Francesco di Paola ( 27 marzo 1416 – 2 aprile 1507) è stato un religioso italiano, proclamato santo da papa Leone X nel 1519. Eremita, è il fondatore dell'Ordine dei minimi. È il patrono del Regno delle Due Sicilie ed è compatrono della città di Napoli.. È inoltre il patrono principale della Calabria, dov'è venerato in innumerevoli santuari e chiese fra i quali, in particolare, quelli di Paola, Cosenza, Polistena, Paterno Calabro, Spezzano della Sina, Pedace, Terranova da Silbari, Corigliano Calabro, Marina Grande di Scilla, Catona di Reggio Calabria e Sambiase di Lamezia Terme (ove è custodita la reliquia di un dito di san Francesco). Francesco e Patrono di Calabria,Sicilia,naviganti e pescatori, è invocato contro gli incendi, la sterilità e le epidemie.
Attualmente, parte delle sue reliquie si trovano presso il santuario di San Francesco di Paola, meta di pellegrini, provenienti da tutto il mondo. Inoltre, in Puglia nel comprensorio dei "Cinque Reali Siti" (provincia di Foggia) in tre comuni è praticato il culto di San Francesco. Infatti, a Stornarella e Carapelle è venerato come santo patrono, mentre ad Orta Nova come santo protettore. È venerato come Santo Patrono anche a Savelletri in provincia di Brindisi, ed in occasione della festa patronale che ricade nella seconda domenica di Agosto avviene la suggestiva processione in mare.
(Wikipedia)
Saint Francis of Paola, (or: Francesco di Paola or Saint Francis the Fire Handler; 27 March 1416 – 2 April 1507) was an Italian mendicant friar and the founder of the Roman Catholic Order of Minims. Unlike the majority of founders of men's religious orders, and like his patron saint, Francis was never ordained a priest.
Francis was born in the town of Paola, which lies in the southern Italian Province of Cosenza, Calabria. In his youth he was educated by the Franciscan friars in Paola. His parents were remarkable for the holiness of their lives: having remained childless for some years after their marriage, they had recourse to prayer and especially commended themselves to the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi, after whom they named their first-born son. Two other children were eventually born to them.
When still in the cradle, Francis suffered from a swelling which endangered the sight of one of his eyes. His parents again had recourse to Francis of Assisi and made a vow that their son should pass an entire year wearing the "little habit" of St Francis in one of the friaries of his Order, a not-uncommon practice in the Middle Ages. The child was immediately cured.
From his early years Francis showed signs of extraordinary sanctity, and at the age of 13, being admonished by a vision of a Franciscan friar, he entered a friary of the Franciscan Order to fulfill the vow made by his parents. Here he gave great edification by his love of prayer and mortification, his profound humility, and his prompt obedience. At the completion of the year he went with his parents on a pilgrimage to Assisi, Rome, and other places of devotion. Returning to Paola, he selected a secluded cave on his father's estate and there lived in solitude; but later on he found an even-more secluded cave on the sea coast. Here he remained alone for about six years, giving himself to prayer and mortification.
(Wikipedia)
Franz von Paola (lat. Franciscus de Paula) (* 27. März 1416 in Paola, Italien; † 2. April 1507 in Plessis-lès-Tours, Frankreich) gründete den Orden der Paulaner und ist ein Heiliger der römisch-katholischen Kirche.
Franz von Paola wurde ab seinem 13. Lebensjahr von Franziskanern unterrichtet. Als Jugendlicher zog er sich in eine einsame Gegend Kalabriens zurück, wo er ein asketisches Eremitenleben führen wollte. Von seiner tiefen Frömmigkeit angezogen, sammelten sich bald mehrere junge Männer um ihn, und es entstand eine kleine geistliche Gemeinschaft. 1454 errichteten sie in Cosenza das erste Kloster und die erste Kirche ihrer Gemeinschaft. Darin wird der eigentliche Beginn des neuen Ordens der „Mindesten Brüder“ gesehen.
Von dieser Gemeinschaft ging eine große spirituelle Strahlkraft aus, wodurch es in kurzer Zeit zu mehreren Klostergründungen in Süditalien kam. Die Regeln, auf die Franz von Paola seine Mönche verpflichtete, waren hart: Sie mussten ständiges strenges Fasten, vegane Ernährung und regelmäßige Bußübungen versprechen. 1474 bestätigte Papst Sixtus IV. die Ordensregel. Im Laufe der Jahre wurde Franz von Paola als heiligmäßiger Mann und Wundertäter bekannt.
1483 ließ der französische König Ludwig XI. ihn durch Papst Sixtus IV. an sein Krankenbett in Plessis-lès-Tours bei Tours rufen. Karl VIII., der Sohn Ludwigs, behielt den frommen Mann in seiner Nähe und nahm ihn als Ratgeber in seine Dienste. Er erbaute dem Ordensgründer in Plessis-lès-Tours ein Kloster, wo dieser am 2. April 1507, einem Karfreitag, starb. Um Franz von Paola ranken sich zahlreiche Legenden. 1519 wurde er von Papst Leo X. heiliggesprochen.
(Wikipedia)