Fra
Angelico, Giovanni Dominici représenté sur un médaillon de la Crucifixion
et les saints, fresque de l'ex-salle capitulaire du couvent San Marco.
Bienheureux Jean Dominici
Frère prêcheur, évêque de
Budapest (+ 1413)
A lire:
"La plus grande vertu est la charité"
Du
Traité de l’amour de charité du bienheureux Jean Dominici - préparé
par l’Université Pontificale Urbaniana, avec la collaboration des
Instituts Missionnaires (site du Vatican)
À Buda en Hongrie, l’an
1419, le trépas du bienheureux Jean Dominici, évêque de Raguse. Après la peste
noire, il rétablit dans les couvents de Prêcheurs en Italie, l’observance de la
règle et, envoyé en Bohême et en Hongrie pour s’opposer à la prédication de
Jean Hus, c’est là qu’il mourut.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1301/Bienheureux-Jean-Dominici.html
La plus grande vertu est
la charité
"La foi et
l’espérance n’ont leur raison d’être que pour l’homme; la charité existe en
Dieu. La foi peut transporter les montagnes; la charité crée les montagnes, le
ciel et la terre. La foi exhorte la créature à faire tous ses efforts pour
s’acheminer vers le paradis; la charité demande à Dieu de la faire descendre
sur la terre pour que l’homme parvienne au ciel par la route de sa propre
charité. La foi dit à l’homme: Sers Dieu, comme c’est ton devoir. La charité
dit à Dieu: Fais-toi homme et mets-toi au service de l’homme car il te doit
plus qu’il ne peut te donner.
La foi dit à l’homme:
Frappe à la porte du ciel, pour qu’il s’ouvre à toi. La charité dit à Dieu:
Déchire le ciel pour que l’homme le trouve ouvert.La foi enseigne à l’homme à
mourir par amour pour Dieu. La charité invite Dieu à mourir pour l’homme, et
l’homme à mourir pour son Dieu.La foi montre Dieu à l’homme, mais de loin. La charité
rapproche l’homme de Dieu; elle qui a fait de Dieu un homme, elle fait que
l’homme soit Dieu.
La foi est une dame parce
qu’elle règne seulement ici-bas où nous n’avons pas de cité permanente, mais où
nous attendons la cité future. La charité est l’impératrice du ciel et de la
terre. La foi est paysanne, la charité est citadine. La foi est l’impératrice
de beaucoup d’humbles créatures; la charité est l’impératrice des anges. La foi
est située au-dessus des esclaves; la charité au-dessus des enfants bien-aimés
et des saints.
Réfléchissez bien à ceci.
S’il y avait dans le soleil un monde pareil au nôtre, par quoi ce monde
serait-t-il éclairé, chauffé, réjoui et dirigé? Nullement par les rayons du
soleil, mais par sa substance seulement, puisque le soleil contiendrait dans sa
substance cet univers entier. En fait, il éclaire, chauffe, réjouit et dirige
notre monde non par lui-même, car il ne peut venir jusqu’à nous, mais par son
rayon. La raison pour laquelle le soleil accomplit tout cela par son rayon est
qu’il ne peut venir à nous. Songe que cela est encore plus vrai de Dieu.
Le Père, comparable au
soleil, engendre son rayon, qui est son Verbe éternel et essentiel. Le Père et
le Verbe, comme le soleil et le rayon, produisent la chaleur essentielle qui
est l’Esprit Saint, si bien que ce soleil divin est puissance, lumiere et feu;
Père, Fils et Saint-Esprit; puissance, vérité et charité; un seul Dieu et trois
personnes; et ce soleil divin est tout entier puissant, tout entier brillant,
tout entier ardent. Non pas trois puissant mais une seule; non pas trois
lumières, mais une seule, non pas trois feux, mais un seul.
Néanmoins, ici peut
naître un léger doute, On a dit que nous tous sommes en Dieu, et que Dieu est
amour; il peut donc sembler que nous sommes tous dans l’amour de charité et
qu’ainsi nous sommes tous dans la vérité, et tous dans la vraie puissance. Mais
cela est faux, parce que peu d’hommes sont dans la charité; beaucoup, au
contraire, vivent dans l’erreur et le mensonge, et le plus grand nombre est
faible et paralysé par sa fragilité.
Je réponds d’abord par un
exemple. Beaucoup de poissons sont au soleil, mais comme ils sont protégés par
l’eau, ils ne succombent pas à la chaleur. Beaucoup d’aveugles sont dans la
lumière et ne voient pas; beaucoup de récipients contiennent des aliments et ne
mangent pas.Vous voyez donc qu’il ne suffit pas d’être dans un lieu pour
participer à sa vertu, si l’on n’y est pas disposé. Un malade mange sans
profit, un mort approché du feu ne sent pas la chaleur. Quelqu’un qui se trouve
au soleil et qui se fait asperger sans cesse d’eau glacée ne se réchauffe pas
et ne cesse de frissonner.
