Saint Andrew Avellino

Life story

Andrew Avellino was born in 1521 at Castronuovo in Basilicata, southern Italy, and was baptised Lancelotto. He studied law at Naples, took his degree and worked for the diocesan court. He was then ordained priest and given some reform assignments.

While trying to reform a convent of nuns in Naples he was attacked and wounded. After that episode, in 1556, he joined the Theatines, taking the name Andrew, since Lancelotto no longer seemed fitting for religious life. In the order he served as novice master and then superior of houses in Naples. He was also sent to Piacenza and Milan, where he founded more houses and came to know Archbishop Charles Borromeo.

He was a confessor and spiritual guide to many people in Naples. He died on 10 November 1608 at Naples, struck down by a stroke as he began Mass, at about eighty-seven years old. He is buried in the church of San Paolo Maggiore. He was beatified in 1624 under Urban VIII and canonised in 1712 under Clement XI. He is honoured as a patron of Naples, and people invoke him against sudden death. His order, the Theatines, was small but influential in Counter-Reformation Italy, and he is remembered above all as a reformer who carried out his work among the clergy and religious of Naples. His feast falls on 10 November, the day of his death. Devotion to him spread widely in southern Italy, especially in Naples and Sicily.

Works and witness

• Studied law at Naples and worked for the diocesan court
• Attacked while trying to reform a convent of nuns in Naples
• Joined the Theatines in 1556
• Founded Theatine houses at Piacenza and Milan
• Died on 10 November 1608; buried at San Paolo Maggiore, Naples

Patron of

Naples, Sicily

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Martyrologium Romanum
• Catholic Encyclopedia (1907–1912), entry on Andrew Avellino
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.