How Fra Matteo was imprisoned by the Minister of the Marches, Brother John of Fano

105 The need for tribulations 106 Fra Matteo is imprisoned 107 He is freed thanks to the intervention of the Duchess 108 Matteo’s conversation with the Duchess 109 He tells her all the events in his transformation 110 Caterina Cibo, supporter of the Reform

(105) Just as the fine quality and value of gold cannot be known unless it is tested with fire and the touchstone, one cannot ascertain if deeds are pleasing to God and from an impulse of the Holy Spirit unless they are tested with the fire of the persecutions and the tribulations of this world. This is apparent with our Seraphic Father Saint Francis. Although God called him to do what he did to begin and lay a perfect foundation for this Holy Order, he was never completely sure unless he first passed through many difficulties. This is obvious in what he received from his father and how much he suffered by wanting to lead such an austere and poor life. He always went about inadequately dressed, content with a small amount of bread and water as his delicacies. I will remain silent about how much he suffered from wicked spirits. So then, in the same way, this servant of God could not be refined in God’s service in holy contemplation unless he first passed through many tribulations.

(106) After spending some months in a very meagre life in Montefeltro, as we have said, he remembered that His Holiness had required of him to attend the Chapter of the Zoccolanti Fathers. As a sign of obedience he was to present himself to the Minister when the Chapter met. Because he was God fearing he did not want to fail to fulfil the commands of His Holiness. So when he heard the Chapter of the Marches had assembled at the beginning of the month of April in the friary at Matélica, he left Montefeltro and went in person to that Chapter. There he presented himself to the very Venerable Padre Frate Giovanni da Fano, Provincial Minister of the Marches at that time. That good Father thought Fra Matteo had been wrong to leave the Order and this must be the beginning of some sect that would give a great deal of trouble to the whole Order. He didn’t think that what had happened was a work of God or that Fra Matteo was like someone who longs for something for such a long time that when the opportunity comes he does it quickly and gleefully. He had wanted to get his hands on Fra Matteo for a long time. At last he thought he had caught his quarry. According to the will of His Holiness, he should have blessed Fra Matteo. Instead, in agreement with some other lax Friars, he quickly had him taken and put in prison. The lax friars insulted him in various ways, but the humble Fra Matteo desired nothing more than to suffer. Among them he was like a gentle lamb and made no excuses for himself.

After Fra Giovanni had detained him for some days, he thought the friary at Matélica was unsuitable for the task since it didn’t have the kind of jail he wanted. He called together a number of like minded friars whom he knew held the same opinion. He had them accompany Fra Matteo to Forano where they had a very remote friary. There he had them put Fra Matteo in a very sturdy jail. He kept him there from the beginning of April until the end of July and ordered Fra Matteo to do penance by taking the discipline and fasting on bread and water. The servant of God was rather happy in the prison. They thought they were making him suffer but it worked out to the contrary. When the Congregation had grown a little, many times he told those close to him how that jail served him as a cell for solitude. The bread and water and the discipline disposed him to contemplation. He said that never in his life before had he felt such delight from God as in that jail. He would have wanted it for the rest of his life. His soul soared so highly in holy contemplation that he could not remember much about anything else. He ate little and slept less but always remained with his mind transformed in God. The Friars who were fond of him and wanted the reform often went to him offered to free him if they knew that is what he wanted. The servant of God always said to leave it to the Minister to do so and not to worry. “Know brothers, “he said, “that I am so united to God that neither jail, the Minister or anyone else can separate me from Him. It is enough for me to know that when it is His will, God will not fail to find a way to free me. No one need to worry because the Minister was of such a mind because of his zeal.” However all the good friars were fond of Fra Matteo and they were quite distraught at seeing him suffer.

(107) The Lord God was pleased to free Fra Matteo, not for Fra Matteo’s sake but for the benefit of the Capuchin Congregation. God wanted to bring out this holy Reform from Fra Matteo’s example. So in the fraternity of the friary at Forano there was at the time a Friar who especially esteemed Fra Matteo. He knew that the Duchess of Camerino was devoted to Fra Matteo also. He thought this would be an opportune way to free Fra Matteo, even if the latter didn’t want to be freed and felt that the friar would not be doing the right thing in this. With much caution he informed the Duchess. Because he was afraid of being found out, he did not trust the mail. Instead, he pretended that he had some important things to do in Camerino. So he got permission from the Father Guardian to go there and attend to the necessary matters. When he arrived at the friary at Camerino he begged the Father Guardian to be able to speak with the Duchess. He said that relatives of his had some particular need. Therefore, when he entered the palace he insisted on speaking privately with the Duchess. Going to one side of the room he gave her a full account of her Fra Matteo: how he had obtained permission from His Holiness to live in the true observance of the Rule outside the Order; how he had adopted the habit that our Father Saint Francis wore; how he went about preaching as His Holiness had allowed him, and how at Chapter time he should present himself to the Minister as an act of obedience. He told her how in the friary at Matélica Fra Matteo presented himself to the Minister, who then had him imprisoned where he had already been four months now. He revealed to her the penances the Minister gave him, although imprecisely. He strongly commended Fra Matteo to her, saying, “Your Excellency should know this man is a servant of God, though I believe you already have an inkling of this.”

