Bienheureux Simon
Ballacchi
Religieux de l’Ordre des
Prêcheurs (+ 1319)
Fêté au propre du calendrier dominicain.
Simone Ballacchi, né vers 1240 dans la noblesse italienne, était destiné à
s'occuper des biens de sa famille mais, contre l'avis des siens, à 27 ans, il
prit l'habit de frère convers au couvent de Rimini sur la côte adriatique où il
passa toute sa vie religieuse. Son esprit de pénitence, orienté comme celui de saint
Dominique vers la conversion des pécheurs, le poussa à des austérités
extraordinaires. Il fut en même temps un modèle de douceur souriante et
d'humilité, aimé des enfants qu'il catéchisait, aimé de tout le peuple de
Rimini qui mit ses vêtements en lambeaux après sa mort pour en faire des
reliques.
Il a été béatifié en 1820 par Pie VII.
Il mena une vie tout entière consacrée au service de ses frères, à la pénitence
et à la prière. Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/8912/Bienheureux-Simon-Ballacchi.html
Simon Ballachi
Dominicain, Bienheureux
† 1319
Le B. Simon, fils de
Rodolphe, comte de Saint-Archangelo, ville près de Rimini, en Italie, naquit
vers le milieu du treizième siècle. L'Italie était alors déchirée par des
factions politiques, qui se persécutaient avec une fureur sans bornes. Ces
sentiments peu chrétiens furent enseignés de bonne heure à Simon lui-même, dont
la naissance était si élevée, et il les nourrit dans son cœur jusqu'au moment
où il fut éclairé de l'Esprit-Saint, et où il résolut de les fuir. Ce fut dans
ce pieux dessein qu'à l'âge de 27 ans il se consacra au service de Dieu dans
l'ordre de S. Dominique. Le couvent de Rimini conservait encore les impressions
profondes qu'y avait laissées la vertu de S. Thomas d'Aquin et du saint martyr
Pierre, qui y avaient demeuré l'un et l'autre. Ce fut cet esprit de sainteté
qui arrêta son choir sur cette maison, où il se fit recevoir comme frère-lai.
Quoiqu’issu d'une famille illustre, et neveu de l'évêque de Rimini, il ne
voulut jamais consentir à accepter de l'avancement, et préféra une vie retirée
en Dieu à toutes les distinctions auxquelles les hommes attachent du prix. Il
remplit avec ardeur et humilité tous les devoirs de son état.
Son attention, son zèle
et sa soumission avaient quelque chose d'étonnant. Il avait porté au plus haut
degré les vertus de l'abstinence et de la mortification. Son zèle pour le salut
du prochain allait si loin, que souvent il parcourait la ville la croix à la
main, instruisait les enfants dans les principes de la religion, et exhortait
sévèrement, et presque toujours avec succès, les pécheurs à quitter le sentier
du vice. Sa mort arriva en 1319, et sa réputation de sainteté était si
générale, qu'on fut obligé de différer son enterrement au-delà du terme
ordinaire, tant l'affluence du peuple était grande. Ses restes mortels furent
transférés plusieurs fois depuis ce temps, jusqu'à ce que les habitants de
Saint-Archangelo en fissent en 1817 la translation solennelle dans la
cathédrale. Le Pape Pie VII permit en 1821, sur le rapport de la congrégation
des Rites, à l'ordre des Dominicains et au clergé du diocèse de Rimini de
célébrer à l'avenir la fête du B. Simon. On honore sa mémoire le 3 Novembre.
SOURCE : Alban
Butler : Vie des Pères, Martyrs et autres principaux Saints… – Traduction :
Jean-François Godescard.
SOURCE : http://alexandrina.balasar.free.fr/simon_ballachi.htm
Bienheureux Simon Ballachi (1240 – 1319)
Confesseur de l’Ordre
dominicain
MESSE : Os
justi
Évangile : Ecce
nos reliquimus
Oraison : «
Dieu, qui entre autres vertus, avez orné le bienheureux Simon, votre
Confesseur, d’une assiduité continuelle à la prière et d’une rare humilité,
accordez-nous de l’imiter, afin que, méprisant tout ce qui est du monde, nous puissions
vous chercher uniquement sur terre et obtenir un jour dans le ciel la
récompense promise aux humbles ».
Cette oraison et le choix
de l’évangile qui signale le renoncement des apôtres à ce qu’ils possédaient,
pour suivre Jésus, nous donnent le sens caractéristique de la sainteté de Simon
Ballachi. Il appartient au XIIIesiècle et il fut élevé au milieu des factions
qui divisaient les nobles familles d’Italie. Son berceau fut entouré de
cliquetis d’armes et de cris séditieux. Mais un jour, malgré ces tumultes
belliqueux, Simon entendit la voix de Dieu qui lui disait, comme autrefois
Jésus à ses apôtres : Laisse tout et suis-moi. Laisse toutes ces jouissances et
toutes ces haines, laisse tes biens, ta maison et viens. Il avait vingt-sept
ans. L’appel de Dieu l’emporta. Il demanda l’habit des Prêcheurs au couvent de
Rimini. Il demanda même le plus humble, celui des Frères Convers. Ce fut pour
ses parents, comme une humiliation. L’évêque de Rimini, son oncle, dominicain
cependant, voulut s’opposer à ce qu’il réputait une injure pour sa famille.