Ainsi, bien que nous
soyons placés dans le feu divin, qui ne réchauffe pas le corps mais qui embrase
l’âme, nous ne retirons aucun bénéfice de ce feu divin si l’on ne cesse de
jeter sur notre âme la grêle des désirs charnels, la glace de l’esprit du
monde, la bise des tentations. Il est nécessaire que nous tenions notre âme
éloignée de tout cela et alors il sera vrai, comme dit le psalmiste, que nul
n’échappe à son ardeur."
Du Traité de l’amour
de charité du bienheureux Jean Dominici
Préparé par l’Université
Pontificale URBANIANA,
avec la collaboration des
Instituts Missionnaires
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20010130_dominici_fr.html
JEAN DOMINICI
Dominicain, Évêque,
Cardinal, Saint
ca. 1359-1419
Le bienheureux Jean
Dominici, dominicain, cardinal et archevêque de Raguse, né vers l'an 1359, à
Florence, d'une famille pauvre, mais pieuse, qui ne pouvant lui donner une
éducation brillante, s'appliqua à l'élever dans la piété. Il passa sa première
jeunesse dans les travaux communs et dans les pratiques de la religion. Il
fréquentait souvent l'église des dominicains de Florence, et à dix-huit ans il
demanda d'entrer d.tns leur couvent. On ne voulait pas d'abord le recevoir,
lorsqu'un des frères prédit que le postulant rendrait un jour de grands
services à l'Église, et là-dessus il fut admis sans difficulté. Pendant son
noviciat, Jean Dominici montra tant de régularité et de ferveur qu'il devint
bientôt un objet d'admiration pour la communauté. Après sa profession il
s'appliqua à l'étude : comme il donnait au travail tous les moments qui
n'étaient pas consacrés à des exercices de piété, et qu'il ne prenait de
nourriture et de sommeil qu'autant qu'il le fallait rigoureusement pour se
soutenir, il faisait des progrès étonnants ; bientôt il fut en étal de
suivre un cours de théologie. Il devint si habile dans celle science que les
supérieurs voulaient qu'il se fit recevoir docteur ; titre qu'il refusa
par humilité.
Il obtint des succès
remarquables dans la prédication ; il prêchait souvent jusqu'à cinq fois
par jour, et ses discours, aussi soldes que touchants, remuaient tous les
cœurs. Après avoir exercé son talent à Florence et dans d'autres villes de la
Toscane, il alla se faire entendre à Rome, où il opéra de nombreuses
conversions dans toutes les classes, mais surtout parmi les débauchés et les
femmes de mauvaise vie. Son zèle s'étendit aussi jusqu'aux monastères, qui, à
cette époque, avaient grand besoin de réforme, et il en fonda plusieurs dans
lesquels il établit une régularité parfaite, afin qu'ils pussent servir de
modèle aux maisons qui étaient tombées dans le relâchement ; aussi mérita-t-il
le litre de restaurateur de la discipline régulière eu Italie. Parmi les
personnes qu'il gagna à Dieu et qu'il conduisit dans les voies de la
perfection, on peut citer saint Antonin, qui devint ensuite archevêque de
Florence.
Le pape Boniface IX,
ayant cru devoir publier une croisade contre Bayezid I, qui menaçait la
chrétienté, chargea eu 1394 le P. Jean Dominici de la prêcher dans diverses
provinces d'Italie; mais celle croisade n'eut pas lieu, à cause de la division
que le grand schisme d'Occident mettait parmi les princes chrétiens. Grégoire
XII, qui connaissait depuis longtemps le mérite du bienheureux Jean, le fit
venir auprès de lui, lorsqu'il eut été élevé sur le Saint-Siège, pour l'aider à
pacifier l'Église. L'ayant ensuite nommé dans un archevêché important, l'humble
dominicain fut obligé par obéissance d'accepter cette dignité ; mais il
s'abstint de se faire sacrer, dans l'espérance qu'il pourrait se soustraire au
fardeau de l'épiscopat, et aussi parce que, se trouvant retenu à Rome, il se
voyait dans l'impossibilité de résider dans son diocèse. Grégoire XII, pour
récompenser ses talents et ses services, le créa, en 1408, cardinal du titre de
Saint-Sixte. Cette élévation, que Jean n'avait pas recherchée, fut pour lui une
source d'amertume ; comme il possédait l'estime et la confiance du pape,
on l'accusa de s'être emparé de l'esprit du pontife, et on le regardait comme
un ambitieux avide d'honneurs. Le bienheureux Jean ne fut pas plus ébranlé par
ces calomnies qu'il ne l'avait été parles applaudissements que lui avaient
valus ses succès dans la prédication. Il montra la même patience envers
d'anciens cardinaux, qui, mécontents de sa promotion, refusaient de reconnaître
en lui la dignité dont il était revêtu.
