How the Reform of the Clareni began under Celestine V

34 The initiators 35 Their tribulations 36 The Inquisitor’s conduct towards them 37 Their spread in Italy 38 The Bull Exivi de paradiso 39 The zealous Friars of the Custody or Narbonne 40 Angelo Clareno before Pope Clement V 41 Why they were called Clareni 42 The Congregation of Clareni suppressed by Pius V 43 Reasons for the Reforms of the Franciscan Order 44 Gentile of Spoleto and his Reform 45 Its end 46 Which Reform will be the ultimate reform 47 The Capuchin Reform was truly necessary

(34) In 1296, on the third month, when they heard about the creation of this new Holy Pontiff, the good and zealous Friars were overjoyed. They hoped His Holiness would support them in making their holy reform. The entire body of the Order had been reduced to such a low point that the Friars eager to live according to the observance of the Rule found they could not live there because of the great trouble they received from the lax Friars. Fra Pietro da Macerata, Fra Liberato, Fra Corrado da Offida, Fra Giacopone da Todi, Frate Tomaso da Trevi, and Fra Corrado da Spoleto all perfectly loved the observance of the Rule and had assembled together secretly. It pleased the Lord God to put into the heart of these holy men to decide that Fra Pietro da Macerata and Fra Liberato go to His Holiness in the name of the many friars who desired to observe the Rule. They were to ask His Holiness to favour them in carrying out a perfect reform – especially since, when he was in minoribus, he had known Fra Pietro da Macerata quite well. The Holy Father rejoiced at their good will and understood their strong desire to live in pure observance because the Holy Father was himself also sympathetic with their desire to live the highest poverty. Not long after he showed this quite practically when he resigned from the Papacy and withdrew to a deserted place.

Therefore, as a good shepherd and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and since it was impossible to live the pure observance of the Rule in the body of the Order, he advised them and told to Fra Liberato and his companion to carefully observe the Rule and Testament of Saint Francis perfectly. “I have always been of your opinion and it was my intention to observe it with my Friars. However, it pleased God to give me this office. Yet I still wanted my Friars to observe it, but to govern as Pope I had been required to accept ownership. Now if you want to observe the Rule, you need to separate from the body of the Order and detach yourselves completely from them and take up the eremitic life, which is the perfection of the coenobitic life. Satisfied that Fra Liberato and Fra Pietro, representative of an entire multitude, desired the reform, His Holiness absolved them from all obedience to the body of the Order. He also gave them full authority to absolve just once all the others who wanted that reform. He granted them all a Plenary Indulgence and commanded them to receive all those who wanted to observe that life. For the greater peace and honour of the Order they would not be called Friars Minor but Friars of Pope Celestine and poor Hermits. He recommended them to Monsignor Cardinal Napoleon because he was generous provider and supporter of all pious causes. He recommended this to to the cardinal as the fondest cause.

(35) When these two returned to their other companions, they left the Order and took up a hermit habit. Hiding away in certain deserted places, they observed the life they had promised God in such a lofty manner that they there was profound amazement and wonder among everyone who saw them. Their reputation quickly went all over Italy and this initiative spread throughout the entire Order. Within a short time their number increased even further. However, when the enemy of human nature saw that many outstanding results must come from this holy reform, he put it into the hearts of some adversaries to work like fanatical wolves against these poor fellows. They assembled small squads of armed soldiers to go to where those servants of God were and apprehend them and lead them bound to the magistrate. They had no respect for the precept of His Holiness, nor did they fear the censures made against those who molest Religious. Yielding to that hostility they were compelled to flee to Greece. There these servants of God withdrew to an island where they continued in harsh penance and lofty contemplation, as well as their preaching and the great miracles which our Lord God worked through them. They shone throughout the whole region. Their good fame spread everywhere so that everyone said, “These are true servants of God sent to us so that we might review our ways. From the many miracles they do and from their holy teaching it is quite obvious how much they please God.”

Since their adversaries could not tolerate how much honour was given to these servants of God, with extraordinary malice they wrote to the Bishops of those parts. They said these servants were schismatics, heretics and a wicked band, adhering to the sect of some ancient philosopher. They did not say Mass and didn’t eat meat. They added many other lies also. When those holy Pastors heard this, in their zeal they sent them secret observers to converse with them at length until they were sure about the life of these Friars. When those holy Bishops found that the accusations were totally false, they wanted the Friars to come out in public – to say their Masses and preach publicly, so that everyone would know everything alleged against them to be totally false.

