Bienheureux Isnard de
Chiampo
Originaire de Champio
dans la région de Vicence en Italie, il reçut l'habit dominicain des mains
mêmes de saint Dominique, en 1219, qui lui confia la charge de fonder le
couvent de Pavie. Il menait une vie d'intense pénitence, ce qui ne l'empêchait
pas d'être tellement gros que tout le monde se riait de lui et qu'il en
souffrait moralement et physiquement. Ce fut là l'une de ses croix difficiles à
supporter. Il meurt en 1244.
Bienheureux Isnard
de Chiampo
Frère prêcheur (+ 1244)
Originaire de Champio
dans la région de Vicence en Italie, il reçut l'habit dominicain des mains
mêmes de saint Dominique, en 1219, qui lui confia la charge de fonder le
couvent de Pavie. Il menait une vie d'intense pénitence, ce qui ne l'empêchait
pas d'être tellement gros que tout le monde se riait de lui et qu'il en
souffrait moralement et physiquement. Ce fut là l'une de ses croix difficiles à
supporter. Son culte fut confirmé en 1919.
SOURCE : http://jubilatedeo.centerblog.net/6573031-Les-saints-du-jour-jeudi-19-Mars
Bienheureux Isnard de
Chiampo
Frère prêcheur (+ 1244)
Originaire de Chiampo
dans la région de Vicence en Italie, il reçut l'habit dominicain des mains
mêmes de saint
Dominique, en 1219, qui lui confia la charge de fonder le couvent de
Pavie. Il menait une vie d'intense pénitence, ce qui ne l'empêchait pas d'être
tellement gros que tout le monde se riait de lui et qu'il en souffrait
moralement et physiquement. Ce fut là l'une de ses croix difficiles à
supporter. Son culte fut confirmé en 1919.
À Pavie en Lombardie,
l’an 1244, le bienheureux Isnard de Chiampo, prêtre de l’Ordre des Prêcheurs,
qui fonda dans cette ville un couvent de son Ordre.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/832/Bienheureux-Isnard-de-Chiampo.html
Bx Isnardo (Isnard)
de Chiampo
Prêtre o.p. († 1244)
Commémoration :
Martyrologium Romanum le
19 mars (dies natalis).
Ordo Fratrum
Praedicatorum le 19 avril.
Isnard naît à Chiampo
(près de Vicence, Italie).
Très jeune, en 1218 ou
1219, il reçut l'habit dominicain des mains de saint Dominique lui-même.
« Vir religiosus et fervens et graciosus admodum predicator (homme
religieux et fervent, prédicateur très influent) », il fut envoyé d’abord à
Milan (ainsi que le Bx Guala de Bergame, qui deviendra ensuite évêque de
Brescia), où il gagna beaucoup d’hommes pour l’Ordre. Il obtint leur respect
par sa façon exemplaire d’accomplir ses voeux.
Il fut un grand et
accompli prédicateur, puissant en paroles et en œuvres, grâce au don des
miracles. Il ramena à Dieu d’innombrables âmes de pécheurs et d’hérétiques,
rien que par la puissance de sa parole. Il menait une vie d'intense pénitence,
ce qui ne l'empêchait pas d'être tellement gros que tout le monde riait de lui
et qu'il en souffrait moralement et physiquement. Ce fut là l'une de ses croix
difficiles à supporter.
À partir de 1230 il fut
surtout l’apôtre de Pavie. Cette ville, en lutte contre la papauté par la
mauvaise influence de Frédéric II, frappée d’interdit, était dans un état
pitoyable, l’esprit religieux quasi éteint et les mœurs complètement relâchées.
La venue d’Isnardo fut comme un souffle de renouveau et l’esprit chrétien
refleurit. Par la générosité du saint évêque Rodobald (ou Réginald), Isnardo
put fonder le couvent Sainte-Marie de Nazareth, qu’il gouverna sagement jusqu’à
sa mort survenue à Pavie le 19 mars 1244.
Il fut enterré dans l’église dominicaine de Pavie; ses restes reposent dans la
basilique St-Gervais St-Protais.
Son culte fut confirmé en
1912 par Saint Pie X (Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, 1903-1914).
Source principale :
docteurangelique.forumactif.com/(« Rév. x gpm »).
©Evangelizo.org 2001-2015
Also
known as
Isnard of Vicenza
Isnardo
Profile
Dominican friar,
receiving the cowl from Saint Dominic
de Guzman in 1219. Priest.
Founder and first prior of
the friary at Pavia, Italy.
Though he lived the life of a friar,
he was a fat friar,
for which he was mocked and ridiculed when he travelled to preach.
Born
at Chiampo, diocese of Vicenza, Italy
1244 of
natural causes
12 March 1919 by Pope Benedict
XV (cultus
confirmed)
God of
truth, you drive away the darkness of ignorance by the light of your wisdom. By
the life and prayers of Blessed Isnard increase the strength of our faith, and
let no trials extinguish in us the fire of your grace which shone forth in him.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. – General Calendar of the Order of
Preachers
Additional
Information
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
The
First Disciples of Saint Dominic, by Father Victor
Francis O’Daniel, O.P.
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
images
webseiten
auf deutsch
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Isnard de
Chiampo“. CatholicSaints.Info. 18 March 2023. Web. 18 March 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-isnard-de-chiampo/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-isnard-de-chiampo/
Blessed Isnard(o) de
Chiampo, OP (AC)
Born in Chiampo (near Vicenza), Italy; died 1244; cultus confirmed in 1919.
From the springtime of the Dominicans in Bologna, Italy, comes the story of
Blessed Isnard. He was born into a wealthy family but little else is known of
his boyhood. In 1219, as a student at the University of Bologna, he met Saint
Dominic and decided to join his new order. Soon after completing his novitiate
in Bologna, Isnard distinguished himself as a preacher. His first assignment
was in Pavia, where his work of founding and ruling the priory was complicated
by the war between the pope and the emperor.
Blessed Isnard plunged courageously into the work. He knew that he was risking
death in doing so, and a less stout-hearted man might have found some excuse
for going to a more peaceful place. Blessed Isnard insisted on meeting the
situation head-on.
One of his first encounters was with the forces of evil, quite undisguised. A
possessed man had become the mouthpiece of the devil and was being used by
heretics to discredit the preaching of the friar who had so recently come to
Pavia to preach the faith. The devil, speaking through the lips of the
possessed man, issued a challenge to the friar: "If you are from God, cast
me out and cure this man."
Isnard realized that one does not lightly take up open battle with the powers
of wickedness. The condition of the poor man, whose name was Martin, was enough
to strike terror into any heart. The challenge came when Isnard was in the
pulpit preaching. The possessed man was brought into the church, screaming, and
in convulsions. The preacher realized that he must cure him or lose the
interest of his audience in the cause of Christ.
Stepping down from the pulpit, he approached the possessed man, put his arms
around him and, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, demanded that the evil
spirits depart. Martin was freed from his tormentor, and he ended his days,
according to legend, as a lay brother in the local monastery.