Mais Simon Ballachi ne se laissa pas fléchir. Malgré tout, il demeura Frère
Convers. Frère Convers, il le fut dans la perfection, heureux d’être petit
devant les hommes comme il se sentait l’être devant Dieu. Il remplit tous les
devoirs d’un Frère Convers, les plus humiliants, sans accepter qu’on eût pour
lui le moindre égard. Il ne comptait plus pour les hommes ; toute sa vie était
à Dieu. Et c’est ainsi que Simon vécut jusqu’à une extrême vieillesse, humble,
serviable, dévoué, patient dans la souffrance, loin de toutes les vanités
humaines et rempli des dons de l’Esprit-Saint. Heureuse vie, pour qui sait
comprendre l’inanité des choses de la terre· en face de Celui qui est.
Simon Ballachi mourut en
1319. Mais à peine eut-il rendu son âme à Dieu que lui, si humble, si caché,
fut subitement glorifié. On se précipita pour honorer la mémoire du vénérable
Frère. Dieu n’oublie pas les siens. Plus on se fait petit pour lui, plus il
glorifie ceux qui s’abaissent dans la vérité
SOURCE : https://www.dominicainsavrille.fr/calendrier/bienheureux-simon-ballachi-1240-1319/2025-10-03/
Profile
Born to the nobility, the
son of Count Ballachi.
His family had a close association with the Church clergy;
two of his uncles became archbishops of Rimini, Italy,
and a younger brother was a priest.
Trained as a soldier and
in administration, he was expected to take over the family estates. Against his
family wishes, he joined the Dominicans as
a lay-brother at
age 27.
Assigned to work in
the garden of
his friary, something he knew nothing about but which he loved instantly. He
saw God in
everything, and prayed constantly
as he worked. Noted for his simple life, his strict adherence to the Dominican Rule,
and his excellent work as a catechist to children.
A visionary, Simon was visited by the devil, by Saint Catherine
of Alexandria, Saint Dominic
de Guzman, Saint Peter
Martyr, and the Blessed Virgin
Mary; other brothers saw his cell glowing,
and heard angelic voices. Blinded at
age 57, he was nearly helpless during the last years of his life; he never
despaired, and used the extra free time for prayer.
Born
c.1240 at
Santarcangelo di Romagna, Italy
5 November 1319 in Rimini, Italy of
natural causes
cultus
confirmed by Pope Pius
VII on 14 March 1820
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
webseiten
auf deutsch
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
nettsteder
i norsk
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Simon
Ballachi“. CatholicSaints.Info. 7 May 2023. Web. 28 August 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-simon-ballachi/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-simon-ballachi/
Blessed Simon
Ballachi
Today is the memorial
of Blessed Simon Ballachi --1250-1319. Born to Italian nobility,
Simon was trained in his youth to be a soldier. His family expected him to
assume administrative responsibility for the estates, but, instead, he joined
the Dominicans as a lay brother at age 27. Simon was assigned to care
for the priory garden -- something he knew nothing about, but which he
instantly loved, as working in the garden and cleaning around the priory
allowed him the opportunity to meditate and practice humility. Simon was noted
for his simple life, his strict adherence to the Dominican rule and his
excellent work as a catechist to children. He was gifted with visits from St.
Catherine of Alexandria, St. Dominic, St. Peter Martyr, and the Blessed Virgin
Mary. Blinded at age 57, he was nearly helpless during the last years of
his life, but he never despaired, and spent the time in prayer. Simon died on
November 3rd, 1319. He was beatified in 1817 by Pope Pius VII. Blessed
Simon Ballachi is the patron saint of gardeners.
SOURCE : http://catholicfire.blogspot.ca/2009/11/blessed-simon-ballachi-dominican-lay.html
Blessed Simon Ballachi,
OP (AC)
Born at Sant'Arcangelo
near Rimini, Italy, 1250; died November 3, 1319; declared blessed in 1817
(cultus confirmed in 1821?).
The son of Count
Ballachi, nephew of two archbishops of Rimini, and brother of a priest, Simon
Ballachi became a Dominican lay-brother at age 27. His family was none too
happy about this decision because he was supposed to administer the family
property and had been trained as a soldier. They couldn't understand why he
would abandon the many opportunities life had provided for him. Not only was he
throwing away a prestigious position in society, he was not even becoming a
priest, which would provide him with a chance for ecclesiastical preferences.
Oblivious to the
criticism of his family, Simon readily undertook the life of a lay brother. His
principal work, to his great delight, was tending the garden. Having been
preoccupied with military training, Simon may never have seen a garden prior to
entering the Dominicans. He probably had to learn all the details of the art by
trial and error.
But while he tended the
friary garden, he continued to plant prayers for his soul. He was adept at
seeing God in everything. It is written that he meditated on every act,
"so that, while his hands cultivated the herbs and flowers of the earth,
his heart might be a paradise of sweet-smelling flowers in the sight of
God." He tried to find in everything he handled in the garden some lesson
it could teach him about the spiritual life. When the weather was too bad for
him to work outside, he swept and cleaned the monastery. Wherever his work took
him, he tried to do it well and to efface himself completely, so that no one
would even notice that he was there.
Under the placid exterior
of a gardener, Simon concealed a spiritual life of extraordinary austerity and
prayer. He worked hard during the day yet he never excused himself from rising
for the night office, nor from severe penance. For 20 years he wore an iron
chain around his waist. In Lent, he lived on bread and water. He found extra
time for prayer by foregoing sleep. Like Saint Dominic, he scourged himself
every night. Of course, all this growth in holiness attracted the devil, who
would attempt to distract Simon.
Other visitors came to
him in the silence of the night: Saint Catherine of Alexandria, to whom he had
a special devotion, Saint Dominic and Saint Peter Martyr, and sometimes the
Blessed Virgin herself. His little cell was radiant with heavenly lights, and
sometimes angelic voices could be heard within.
Simon was blinded at age
57 and became helpless for the last years of his life, yet he never despaired
(Benedictines, Dorcy).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1103.shtml
SIMON BALLACHI, BL.