(36) The enemy never sleeps but always seeks to stop anyone who wants to do good. He inflamed the hearts of their adversaries again. Having solicited a letter from Rome, they stirred up some wicked persons to afflict them atrociously under the pretext of heresy. They were assigned a secular Inquisitor, a bad man. In his greed he thought he would extract money from them. With torture and floggings he to tried to force them to admit that they were heretics. However, with miraculous patience, those servants of God endured all that evil. They remained steadfast and maintained their stand that they were Catholics and good sons of Holy Church. A diabolical man, the Inquisitor took one of their novices. Stripping him of the habit, he used many torments to force the novice to say that the poor fellows were heretics. Because those in a nearby Castello were acquainted with these Friars, he made them pay, and he extracted a good sum of money from them. He sent the novice away.

One day the Inquisitor was leading those poor Religious tied up, when he passed through a wood when a bright flash fell just ahead of his horse. The horse fell to the ground. The wretch was so terrified that he knelt down and promised God he’d not persecute them any more. However he did not keep the promise he made to God. He had some of them burned. Like gentle lambs they freely gave their bodies to death, accepting everything from the hand of God who wanted to crown them in this way and count them among the number of holy Martyrs. The anger of God could not tolerate him much longer after that. Coming down with a deadly illness he said, “Oh woe is me. I am damned because of the injuries I have given those servants of God. I have punished them so unjustly. I can return the money I have made them pay, but who can restore the reputation and the life of those servants of God.” He passed away to appear before the just court of God and everyone believed that he would go to hell. The novice who had defamed them restored their reputation in many places. He affirmed that they were all saints, and that the Inquisitor’s torture had made him lie.

(37) On their return to Italy the number of these great servants of God increased even more. They established many friaries, especially in the kingdom of Naples, in the Compagna of Rome and in Umbria and the Marches.

(38) In 1304, the second year of Clement V, it pleased the Lord God that Ubertino da Casale, Fra Angelo da Cingoli, Fra Adamo and Fra Cesario, along with many other holy and learned Friars at the time, longed for the observance of the Rule. They saw that in the body of the Order not only did the Friars not observe the Rule, but they atrociously persecuted those who did want to observe it. With great zeal and inflamed by the Holy Spirit, those servants of God proposed to His Holiness Clement V that reform of the Order was very necessary. Hence like a good shepherd His Holiness commanded them under holy obedience and under pain of excommunication to write down faithfully everything in the Rule that was not observed. They did this most faithfully. Then, since the Holy Father was presiding over the Council assembled at Avignon, His Holiness gathered many masters of theology, bishops and learned men and made a beautiful and detailed exposition on the Rule. He commanded and forbade from then on that anything be done contrary to his declaration and that it be observed. Fra Consalvo, a Spaniard, was a very zealous man. He began to visit the entire Order. He closed all the friaries that had abandoned poverty. He did away with wills and annual rents, habits of fine material and everything that went against holy poverty. The body of the Order was so deformed and debased that the holy General Ubertino and all the others had quite a lot to do.

(39) Our Lord God never fails to give his servants the opportunity to serve him faithfully. When some zealous friars in the Custody of Narbonne saw that Clement V’s declaration was no longer observed. They decided among themselves to expel all the lax friars from the friary at Narbonne, with the help of some seculars. They reformed the friaries at Narbonne and Béziers. In 1314 they went boldly from Narbonne to Avignon where His Holiness Pope John XXII resided. They were about sixty-four Friars and it was around the feast of Pentecost. They did not go to the house of the Friars but straight to the Palace of His Holiness. There they stayed the whole night outside the Palace door. They wouldn’t leave there until His Holiness had heard their reasons. In the morning one of them called Fra Bernardo Délicieux, a man of great maturity, learning and very holy life, eloquently and prudently proposed to His Holiness and the Cardinals their need for the help and support of His Holiness to observe the Rule they had promised God. They had suffered so much opposition from the adversaries that it was impossible for them observe the Rule without their support. For the sake of probity I shall remain silent about what happened to these poor servants of God. For where they thought they had the facility to observe the Rule and afflict themselves in abstinence, poverty and other things that are suffered for the sake of observing Rule, the Lord God did not want them cheated of their holy desire. For nearly all of them were so afflicted that they were regarded as holy Martyrs. A large number of them flew to heaven with the palm of martyrdom, and to tell the truth, they were punished just like the holy martyrs. So that everyone would know that these servants of God had a good spirit and that they were moved by a wholesome zeal, the Holy Spirit strengthened their hearts in such a way and made them constant in the truth that they endured everything with great joy and invincible patience.