At another time when Isnard was preaching, a hardened heretic refused to listen
to him and called out loudly, "I shall believe in the sanctity of this man
only if he makes that barrel on the corner of the square come loose and strike
me." Immediately, the barrel jumped from its place and struck the scoffer,
breaking his leg.
Isnard spent his life
preaching and working in Pavia, regardless of the fact that in spite of his
life of self-mortification "he was excessively fat and people used to
ridicule him about it when he was preaching." At his death, it presented a
quite different appearance from the godless and strife-ridden city it was when
he had arrived (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Dorcy).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0322.shtml
ISNARD OF CHIAMPO, BL.
Preacher, spiritual
director; b. Chiampo (Vicenza, Italy); d. Pavia, Mar. 19, 1244. Isnard was
perhaps of the noble Nardi family. He received the Dominican habit from St.
dominicc. 1219 at Bologna or Padua and studied at Bologna and Milan. He
founded the Pavia priory (1231) at the church of S. Maria di Nazareth. As prior
at Pavia until his death, Isnard became noted as a preacher and director of
souls, winning many from vice and heresy. Contemporaries esteemed him for his
power of miracles, spirit of prayer and penance, fidelity to the rule, and
constant study of the sacred sciences. Isnard, whose body lies in SS. Gervase
and Protase, Pavia, was venerated immediately upon his death. His cult was
approved in 1912 (decree published in 1919).
Feast: March 22.
Bibliography: Analecta
Sacri Ordinis Praedicatorum 6 (1908) 650–651, 652; 10 (1911–12) 722; 11
(1913–14) 294, 475–477; 14 (1919) 81–85; 14 (1920) 6–11, 65. R. Maiocchi, Il
b. Isnardo da Vicenza (2d ed. Foligno 1920). J. L. Baudot and L.
Chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier
avec l'historique des fêtes 13:31–32. A. Duval, Catholicisme 6:187–188.
[W. A. Hinnebusch]
New Catholic Encyclopedia
SOURCE : https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/isnard-chiampo-bl
BLESSED ISNARD OF
CHIAMPO (OR VICENZA)
Blessed Isnard is another
very distinguished and saintly first disciple of Saint Dominic whom Father
Touron somehow overlooked. Of Isnard’s life up to the time he entered the Order
practically nothing is known with certainty; whilst some of the statements
anent his debut as a Friar Preacher are irreconcilable among themselves, and
contrary to facts which have been ascertained in later years. Chiampo, a small
town not far from Vicenza, Italy, was most likely the place of his birth; yet
there are those who give the latter city this honor. Some think he was born of
poor parents, and spent his youth in poverty. Others suggest that he belonged
to a wealthy family by the name of Isnardi, which has been long extinct.(1)
It is beyond doubt that
the future wonder-worker received the habit in Bologna, from Saint Dominic, in
1219; for this is a point on which nearly all the early authors are in accord.
This truth seems certainly to prove that he was a student at the university
there, and far advanced in his studies, At that time only such applicants were
accepted; and this fact is a strong proof that his parents were well-to-do, for
only the sons of this kind were given a higher education. Without exception the
writers tell us of his singular purity of heart and religious disposition. His
mind had been carefully guarded against the evils of the day, and in Bologna he
proved faithful to the lessons of his earlier youth. Association with the holy
man from Caleruega quickened his efforts for holiness of life and the salvation
of souls.
For ten years after he
entered the Order of Saint Dominic, we have no positive knowledge of where
Isnard made his home. Yet the indications are that he spent this time between
Bologna and Milan. In which case, of course, he labored energetically in those
parts of Italy. Although a quite corpulent man, we are told, he was endowed
with extraordinary energy, and was very gracious in action as well as in word.
San Eustorgio, Milan, was most likely his convent for the greater part of this
decade. So at least thinks Rudolph Majocchi, Blessed Isnard’s latest
hagiographer.(2)
In more than one of our
sketches, but especially in that of Saint Peter of Verona, we have seen how the
Albigenses and kindred sects overran northern Italy at that date. Milan was one
of the centers of Dominican activity against them; and it was from Milan that
the convent of the Order in Pavia was founded. At Pavia the heretics were long
in the ascendancy. The city was also a stronghold of Frederic II, whose
Ghibellines, always opposed to the Holy See, constantly persecuted those who
favored the authority of the Church. When, in 1230, zealous Rodobald Cipolla
became bishop of Pavia, he found religion in a sad plight in his diocese, and
began at once to seek means for a reformation.
Blessed Isnard’s
reputation for holiness of life, zeal, eloquence, power over the souls of
others, and fearlessness was broadcast. Most likely he had already preached in
the Diocese of Pavia — perhaps many times; for the Friars Preacher of Milan
carried their work in every direction. Possibly, too, he and Bishop Cipolla,
himself an energetic character, had become friends at a prior date. Anyway, one
of the new prelate’s first steps for the spiritual betterment of his flock was
to invite the subject of our narrative from Milan, that he might establish a
house of the Order at Pavia. This was in 1231; and before the close of the year
we find the fathers actively engaged in their apostolate under the leadership
of the man of God from Chiampo.(3)
The convent, which
Rodobald Cipolla generously helped to erect, stood in the little village of
Ticino, a short distance outside the walls of Pavia, and was given the name of
Saint Mary of Nazareth. Throughout Italy the Friars Preacher were known as an
effective aid to the hierarchy against the evils of the day. Thus Bishop
Cipolla felt that, at least under Isnard, they would be an immense help to him
in putting an end to the inroads of the enemy, and in freeing his diocese from
the many ills in which it was enmeshed. He had not long to wait before he saw
that his choice of auxiliaries was no mistake.
However, the task proved
difficult, trying, and full of danger. On the one hand, the faithful, through
long bad associations, had become so cold, careless, and wayward in the
practice of their religious duties that it was exceeding hard to arouse them to
a sense of their obligations. On the other, the Ghibellines and sectarians,
ever of stubborn mood as well as violent in their methods, were even less
subject to management. These possessed little or no faith. Besides they were
loath to change their views, to amend their lives, or to part with the earthly
goods which they had obtained by robbery or dishonesty.
As is ever the case in
such conditions, the Friar Preacher’s success began with the poor and the
laboring classes. For these he had a special love. He gathered them around him
at the conventual church, instructed them in their religion, and inspired them
with a love of its practice. Although he met with much opposition at first, it
was not long before he had completely changed their lives. Reports of the good
thus effected soon spread near and far. Meanwhile, he and his confrères
preached throughout the City of Pavia and its environments — in churches,
public squares, market places, or wherever they could find a space large enough
for an audience. Gradually the wealthier Guelfs, and even not a few of the
Ghibellines, began to harken to the call of grace and to receive the
sacraments.
Among the little band of
missioners Isnard shone with special brilliancy for his saintliness, zeal, and
eloquence. The influence which he soon began to wield over the people caused
the leaders of the heretics to single him out for their hatred. They mocked and
ridiculed him, publicly spurned him, laughed at his corpulent figure, defamed
him, threatened him, did everything in their power either to bring him into
disrepute or to make him desist from his tireless apostolate. All was in vain.
