Bernardino of Siena

Saint Bernardino of Siena was born on September 8, 1380, in Massa Marittima, Tuscany, to the noble Albizzeschi family. Orphaned at six, he was raised by a devout aunt and grew into a young man marked by charity and discipline. As a layman he joined the Confraternity of Our Lady at Siena’s great hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, and during the plague he and companions cared for the sick at great personal cost, leaving him weakened for months. In 1403 he entered the Observant Franciscans, embracing a strict following of Saint Francis, and was ordained a priest in 1404. For more than thirty years he walked from town to town across Italy, preaching in marketplaces with plain, vivid language that drew immense crowds and helped renew Catholic life. His sermons urged repentance, reverence for feast days, and a turning away from vice and public scandal, sometimes prompting “bonfires of vanities.” Called the “Apostle of Italy,” he was canonized in 1450. He is patron of places including Altavilla Irpina and Bernalda. His feast day is May 20.