Après que le concile de
Pisé eut élu Alexandre V, il pressa vivement Grégoire XII de renoncer à la
tiare ; mais il ne put obtenir cette renonciation qu'au concile de
Constance. Aussitôt que cette importante affaire, à laquelle il eut plus de
part que personne, eut été consommée, il quitta en plein concile les insignes
du cardinalat, qu'il ne se croyait plus en doit de porter, et il alla se placer
parmi les évêques. Le concile, touché de celle noble conduite, l'engagea à
reprendre son rang et le confirma dans ses dignités. L'humble cardinal continua
donc à siéger dans cette auguste assemblée, qui le regardait comme une de ses
lumières. Il y ménagea autant qu'il put les intérêts de Grégoire XII, son
bienfaiteur, et contribua à l'élection de Martin V, qui mit fin au schisme :
il eut lui-même plusieurs voix pour la papauté.
L'empereur Sigismond, qui
savait apprécier la haute sagesse du cardinal, désira qu'il fût chargé de faire
recevoir en Bohême les décrets du concile et de ramener les Hussites à l'unité
catholique. En conséquence, Martin V le chargea de cette mission par une lettre
très flatteuse, datée du 10 juillet 1418, et Jean partit aussitôt pour ce
royaume, désolé par les révoltes et les cruautés des disciples fanatiques de
Jean Hus. Le saint cardinal, voyant que ses efforts étaient sans résultat,
passa en Hongrie, où il espérait plus de succès, et il se trouvait à Bude
lorsque Dieu lui fit connaître que sa fin était prochaine. Atteint d'une fièvre
grave, il se fit administrer les derniers sacrements de l'Église et demanda
d'être enterré sans cérémonie et comme un simple religieux, chez les frères de
Saint-Paul-Ermite. Il mourut le 10 juin 1419, âgé de près de soixante ans. Le
pape Grégoire XVI approuva en 1832 le culte qu'on lui rendait de temps
immémorial.
Le bienheureux Jean
Dominici a laissé des Commentaires sur divers livres de l'Écriture
sainte, et un livre de piété qui fut accueilli avec beaucoup de ferveur lors de
sa publication.
SOURCE : http://nova.evangelisation.free.fr/jean_dominici.htm
Prière du Bienheureux
Jean Dominici
Voici la Prière « Dis,
douce Marie, avec quel amour Tu regardas ton petit enfant, le Christ, mon
Dieu ! » du Bienheureux Jean Dominici (1357-1419), Cardinal
dominicain italien et Archevêque de Raguse en Dalmatie, auteur de nombreux
hymnes et poèmes religieux, déclaré Bienheureux par le Pape Grégoire XVI.
La Prière du Bienheureux
Jean Dominici « Dis, douce Marie, avec quel amour Tu regardas ton
petit enfant, le Christ, mon Dieu ! » :
« Dis, douce Marie,
avec quel amour Tu regardas ton petit enfant, le Christ, mon Dieu ! Quand
Tu L’eus enfanté sans peine, la première chose, je crois que Tu fis fut de
L’adorer, ô Pleine de grâce ! Puis sur le foin, dans la crèche, Tu Le
posas ; Tu L’enveloppas dans quelques pauvres langes, L’admirant et Te
réjouissant, je crois. Oh ! Quelle joie Tu avais et quel bonheur quand Tu
Le tenais dans Tes bras ! Dis-le, Marie, car peut-être conviendrait-il que
par pitié du moins, Tu me satisfasses un peu. Tu L’embrassais alors sur le
Visage, si je crois bien, et Tu Lui disais : « Ô mon petit enfant !
» Tantôt enfant, tantôt père et seigneur, tantôt Dieu et tantôt Jésus, ainsi Tu
L’appelais. Ô quel doux amour Tu sentais en Ton cœur, quand sur Ton sein Tu Le
tenais et L’allaitais ! Que de doux et suaves gestes d’amour charmaient
Tes yeux, quand Tu regardais ton Fils ! Si parfois dans le jour Il
s’endormait un peu et que Tu voulusses éveiller ce Trésor de paradis ; Tu
marchais tout doucement, tout doucement, pour qu’il ne T’entendît pas et Tu
posais Ta bouche sur Son visage, et puis Tu Lui disais avec un sourire
maternel : « Ne dors plus, cela Te ferait mal ». Fille du souverain
Père, humble servante du Seigneur, très pieusement par Lui Tu fus appelé
« Mère ». À cette seule pensée, le cœur se fond à qui sent quelque douce
étincelle de cet Amour, dont toujours je m’éloigne. Va, ma chanson, vers Marie,
notre chère Avocate, agenouillée devant Elle, prie-La pour moi afin qu’elle ne
me soit pas trop avare de son Fils, qui jamais ne Lui refusa, ni ne Lui refuse
rien. Et dis-Lui : « Ah ! Retiens, retiens pour jamais celui qui
toujours s’éloigne de Toi ! » Amen. »
Giovanni Dominici (1357-1419)
SOURCE : http://site-catholique.fr/index.php?post/Priere-du-Bienheureux-Jean-Dominici
Giovanni
Dominici, Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Also
known as
John Dominic
John Dominici
John Dominici de Banchini
Profile
He had a humble
background, little education,
and a tendency to stammer and stutter,
but John had a great memory, great drive to improve, and became a great theologian and preacher.