His sermons were incessant. He challenged his enemies wherever he met them. If
they undertook to answer him, his inexorable logic put them to shame, or
reduced them to silence. Never was he known to be ill natured, or to lose his
patience; yet he showed the fire of divine love that glowed within his breast.
No doubt as much to
demonstrate the holiness of His faithful servant as for the benefit of those to
whom he preached, God blessed Isnard with the gift of miracles. The early
writers mention many wrought by him both before and after his death.(4) These,
quite naturally, quickened and strengthened the faith of the Catholics. They
also gradually undermined the influence and broke the spirit of the heretics,
many of whom were brought into the Church. By the time of the holy man’s death,
the Diocese of Pavia was free from attacks by Albigenses, Catharists, and
similar sects. They bad gone to other parts, been converted, or held their
peace. No one could be found who would profess their principles. It was a
glorious apostolate brought to a successful termination.
The Ghibellines, or
adherents of Emperor Frederic II, gave Christ’s ambassador no end of worry and
trouble. These were the rich who were not guided by their consciences in the
acquisition of wealth; politicians without scruples; and soldiers of fortune,
whose restless spirits ever led them into the service in which they might
expect the greatest booty, license, and excitement. The machinations of the
German monarch helped to keep them in keen antagonism to ecclesiastical
authority and the interests of religion; which, of course, rendered them less
responsive to our blessed’s impelling eloquence or the strong influence of his
holiness and miracles. We may judge of the contempt of these friends of
Frederic for the Holy See from the fact that their acts more than once led to a
papal interdict on Pavia.
Still these men, who
could laugh at an excommunication and interdict from the highest authority in
the Church, perforce loved and admired Father Isnard. His charity, his zeal,
his gentle goodness, his purity of heart, his constant efforts for the right,
which they witnessed day by day, simply wrung respect from them. His dealings
with Frederic II must have been much like those of John of Wildeshausen. Even
when Bishop Cipolla was driven into exile, Isnard and his band of missionaries
were left to continue their fruitful labors. In the absence of the ordinary,
the clergy who still remained in the diocese seem to have gathered around the
subject of our sketch for guidance. Possibly the saintly prelate, at the time
of his departure, placed him in charge of his spiritual vineyard.(5)
Despite the turbulence and
the anti-ecclesiastical spirit of the day, the holy Friar Preacher from Chiampo
effected untold good even among this class of citizens. Documents which have
escaped the ravages of time show that some, who deferred conversion until on
their deathbeds, made him the instrument of their restitution. Others entrusted
him with their charity and benefactions. Historians call him an apostle of
Pavia, and largely attribute the preservation of the faith in the city to his
zeal.
Another proof of the
respect and confidence which Isnard enjoyed among all classes, as well as of
his reputation abroad, is found in the incident which we have now to tell. From
early times the Diocese of Tours, France, possessed landed estates in and
around Pavia. Because of the political disturbances and the Ghibelline spirit,
to which we have referred, the canons of the Tours cathedral found it
impossible to collect their rents. In this dilemma, they appointed our Friar
Preacher their agent; for they felt that he was the only man in northern Italy
who either could obtain their dues for them, or would dare undertake the task.
This was in 1240, the year after the historic excommunication of Frederic 11 by
Gregory IX. The affair shows bow wisely Isnard steered his course, how all
venerated him at home, and how well his courage and prudence were known even in
France.(6)
Like a number of the
early disciples of Saint Dominic whose lives we have outlined, the apostle and
reformer of Pavia did not feel that he had done his all for the benefit of religion
until he established a community of Dominican Sisters. These he placed in the
immediate vicinity of his own convent, that he might the better look after
their spiritual welfare. Their house bore the same name as that of the fathers
— Saint Mary of Nazareth. Although he had perhaps never seen Prouille, his
double institution at Pavia must have been much like that with which the Order
started in southern France. The dowries of many of these sisters indicate that
he founded them, in part, so that wealthy worldly dames, whom he had converted,
might have a place in which they could more completely give themselves to the
service of God. Saint Dominic, it will be recalled, established the community
of Prouille principally with women converted from Albigensianism. When, some
years after our blessed’s death, the fathers moved into the city proper, the
original Saint Mary of Nazareth was turned over to the sisters.
Isnard had a profound
devotion towards the Mother of God. He perpetually preached her protection over
the faithful. In every way he propagated love and veneration for her. Father
Majocchi thinks that this apostolate was of immense aid to him in his work of
reformation; for no other piety seems to be more congenital to the affectionate
Italian character. He labored zealously on almost to the very last. At least
the Lives of the Brethren (Vitae Fratrum) say his final sickness was
a matter of only a few days. The manuscript annals, or chronicles, of the old
Friar-Preacher convent at Pavia tell us that he surrendered his pure soul to
God on March 19, 1244. He knew that the end was near, prepared for it, and died
as holily as he had lived.(7)
We have no account of the
funeral of the man of God. Yet the great love and admiration in which he was
held justify one in the belief that the Pavians attended it in immense numbers.
Perhaps the sad event plunged the city in no less grief than his own community.
He was buried in the Church of Saint Mary of Nazareth, where his tomb became at
once a place of pilgrimage for the city and province of Pavia. Not a few
miracles were wrought in answer to prayers to him. The name Isnard was often
given to children at their baptism.
Later, for various
reasons, the fathers moved into the city proper. First (1281), they took
possession of San Marino, but gave up this place the next year for Saint
Andrew’s. There they remained until 1302, when they exchanged Saint Andrew’s
for Saint Thomas’, which was better suited to their purposes. At this last
location they at once began a splendid temple of prayer, which was completed
between 1320 and 1330. The body of Blessed Isnard, which had been brought from
the extra-urban Church of Saint Mary of Nazareth to Saint Andrew’s, while the
fathers lived in the latter convent, was again translated and enshrined in a
marble sarcophagus built for the purpose in a chapel of the new Saint Thomas’
Church. The devotion of the people followed his relies to both of these places
of rest. Nor is it any stretch of fancy to imagine that the two translations
were times of great fervor for all Pavia.
Unfortunately, in a
spirit of zeal and friendship, the fathers gave the use of Blessed Isnard’s
Chapel, as it was called, to the University of Pavia for religious functions.
Although its walls were afterwards decorated with paintings commemorative of
the chief events in his life, these academic associations tended rather to
decrease veneration for the saintly Friar Preacher. The misfortunes of Pavia
during the Spanish-Austrian reigns of Charles V and Philip III, which lasted
almost throughout the sixteenth century, well-nigh caused him (or rather his
final resting-place) to be forgotten even by some members of his own Order, and
his relies to be scattered to the winds. Happily the researches of Pavian
historians helped to avert such a disaster.