(40) At that time the Holy See was at Avignon in France. Tirelessly the adversaries of the Friars of Pope Celestine, whose story we have told above, solicited against them in Rome very slanderous letters addressed to His Holiness. Because of this, even Blessed Fra Angelo da Cingoli was compelled to appear himself and put things in perspective with His Holiness. The Pope found himself with the Narbonne Friars before him in his court. These included Fra Ubertino, Fra Gaufredo and Fra Angelo da Cingoli who were there to answer the defamatory letter written against their Clareni Reform. The Pope asked Brother Angelo if he were a Friar Minor. He answered, “Yes.” The Pope responded, “Then why have you left them?” Brother Angelo answered, “Holy Father, I did not leave them. Rather, ask them why they have driven me out.” The Pope remained silent. Then after a little while he said, “I ask you if you have you ever heard confessions?” Brother Angelo answered, “Holy Father, I am not a priest, and one of the reasons I have not taken up Orders has been because I did not want to hear confessions. So I have not heard any confessions.”

Then the Pope had the letters of Pope Boniface and the Patriarch of Constantinople read. When the letters were read, the Pope said, “Frate Angelo, you are excommunicated.”

He replied, “Holy Father, I am not excommunicated or even excommunicable. I have always obeyed Pope Boniface, the Patriarch and all the prelates of Holy Church.” Whispers and commotion filled the entire assembly when he said that the letters had been solicited and intended for malicious purposes and how, using falsehood, the adversaries had sought the letters unjustly.

Then the Pope pressed Frate Angelo with words so that he could not finish what he wanted to say about the things they did to him. Then Frate Angelo spoke. “Holy Father, you have heard the lies of my adversaries and you cannot bear to hear the truth I am telling you.”

It was about the sixth hour and time for dinner. To hurry things along, the Pope ordered that Brother Angelo be detained and absolved provisionally until, when he was better informed of the truth, he could set him free.

Finally the Pope told him to return to his Order or enter another approved Order. Fra Angelo asked the Pope make provision for him and his Congregation so that he could observe the vow that he and all the others had made into the hands of Pope Celestine, and which Pope Celestine had confirmed. The Pope said, “We do not accept your reasons.” Fra Angelo answered, “We are an approved Order for two reasons.” He said that the first reason was because Pope Celestine had accepted Fra Angelo as his own Friar and by the Pope’s authority he had taken up the eremitical life, which is the perfection and as good as the goal of the coenobitic life. His Holiness commanded them, through Cardinal Napoleon, to use the habit of Saint Peter Celestine as Fra Angelo had already done. And so he made a promise to follow Saint Peter Celestine himself, which was to live and die in the most high poverty of Christ.

(41) Therefore with the holy Reform confirmed by three Supreme Pontiffs, that is, Pope Celestine, Pope Boniface and Pope John XXII, the holy man returned to Italy. He governed the Reform with great fervour for many years. The name of the Congregation came about because the first house he started was in the Marches near a river called the “Chiarino”. They were called ‘Chiarini Friars’. They started many houses in the Marches and many more in the Kingdom of Naples and throughout Umbria. There were some very holy men they lived in the perfect observance of the Rule for as long as this holy man lived. I remember copying thirty five letters he wrote to his friars in different places. They were lent to me by Fra Santi Corsico, the Guardian at Saint Anthony’s in Spoleto where the most important documents are kept and in which the lofty wisdom of this servant of God was apparent. They say God revealed to Fra Angelo the Greek language and that it was he who translated John Climacus from Greek to Latin.

(42) Due to his holiness, after his death Fra Angelo was considered Blessed. He was adorned with many miracles and, for as long as he governed, that holy Congregation went always from good to better. However after his death they were persecuted again. In the Kingdom of Naples all their houses were burned down. When the Counts of Anagni came to the Compagna of Rome, they confronted the persecutors and kept all the friaries they had from there up. One part of them were forced to submit to the Zoccolanti Fathers, and the other part remained under obedience to the bishops. Then came Pius V. A judicious and good Shepherd, he knew that their observance of the Rule had reached quite a low ebb. He wanted them to be completely incorporated into the Zoccolanti Fathers. And that is what happened.