Dominican; b. c. 1258;
d. c. 1329. He entered the Dominican house at Rimini as a lay brother
at the age of 27. Biographers in the 17th century identified him as the son of
Count Rodulfus de Ballochi of S. Archangelo, a town near Rimini, but no local
document or historian of the period confirms this information. Simon, employed
principally in the monastery garden, also taught catechism to the young
children. He lived a life of great humility and disciplined his body with
corporal penances for the conversion of sinners. As a result of his penances,
he became blind at 59. He lived thus with such courage and cheerfulness for 12
years that from the day of his death he was regarded as a saint. His body was
buried in the Dominican church of St. Cataldus at Rimini. After several
translations, Simon's relics were finally interred in the church of S.
Archangelo on July 3, 1817. pius vii in 1820 confirmed his cult for the Diocese
of Rimini and for the Dominican Order.
Feast: Nov. 3.
Bibliography: Summarium
probationum ad cultus confirmationem obtinendam (Rome 1820). Acta
Sanctorum Nov.2.1:209–212. J. L. Baudot and L. Chaussin, Vies des
saints et des bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes, ed.
by the Benedictines of Paris, 12 v. (Paris 1935–56) 11:101. A. Butler, The
Lives of the Saints, rev. ed. H. Thurston and D. Attwater (New
York, 1956) 4:254–255. G. L. Öhr, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. J. Hofer and K. Rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 9:574.
[M. G. Mcneil]
New Catholic Encyclopedia
SOURCE : https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/simon-ballachi-bl
Blessed Simon Ballachi: Dominican Lay Brother
Today is the memorial
of Blessed Simon Ballachi --1250-1319. Born to Italian nobility,
Simon was trained in his youth to be a soldier. His family expected him to
assume administrative responsibility for the estates, but, instead, he joined
the Dominicans as a lay brother at age 27. Simon was assigned to care
for the priory garden -- something he knew nothing about, but which he
instantly loved, as working in the garden and cleaning around the priory
allowed him the opportunity to meditate and practice humility. Simon was noted
for his simple life, his strict adherence to the Dominican rule and his
excellent work as a catechist to children. He was gifted with visits from St.
Catherine of Alexandria, St. Dominic, St. Peter Martyr, and the Blessed Virgin
Mary. Blinded at age 57, he was nearly helpless during the last years of
his life, but he never despaired, and spent the time in prayer. Simon died on
November 3rd, 1319. He was beatified in 1817 by Pope Pius VII. Blessed
Simon Ballachi is the patron saint of gardeners.
SOURCE : https://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2009/11/blessed-simon-ballachi-dominican-lay.html
Saints and
Saintly Dominicans – 3 November
Blessed Simon
Ballachi, Confessor, O.P.
In his youth Simon was
deeply involved in the political struggles of his country. But the grace of God
made him keenly alive to the fact that they exhaust a man’s capacities and
injure him far more than he can ever effect by their means any public good. He
therefore, at twenty-seven years of age, entered the Order, there the better to
combat his proud and ambitious nature. He chose the humble state of a lay brother,
although he was the nephew of a bishop. The cultivation of the garden was made
over to him, and it pleased him, for he found there a field of labor both rough
and painful. It assisted him also in contemplation, for he used the visible
things of the earth – its thorns, its dews, its flowers and fruits – to raise
his mind to things invisible and show him how to cultivate the garden of his
soul. Not content merely to accomplish his own duties he found time to lend a
helping hand to the other brothers, and he could be seen, in the intervals his
work in the house left him, going forth, cross in hand, to gather together the
children in the streets and teach them the catechism. By dint of weeping for
his sins he lost his sight, but in spite of it he sought for occasions to make
himself useful in the convent, and to satisfy his spirit of prayer he passed
hours in visiting the various altars of” the church. In his last moments a
voice was heard saying to him: “Fear not, thou hast found grace before God.” (1519)
Prayer
God most merciful, bring
me back again when I flee away; attract me when I resist; raise me when I fall;
support me when I stand; lead me when I walk.” – Saint Thomas
Aquinas
Practice
Compassionate those who
are attracted by the things of the world; but for yourself, through love and
respect for your soul, make your eternal interests your chief care.
– taken from the
book Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-and-saintly-dominicans-3-november/
3OP, November, Order
of Preachers
Nov 3 – Bl Simon Ballachi, OP, (1250-1319) –
“They shall beat their
swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks.” (Isaiah 2:4)
-by Br Martin Davis, OP, Br
Martin was born in Georgia, attended college in Michigan, and there converted
to the Catholic faith.
“The prophet Isaiah
predicts that the coming of Jesus Christ will usher in a time when the tools of
war will be turned into tools for fruitful harvests. But when exactly will the
coming of Christ that leads to this disarmament take place?
Saint
Bernard of Clairvaux spoke of three comings of Christ: the
incarnation, the coming of Christ at the end of the world, and the coming of
Christ into the hearts of believers in the time in between. During the first
coming of Christ, Jesus told us that to live by the sword would mean to die by
the sword, and he told Peter to put away his sword in the garden of Gethsemane.
At the end of the world, there indeed will be an end to warfare
altogether. In the meantime, the coming of Christ into our hearts can help
us to put away the sword of sin, guile, and malice.
An example of this that
is both literal and spiritual is found in Blessed Simon Ballachi. Blessed Simon
was born into nobility in 1250 in Rimini, a city on the Adriatic Sea in what is
now Italy. His homeland was filled with fruitful farmland and orchards,
benefited from a strategic trade position, and often experienced warfare
involving mercenary armies. His family expected him to assume, upon an
appropriate age and maturity, administrative responsibility for his family’s
estates. From an early age, Blessed Simon was trained to serve in the military,
and he would become a mercenary as a young man. But at the age of 27, he put
away the sword and joined the Order of Preachers as a cooperator brother.
