Saint Francis of Paola O.M. | |
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Hermit of St Francis | |
Born | 27 March 1416 Paola, Calabria Citeriore, Kingdom of Naples |
Died | 2 April 1507 Plessis-lez-Tours, Touraine, Kingdom of France | (aged 91)
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | 1 November 1518 |
Canonized | 1 May 1519 by Pope Leo X |
Feast | 2 April[1] |
Patronage | Patron saint of Calabria; Paola, Calabria, Corigliano-Rossano, Altomonte, Botricello, Paterno Calabro, Sicily, Stornarella, San Fili, and formerly of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; co-patron saint of Naples, Cosenza, Castrovillari, Bitonto, Castelleone di Suasa, Castrolibero, Luzzi, and of Bisignano; Amato; La Chorrera, Panama; Mabini, Batangas; boatmen, mariners, and naval officers |
Francis of Paola, OM (also known as Francis the Fire Handler; 27 March 1416 – 2 April 1507), was a Roman Catholic friar from the town of Paola in Italy who founded the Order of Minims. Like his patron saint (Francis of Assisi), but unlike the majority of founders of men's religious orders, Francis of Paola was never ordained a priest.