St Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619) Capuchin priest
St
Lawrence of Brindisi was a gifted linguist.
He was also a brave
priest who played an important part in promoting the Catholic faith in
the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
An accomplished linguist and evangeliser
Born
Julius Caesar Rossi in Brindisi in Apulia, south-east Italy, into a
family of Venetian merchants, his father died when he was twelve.
He was
educated at Saint Mark's College in Venice. At sixteen he joined the
Capuchins in Verona as Brother Lawrence, studied at the University of
Padua, and became an accomplished linguist, speaking most European and
Semitic languages fluently.
Definitor-general for the Capuchins
Lawrence was
appointed definitor-general for the Capuchins in Rome in 1596; Pope
Clement VIII assigned him the task of converting the Jews in the city.
He was so fluent in Hebrew that many rabbis thought he had been a Jew
who converted to Christianity.
In 1599, he was sent to establish
Capuchin monasteries in Germany and Austria, and converted many
Protestants to the Catholic faith.
Led army against the Turks
In 1601, Lawrence was
the imperial chaplain for the army of Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor,
and successfully recruited Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercoeur, to help
fight against the Ottoman Turks.
He then led the army during the capture
of Székesfehérvár from the Ottoman Empire, armed only with a crucifix.
Minister-general of the Capuchins
In
1602 Lawrence was elected minister-general of the Capuchins.
He was
elected again in 1605, but declined the office this time and entered the
service of the Holy See, becoming nuncio to Bavaria.
After serving as
nuncio to Spain, he retired to a monastery in 1618.
Death in Lisbon
An effort to achieve peace for
kingdom of Naples took him off again on a journey to Lisbon to visit the
king of Spain, but here he contracted a serious illness and died in
1619.
Influence
Lawrence of Brindisi was beatified in
1783 by Pope Pius VI, canonized in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII.
In 1956 the
Capuchins completed a 15-volume edition of his writings and sermons.
In
1959 Pope John XXIII declared him a doctor of the church.