After joining the Order,
Simon’s superiors gave him the task of tending to the garden. Simon spent long
hours working in the garden, doing penance, and praying. After many years of
humble service to his fellow friars, he had to retire from his physical work
after losing his sight at the age of 57.
Although his physical
eyesight failed, he received many spiritual visions late in life. Jesus,
Mary, Dominic, Peter
of Verona, and Catherine
of Alexandria all came to speak with him directly. Blessed Simon
peacefully passed on to his heavenly reward on November 3, 1319.
Blessed Simon literally
put away the sword and took up the tools of the garden, but he also hammered
the sword in his heart into a plowshare of charity. The tools of war, malice,
and anger were turned into tools of peace and spiritual fruitfulness. Blessed
Simon was known for praying fervently in the garden while working. He also wore
the chains with which he used to bind prisoners as a penance for the sins he
had committed as a mercenary. (I recently visited Sinsinawa, WI where I
saw the penitential chain worn by Ven Samuel Mazuchelli, OP, the cause of a
modern miracle in the cure of lung cancer in Robert Uselmann of Monona, WI in
2001, when he traveled the 75 miles to Sinsinawa to pray with Ven Fr
Mazuchelli’s penitential chain, found on his body immediately after death.) From
all of this he grew deeply in charity. Blessed Simon invited Jesus Christ to
reshape the sword in his heart after he had given up the sword in his hand.
While most of us do not
need to put the physical sword away to avoid the sins of pillaging and unjust
war, we do have a need for Jesus to come into our hearts to replace the evils
and malice there with charity. Blessed Simon is an eschatological sign in that
he was transformed by the spiritual coming of Jesus into his heart ahead of the
coming of Jesus at the end of the world.
Consecrated religious,
such as the cooperator brothers of the Dominican Order, embrace God’s call to
become an eschatological sign on earth in order to fulfill now, in a limited
and spiritual way, what will be brought to complete perfection at the end of
the world.”
First Vespers:
Ant. Strengthen by holy
intercession, O Simon , confessor of the Lord, those here present, have 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
Simon
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
Simon
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ.
Prayer:
Let us Pray: O God, Who,
among his other virtues, didst adorn Blessed Simon Thy Confessor, with constant
diligence in prayer and a singular prerogative of humility, grant us so to
imitate him that, despising all the things of the world, we may here seek Thee
alone, and hereafter attain the rewards in heaven promised to the humble.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Love, and His peace, which surpasses all human understanding and expression,
Matthew
SOURCE : https://soul-candy.info/2016/04/nov-3-bl-simon-ballachi-op-1250-1319/
Blessed Simon Ballachi,
C.O.P.
Memorial Day: November
3rd
Profile
The son of Count
Ballachi, nephew of two archbishops of Rimini, and brother of a priest, Simon
Ballachi became a Dominican lay-brother at age 27. His family was none too
happy about this decision because he was supposed to administer the family
property and had been trained as a soldier. They couldn't understand why he
would abandon the many opportunities life had provided for him. Not only was he
throwing away a prestigious position in society, he was not even becoming a
priest, which would provide him with a chance for ecclesiastical preferences.
Oblivious to the
criticism of his family, Simon readily undertook the life of a lay brother. His
principal work, to his great delight, was tending the garden. Having been
preoccupied with military training, Simon may never have seen a garden prior to
entering the Dominicans. He probably had to learn all the details of the art by
trial and error.
But while he tended the
friary garden, he continued to plant prayers for his soul. He was adept at
seeing God in everything. It is written that he meditated on every act,
"so that, while his hands cultivated the herbs and flowers of the earth,
his heart might be a paradise of sweet-smelling flowers in the sight of
God." He tried to find in everything he handled in the garden some lesson
it could teach him about the spiritual life. When the weather was too bad for
him to work outside, he swept and cleaned the monastery. Wherever his work took
him, he tried to do it well and to efface himself completely, so that no one
would even notice that he was there.
Under the placid exterior
of a gardener, Simon concealed a spiritual life of extraordinary austerity and
prayer. He worked hard during the day yet he never excused himself from rising
for the night office, nor from severe penance. For 20 years he wore an iron
chain around his waist. In Lent, he lived on bread and water. He found extra
time for prayer by foregoing sleep. Like Saint Dominic, he scourged himself
every night. Of course, all this growth in holiness attracted the devil, who
would attempt to distract Simon.
Other visitors came to
him in the silence of the night: Saint Catherine of Alexandria, to whom he had
a special devotion, Saint Dominic and Saint Peter Martyr, and sometimes the
Blessed Virgin herself. His little cell was radiant with heavenly lights, and
sometimes angelic voices could be heard within.
Simon was blinded at age
57 and became helpless for the last years of his life, yet he never despaired
(Benedictines, Dorcy).
Born: at
Sant'Arcangelo near Rimini, Italy, 1250
Died: died November
3, 1319
Beatified: declared
blessed in 1817 (cultus confirmed in 1820 by Pope Pius VIII)
Prayers/Commemorations
First Vespers:
Ant. Strengthen by holy
intercession, O Simon , confessor of the Lord, those here present, have 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
Simon
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
Simon
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ.
Prayer:
Let us Pray: O God,
who, among his other virtues, didst adorn Blessed Simon Thy Confessor, with
constant diligence in prayer and a singular prerogative of humility, grant us
so to imitate him that, despising all the things of the world, we may here seek
Thee alone, and hereafter attain the rewards in heaven promised to the humble.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SOURCE : http://www.willingshepherds.org/Dominican%20Saints%20November.html#Simon
Blessed
Simon Ballachi, by Father Thomas Austin Dyson
The little town of San
Archangelo, near Rimini, in Romagna, was Blessed Simon’s birth-place. He was
born about the middle of the thirteenth century, and at the age of
twenty-seven, having learned the vanity of mere human pleasures, asked to be
admitted into the Order of Friar Preachers, in the monastery at Rimini.