In spite of the most
thorough identification, however, and to the great sorrow of the fathers, the
rector and senate of the university, though without authority in the matter,
later compelled our blessed’s sarcophagus to be taken from the chapel and
destroyed. This was in 1763. But, before its removal, the community reverently
gathered up his relies and placed them in a wooden chest. All this was done in
the presence of Cardinal Charles Francis Durini, who then closed the box, and
fastened it with his seal. Thence until the suppression of Saint Thomas’
Convent by Emperor Joseph II, in 1785, Isnard’s relies were carefully preserved
in the archives. The fathers then took the chest, with its precious contents,
to Saint Peter’s. When, in 1799, they were also forced to leave this abode,
they gave their spiritual treasure to Bishop Joseph Bertieri, O. S. A. This
prelate, after an official examination, not only entrusted Isnard’s relies to
the Church of Saints Gervasius and Protasius, but even ordered them to be
exposed for public veneration.
It looks providential
that, under all these changes and difficulties, popular devotion for Saint
Dominic’s early disciple did not completely die out. That it continued to exist
shows the unalterable love in which the Pavians held him. Bishop Bertieri’s act
gave it new life. In 1850 portions of his relies were given to Chiampo and
Vicenza. Old paintings of him here and there, which represented him as a saint,
also helped the cause. In 1907 the diocesan authorities of Pavia approved of
his cult, and requested the Holy See to accept their decision. The late
Benedict XV, of happy memory, after a thorough investigation by the Sacred
Congregation of Rites (that is, in 1919), granted his office and mass to the
Friars Preacher and the Diocese of Pavia. March 22 was appointed as his feast
day.
Isnard is the last of the
original disciples of Dominic to be accorded the honors of the altar. The late
date of his beatification affords the hope that several others of them may yet
he similarly dignified by the Church.
NOTES
1. ALBERTI, fol. 189
ff; Année Dominicaine, I (January), 633-635; BALME-LELAIDIER, Cartulaire
de Saint Dominique, II, 359; BZOVIUS (Bzowski), XIII, col. 520; CASTILLO, pp.
238-239; FRACHET, Gerard de (Reichert ed.), pp. 227-228, 302-303; MAJOCCHI,
Rudolph, Il Beato Isnardo da Vicenza; MALVENDA, pp. 664-665; MAMACHI,
p. 545; PIO, col. 33. Father Marchese, strange to say, overlooks Blessed Isnard
in his Sagro Diario Domenicano. Too much carelessness about their
statements is shown by some of the other writers who speak of him. In this
sketch we have followed the thorough and well documented little biography by
Majocchi.
2. Il Beato Isnardo
da Vicenza, pp. 35-36.
3. Some authors say that
Isnard established the convent of Pavia in 1221, which certainly seems an
error.
4. Some authors hardly
say more about Isnard than give a list of the miracles he wrought.
5. Bishop Cipolla has
been beatified. See Acta Sanctorum, LIV (6th vol. for October), 127
ff.
6. MAJOCCHI, op.
cit., pp. 89 ff.
7. Vitae Fratrum (Reichert
ed.), p. 228; MAJOCCHI, op. cit., p. 99. Some of the authors give no date
for Isnard’s death; others simply place it in 1244; Majocchi tells us the exact
time.
SOURCE : http://opcentral.org/blog/blessed-isnard-of-chiampo-or-vicenza/
DOMINICAN OP, SAINT OF THE DAY
Saint of the Day – 19
March – Blessed Isnard de Chiampo OP (Died 1244) Priest, the “Apostle
of Pavia”
Posted on March
19, 2021
Saint of the Day – 19
March – Blessed Isnard de Chiampo OP (Died 1244) Priest of the Order of Preachers,
known as the “Apostle of Pavia,” Confessor, miracle-worker, Founder of
Convents. Isnard had a profound devotion to the Mother of God. He perpetually
preached her protection over the faithful. In every way he propagated love and
veneration for her.Born at Chiampo, Diocese of Vicenza, Italy and died on 19
March 1244 of natural causes. Patronage – Chiampo, City and Diocese. Additional
Memorial – 22 March in Chiampo. He is also known as Isnardo, Isnard of Vicenza,
the “Apostle of Pavia.”
Blessed Isnard is another
very distinguished and saintly first disciple of Saint Dominic. Of Isnard’s
life up to the time he entered the Order, practically nothing is known with
certainty. Chiampo, a small town not far from Vicenza, Italy, was most likely
the place of his birth; yet there are those who give the latter city this
honor. Some think he was born of poor parents and spent his youth in poverty.
Others suggest that he belonged to a wealthy family by the name of Isnardi,
which has been long extinct.
It is beyond doubt that
the future wonder-worker received the habit in Bologna, from Saint Dominic
himself, in 1219; for this is a point on which nearly all the early authors are
in accord. This truth seems certainly to prove that he was a student at the
university there and far advanced in his studies, At that time only such
applicants were accepted; and this fact is a strong proof that his parents were
well-to-do, for only the sons of this kind were given a higher education.
Without exception, the writers tell us of his singular purity of heart and
religious disposition. His mind had been carefully guarded against the evils of
the day and in Bologna, he proved faithful to the lessons of his earlier youth.
Association with the holy man from Caleruega, St Domiic, quickened his efforts
for holiness of life and the salvation of souls.
For ten years after he
entered the Order of Saint Dominic, we have no positive knowledge of where
Isnard made his home. Yet the indications are that he spent this time between
Bologna and Milan. In which case, of course, he labored energetically in those
parts of Italy. Although a quite corpulent man, we are told, he was endowed
with extraordinary energy and was very gracious in action, as well as, in word.
St Eustorgio, Milan, was most likely his Convent for the greater part of this
decade.
In more than one of our
sketches but especially in that of Saint Peter of Verona, we have seen how the
Albigenses and kindred sects overran northern Italy at that date. Milan was one
of the centres of Dominican activity against them and it was from Milan that
the Convent of the Order in Pavia was founded. The City was also a stronghold
of Frederic II, whose Ghibellines, always opposed to the Holy See, constantly
persecuted those who favoured the authority of the Church. When, in 1230,
zealous Rodobald Cipolla became Bishop of Pavia, he found religion in a sad
plight in his Diocese and began at once to seek means for a reformation.
Blessed Isnard’s
reputation for holiness of life, zeal, eloquence, power over the souls of
others and fearlessness, was broadcast. Most likely he had already preached in
the Diocese of Pavia — perhaps many times; for the Friars Preacher of Milan,
carried their work in every direction. Possibly, too, he and Bishop Cipolla,
himself an energetic character, had become friends at a prior date. Anyway, one
of the new Prelate’s first steps for the spiritual betterment of his flock was
to invite Isnard from Milan, that he might establish a house of the Order at
Pavia. This was in 1231 and before the close of the year, we find the Fathers
actively engaged in their apostolate under the leadership of the man of God,
Isnard.
The Convent, which the
Bishop generously helped to erect, stood in the little village of Ticino, a
short distance outside the walls of Pavia and was given the name of Saint Mary
of Nazareth. Throughout Italy the Friars Preacher were known as an effective
aid to the hierarchy against the evils of the day. Thus Bishop Cipolla felt
that, at least under Isnard, they would be an immense help to him in putting an
end to the inroads of the enemy and ,in freeing his Diocese from the many ills
in which it was enmeshed. He had not long to wait before he saw that his choice
of assistants, was no mistake.
