Bl. Bernardine of Feltre

Bernardine of Feltre was born in 1439 in Feltre, northern Italy, the eldest of nine children of the noble Tomitano family. At seventeen, moved by a Lent sermon, he became a Franciscan friar. He was ordained a priest in 1463.

He became one of the best-known preachers in fifteenth-century Italy and preached in town after town. He is remembered above all for spreading the monti di pietà: charitable pawn banks that lent small sums to poor people at little or no interest, so they would not fall into the hands of moneylenders. He died at Pavia in 1494. His cult was confirmed in 1654.

Legend and tradition. Early accounts say a speech impediment was miraculously cured before he began preaching.

The Church has declared Bernardine of Feltre Blessed.

Beatification allows public veneration, usually in a particular region or religious family. Canonization extends it to the whole Church.