Although he was the son of a nobleman, and the nephew of the Dominican Bishop
of Rimini, he only begged the habit of a lay brother; moved to do so by a wish
to imitate the humility of our Blessed Lord, who concealing His Godhead, became
a little child, and the son of the humble virgin of Nazareth. He is also said
to have had a brother, a Dominican priest, who after serving God worthily for
thirty-five years, died a holy death, leaving a memory fragrant with the odor
of many virtues.
Having received the
habit, he began at once to acquire the spirit of a true lay brother of the
Dominican Order, and soon became remarkable for his holiness. He forgot his
rank in the world as completely as if he had never known it; he was never seen
idle, never indulged himself in anything, however innocent it might be in
itself, but worked the whole of the day, cheerfully and heartily, and when he
had a few spare moments, spent them in prayer or meditation.
Although his love for
prayer was very remarkable, he strove, first of all, to cultivate a habit of
working, looking upon manual labor as his principal duty. It was his delight to
work in the garden, which was put under his care. He undertook the most
disagreeable services in the monastery, so that when a brother was appointed to
any duty repugnant to human nature, he often found that the Blessed Brother
Simon had forestalled him, and rid him of the unpleasant work.
So strictly did he fast
that one wonders how he could undergo his severe bodily labors. He was known to
have passed the whole of the forty days of Lent on bread and water, for five
years. But his obedience was such, that when the Prior told him he would render
himself useless if he continued this penance, and that he ran the danger of
being a burden instead of a help to the community, at once, without a word, he
submitted. He always slept upon a board, and when he recalled the sins of his
youth, took the discipline so vigorously, and for so long a time, that his
blood fell upon the ground all around him. For twenty years he disciplined
himself several times a week with a heavy iron chain.
Leading thus a life of
innocence and mortification, dear to God and the wonder of all who knew him, it
is only to be expected that the devil, the enemy of all the friends and
servants of God, waxed wroth against him, and tried to rob him of the merits he
had acquired. He made use of all the subtlety of his angelic, but fallen nature
to deceive the humble Brother. Sometimes he beat him, like he had beaten Saint
Anthony, sometimes he threw dust in his eyes, or crammed his mouth with filth
to anger him, and at other times he threw him violently against the hard ground
or dashed him against the corners of the furniture to tire out his patience. He
never once succeeded. He could not draw the saint from the sweet spirit of
prayer, which gave him so unconquerable a power against his most dangerous
temptations.
Blessed Simon had chosen
the lowly and hidden state of a religious lay brother in his great humility of
heart, not thinking himself holy enough to aspire to the priesthood and the
care of souls; but his heart burned with as ardent a zeal for the honor of God
and the salvation of sinners as burned in the hearts of the most zealous apostles.
He knew that, although the lay brother is not engaged in working for the good
of souls, like a priest, who, in his duties as preacher and confessor, gathers
corn into the stores of his Master, yet he never forgot, that by working and
attending to the wants of priests, he had a share, and not a small one, in all
their labors for the salvation of souls. But he did more than this; he went out
at times into the streets and lanes of Rimini, crucifix in hand, and gathered a
group of little children around him, to teach them the rudiments of Christian
doctrine. He sought out sinners, gently reproved them for their vices and
forgetfulness of God, and having softened their hearts by his earnest words,
brought them back to God. His words were very simple and unstudied, but the
holiness of his life, and much more so the merit of the penances and bloody
disciplines which he offered to God for the conversion of sinners, gave them a
force which softened the stoniest hearts. Thus, although he was but a lay
brother, he gained the glory of the apostolate, and was as true and fervent a
son of the apostolic Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers, as any of
his most famous apostles.
He was very devout to
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, and exceedingly zealous for the
cleanliness and beauty of everything used in the service of the Church, one of
the most certain marks of a truly God-loving soul. Old or soiled vestments he
could never endure, and took great pains to clean and beautify all the
ornaments of the Church.
He was gifted with the
prophetical spirit, and honored by God, while yet in this life, with the power
of working miracles. There was a certain doctor of medicine living in Rimini,
who became seriously sick. Sickness and entire loss of appetite having lasted
three days, he sent for Brother Simon, who touched him with his hand, and
health and appetite were immediately restored to him.
To the chaste Saint,
Saint John the Evangelist, he was particularly devout. He was accustomed to
pray often before the statue of this saint in the church, and every time he
prostrated before the statue in prayer a most delicious perfume was noticed by
all around. In many other ways God manifested the holiness of this humble soul
One day, as he was praying, an angel, bright with the beauty of heaven,
appeared, and sprinkling him with holy water, told him to fear the temptations
and wiles of the devil no longer, for God was with him, and would always give
him the victory.
Blessed Simon, having
reached the age of fifty-seven years, became stone-blind, on account of the
many tears he shed for his sins and for the conversion of sinners. But he was
not at all discouraged, and continued to lead a life of intimate union with God
in prayer and contemplation. At last his many infirmities caused him to take to
bed, where bearing all his trials with untiring patience, he was often visited
by our Blessed Lord, surrounded with light Saint Dominic and Saint Peter also
appeared to him, telling him that they never ceased to pray to God for him. One
day, as he was suffering from a very painful headache, Saint Catherine the
Martyr came to console him, and taking his right hand in hers, she touched his
head, saying: “It is I, Catherine, whom you have so often called to your aid,
and whom you have honored so much,” and at once the pain ceased.