He spent much of his youth in or around the nearby Dominican church
of Santa Maria Novella. Though he lacked education and
the Dominicans were
scholars, and though he had trouble speaking and the Dominicans were preachers,
he joined the Order at
age 17.
He studied in Pisa and Florence in Italy,
and received his degree in theology from
the University
of Paris. Priest.
In one letters, he said that his speech
impediment threatened to limit his vocation; it was cured through the
intervention of Saint Catherine
of Siena, and he spent 12 years as a preacher in Venice, Italy.
Prior of
the Dominican house
at Santa Maria Novella. Vicar-provincial in Rome, Italy in 1392.
With Blessed Raymund
of Capua, master general of the Order,
he helped lead the rebuilding of the Order after
the plague,
and restoration of discipline to the members. Founded Dominican houses
and convents in
the Italian cities
of Venice (1388 and 1394), Fiesole (1406), Chioggia, Citta
di Castello, Cortona, Lucca,
and Fabriano.
Correspondent with Blessed Clara
Gambacorta, giving her advice on her work to restore discipline to Dominican nuns.
Because of his support of the Dominican White
Penitents in Venice,
he briefly lost papal support,
but was later welcomed back, and resumed the work.
Worked to support Christian education of
the young.
Opposed pagan ideas
that were creeping into the humanist thought of the day. Confessor and
advisor to Pope Gregory
XII. Cardinal of
San Sisto in 1407. Archbishop of Ragusa, Italy in 1408.
Helped heal the Western
Schism. Convinced Pope Gregory
XII to call the Council of Constance, and to abdicate in order to
force the hands of the anti-popes,
causing them to drop their claims to the crown.
Papal legate to Hungary and Bohemia for Pope Martin V.
Worked to settle the disruptions caused by the death of John Hus,
and to heal the Hussite Schism; converted some,
but was unable to affect the larger problem.
Wrote Scripture
commentaries and hymns in Italian.
His portrait was painted by Fra
Angelico, who had joined the order under him, and a memoir of him was written by Saint Antoninus
of Florence who had joined the Order after
hearing John preach,
and had worked with him in Fiesole.
Born
10 June 1419 of
a fever at
Buda, Hungary
buried in
the Church of Saint Paul
the Hermit in Buda
his tomb became noted
for miracles,
and was briefly a pilgrimage point
it was destroyed by the
Turks
1832 (cultus
confirmed) by Pope Gregory
XVI
1837 (beatified)
by Pope Gregory
XVI
Additional
Information
Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Giovanni
Dominici“. CatholicSaints.Info. 24 November 2021. Web. 19 April 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-john-dominic/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-john-dominic/
Blessed John Dominici de
Banchini, OP B (AC)
Born in Florence, Italy,
1376 (or 1350?); died in Hungary 1419; cultus confirmed in 1832; beatified in
1837 by Pope Gregory XVI.
John is an example of the
triumph of spirit over difficulty, and an indication that God can use any type
of instrument He chooses, if He has a certain work to be done. John was almost
rejected by the Dominicans because he had such a severe speech defect that the
superior felt he would never be able to preach--a real impediment in the Order
of Preachers.
The saint was born into a
poor Florentine family. His early years were noted for piety. In fact, if
anyone came looking for him, his mother would say, "Go and look in the
church. He spends most of his time there." He had a special love for the
Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella, and he haunted it from early morning
to late at night. It was not a surprise to anyone when, at the age of 17, he
decided to enter the Dominican order.
Here several difficulties
presented themselves. John had no background of education, which was absolutely
necessary in an order of scholars. To make matters worse, he had the speech
defect. Some of the fathers felt that he should support his parents, although
they protested that this should not stand in the way of their son's vocation.
It was two years before John was allowed to begin his novitiate at Santa Maria
Novella. The order soon discovered the treasure they had. John excelled in
theology and Sacred Scripture, and so he was sent, with the other superior
students, to finish his studies in Paris.
Now he was face to face
with the difficulty that his superiors had seen from the beginning. An ordained
priest, member of a preaching order, he must fulfill his vocation by preaching.
His superiors attempted to forestall any embarrassment by assigning him work in
the house. John felt that the intervention of heaven was required, so with the
utmost simplicity he prayed to Saint Catherine of Siena, who had just died, to
cure him. The impediment disappeared, and John joyfully began to preach. He
became one of the most famous Dominican preachers.
In 1392, after years of
successful missionary work in all the cities of Italy, John was appointed
vicar-provincial of the Roman province. It was a task that, both intellectually
and spiritually, called for a giant.
