. Han var også svært suksessrik i
å forsone syndere med Kirken. Han sendte de første servittermisjonærene til
tatarenes land, hvor de led martyrdøden. Hans helse begynte å svikte og han
følte at livet nærmet seg slutten, så han kalte sammen et generalkapittel i
ordenen i Firenze i 1285. Der trakk han seg som generalprior og utnevnte sin
nære fortrolige og langvarige venn Lottaringo Stufa til sin etterfølger.
Deretter formante han sine brødre til gjensidig tålmodighet og kjærlighet og
trakk seg tilbake til et forarmet servitterkloster i den umbriske etruskerbyen
Todi.
Der døde han den 22. august 1285 og ble gravlagt i den
åttekantede servitterkirken San Filippo Benizi i Todi. Han ble saligkåret ved
at hans kult ble stadfestet ved dekreter av 8. oktober og 9. desember 1645 av
pave Innocent X (1644-55). Han ble helligkåret den 12. april 1671 av pave
Klemens X (1670-76), men helligkåringsbullen kom ikke før 4. juni 1724. I 1694
ble hans fest foreskrevet for hele Kirken. Hans minnedag er 23. august og hans
navn står i Martyrologium Romanum. Ved kalenderreformen i 1969 ble hans
minnedag strøket i den universelle kalenderen og henvist til lokale og
spesielle kalendere.
Han er den best kjente av servittenes helgener. Han
avbildes i svart ordensdrakt med kappe og med krusifiks i hånden og med lilje
og hodeskalle. Han kan også avbildes med en tiara ved føttene som tegn på at
han avviste paveverdigheten. Han er skytshelgen for barn og for servittene.
Kilder:
Attwater/John, Attwater/Cumming, Farmer, Bentley, Butler (VIII), Benedictines,
Delaney, Bunson, Engelhart, Schauber/Schindler, Melchers, Index99, CE, CSO,
Patron Saints SQPN, Infocatho, Heiligenlexikon - Kompilasjon og
oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden -
Opprettet: 2000-05-14 14:02 -
Sist oppdatert: 2005-08-25 20:59
SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/fbenizi
http://servidimaria.net/sitoosm/fr/histoire/legenda/perugina.pdf