One day as the blind old
man lay on his bed, trembling with fear for the account he must speedily render
of his life to God, he heard a soft, sweet voice in the air, which said: “O
Brother Simon, do not fear, for God is with thee and thou hast found favor in
his Sight.” When the Fathers were thinking of building a new monastery in
Rimini, in honor of the holy Mother of God, she deigned to appear to Blessed
Simon, attended by Saint Catherine the Martyr, to tell him that the intention
was pleasing to God.
At last, Blessed Simon
died, full of years and weighed down with infirmities, laden with good works
and the merits of a long and holy life. His soul left his body and fled to his
Creator on the third of November, 1319. The crowd of people that assembled at
the monastery as soon as his death was known, was so great that he could not be
buried at once, as the Dominican Rule prescribes. His body was placed upon a
bier, and laid in the church. His habit soon disappeared, every one cutting off
a piece for a precious relic and the Fathers were obliged to clothe his body in
another habit. On the third day after his death he was buried in the Dominican
Church at Rimini.
His relics have often
been translated, the last time in 1817, when they were placed in a chapel in
the collegiate church at San Archangelo, his native town. His cultus was
approved by Pope Pius the Seventh, who granted his feast and office to the
whole Dominican Order, and to the diocese of Rimini.
Prayer
Ant. Let your loins be
girt, and lamps be burning in your hands.
V. Pray for us, O Blessed
Simon,
R. That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
O God, who didst adorn
Blessed Simon, Thy Confessor, with constant diligence in prayer, together with
many other virtues, and a singular prerogative of humility, grant that we may
so imitate him, that despising all the things of this world, we may seek Thee
alone here, and hereafter attain the rewards promised in heaven to the humble. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
MLA
Citation
Father Thomas
Austin Dyson. “Blessed Ambrose of Siena”. The
Life of Saint Pius the Fifth, and Other Saints and Blessed of the Order of
Friar Preachers, 1886. CatholicSaints.Info.
7 May 2023. Web. 28 August 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-simon-ballachi-by-father-thomas-austin-dyson/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-simon-ballachi-by-father-thomas-austin-dyson/
Saint of the Day – 3
November – Blessed Simon Ballachi OP (c 1210-1319)
Posted on November
3, 2022
Saint of the Day – 3
November – Blessed Simon Ballachi OP (c 1210-1319) Lay Brother of the Order of
Preachers, Mystic. Born in c 1240 at Santarcangelo di Romagna, Italy and died
on 3 November 1319 in Rimini, Italy of natural causes. Also known as Simone
Ballachi . Ballachi served as a former soldier in Rimini before renouncing that
path in favour of the religious life where he became a gardener noted for his
strict adherence to the rule of Saint Dominic. He was Beatified by Pope Pius
VII on 14 March 1817.
St Archangel, a village
in the northern part of Italy, about
three miles distant from Rimini, was the birthplace of Blessed
Simon Ballachi, lay-brother of the Order of St Dominic. The Bellachi family was
distinguished in both Church and State. Two of Simon’s uncles were successively
Bishop of
Rimini. One of these, at least, Lawrence Ballachi, who died in
1302, was a Friar Preacher. One of Blessed Simon’s brothers,
moreover, was a Priest.
Simon came of a family of
lords, to whose care had been entrusted the protection and welfare of the
little village in which they lived. Simon, it seems, was to carry on the family
name and honour. Since his was to be a life in the world, and therefore more
active than contemplative, in accordance with the custom of the times, Blessed
Simon received little, if any, knowledge of letters. His early youth was spent
in the camp acquiring the tactics of military discipline and the training that
made for the successful soldier and knight.
At the age of twenty
seven he decided to leave the world and seek admission into some religious
order, saying with the Psalmist, “I have chosen to be an abject in my Father’s
house, rather than to dwell in the tabernacle of sinners.” Accordingly, he
presented himself to the Prior of the Dominican Convent of Rimini and humbly
asked to be admitted as a lay-brother. His request met with favour. Once
clothed in the Habit of St Dominic, Simon never looked back but gave himself
unreservedly to the service of the King of kings.
In the cloister his aim
was perfection. He hoped to gain this state by a faithful observance of his
Rule and Constitutions. The guides that had directed so many before him, even
in the first Century of the Order, could not lead him astray. In the following
brief account of his life and labours we read the story of a man of God,
animated by the love of Jesus Christ and striving to conform his life in all
things to that of his Divine Model.
Realising that anything
resembling sloth is incompatible with the religious life, Simon waged incessant
warfare against this root of all vices. He strove to be constatly employed. His
superiors appointed him overseer of the Convent gardens but Simon was far from
content with a position of mere direction. He laboured with his own hands and
strove to bring each flower and plant to perfection according to its kind.
The good Brother knew no
rest. When his own work was finished, or the weather prevented him from working
in the garden, it was his custom to take upon himself the duties of the other
brothers. This he did from a spirit of humility because he considered himself
the least of all and the servant of all. Each week he swept the entire Convent.
With Blessed Simon, to work was to pray. He sanctified even the most lowly
occupations by doing everything for the honor and glory of God, remembering the
words of St Paul to the Corinthians, “Therefore, whether you eat, or drink, or
whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Cor. 10:31)
Just as he laboured in
the garden to bring perfection among the plants and flowers, so too, in the
garden of his heart, he sowed the seeds of perfection and labored to bring each
to maturity. His penances for this purpose were severe and continual. For all
of Lent, he fasted on bread and water. Frequently he passed two whole days
without taking even this slight nourishment. His fastings were so excessive
that soon he began to weaken and it was necessary for his superiors to mitigate
the severity of his penances. For twenty years he wore an iron chain that must
have caused him great suffering during his labours in the garden. … In his
humble position of lay-brother he strove byhis prayers and penances to assist
the Fathers in their work of saving souls.
