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Nicholas of Tolentino (, ) (c. 1246September 10, 1305), known as the ''Patron of Holy Souls'', was an Italian saint and mystic. ==Biography== Nicholas Gurrutti was born at Sant'Angelo in Pontano in Italy, in what was then the March of Ancona. He was the son of parents who had been childless into middle age. Compagnonus de Guarutti and Amata de Guidiani prayed at the shrine of Saint Nicholas of Myra for his intercession, and when Amata became pregnant they named their son after the saint.〔( Bittle O.F.M.Cap., Berchman's, ''A Saint A Day'', The Bruce Publishing Company, 1958 )〕 A studious, kind and gentle youth, at the age of 16 Nicholas became an Augustinian Friar and was a student of the Blessed Angelus de Scarpetti. A monk at the monasteries at Recanati and Macerata as well as others, he was ordained in 1270〔("Devotion to St. Nicholas of Tolentine", St.Augustine's Church, Cork, Ireland )〕 at the age of 25, and soon became known for his preaching and teachings. Nicholas, who had had visions of angels reciting "to Tolentino", in 1274 took this as a sign to move to that city, where he lived the rest of his life. Nicholas worked to counteract the decline of morality and religion which came with the development of city life in the late thirteenth century.〔("Saint Nicholas of Tolentine", Province of St. Augustine )〕 On account of his kind and gentle manner his superiors entrusted him with the daily feeding of the poor at the monastery gates, but at times he was so free with the friary's provisions that the procurator begged the superior to check his generosity.〔 Once, when weak after a long fast, he received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Augustine who told him to eat some bread marked with cross and dipped in water. Upon doing so he was immediately stronger. He started distributing these rolls to the ailing, while praying to Mary, often curing the sufferers; this is the origin of the Augustinian custom of blessing and distributing ''Saint Nicholas Bread''.〔 In Tolentino, Nicholas worked as a peacemaker in a city torn by strife between the Guelphs and Ghibellines who, in the conflict for control of Italy, supported the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor respectively. He ministered to his flock, helped the poor and visited prisoners. When working wonders or healing people, he always asked those he helped to "Say nothing of this", explaining that he was just God's instrument.〔 During his life, Nicholas is said to have received visions, including images of Purgatory, which friends ascribed to his lengthy fasts. Prayer for the souls in purgatory was the outstanding characteristic of his spirituality.〔 Because of this Nicholas was proclaimed patron of the souls in Purgatory,〔("Saint Nicholas of Tolentine", Augustinians of the Midwest )〕 in 1884 by Leo XIII. Towards the end of his life he became ill, suffering greatly, but still continued the mortifications that had been part of his holy life.〔(Garesché, Edward. "St. Nicholas of Tolentino." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 23 Mar. 2013 )〕 Nicholas died on September 10, 1305.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nicholas of Tolentino」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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