However, the task proved
difficult, trying and full of danger. On the one hand, the faithful, through
long bad associations, had become so cold, careless and wayward in the practice
of their religious duties, that it was difficult to arouse them to a sense of
their obligations.
Isnard’ssuccess began
with the poor and the labouring classes. For these, he had a special love. He
gathered them around him at the conventual Church, instructed them in their
religion and inspired them with a love of its practice. Although he met with much
opposition at first, it was not long before he had completely changed their
lives. Reports of the good thus effected, soon spread near and far. Meanwhile,
he and his confrères preached throughout the City of Pavia and its environments
— in Churches, public squares, market places, or wherever they could find a
space large enough for an audience. Gradually the wealthier Guelfs and even not
a few of the Ghibellines, began to harken to the call of grace and to receive
the Sacraments.
Among the little band of missioners,
Isnard shone with special brilliance for his saintliness, zeal and eloquence.
The influence which he soon began to wield over the people, caused the leaders
of the heretics to single him out for their hatred. They mocked and ridiculed
him, publicly spurned him, laughed at his corpulent figure, defamed him,
threatened him, did everything in their power either to bring him into
disrepute or to make him desist from his tireless apostolate. All was in vain.
His sermons were incessant. He challenged his enemies wherever he met them. If
they undertook to answer him, his inexorable logic put them to shame, or
reduced them to silence. Never was he known to be ill natured, or to lose his
patience, yet he showed the fire of divine love that glowed within his breast.
No doubt as much to
demonstrate the holiness of His faithful servant as for the benefit of those to
whom he preached, God blessed Isnard with the gift of miracles. The early
writers mention many wrought by him both before and after his death. These,
quite naturally, quickened and strengthened the faith of the Catholics. They
also gradually undermined the influence and broke the spirit of the heretics,
many of whom were brought into the Church. By the time of the holy man’s death,
the Diocese of Pavia was free from attacks by Albigenses, Catharists, and
similar sects. They bad gone to other parts, been converted, or held their
peace. No-one could be found who would profess their principles. It was a
glorious apostolate brought to a successful termination.
Despite the turbulence
and the anti-ecclesiastical spirit of the day, the holy Friar Preacher from
Chiampo, effected untold good even among this class of citizens. Documents
which have escaped the ravages of time show that some, who deferred conversion
until on their deathbeds, made him the instrument of their restitution. Others
entrusted him with their charity and benefactions. Historians call him an
“Apostle of Pavia,” and largely attribute the preservation of the faith in the
City, to his zeal.
Another proof of the
respect and confidence which Isnard enjoyed among all classes, as well as of
his reputation abroad, is found in the incident which we have now to tell. From
early times the Diocese of Tours, France, possessed landed estates in and
around Pavia. Because of the political disturbances and the Ghibelline spirit,
the Canons of the Tours Cathedral, found it impossible to collect their rents.
In this dilemma, they appointed our saint their agent; for they felt that he
was the only man in northern Italy, who either could obtain their dues for
them, or would dare undertake the task. This was in 1240, the year after the
historic excommunication of Frederic 11 by Gregory IX. The affair shows bow
wisely Isnard steered his course, how all venerated him at home and how well
his courage and prudence, were known even in France.
Like a number of the
early disciples of Saint Dominic whose lives we have outlined, the apostle and
reformer of Pavia did not feel that he had done his all for the benefit of
religion until he established a community of Dominican Sisters. These he placed
in the immediate vicinity of his own Convent, that he might the better look
after their spiritual welfare. Their house bore the same name as that of the
fathers — Saint Mary of Nazareth.The dowries of many of these sisters indicate
that he founded them, in part, so that wealthy worldly dames, whom he had
converted, might have a place in which they could more completely give
themselves to the service of God.When, some years after our blessed’s death,
the fathers moved into the city proper, the original Saint Mary of Nazareth was
turned over to the sisters.
Isnard laboured zealously
on, almost to the very last breathe. At least the Lives of the Brethren (Vitae
Fratrum) say his final sickness was a matter of only a few days. The manuscript
annals, or chronicles, of the old Friar-Preacher convent at Pavia, tell us that
he surrendered his pure soul to God on 19 March 1244. He knew that the end was
near, prepared for it and died as holily as he had lived.
We have no account of the
funeral of the man of God. Yet the great love and admiration in which he was
held justify one, in the belief, that the Pavians attended it in immense
numbers. Perhaps the sad event plunged the City in no less grief, than his own
community. He was buried in the Church of Saint Mary of Nazareth, where his
tomb became, at once, a place of pilgrimage for the City and Province of Pavia.
Not a few miracles were wrought in answer to prayers to him. The name, Isnard,
was often given to children at their Baptism.
In 1850 portions of his
relies were given to Chiampo and Vicenza. Old paintings of him here and there,
which represented him as a saint, also helped the cause. In 1907 the Diocesan
authorities of Pavia, approved of his cult and requested the Holy See to accept
their decision. Pope Benedict XV, after a thorough investigation, Beatufied
Isnard on 12 March 1919 and granted his Office and Mass to the Friars Preacher
and the Diocese of Pavia with 22 March appointed as his feast day in Pavia.
Isnard, is the last of
the original disciples of Dominic to be accorded the honours of the altar.
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The
First Disciples of Saint Dominic – Blessed Isnard of Chiampo (or Vicenza)
Blessed Isnard is another
very distinguished and saintly first disciple of Saint Dominic whom Father
Touron somehow overlooked. Of Isnard’s life up to the time he entered the Order
practically nothing is known with certainty; whilst some of the statements anent
his debut as a Friar Preacher are irreconcilable among themselves, and contrary
to facts which have been ascertained in later years. Chiampo, a small town not
far from Vicenza, Italy, was most likely the place of his birth; yet there are
those who give the latter city this honor. Some think he was born of poor
parents, and spent his youth in poverty. Others suggest that he belonged to a
wealthy family by the name of Isnardi, which has been long extinct.
It is beyond doubt that
the future wonder-worker received the habit in Bologna, from Saint Dominic, in
1219; for this is a point on which nearly all the early authors are in accord.
This truth seems certainly to prove that he was a student at the university
there, and far advanced in his studies, At that time only such applicants were
accepted; and this fact is a strong proof that his parents were well-to-do, for
only the sons of this kind were given a higher education. Without exception the
writers tell us of his singular purity of heart and religious disposition. His
mind had been carefully guarded against the evils of the day, and in Bologna he
proved faithful to the lessons of his earlier youth. Association with the holy
man from Caleruega quickened his efforts for holiness of life and the salvation
of souls.
For ten years after he
entered the Order of Saint Dominic, we have no positive knowledge of where
Isnard made his home. Yet the indications are that he spent this time between
Bologna and Milan. In which case, of course, he labored energetically in those
parts of Italy. Although a quite corpulent man, we are told, he was endowed
with extraordinary energy, and was very gracious in action as well as in word.