The plague had cut into
the order with such devastating effect that regular life barely existed. The
convent of Santa Maria Novella had lost 77 friars within a few months; other
convents were in even worse condition. The mortality had been higher among the
friars than anywhere else, because they had gone quite unselfishly to the aid
of the stricken people. However, this misfortune had left the order perilously
understaffed, and there were a good many members who believed quite sincerely
that the conditions of the time called for a mitigated observance of the rule.
Many of the houses were already operating in this fashion. It was to be the
principal work of Blessed John Dominici to right this condition, and bring back
the order to its first fervor.
He began his work with a
foundation at Fiesole. Before he had even erected the new convent, four young
men received the habit, one of whom was Antoninus--future saintly archbishop of
Florence. Two years later, two of the most gifted young artists in Italy, whom
history would know as Fra Angelico and his brother, Fra Benedetto, received the
habit. With these and other earnest young men, John Dominici set about the
difficult work of building anew an order that had suffered a diminution of its
original fervor. Soon the house at Fiesole,and others modeled upon it, could be
described, as the first houses of the order were, the "homes of angels."
Difficult days were in
preparation for John Dominici. He was appointed cardinal in 1407, named
archbishop of Ragusa, and chosen as confessor to the pope. Due to schism, there
were two claimants to the papacy. The situation grew even worse when, after another
election, no less than three powerful men claimed to have been lawfully elected
pope.
Largely through the
diplomacy and wise counsel of John Cardinal Dominici, the rival claimants to
the papal throne agreed to withdraw their claims, and the groundwork was laid
for the election of a new and acceptable candidate. At this time, John Dominici
publicly renounced his cardinalate, thus indicating to the enemies who accused
him of political ambition that he cared nothing for honors in this world.
John was preaching in
Hungary against the heresies of John Hus at the behest of the pope when he
died. He was buried in the Church of Saint Paul the Hermit in Buda. Many
miracles were worked at his tomb before it was destroyed by the Turks
(Benedictines, Dorcy).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0610.shtml
Blessed Giovanni Dominici
(BANCHINI or BACCHINI was
his family name).
Cardinal,
statesman and writer, born at Florence,
1356; died at Buda, 10 July, 1420. He entered the Dominican
Order at Santa Maria Novella in 1372 after having been cured, through
the intercession of St.
Catherine of Siena, of an impediment of speech for which he had
been refused admission to the order two years before. On his return from Paris,
where he completed his theological studies,
he laboured as professor and preacher for twelve years at Venice.
With the sanction of the master
general, Blessed Raymond of Capua,
he established convents of
strict observance of his order at Venice (1391)
and Fiesole (1406), and founded the convent of Corpus
Christi at Venice for
the Dominican Nuns of
the Strict Observance. He was sent as envoy of Venice to
the conclave of
1406 in which Gregory
XII was elected; the following year the pope,
whose confessor and counsellor he was, appointed him Archbishop of Ragusa,
created him cardinal in
1408 and sent him as ambassador to Hungary,
to secure the adhesion of Sigismund to the pope.
At the Council
of Constance Dominici read the voluntary resignation
which Gregory
XII had adopted, on his advice, as the surest means of ending
the schism. Martin
V appointed him legate to Bohemia on
19 July, 1418, but he accomplished little with the followers of Hus,
owing to the supineness of King Wenceslaus. He was
declared blessed by Gregory
XVI in 1832 and his feast is
observed 10 June.
Dominici was not only a
prolific writer on spiritual subjects but also a graceful poet,
as his many vernacular hymns,
or Laudi, show. His "Regola del governo di cura familiare",
written between 1400 and 1405, is a valuable pedagogical work (edited
by Salvi, Florence, 1860) which treats, in four books, of
the faculties of the soul,
the powers and senses of the body, the uses of earthly goods, and
the education of
children. This last book has been translated into German by Rosler (Herder's Bibliothek
der katholischen Pädagogik, VII, Freiburg, 1894). His "Lucula
Noctis" (R. Coulon, O.P., Latin text of the fifteenth
century with an introduction, Paris, 1908) in reply to a letter of Nicola
di Piero Salutati, is the most important treatise of that day on the study
of the pagan authors.
Dominici does not flatly condemn classical studies, but strenuously opposes
the paganizing humanism of
the day.
Schwertner,
Thomas. "Blessed Giovanni Dominici." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1909. 10 Jun.
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05112a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Marcia L. Bellafiore.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John
M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05112a.htm
Blessed John Dominici,
B.C.O.P.
Memorial Day: June 10th
Profile
John is an example of the
triumph of spirit over difficulty, and an indication that God can use any type
of instrument He chooses, if He has a certain work to be done. John was almost
rejected by the Dominicans because he had such a severe speech defect that the
superior felt he would never be able to preach--a real impediment in the Order
of Preachers.
The saint was born into a
poor Florentine family. His early years were noted for piety. In fact, if
anyone came looking for him, his mother would say, "Go and look in the
church. He spends most of his time there." He had a special love for the
Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella, and he haunted it from early morning
to late at night. It was not a surprise to anyone when, at the age of 17, he
decided to enter the Dominican order.