(43) Since they are mutually opposed, there is obviously always a cruel battle between the spirit and the flesh. Thus within the holy Order of the Seraphic Francis there has always been a civil war between the lax, carnal and fleshly Friars and the spiritual Friars. This was because the zealous and good Friars always desired the perfect observance of the Rule. The lax Friars, wrapped in themselves, led a life that was sensual and more comfortable for the flesh. And just as air enclosed in the bowels of the earth rarefies with time under the influence of the planets, and because nature doesn’t tolerate that imbalance, the day comes when the earth breaks and shatters and with a tremendous clamour the element of air returns to its balance. In the very same way the spirit of holy men cannot bear to be enclosed amid the tangles of sensuality. It seeks to free itself with a great roar. It fears no effort nor any kind of suffering in order to obey God and conscience.

(44) This is just what happened to the holy man Fra Gentile da Spoleto. Because of his holiness and good repute he had many friends at the court of Clement VI. When he saw that the Rule was not being observed in the body of the Order, inspired by God and with the help of his important friends, he procured a Bull for himself and for many other zealous Friars in the Province of Saint Francis. The Bull allowed him to withdraw with his companions to the true observance of the Rule. This was in 1352. They petitioned the Holy Father for and obtained permission to withdraw to four friaries, that is, the friary in Monteluco di Spoleto, the friary of the Carcere in Assisi, the friary in Giano and the Hermitage at Cesi. He could have twelve friars in each friary. They adopted a humble and strict habit with the pointed cowl and lived in extraordinary observance. On hearing of the of these friars, zealous friars throughout the Order were overjoyed. Those who wanted to withdraw in order to live strictly hoped that this Reform would go ahead in all the Provinces. Had the Reform endured, it would have filled quickly with many holy and venerable Fathers. For even though the Order was quite lax, there were at that time many holy and zealous Friars in all the Provinces who longed for that Reform. It would have expanded quickly.

(45) When the General at the time learned of this and he worried about what would happen to them. He was concerned that the Order would be stripped of all the good Friars and result in some split. Moved by a zeal, which was hardly a good one, he consulted with the Fathers and decided to have the (reformed) Friars appear before His Holiness in order to confound them with debates and subtle arguments. However, the General later changed his mind when he thought that there might be some commotion. He knew however that Fra Gentile and his companions had given accommodation to two religious infected with heresy. This was enough to ruin them even though the poor fellows had welcomed two out of charity and had tried as much as they could to lift from them their heretical view. When these remained obstinate the Friars sent them away. The Holy See was in Avignon then, and to please the General, a Cardinal who resided as Commissary of His Holiness, had Fra Gentile and some of his companions imprisoned at Orvieto. They suffered many tribulations and their Bull which had given them amply faculty to receive any kind of Friars, as well as seculars, was completely suspended. Thus poor Reform finished there amid so many afflictions.

(46) It would take too long to write about all the times when saintly men attempted Reform in the holy Franciscan Order. Therefore the Capuchins have not been the first to do so, but could be the last. I heard many, many times from holy and judicious Friars at the beginning of our Congregation, that according to the prophecies, this is the last Reform. It will continue in this way even to the universal reform of Holy Church. Then, through the many tribulations suffered by many holy men of refined spirit, our Lord God will then exalt them in their preaching. He will make them illustrious with many miracles for the benefit of his catholic Church. The Church will then be completely purified. Very few, however, will remain under the fiery blows of the infernal enemy, but those few by the grace of God and for the benefit of his Church. Then the holy Order will be reduced and limited to just a few good men, as our Father Saint Francis desired, in keeping with what Jesus Christ had revealed to him.

(47) Therefore the Reform of the Capuchins was good, made by God in his mercy and not by men. For this reason our first Fathers answered those who said the Reform was not necessary, as well as all their other opinions. They said, “We are sure the Reform is from God because it conforms with the prophecies of many holy men. Furthermore it has been revealed by the Lord how to reform ourselves and live according to the Rule we have promised and according to the will of God. But since all the works of God are good, and this is his work, therefore it is good. To live in the observance of the Rule is necessary for our salvation. We could not live in the observance of the Rule if we had not made the Reform. Therefore the Reform is good and necessary.”

This is what has always moved many holy men in the Order. Apart from any other concern, they began so many Reforms so as not to risk condemnation by living as transgressors of their Rule. This alone is sufficient to reform ourselves and live in the grace of God. However, when Orders slacken to the point where the Rule can no longer be observed, who would doubt that everyone is obliged in his own regard to provide for his salvation. All the more so when there are holier men and who proceed juridically and appeal to the highest court, that is, His Holiness, when everyone in the Order all cannot agree about the observance of the Rule. To reform with the permission and will of His Holiness is always good. Our early Fathers acted this way and have done so in all the Reforms ever made in our Order as is apparent in the very noble Reform of the Zoccolanti Fathers, as will be described below.