San Eustorgio, Milan, was most likely his convent for the greater part of this
decade. So at least thinks Rudolph Majocchi, Blessed Isnard’s latest
hagiographer.
In more than one of our
sketches, but especially in that of Saint Peter of Verona, we have seen how the
Albigenses and kindred sects overran northern Italy at that date. Milan was one
of the centers of Dominican activity against them; and it was from Milan that
the convent of the Order in Pavia was founded. At Pavia the heretics were long
in the ascendancy. The city was also a stronghold of Frederic II, whose
Ghibellines, always opposed to the Holy See, constantly persecuted those who
favored the authority of the Church. When, in 1230, zealous Rodobald Cipolla
became bishop of Pavia, he found religion in a sad plight in his diocese, and
began at once to seek means for a reformation.
Blessed Isnard’s
reputation for holiness of life, zeal, eloquence, power over the souls of
others, and fearlessness was broadcast. Most likely he had already preached in
the Diocese of Pavia – perhaps many times; for the Friars Preacher of Milan
carried their work in every direction. Possibly, too, he and Bishop Cipolla,
himself an energetic character, had become friends at a prior date. Anyway, one
of the new prelate’s first steps for the spiritual betterment of his flock was
to invite the subject of our narrative from Milan, that he might establish a
house of the Order at Pavia. This was in 1231; and before the close of the year
we find the fathers actively engaged in their apostolate under the leadership
of the man of God from Chiampo.
The convent, which
Rodobald Cipolla generously helped to erect, stood in the little village of
Ticino, a short distance outside the walls of Pavia, and was given the name of
Saint Mary of Nazareth. Throughout Italy the Friars Preacher were known as an
effective aid to the hierarchy against the evils of the day. Thus Bishop
Cipolla felt that, at least under Isnard, they would be an immense help to him
in putting an end to the inroads of the enemy, and in freeing his diocese from
the many ills in which it was enmeshed. He had not long to wait before he saw
that his choice of auxiliaries was no mistake.
However, the task proved
difficult, trying, and full of danger. On the one hand, the faithful, through
long bad associations, had become so cold, careless, and wayward in the
practice of their religious duties that it was exceeding hard to arouse them to
a sense of their obligations. On the other, the Ghibellines and sectarians,
ever of stubborn mood as well as violent in their methods, were even less
subject to management. These possessed little or no faith. Besides they were
loath to change their views, to amend their lives, or to part with the earthly
goods which they had obtained by robbery or dishonesty.
As is ever the case in
such conditions, the Friar Preacher’s success began with the poor and the
laboring classes. For these he had a special love. He gathered them around him
at the conventual church, instructed them in their religion, and inspired them
with a love of its practice. Although he met with much opposition at first, it
was not long before he had completely changed their lives. Reports of the good
thus effected soon spread near and far. Meanwhile, he and his confrères
preached throughout the City of Pavia and its environments – in churches,
public squares, market places, or wherever they could find a space large enough
for an audience. Gradually the wealthier Guelfs, and even not a few of the
Ghibellines, began to harken to the call of grace and to receive the
sacraments.
Among the little band of
missioners Isnard shone with special brilliancy for his saintliness, zeal, and
eloquence. The influence which he soon began to wield over the people caused
the leaders of the heretics to single him out for their hatred. They mocked and
ridiculed him, publicly spurned him, laughed at his corpulent figure, defamed
him, threatened him, did everything in their power either to bring him into
disrepute or to make him desist from his tireless apostolate. All was in vain.
His sermons were incessant. He challenged his enemies wherever he met them. If
they undertook to answer him, his inexorable logic put them to shame, or
reduced them to silence. Never was he known to be ill natured, or to lose his
patience; yet he showed the fire of divine love that glowed within his breast.
No doubt as much to
demonstrate the holiness of His faithful servant as for the benefit of those to
whom he preached, God blessed Isnard with the gift of miracles. The early
writers mention many wrought by him both before and after his death. These,
quite naturally, quickened and strengthened the faith of the Catholics. They
also gradually undermined the influence and broke the spirit of the heretics,
many of whom were brought into the Church. By the time of the holy man’s death,
the Diocese of Pavia was free from attacks by Albigenses, Catharists, and
similar sects. They bad gone to other parts, been converted, or held their
peace. No one could be found who would profess their principles. It was a
glorious apostolate brought to a successful termination.
The Ghibellines, or adherents
of Emperor Frederic II, gave Christ’s ambassador no end of worry and trouble.
These were the rich who were not guided by their consciences in the acquisition
of wealth; politicians without scruples; and soldiers of fortune, whose
restless spirits ever led them into the service in which they might expect the
greatest booty, license, and excitement. The machinations of the German monarch
helped to keep them in keen antagonism to ecclesiastical authority and the
interests of religion; which, of course, rendered them less responsive to our
blessed’s impelling eloquence or the strong influence of his holiness and
miracles. We may judge of the contempt of these friends of Frederic for the
Holy See from the fact that their acts more than once led to a papal interdict
on Pavia.
Still these men, who
could laugh at an excommunication and interdict from the highest authority in
the Church, perforce loved and admired Father Isnard. His charity, his zeal,
his gentle goodness, his purity of heart, his constant efforts for the right,
which they witnessed day by day, simply wrung respect from them. His dealings
with Frederic II must have been much like those of John of Wildeshausen. Even
when Bishop Cipolla was driven into exile, Isnard and his band of missionaries were
left to continue their fruitful labors. In the absence of the ordinary, the
clergy who still remained in the diocese seem to have gathered around the
subject of our sketch for guidance. Possibly the saintly prelate, at the time
of his departure, placed him in charge of his spiritual vineyard.
Despite the turbulence
and the anti-ecclesiastical spirit of the day, the holy Friar Preacher from
Chiampo effected untold good even among this class of citizens. Documents which
have escaped the ravages of time show that some, who deferred conversion until
on their deathbeds, made him the instrument of their restitution. Others
entrusted him with their charity and benefactions. Historians call him an
apostle of Pavia, and largely attribute the preservation of the faith in the
city to his zeal.
Another proof of the
respect and confidence which Isnard enjoyed among all classes, as well as of
his reputation abroad, is found in the incident which we have now to tell. From
early times the Diocese of Tours, France, possessed landed estates in and
around Pavia. Because of the political disturbances and the Ghibelline spirit,
to which we have referred, the canons of the Tours cathedral found it
impossible to collect their rents. In this dilemma, they appointed our Friar
Preacher their agent; for they felt that he was the only man in northern Italy
who either could obtain their dues for them, or would dare undertake the task.
This was in 1240, the year after the historic excommunication of Frederic II by
Gregory IX. The affair shows bow wisely Isnard steered his course, how all
venerated him at home, and how well his courage and prudence were known even in
France.