Here several difficulties
presented themselves. John had no background of education, which was absolutely
necessary in an order of scholars. To make matters worse, he had the speech
defect. Some of the fathers felt that he should support his parents, although
they protested that this should not stand in the way of their son's vocation.
It was two years before John was allowed to begin his novitiate at Santa Maria
Novella. The order soon discovered the treasure they had. John excelled in
theology and Sacred Scripture, and so he was sent, with the other superior
students, to finish his studies in Paris.
Now he was face to face
with the difficulty that his superiors had seen from the beginning. An ordained
priest, member of a preaching order, he must fulfill his vocation by preaching.
His superiors attempted to forestall any embarrassment by assigning him work in
the house. John felt that the intervention of heaven was required, so with the
utmost simplicity he prayed to Saint Catherine of Siena, who had just died, to
cure him. The impediment disappeared, and John joyfully began to preach. He
became one of the most famous Dominican preachers.
In 1392, after years of
successful missionary work in all the cities of Italy, John was appointed
vicar-provincial of the Roman province. It was a task that, both intellectually
and spiritually, called for a giant.
The plague had cut into
the order with such devastating effect that regular life barely existed. The
convent of Santa Maria Novella had lost 77 friars within a few months; other
convents were in even worse condition. The mortality had been higher among the
friars than anywhere else, because they had gone quite unselfishly to the aid
of the stricken people. However, this misfortune had left the order perilously
understaffed, and there were a good many members who believed quite sincerely
that the conditions of the time called for a mitigated observance of the rule.
Many of the houses were already operating in this fashion. It was to be the
principal work of Blessed John Dominici to right this condition, and bring back
the order to its first fervor.
He began his work with a
foundation at Fiesole. Before he had even erected the new convent, four young
men received the habit, one of whom was Antoninus--future saintly archbishop of
Florence. Two years later, two of the most gifted young artists in Italy, whom
history would know as Fra Angelico and his brother, Fra Benedetto, received the
habit. With these and other earnest young men, John Dominici set about the
difficult work of building anew an order that had suffered a diminution of its
original fervor. Soon the house at Fiesole,and others modeled upon it, could be
described, as the first houses of the order were, the "homes of
angels."
Difficult days were in
preparation for John Dominici. He was appointed cardinal in 1407, named
archbishop of Ragusa, and chosen as confessor to the pope. Due to schism, there
were two claimants to the papacy. The situation grew even worse when, after
another election, no less than three powerful men claimed to have been lawfully
elected pope.
Largely through the
diplomacy and wise counsel of John Cardinal Dominici, the rival claimants to
the papal throne agreed to withdraw their claims, and the groundwork was laid
for the election of a new and acceptable candidate. At this time, John Dominici
publicly renounced his cardinalate, thus indicating to the enemies who accused
him of political ambition that he cared nothing for honors in this world.
John was preaching in
Hungary against the heresies of John Hus at the behest of the pope when he
died. He was buried in the Church of Saint Paul the Hermit in Buda. Many
miracles were worked at his tomb before it was destroyed by the Turks
(Benedictines, Dorcy).
Born: 1356 at
Florence, Italy
Died: June 10, 1419
of a fever at Buda, Hungary; buried in the Church of Saint Paul the Hermit in
Buda; his tomb became noted for miracles, and was briefly a pilgrimage point;
it was destroyed by the Turks
Beatified: 1832
(cultus confirmed); 1837 (beatified) by Pope Gregory XVI
Prayers/Commemorations
First Vespers:
Ant. Strengthen by holy
intercession, O John, Confessor of the Lord, those here present, that we who
are burdened with the weight of our offenses may be relieved by the glory of
thy blessedness, and may by thy guidance attain eternal rewards.
V. Pray for us, Blessed
John.
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ.
Lauds:
Ant. Well done, good and
faithful servant, because Thou hast been faithful in a few things, I will set
thee over many, sayeth the Lord.
V. The just man shall
blossom like the lily.
R. And shall flourish
forever before the Lord.
Second Vespers:
Ant. I will liken him
unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock..
V. Pray for us. Blessed
John.
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ.
Prayer:
Let us Pray: O God,
the giver of charity, who dist strengthen Blessed John, Confessor and Bishop,
in the work of preserving the unity of the Church and establishing regular
discipline, grant, through his intercession, that we may be of one mind and
perform our actions in Christ Jesus our Lord, who with Thee liveth and reigneth
world without end. Amen.
Pascal Time
First Vespers:
Ant. Come, O
daughters of Jerusalem, and behold a Martyr with a crown wherewith the Lord crowned
him on the day of solemnity and rejoicing, alleluia, alleluia
V. Pray for us, Blessed
John with thy companions, alleluia
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ, alleluia.
Lauds:
Ant. Perpetual light will
shine upon Thy Saints, O Lord, alleluia, and an eternity of ages, alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia
V. The just man shall
blossom like the lily, alleluia.
