Saint Bernardino of Siena

Life story

Bernardino was born on 8 September 1380 at Massa Marittima, in the Republic of Siena. Orphaned young, he was brought up by aunts in Siena and studied law. When plague struck Siena in 1400, he and other young men served the sick at the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, and he caught the disease while doing so.

In 1402 or 1403 he joined the Observant branch of the Franciscans and was ordained a priest in 1404. For a long period he lived in retirement, then from about 1417 he began travelling as a preacher. He walked through many Italian cities, preaching in plain vernacular Italian to crowds gathered in the squares, urging the reconciliation of feuds, the avoidance of usury and the end of gambling.

He became famous for promoting devotion to the name of Jesus: he used a tablet bearing the letters IHS, and such tablets were hung in many churches and public buildings. Some critics accused him of introducing a new form of devotion, and he was summoned to Rome to answer, but Pope Martin V did not condemn him. He repeatedly refused bishoprics offered to him at Siena, Ferrara and Urbino.

From 1438 to 1442 he served as vicar general of the Observants and helped that branch grow strongly. He also left many sermons and treatises in Latin. He died at L'Aquila on 20 May 1444 while on a preaching journey. Pope Nicholas V canonised him in 1450.

Works and witness

• Served plague victims in Siena in 1400
• Joined the Franciscan Observants and was ordained in 1404
• Preached throughout Italy from about 1417
• Promoted devotion to the name of Jesus with the IHS monogram
• Vicar general of the Observants 1438-1442; canonised in 1450

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Martyrologium Romanum
• Bernardino of Siena, Sermons (Quadragesimale)
• 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.