While at prayer, Satan
never failed to annoy him, that he might divide his attention or force’ from
him some expression of mpatience. All the attacks of hell, however, proved
unavailing to disturb the tranquillity of the servant of God. Like another
Tobias, God tried the faithfulness of his servant, by many and severe
afflictions. At the age of fifty-seven he became blind.
Little by little the
severity of his life undermined his strength until finally, his infirmities
became so great that he was forced to remain on a couch in a reclining
position. To many this would have been a hard lot but not so with Blessed
Simon. He made use even of his infirmities to merit grace and honour God. Our
Blessed was frequently favoured with a heavenly visitation. An Angel came to
console him and assure him that God was mindful of his sufferings and would
make him victorious over all the attacks of hell. At times his couch was seen
surrounded by a bright light and a voice was heard, saying, “Fear not, Simon,
for thou hast found favour before God.“
Blessed Simon had a
special devotion to St Catherine of Alexandria. On one occasion, when he was
suffering from a severe headache, the Saint appeared to him and cured him. Nor
were these the only favours granted to this humble lay-brother.
He was the recipient of many and signal blessings. Among the various visions
with which he was favoured was one of Our Lord. Our Blessed Mother, St Dominic
and St Peter Martyr appeared to him at different times, to console and assist
him in the struggle against the enemy of his soul.
Blessed Simon’s
reputation for sanctity was widespread. On 3 November 1319, this faithful
servant of the Lord was called to his reward. The people came in such crowds to
honour the holy man and to carry away some relic or article that had touched
his
body, that two days hardly sufficed to accommodate those who would honour him.
His Habit was literally cut to pieces, so that.it was necessary to clothe him
anew before burial.
Devotion to our Blessed
has not waned for many centuries . His body was frequently moved from place to
place (mainly due to wars and unrest) but finally on the demand of the people
of St Archangel, it was laid to rest in the Collegiate Church of that place,
where it lies today.
In the year 1817 Pope
Pius VII confirmed by Bull, the cult in honour of Blessed Simon and placed this
humble lay-brother of the Order of Friars Preachers, on the Altar of Holy
Mother the Church. (By Paul Curran OP – Excerpt).
Author: AnaStpaul
Passionate Catholic.
Being a Catholic is a way of life - a love affair "Religion must be like
the air we breathe..."- St John Bosco Prayer is what the world needs
combined with the example of our lives which testify to the Light of Christ.
This site, which is now using the Traditional Calendar, will mainly concentrate
on Daily Prayers, Novenas and the Memorials and Feast Days of our friends in
Heaven, the Saints who went before us and the great blessings the Church
provides in our Catholic Monthly Devotions. This Site is placed under the
Patronage of my many favourite Saints and especially, St Paul. "For the
Saints are sent to us by God as so many sermons. We do not use them, it is they
who move us and lead us, to where we had not expected to go.” Charles Cardinal
Journet (1891-1975) This site adheres to the pre-Vatican II Catholic Church and
all her teachings. . PLEASE ADVISE ME OF ANY GLARING TYPOS etc - In June 2021 I
lost 100% sight in my left eye and sometimes miss errors. Thank you and I pray
all those who visit here will be abundantly blessed. Pax et bonum! View All Posts
SOURCE : https://anastpaul.com/2022/11/03/saint-of-the-day-3-november-blessed-simon-ballachi-op-c-1210-1319/
Beato Simone
Balacchi Religioso domenicano
Festa: 3 novembre
Santarcangelo di Romagna,
Rimini, 1240 - Rimini, 3 novembre 1319
Simone era figlio di un
nobile che voleva avviarlo alla carriera militare. Ma il giovane, vissuto alla
fine del XIII secolo, rifutò le glorie delle armi e delle agiatezze mondane e
decise di indossare l'abito di converso nel convento dei Domenicani di Rimini,
dove avevano lasciato da poco il loro segno Pietro da Verona e Tommaso
d'Aquino. Si dedicò da subito ai lavori più umili preferendo tra tutti la cura
della terra. Il suo zelo rigoroso nel lavoro e nella preghiera, però, fu
mitigato dal suo stesso superiore, intervenuto perché preoccupato per la sua
stessa salute. Alla preghiera e alla penitenza, aggiunse un apostolato
attivissimo, attraverso la catechesi ai fanciulli e la predicazione, nonché
atti di profonda devozione e contrizione cui era mosso da profonda pietà per i
peccatori. Gli ultimi anni della sua vita li trascorse infermo su un letto, a
Rimini, dove morì nel 1319. I suoi resti, nel 1817, furono trasferiti nella
collegiata di Sant'Arcangelo. (Avvenire)
Martirologio
Romano: A Rimini in Romagna, beato Simone Balacchi, religioso dell’Ordine
dei Predicatori, che condusse una vita tutta dedita al servizio dei fratelli,
alla penitenza e alla preghiera.