R. And shall flourish
forever before the Lord, alleluia
Second Vespers:
Ant. In the city of the
Lord the music of the Saints incessantly resounds: there the angels and
archangels sing a canticle before the throne of God, alleluia.
V. Pray for us, Blessed
John with thy companions, alleluia
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ. alleluia
Prayer:
Let us Pray: O God,
the giver of charity, who dist strengthen Blessed John, Confessor and Bishop,
in the work of preserving the unity of the Church and establishing regular
discipline, grant, through his intercession, that we may be of one mind and
perform our actions in Christ Jesus our Lord, who with Thee liveth and reigneth
world without end. Amen.
SOURCE :
http://www.willingshepherds.org/Dominican%20Saints%20May.html#John Dominici
Saints and
Saintly Dominicans – 10 June
Blessed John
Dominic, Cardinal, O.P.
Blessed John
Dominic was the child of poor parents
and began life as an artisan. But his diligence in study soon enabled him to
enter the Order and he became there a model religious by his piety, and by his
talents an illustrious preacher, although at first he had an impediment in his
speech. He was the first in Italy to attempt to return to the primitive
observance, which had gradually been abandoned, and for this end he founded the
celebrated Convent of Fiesole. He met with much opposition, both open and
dissimulated, in carrying out his project. His power of attracting good subjects
to the Order was so great that he was called “the seducer of youth.” He loved
the beauty of the Divine Office and took pleasure in illuminating the choir
books; he also encouraged the nuns of the Order in this work. After having been
made cardinal, he put a stop to a serious schism and to give an example of
personal disinterestedness in the common cause, he resigned his high, dignity
at the Council of Constance. But his resignation was not accepted; on the
contrary, he was entrusted with affairs of the greatest importance for the
peace and welfare of Christendom. Until his last hour he labored for the good
of the Church. It was said of him, as of Saint Bonaventure by his master, the
celebrated Alexander of Helos: “One would think Adam had not sinned in him.” (1420)
Prayer
O Lord, sustain those who
labor to preserve, or to reestablish, regular observance in the Order.
Practice
Say a “Veni Creator” for
the peace of the Church and unity in the hierarchy, under the direction of the
Supreme Pontiff.
– taken from the
book Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-and-saintly-dominicans-10-june/
Bl. John Dominici
(1356?-1419)
There have been many
cardinals in the church, but few of them have been declared blesseds or saints.
Some of them have led discreditable rather than holy lives. Others have been
able but worldly. Of the rest, they have deserved praise, but have usually fallen
short, like most of us, of heroic sanctity.
John Dominici was one
cardinal who merited to be proclaimed “blessed.”
Born to Domenico Banchini
of Florence, Italy, John adopted as his surname “Dominici”, in honor of his
father (“John of Dominic”). Around 1373 he entered the Order of Preachers
(Dominicans). Given a careful education at Florence, Pisa, and Paris, he was
ordained a priest and named, first, assistant prior (1381); then, prior
(1385-87),of the convent of S. Maria Novella in Florence. Next he was appointed
a lector (teacher) of the Dominican students at SS. John and Paul priory in
Venice. An able executive and a strong advocate of the Dominican reformist
movement then under way, John personally reformed the priories of Venice,
Chioggia, and Citta di Castello. He also founded a Dominican convent of nuns at
Venice. Finally, he was named vicar general of all the reformed Italian
priories. Friar John thus became the leading promoter, under his zealous
superior, Bl. Raymond of Capua, of Italian Dominican reform.
In addition to
administrative work, Father John became engaged in the spiritual revival of the
Catholic laity. At first his efforts at preaching were impaired by a tendency
to stammer. However, he was a good friend of St. Catherine of Siena, and it was
to her prayers that he attributed the loosening of his tongue. No longer a
stammerer, he went on to become one of the most influential preachers of his
day. He also wrote many scriptural, theological, and spiritual books, articles
and hymns. Deeply interested in the education of youth, he was one of the first
to caution a careful choice of the classical writers that the current humanists
were using as textbooks in their liberal arts courses.
During much of Fr.
Giovanni’s life, the Church was in the throes of the Great Schism of the
West–that tragic state in which there were at first two, and eventually three,
bishops who claimed to be pope: one in Rome, one in France, and one in Pisa.
For a long time, nobody was able to untie this triple knot. Blessed John was to
become largely responsible for its ultimate solution.
All along, John had sided
with the Roman line of popes. In 1406 he attended the papal conclave that
elected Gregory XII in this line. Gregory came to admire the talented
Dominican, and chose him as his confessor and advisor. Eventually, he named him
titular archbishop of Ragusa; on April 23, 1408, he created him cardinal priest
of the Roman parish church of San Sisto; and finally he appointed him papal
legate to Poland and Hungary. After that the pope sent him as his
representative to the Council of Constance, which was held in 1414-18 to
address the problem of the three papal claimants. Cardinal Dominici had already
persuaded Gregory that the question could be settled only if all three “popes”
resigned. Gregory had him read his letter of resignation to the Council
Fathers.
