Saint of the Day – 26 May – Blessed Francis Patrizi of Siena OSM (1266-1328) Priest

Saint of the Day – 26 May – Blessed Francis Patrizi of Siena OSM (1266-1328) Priest of the Order of the Servites “the Servants of Mary,” known as a Peacemaker and Mediator, Patronage – of Reconciliation. Born in 1266 in Siena, Italy and died on 26 May 1328 in Siena, Italy of natural causes. Also known as – Francisco Patrizi, Francis of Siena, Francesco… Francis was Beatified on 11 September 1743 by Pope Benedict XIV. His body is incorrupt.

The Roman Martyrology reads today: “In Siena, blessed Francesco Patrizi, Priest of the Order of the Servants of Mary, who dedicated himself with admirable zeal to preaching, to the direction of souls and to the ministry of penance.”

Francis was born in Siena of a noble family. After listening to a moving sermon delivered by Blessed Ambrose Sansedoni, whose eloquence was the final inspiration for Francis to enter the religious life. However, he had first to care for and discharge all his duties to his blind mother. After her death, now aged twenty two, he asked to join the “Servants of Mary” in homage to the Madonna to whom he was very devoted.

The decision was made with some hesitation, as the longing for a solitary life always lived within him. The period in which he entered among the Servants of Mary was the one in which the decree of the Second Council of Lyons (1274), was incumbent on the Order, decreeing its extinction but the passionate work of the Prior General St Philip Benizi, obtained a Bull from Pope Honorius IV, which authorised some Convents, including that of Siena, to receive new members.

Among these, Francis entered and t Philip Benizi himself received Francis into the Servites and here he became the brother Friar of Blessed Joachim Piccolomini in 1272 and St Pellegrine Laziosi in around 1290. Three years after the novitiate, Francis was Ordained a Priest, his work was directed especially towards the poor and dispossessed – in this work, he did not hesitate to present himself to the nobles of the time to ask for donations for the needy.

Francis became an excellent preacher and the Spiritual director of many, from the lowly to those in positions of power. Francis distinguished himself by his holiness and his remarkable ability to solve crises of various kinds through his personal mediation. Proof of the affection shown to him by the souls he guided, can be read in a will dated 1309 of a certain Grace, who appoints him Executor, after having made donations, both to him, for his charitable works and to the Convent of the Servites of Siena.

His biographer, Brother Cristoforo da Parma, describes him as rather corpulent, dedicated to voluntary sacrifices to defend his chastity, completely absorbed in his love for the Virgin, saying up to 500 Hail Marys per day and very busy hearing Confessions of the queues which constantly sought his spiritual assistance.

He died at the age of 62 on 26 May 1328 and his incorrupt body is venerated under the Altar of the Seven Holy Founders, opposite that of Blessed Joachim, in the Basilica of the Servites in ​​Siena.
Pope Benedict XIV confirmed his cult on 11 September 1743, his Feast is celebrated in Siena on the Sunday after the Ascension and in the Order of the Servants of Mary on 12 May. He is variously depicted in 15th-Century frescoes. Forty years after his death, five lilies grew out of his mouth, each flower representing the letter of the Holy Name “Maria.”