The Saints: St. Bernardine of Siena

1380 - 1444

Feast – May 20

This renowned Italian preacher was canonized only six years after he died. He was born near Siena and studied at the university there. He was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1404. From 1417 until his death 27 years later, he crisscrossed northern and central Italy as an itinerant preacher who drew enormous crowds by focusing on honest and penitential living and on reverence for the holy name of Jesus which led to the spread of this devotion. He also preached against gambling and materialism, and turned down three requests to become a bishop.