Like a number of the
early disciples of Saint Dominic whose lives we have outlined, the apostle and
reformer of Pavia did not feel that he had done his all for the benefit of
religion until he established a community of Dominican Sisters. These he placed
in the immediate vicinity of his own convent, that he might the better look
after their spiritual welfare. Their house bore the same name as that of the
fathers – Saint Mary of Nazareth. Although he had perhaps never seen Prouille,
his double institution at Pavia must have been much like that with which the
Order started in southern France. The dowries of many of these sisters indicate
that he founded them, in part, so that wealthy worldly dames, whom he had
converted, might have a place in which they could more completely give
themselves to the service of God. Saint Dominic, it will be recalled,
established the community of Prouille principally with women converted from
Albigensianism. When, some years after our blessed’s death, the fathers moved
into the city proper, the original Saint Mary of Nazareth was turned over to
the sisters.
Isnard had a profound
devotion towards the Mother of God. He perpetually preached her protection over
the faithful. In every way he propagated love and veneration for her. Father
Majocchi thinks that this apostolate was of immense aid to him in his work of
reformation; for no other piety seems to be more congenital to the affectionate
Italian character. He labored zealously on almost to the very last. At least
the Lives of the Brethren (Vitae Fratrum) say his final sickness was
a matter of only a few days. The manuscript annals, or chronicles, of the old
Friar-Preacher convent at Pavia tell us that he surrendered his pure soul to
God on March 19, 1244. He knew that the end was near, prepared for it, and died
as holily as he had lived.
We have no account of the
funeral of the man of God. Yet the great love and admiration in which he was
held justify one in the belief that the Pavians attended it in immense numbers.
Perhaps the sad event plunged the city in no less grief than his own community.
He was buried in the Church of Saint Mary of Nazareth, where his tomb became at
once a place of pilgrimage for the city and province of Pavia. Not a few
miracles were wrought in answer to prayers to him. The name Isnard was often
given to children at their baptism.
Later, for various
reasons, the fathers moved into the city proper. First (1281), they took
possession of San Marino, but gave up this place the next year for Saint
Andrew’s. There they remained until 1302, when they exchanged Saint Andrew’s
for Saint Thomas’, which was better suited to their purposes. At this last
location they at once began a splendid temple of prayer, which was completed
between 1320 and 1330. The body of Blessed Isnard, which had been brought from
the extra-urban Church of Saint Mary of Nazareth to Saint Andrew’s, while the
fathers lived in the latter convent, was again translated and enshrined in a
marble sarcophagus built for the purpose in a chapel of the new Saint Thomas’
Church. The devotion of the people followed his relies to both of these places
of rest. Nor is it any stretch of fancy to imagine that the two translations
were times of great fervor for all Pavia.
Unfortunately, in a
spirit of zeal and friendship, the fathers gave the use of Blessed Isnard’s
Chapel, as it was called, to the University of Pavia for religious functions.
Although its walls were afterwards decorated with paintings commemorative of
the chief events in his life, these academic associations tended rather to
decrease veneration for the saintly Friar Preacher. The misfortunes of Pavia
during the Spanish-Austrian reigns of Charles V and Philip III, which lasted
almost throughout the sixteenth century, well-nigh caused him (or rather his
final resting-place) to be forgotten even by some members of his own Order, and
his relies to be scattered to the winds. Happily the researches of Pavian
historians helped to avert such a disaster.
In spite of the most
thorough identification, however, and to the great sorrow of the fathers, the
rector and senate of the university, though without authority in the matter, later
compelled our blessed’s sarcophagus to be taken from the chapel and destroyed.
This was in 1763. But, before its removal, the community reverently gathered up
his relies and placed them in a wooden chest. All this was done in the presence
of Cardinal Charles Francis Durini, who then closed the box, and fastened it
with his seal. Thence until the suppression of Saint Thomas’ Convent by Emperor
Joseph II, in 1785, Isnard’s relies were carefully preserved in the archives.
The fathers then took the chest, with its precious contents, to Saint Peter’s.
When, in 1799, they were also forced to leave this abode, they gave their
spiritual treasure to Bishop Joseph Bertieri, O.S.A. This prelate, after an
official examination, not only entrusted Isnard’s relies to the Church of
Saints Gervasius and Protasius, but even ordered them to be exposed for public
veneration.
It looks providential
that, under all these changes and difficulties, popular devotion for Saint
Dominic’s early disciple did not completely die out. That it continued to exist
shows the unalterable love in which the Pavians held him. Bishop Bertieri’s act
gave it new life. In 1850 portions of his relies were given to Chiampo and
Vicenza. Old paintings of him here and there, which represented him as a saint,
also helped the cause. In 1907 the diocesan authorities of Pavia approved of
his cult, and requested the Holy See to accept their decision. The late
Benedict XV, of happy memory, after a thorough investigation by the Sacred
Congregation of Rites (that is, in 1919), granted his office and mass to the
Friars Preacher and the Diocese of Pavia. March 22 was appointed as his feast
day.
Isnard is the last of the
original disciples of Dominic to be accorded the honors of the altar. The late
date of his beatification affords the hope that several others of them may yet
he similarly dignified by the Church.
MLA
Citation
Father Victor Francis
O’Daniel, O.P. “Blessed Isnard of Chiampo (or Vicenza)”. The First Disciples of Saint Dominic, 1928. CatholicSaints.Info.
28 October 2021. Web. 18 March 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/the-first-disciples-of-saint-dominic-blessed-isnard-of-chiampo-or-vicenza/>
Beato Isnardo da Chiampo Sacerdote
domenicano
† Pavia, 19 marzo 1244
Ricevette giovanissimo
l’Abito di Predicatore dalle mani del glorioso Patriarca Domenico. Fu un così
grande e compito Predicatore, potente non solo in parole, ma anche in opere,
grazie al dono fecondo che ebbe da Dio di fare miracoli. Attirò a Lui
innumerevoli anime di peccatori e di eretici. Dal 1230 fu principalmente
l’apostolo di Pavia. Questa città, in lotta contro il Papato per le malvagie
influenze di Federico II, colpita anche da l’Interdetto, versava in uno stato
pietoso: lo spirito religioso quasi spento e i costumi del tutto rilassati. La
venuta di Isnardo fu come un soffio rinnovatore e lo spirito cristiano rifiorì
meravigliosamente. Per la munificenza del santo Vescovo di Pavia, Rodobaldo,
poté fondare un Convento che governò sapientemente fino alla morte.
Martirologio
Romano: A Pavia, beato Isnardo da Chiampo, sacerdote dell’Ordine dei
Predicatori, che in questa città fondò un convento del suo Ordine.
