An answer to anyone who says that Frate Bernardino Ochino was the founder of the Capuchin Congregation

57 How Bernardino Ochino was in no way the founder of the Capuchins 58 The Capuchin Reform was sent by God 59 It is relaised “in the spirit of the Founder” 60 Conclusion

(57) The belief and allegation that he devised and founded the Capuchin Congregation has always been quite false. The Congregation began in 1525 under Clement VII. Frate Bernardino Ochino came to our Congregation from the Congregation of the Zoccolanti in 1533. By the time he entered, the Congregation already numbered more than three hundred Friars. He stayed with us a short time because he was not interested in building up the Congregation, but in acquiring fame and satisfying himself instead. So God did not allow him to last very long. He left us in about 1544. So he did not begin the Congregation. Instead he would have been the cause of the ultimate ruin of the Congregation. He was that wicked darnel sown by the infernal enemy upon the fertile field of the divine Francis.

No wonder then that anyone who was not or is not very happy with the Capuchin Congregation being held in high regard should sow this malicious teaching of lies by saying such things. It is also no wonder that this darnel should come to our Congregation to disturb it. For there has never been a Congregation, however small, in which the ancient serpent has not fathered some child. This is obvious in the College of Apostles, and among the seven deacons and other Congregations. Although Christ, the finest Teacher, would have looked after the little Apostolic flock well, he nonetheless allowed a Judas, a son of perdition. Similarly with all the other Congregations. Anyone who looks carefully can see that there have been others who have done little to be worthy sons of God.

(58) Those who say Saint Francis and all the Order never wore this form of the habit do not know what they are talking about. If they do know it, they pretend not to so that they can speak without inhibition, since they feel everything is in their favour. Beginning with Frate Gentile, whom we wrote about above, all reforms began to reform themselves first of all in their clothing: rough, strict and lowly habits with the pointed cowl. What the zealous Friars of Narbonne did is obvious from the Memoriale della Religione. The cowls they wore were longer than those the Community used. The Spanish Reform did the same thing, although they were later forced to round off the cowl. What will we say of the seven Masters who did the Reform of the Conventual Fathers? Among them was the blessed Francesco da Montepulciano, one of the principals of the Reform. They wore a habit similar to what the Capuchins wear now, with a long cowl and without a scapular. All this and more has confirmed and convinced us that God sent our Congregation for the reform of the Order of Saint Francis, because that habit had been lost for so many hundreds of years. In our day God has revealed that habit again and it has come to light for all the world at a time when perhaps no Friar in the Order, or at least very few, knew that Father Saint Francis had worn that habit. Nonetheless a simple, uneducated and insignificant Friar was able to know about the habit. This came to him not from learning or experience though, but by a revelation from God, and he wore the cowl. We are even more certain that this reform is from God because those who began it were simple men who, without learning or any other means, were able to withstand such a powerful onslaught from their adversaries. Even though the reform had countless opponents it prevailed by prayer. It never could have succeeded but by the power and grace of God. Therefore to say that Saint Francis never wore that cowl is futile, since in nearly all churches of the ancient world Father Saint Francis is depicted with a pointed cowl. This will be discussed in its own place later.

(59) Futhermore many said, “This Congregation cannot last because all the Reforms had some saint as head and founder at the beginning. However, this one hasn’t been founded by any saint.” This view forgets that worthy prophecy written in the De Conformitate and repeated in the Franceschina, which says that the reform will be made in the spirit of the Founder and be different from the beginning of the Order. For God gave the Order a holy head who was Saint Francis. However this reform will be given its head at the end. The prophecy does not say that the reform will be done by a holy man, but in the spirit of the Founder. Those who do the reform will be simple and uneducated men. No one will know who its Founder is. Therefore, you see, its Founder has been Jesus Christ, who is above all the saints of heaven and earth. The prophecy says ‘in the spirit of the Founder’ because it has taken up the habit and poverty that the Seraphic Father loved so much. Reform did this so well at the beginning that I dare say that no other Reform reached such heights of poverty as did the Capuchin Reform. When the Observant Reform began they got most of their friaries from the body of the Order. Sometimes they even accept entire Provinces with Friars and Friaries, reforming them therefore as best they could according to the manner of their Reform. The poor Capuchin Reform did not receive one square foot of floor space from the body of the Order. Rather they built from scratch all those poor little friaries they started, and most of them with their own labour. These places were so poor it was not possible to make them poorer. I was there. I have quite qualifed to speak about them, just so that it may not look as though I want to extol the Congregation too much by in speaking about what it suffered in the beginning. I could say a lot more. How much our poor Congregation suffered is barely believable. Since it was necessary to build all their houses new, especially at the height of the persecution, the poor Capuchins were just like the mighty Maccabeus and his companions who held a sword in one hand and built the sacred Temple with the other. And so with the Capuchins. Before they could build a little friary where they had taken up a place, they used to sleep in huts or caves – anywhere they could find shelter. On the other hand they were visited by some new evil every day from their adversaries who wanted to destroy them. They slept on the ground. They went about barefoot and poorly dressed and fasted almost continuously so that with bread and greens they barely satisfied their hunger. Such extreme suffering has never been seen to this day. So then the Reform deserved to be described as done according to the spirit of the Founder. Anyone who looked carefully would have seen such a similarity with the life of Father Saint Francis had with the first Fathers. Nor do I deny either that the one who introduced the Capuchin habit is a saint and that God made him illustrious with countless miracles.

Therefore our leader was Jesus Christ who inspired and openly revealed to blessed Fra Matteo da Bascio to take up that holy habit. And that is how it happened.

When, how and why the pointed cowl came to be lost will be described below.

(60) I have made this short discourse to answer anyone who says the contrary. I firmly believe that I have sufficiently replied to the many objections we mentioned above without blaming anyone. However I only want the reader to know that the Congregation of the Capuchins has taken its origins from the Holy Spirit and not from man. However by the grace of God our early Fathers gave this holy Reform such a beautiful, good and indeed the best foundation, while experiencing such strong opposition, even though they were not educated or suited for such an undertaking according to human wisdom. They always remained intrepid, winning glorious victory in every adversity against the infernal enemy. To the praise of God. Amen.