Simone appartenne a nobile famiglia e fu da suo padre avviato alla carriera delle armi. Ma il giovane e brillante cavaliere, illuminato da Dio sulla vanità delle grandezze mondane, dato un addio alla divisa militare, chiese ed ottenne l’umile Abito di Converso nel Convento dei Domenicani di Rimini, dove tanto profumo di virtù avevano da poco lasciato Pietro da Verona e Tommaso d’Aquino. Comprese subito che il lavoro formava l’obbligo principale del suo stato, e ci si applicò con ardore indefesso. Gli uffici più umili e faticosi erano suoi, specialmente la cultura dell’orto, nella quale spendeva la maggior parte del tempo. Nonostante il peso della fatica, si alzava tutte le notti per il Mattutino, passando lunghe ore in preghiera, e sfinendosi nei digiuni, tanto che il Superiore fu costretto a intervenire per moderare tanto rigore. Con lo stesso fervore, ci tramandano le antiche cronache, per vent’anni si flagellò per la conversione degli eretici e dei peccatori. Alla preghiera e alla penitenza, aggiunse un apostolato attivissimo, catechizzando i fanciulli, esortando i peccatori e adoperandosi in mille modi per distruggere il regno del male. Le continue lacrime versate per le anime perdute gl’inaridirono gli occhi, riducendolo alla cecità all’età di cinquant’anni. Gli ultimi anni della sua vita li trascorse infermo su un letto, a Rimini, spesso circondato di luce, dove morì nel 1319. I suoi resti, nel 1817, furono trasferiti nella collegiata di Sant’Arcangelo. Papa Pio VII il 14 marzo 1820 ha concesso la Messa e l’Ufficio propri.
Autore: Franco Mariani
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/90815
Den salige Simon
Ballacchi av Rimini (~1240-1319)
Minnedag:
3. november
Den salige Simon
Ballacchi [Ballachi] (it: Simone) ble født rundt 1240 i Santarcángelo di
Romagna nær Rimini i regionen Emilia-Romagna i Nord-Italia. Han var sønn av
grev Ballacchi og nevø av to erkebiskoper av Rimini, og hans bror ble prest.
Selv var han utdannet som soldat. Men i en alder av 27 år ble han legbror i
dominikanerordenen (Ordo Fratrum Praedicatorum – OP) i Rimini.
Familien var ikke spesielt fornøyd med dette, for de ville at han skulle
administrere familieeiendommen.
Han gjorde seg bemerket med
sine uvanlig strenge botsøvelser, blant annet bar han en jernlenke rundt livet
i tyve år, og han pisket seg hver kveld, mens han ofret sin smerte for synderes
omvendelse. Han skal ha lidd fryktelig under diabolske visjoner. I fasten levde
han av brød og vann, og han fant tid til ekstra bønn ved å gi avkall på søvn.
Han meldte seg frivillig
til alle de simpleste oppgavene i klosteret. Han arbeidet hovedsakelig i hagen,
og når det var dårlig vær, kostet og vasket han inne i klosteret. Men han var
også opptatt av barnas åndelige vekst, og han pleide å gå omkring i gatene med
et kors i hånden og kalte dem sammen til katekisme. I en alder av 57 år ble han
blind, og de siste årene av sitt liv var han sengeliggende. Men han bar sine
plager med stort mot og var hele tiden i godt humør.
Han døde 3. november 1319
i Rimini og ble æret som helgen fra første dag. Hans jordiske rester ble i 1817
overført til kollegiatskirken i Sant'Arcangelo. Han ble saligkåret den 14. mars
1820 ved at hans kult ble stadfestet av pave Pius VII (1800-23). Hans minnedag
er dødsdagen 3. november.
Kilder:
Attwater/Cumming, Butler (XI), Benedictines, Schauber/Schindler, Index99, KIR,
Infocatho, Heiligenlexikon, santiebeati.it - Kompilasjon og oversettelse:
p. Per Einar
Odden - Opprettet: 2000-06-21 21:44 -
Sist oppdatert: 2006-06-20 19:34
Linken er kopiert til
utklippstavlen!
SOURCE : https://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/srimini
Simon Balacchi
auch: Balachi, Ballachi
Gedenktag katholisch: 3. November
nicht gebotener Gedenktag im Bistum Rimini
nicht gebotener Gedenktag im Dominikanerorden: 5. November
Name bedeutet: Er
(Gott) erhört (hebr.)
Laienbruder
* 1250 (?) in Santarcangelo bei Rimini in Italien
† 3. November 1319 in Rimini in
Italien
Simon aus der Familie der
Grafen Balacchi, die damals die Herrschaft über Santarcangelo ausübten,
trat 1277 als Laienbruder ins Kloster der Dominikaner in
Rimini ein, das an der Kirche San Cataldo - der späteren Kirche San
Domenico - an der Stelle eines heutigen Geschäftshauses - stand. Simon
lebte in strengster Askese, die letzten zwölf Jahre bis zu seinem Tod war er
erblindet.
1489 wurden Simons Gebeine in
die Kirche San
Cataldo in Rimini übertragen, 1817 kamen sie in eine zu seinen Ehren
errichteten Kapelle in der Stiftskirche in
Santarcangelo.
Kanonisation: Die
Verehrung für Simon Ballachi wurde am 14. März 1820 durch Papst Pius
VII. anerkannt.
Liegefigur mit
Simons Gebeinen in
der Stiftskirche in
Santarcangelo
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Quellen:
• Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, begr. von Michael Buchberger. Hrsg. von Walter Kasper, 3., völlig neu bearb. Aufl., Bd. 9. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2000
• https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Balacchi - abgerufen am 20.07.2023
korrekt zitieren: Joachim Schäfer: Artikel Simon Balacchi, aus dem Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon - https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienS/Simon_Ballachi.html, abgerufen am 28. 8. 2025
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet das Ökumenische
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bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über https://d-nb.info/1175439177 und https://d-nb.info/969828497 abrufbar.
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienS/Simon_Ballachi.html
Brevi Cenni Biografici DEL BEATO SIMONE BALACCHI DI SANTARCANGELO DI ROMAGNA A cura di Emanuele Giunchi Sacerdote SANTARCANGELO 2002 : http://www.parrocchiasantarcangelo.it/wp-content/uploads/sites/587/2015/02/testogiunchi.pdf