Nativo di Chiampo (Vicenza), Isnardo entrò nell’Ordine Domenicano, a Bologna, verso il 1218. Fece la vestizione insieme al beato Guala, distinguendosi per il perfetto rispetto dei voti di povertà, castità e obbedienza. Un anno dopo fu inviato a Milano insieme al confratello Guala che verrà poi eletto vescovo di Brescia. Nel 1230 fu trasferito a Pavia dove strinse amicizia con il vescovo Redobaldo II che gli affidò la chiesa domenicana di S. Maria in Nazareth. Il suo convento invece era fuori città, presso il fiume Tesino. Impiegando doti di mente e di cuore, Isnardo convertì numerosi peccatori e operò grazie strepitose a vantaggio dei sofferenti. Come quando risanò la gamba di un malato davanti ad un miscredente che lo derideva. La sua fama giunse fino in Francia, alla Chiesa di s. Martino di Tours, i cui canonici lo vollero procuratore nelle terre Alessandria, Pavia, Bergamo, Peschiera, Brescia, Sirmione e Verona, loro antiche tributarie. Isnardo condusse una vita ascetica molto dura, questo comunque non gli impedì di avere una corporatura robusta, che suscitava commenti ironici. Una pia tradizione tramanda che un giorno, mentre predicava, un uomo gli disse: “Come posso credere alla santità di un vecchio cetaceo come fra Isnardo, più di quanto possa credere che questo barile potrebbe saltare e rompermi una gamba”. Alla fine delle sue parole il barile, su cui era seduto, si mise a saltellare rompendogli l’arto.
Isnardo morì il 19 marzo 1244 e fu sepolto nella chiesa domenicana di Pavia.
Fino alla fine del XVIII secolo il suo sepolcro fu pieno di ex voto: alcuni
prigionieri che lo invocarono, ritrovata la libertà, vi lasciarono per
riconoscenza le catene. Guarì alcuni malati, tra i quali una monaca dell’ordine
delle Umiliate che era gravemente ammalata. Attualmente i suoi resti riposano
nella basilica pavese dei Ss. Gervasio e Protasio. La Santa Sede ne confermò il
culto il 12 marzo 1919, dopo che da Pavia l’autorià religiosa ne aveva fatto
richiesta. Per l’occasione vi furono grandi feste. Il Martyrologium Romanum
pone la sua festa 19 marzo.
Preghiera
Signore, Gesù Cristo, buon Pastore, che hai voluto essere per il tuo gregge
segno di uità e riconcializione, fa’ che per l’intercessione del b. Isnardo, le
pecore seguano sempre il pastore per vivere secondo il tuo esempio e meritare
di essere una sola cosa. Tu sei Dio e vivi e regni nei secoli dei secoli, amen
Autore: Daniele Bolognini
Nativo di Chiampo (Vicenza), entrò nell’Ordine Domenicano a Bologna verso il 1218. Un anno dopo fu inviato a Milano insieme al domenicano beato Guala che diventerà poi vescovo di Brescia.
Ancora nel 1230 fu trasferito a Pavia dove strinse amicizia con il vescovo Redobaldo II che a sua volta gli affidò la chiesa domenicana di S. Maria di Nazareth.
Isnardo era dedito ad una vita ascetica molto dura, questo comunque non gli impedì di avere una corporatura molto robusta, che suscitava sempre dei commenti ironici. Si racconta che una volta predicava in pubblico e un uomo che assisteva disse: “Come posso credere alla santità di un vecchio cetaceo come fra Isnardo, più di quanto possa credere che questo barile potrebbe saltare e rompermi una gamba”, ma alla fine delle sue parole il barile su cui era seduto, all’improvviso si mise a saltellare investendolo e rompendogli così una gamba nell’urto.
Isnardo morì il 19 marzo 1244 e fu sepolto nella chiesa domenicana di Pavia; attualmente i suoi resti riposano nella basilica dei ss. Gervasio e Protasio. La Santa Sede ne confermò il culto con la Messa in suo onore il 12 marzo 1919.
Il Martyrologium Romanum pone la sua festa 19 marzo, mentre nella diocesi di Pavia la sua memoria si celebra il 22 marzo.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/46600
Isnard von Chiampo
auch: von Vicenza
Gedenktag katholisch: 19. März
nicht gebotener Gedenktag im Dominikanerorden: 19. April
22. März
Name bedeutet: ?
Klostergründer, Prior in Pavia
* Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts in Chiampo bei Vicenza in Italien
† 19. März 1244 in Pavia in
Italien
Isnard schloss - wohl
schon 1219 - sich in Bologna Dominikus an,
der dort gerade einen ersten Konvent der Dominikaner an
der damaligen Kirche Santa Maria della Purificazione - der heutigen Kirche
Santa Maria e San Domenico della Mascarella gegründet hatte; die
Gemeinschaft zog bald schon um in das Pfarrhaus der damaligen Kirche San Nicolò
delle Vigne - an der Stelle der heutigen Basilika San
Domenico, die nun gebaut wurde. Isnard galt als glühend religiös und als
bewunderter Prediger; so gewann er an seinem ersten Wirkungsort an der schon
jenem Jahr dem neuen Orden übergebenen Kirche Sant'Eustorgio in
Mailand viele neue Ordensmitglieder. Ab 1230 wirkte er in Pavia; hier gründete
er mit Unterstützung seines Freundes, Bischof Reginald II., vor der Stadt das
Dominikanerkloster Santa Maria di Nazaret - an der Stelle der heutigen
Kirche Santa
Maria in Betlem im Vorort Borgo di Pavia -, als dessen Prior er bis zu
seinem Tod wirkte. Zusätzlich engagierte er sich in der Bekehrung der zu dieser
Zeit in Oberitalien starken Häretikerbewegung der Albigenser.
Kanonisation: Der
Kult für Isnard wurde am 10. Dezember 1912 bestätigt.
Die Kirche San Domenico in Bologna ist täglich von 9 Uhr bis 12 Uhr und von 15.30 Uhr bis 18 Uhr - sonntags nur am Nachmittag bis 17 Uhr - geöffnet. (2023)
Die Kirche Sant'Eustorgio in
Mailand ist werktags von 7 Uhr bis 12 Uhr und von 15.30 Uhr bis 18.30, sonntags
von 8.40 Uhr bis 13 Uhr und von 15.30 Uhr bis 18.30 geöffnet. (2021)
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Autor: Joachim
Schäfer - zuletzt aktualisiert am 20.04.2023
Quellen:
•
• Michael Hanst. In: Friedrich-Wilhelm Bautz (Hg.):
Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, Bd. II, Hamm 1990
• https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/46600 - abgerufen am 10.02.2023
•http://www.paviaedintorni.it/temi/arteearchitettura_file/artearchitettura_chiesepavia_file/EXCULTO/descrizione_chiesechiusepavia_santommaso.htm
- abgerufen am 10.02.2023
korrekt zitieren: Joachim Schäfer: Artikel Isnard von Chiampo, aus dem Ökumenischen Heiligenlexikon - https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienI/Isnard_von_Chiampo.html, abgerufen am 18. 3. 2024
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet das Ökumenische
Heiligenlexikon in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte
bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über https://d-nb.info/1175439177 und https://d-nb.info/969828497 abrufbar.
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienI/Isnard_von_Chiampo.html
Voir aussi : http://theoniondome.com/2013/03/22/march-22-saints-of-the-day-isaac-of-dalmatia-and-isnard-de-chiampo/