When Her Excellency heard this she flew into such a rage that she left the Friar and the conversation there and went immediately into another room and called her secretary. She wrote a angry and menacing letter to the Minister. She said that if he did not return Fra Matteo to her within a few days, she would let him see just how capable she was of informing His Holiness about the friars disregard for his commands. She immediately sent the letter to the Minister by courier. The Minister was terrified when he got it, since she threatened to indict him before His Holiness. He would have him punished like someone excommunicated and who transgresses the commands of His Holiness. Furthermore, if he did not return Fra Matteo to her she would have the friars banished from her realm.

The Minister straightaway ordered that Fra Matteo’s be released and taken to the Duchess. He wrote her a very humble letter and asked her forgiveness. He wanted to appease Her Ladyship as much as he could. Meanwhile the other Friar could no longer endure the fact that poor Fra Matteo was in prison. He returned at once to the friary. Then one night he broke into the jail and dragged out a reluctant Fra Matteo and sent him on his way. He did this in deference to the Lady Duchess and because he knew that the Minister would release him soon anyhow. When the Friars sent by the Minister arrived, they found Fra Matteo had already been freed. Even though they did not know where he was, they sent the Minister’s letter to the Duchess. The Guardian also wrote to say that Fra Matteo was no longer in prison and he did not know where he was. When she received the letters of the Minister and the Guardian the Lady Duchess wondered if, as the saying goes, they weren’t worth the paper they were written on. She was worried that they still held him in prison and wanted to hide the fact with the letters telling her they didn’t know where he was. She was beside herself even more because of this and immediately sent for the Guardian of the friary at Camerino. When he arrived she said to him, “Where is my Fra Matteo?” The Guardian answered her, “My Lady, I don’t know where he is.” Utterly disgusted, the Duchess said to him, “You know you have him in prison and don’t want this to be known. I promise you, if you do not present him to me at the end of three days I will expel you all immediately. I will not only throw you out of this friary but from my entire realm. You resent someone being better than you in doing good. You can’t stand that servant of God. Do what you must so that I have him here.”

(108) The terrified Guardian sent two Friars to the Minister who had a search done for Fra Matteo and very amiably indeed they brought him to the Duchess. When Her Ladyship saw him, she greeted him affectionately. With tears in her eyes said to him, “Poor fellow, how much you have suffered. I am sorry I did not know sooner. I have come to understood that they gave you many disciplines and mistreated you.” Then the servant of God, Fra Matteo, desired nothing else but to accompany the Lord Jesus Christ with the holy cross. He tried as much as he could to convince Her Excellency that the Friars had behaved well towards him. He said to her, “My Lady, they are acting with a good intention and they are good religious. Your Excellency, do not abandon your devotion to that holy Order. I have been treated as well as I wished.” So as not to lie, he wanted to sow in her mind the idea that the prison, the disciplines, and the fasts of bread and the water fasts he suffered when he was first apprehended – not to mention many other things – were all things he wished for because he desired nothing else than to suffer for the love of God. The more Fra Matteo excused those Religious, the more her devotion towards him increased. The Duchess said to him, “Nonetheless, I have learned that they have treated you very badly.” Fra Matteo answered, “Not everything should be believed my Lady. They are servants of God. True servants of God would not do such things.” The conversation continued. On the one hand he upheld their reputation, and on the other he didn’t lie, since anyone who would be a real servant of God would not speak ill of his brother.

(109) When the Duchess realised that she would get no other word from him on the matter she took him to another room. After having him sit down she wanted to be informed in detail about the modification of the habit. Fra Matteo answered all her questions, explaining everything very persuasively and in some detail. He showed her how that habit was the authentic habit of the Order and how Saint Francis and all the Order wore that habit for many years. When the Order grew lax the current manner of dress was adopted for the sake of greater physical comfort. He explained how for a long time he had begged God constantly and how God had revealed that habit to him. He also explained how he miraculously obtained permission from His Holiness. The Duchess was completely satisfied with this and understood Fra Matteo. If she had already loved him earlier, now she loved him even more. When Fra Matteo saw how she liked to understand things relating to the observance of the Rule he was completely open with her and revealed to her all his secrets: like how Saint Francis had often appeared to him. He told her how a new Reform was needed since no one in the body of the Order observed the Rule at all, even though there were holy men. He said how God had revealed to him briefly that that a Reform had to be made and that the novelty of the habit would the starting point.

(110) Because of these words the Lady Duchess was inflamed with an incredible commitment towards her servant Fra Matteo. She wanted the Reform to go ahead. His words so moved her heart that no mother loved her only child as tenderly as this Most Illustrious and holy woman loved the Capuchin Congregation from then on. Humanly speaking, as an instrument of God, she was the main reason that our Congregation went ahead. She was the niece of His Holiness. And in her train she had the whole illustrious Medici family that was always devoted to Saint Francis. From that time on she wanted her palace to be a refuge and shelter for Capuchins.

After dismissing Padre Matteo she at once wrote another letter to the Minister. She said to him, “You cannot bear someone advancing ahead of you in the service of God. You well know just how holy Padre Fra Matteo is. Even though you are his judge you know that you imprisoned him for no wrong-doing on his part, but because he wants to observe what he has promised God. Therefore you persecute him because of your own passions. I want to have you understand that if I hear again that either you or one of your Friars gives him further trouble, I will burn down all the Friaries you have in my realm and send you all away. And I will inform His Holiness about the little regard you have for his commands.”

This was the letter that put a check on the whole Order and guaranteed Fra Matteo that nothing would ever be said against him from that time forward.