The Council of Constance
then received the reluctant resignation of the Pisan “pope” and forced the
French claimant to retire. It then elected Cardinal Odo Colonna as Martin V on
November 11, 1417. Finally there was again only one pope.
Pope Martin also held
Cardinal Dominici in high esteem. In 1418 he sent him as papal ambassador to
Bohemia and Hungary. It was a most difficult assignment. The Bohemians were
furious because the Council of Constance had condemned the teachings and the
person of the Bohemian priest, John Huss. Though asked by the pope to do so,
Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia, refused to place any restrictions on Hussite
adherents. The crestfallen Cardinal John therefore went to Hungary. He had not
been in Buda long, however, before he caught a fever and died.
International statesmen
sometimes seem to us to be engaged in glamorous work. Ambassadorial assignments
were for Dominici not a crown but a cross. But he carried the cross loyally,
and it carried him. Long venerated informally as “blessed”, Cardinal John
Dominici was confirmed in that title in 1832 by pope Gregory XVI.
–Father Robert F.
McNamara
Beato Giovanni Dominici Domenicano
Firenze 1355 - Buda 1419
Giovanni Banchini, o
Bacchini, meglio noto come "Dominici" è stato uno dei protagonisti
della vita ecclesiale a cavallo tra Trecento e Quattrocento. Fu il braccio
destro del beato Raimondo di Capua nella riforma dell'ordine domenicano. Era
entrato a 17 anni tra i frati predicatori del convento di Santa Maria Novella a
Firenze, città dove era nato nel 1355. Coinvolse nella riforma il convento di
San Domenico a Venezia e ne fondò uno di stratta osservanza a Fiesole. Nel 1408
fu nominato arcivescovo di Ragusa e cardinale da Papa Gregorio XII. Ne divenne
consigliere tanto da convincerlo ad abdicare. C'erano al tempo due Papi e
Giovanni portò al Concilio di Costanza la rinuncia di Gregorio; e la propria al
cardinalato, che gli venne reso. Nel 1418 fu inviato in Boemia, Polonia e
Ungheria dove si diffondevano eresie. Morì a Buda nel 1419. È beato dal
1832. (Avvenire)
Martirologio Romano: A
Budapest in Ungheria, transito del beato Giovanni Dominici, vescovo di
Dubrovnik, che, al termine della Peste Nera, riportò nei conventi dei
Predicatori in Italia l’osservanza della disciplina e, mandato in Boemia e in
Ungheria per contrastare la predicazione di Giovanni Hus, morì in questa città.
Giovanni Banchini o
Bacchini, detto “Dominici” entrò nell’Ordine Domenicano a diciassette anni, a
Firenze, nel Convento di S. Maria Novella. Ben presto s’infiammo di quello zelo
che lo distinse in tutta la vita. Fu il braccio destro del Beato Raimondo da Capua
per il ritorno dell’Ordine ai suoi sacri ideali e, in Italia, egli fu il
promotore principale della Riforma. Nel 1395 iniziò l’opera restauratrice nel
Convento di S. Domenico di Venezia. Da Venezia il sacro fuoco divampò di
convento in convento, preparando la più promettente fioritura di santità e di
apostolato, così come Domenico aveva voluto. Per opera sua, nel 1406, sorse il
Convento di stretta osservanza di S. Domenico di Fiesole, che fu fabbrica di
santi e di apostoli, tra i quali brilla Sant’Antonino Pierozzi. Ambasciatore
nel 1406 di Firenze nel presso il Pontefice, Papa Gregorio XII, ammirato dalle
virtù del Dominici, lo nominò, nel 1408, Arcivescovo di Ragusa e Cardinale del
titolo di S. Sisto. La Chiesa era allora afflitta dal doloroso Scisma d’Occidente
e la cristianità, disorientata, non sapeva più quale fosse il vero Papa dei tre
continenti. Giovanni Dominici si valse della stima e dell’affetto del Pontefice
per indurlo ad abdicare. Egli stesso portò al Concilio di Costanza (1414-1418)
la rinunzia di Gregorio XII, rinunziando da parte sua al Cardinalato, ma i
Padri gli resero la porpora. Al nuovo Pontefice, Martino V, il Re
Sigismondo, nel 1418, richiese il Beato per inviarlo quale Legato in Boemia,
Polonia e Ungheria, dove serpeggiavano nefaste eresie. Egli vi si portò
col suo zelo di apostolo. Una febbre ardente lo colse a Buda il 10 giugno 1419.
Si spense tra una festa di angeli. Le sue reliquie andarono disperse con la
distruzione, nel 1541, della chiesa degli Eremiti di San Paolo, dove erano
state deposte. Papa Gregorio XVI il 9 aprile 1832 ha confermato il culto.
Autore: Franco
Mariani
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