Blessed Fra Angelico

Life story

Guido di Pietro was born around 1395 at Vicchio in the Mugello, near Fiesole, then part of the Republic of Florence; the year is only an estimate. By 1423 he had entered the convent of San Domenico at Fiesole and taken the name Fra Giovanni. Contemporaries called him Fra Giovanni da Fiesole.

From 1436 he moved to the new convent of San Marco in Florence and painted its frescoes, including those in the monks' cells and in the chapter house. Cosimo de' Medici was his patron, and he also painted the altarpiece for the convent church.

From 1445 he worked in Rome for Pope Eugenius IV and then Nicholas V, and around 1447 to 1449 he decorated the Niccoline Chapel in the Vatican; assistants probably did much of the painting. In the same year, 1447, he worked with Benozzo Gozzoli on the ceiling of the Cappella Nuova in Orvieto Cathedral. The story that he declined the archbishopric of Florence rests on later accounts and is doubtful.

He died on 18 February 1455 at a Dominican convent in Rome and was buried in Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Pope John Paul II beatified him on 3 October 1982 and in 1984 named him patron of artists, especially painters.

Works and witness

• In the convent of San Domenico, Fiesole, by 1423 at the latest
• Painted the frescoes of San Marco in Florence from 1436
• Decorated the Niccoline Chapel for Nicholas V, 1447 to 1449
• Worked at Orvieto Cathedral in 1447
• Beatified on 3 October 1982

Patron of

Artists, especially painters

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Catholic Encyclopedia, "Fra Angelico" (newadvent.org/cathen/01483b.htm)

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