What Padre Fra Ludovico did when he got the Brief

167 The arrival of Paul of Chioggia 168 The first Capuchins in the palace of the Duke 169 Their preaching in the diocese of Camerino 170 The Reform is generally well regarded by everyone 171 Differing opinions inside the Order 172 Opposition to the Reform from members of the Order 173 Judgement on the conduct of Giovanni da Fano

(167) It pleased the Lord God to incline the Supreme Pontiff to give his consent and kindly allow the poor Capuchin Reform to begin. In granting them the Brief they could start houses and receive Friars. Having received all that he desired Fra Ludovico joyfully returned to Camerino. After he stayed there for some time Padre Fra Matteo, the Lord God added a fifth Friar to his poor little family. This was the Venerable Padre Fra Paolo da Chioggia. He had spoken first with Fra Matteo and then he too had gone to Rome, as is told in his biography. When Fra Ludovico saw him he received him with great joy. In this way the Lord continued to give growth to the Reform.

(168) The poor fellows still didn’t have a friary where they could come together and say the Office, their Masses and their other observances. Fra Ludovico was thinking about this and conferred with the Duke about whether it would be better to start a little friary in Camerino and if His Lordship would set up the place . The Duke answered, “Father, it seems to me that you may be in too much of a hurry. Until the Congregation has grown a little more and we have obtained a Bull from His Holiness, do not start another friary. For alhough you have obtained the Brief remember that your adversaries will not sleep. A man can get as many Briefs he wants at any time and they can be easily revoked. A Bull, however, can’t be revoked so easily.” Fra Ludovico replied, “Where would Your Lordship want the poor Friars to stay in this situation?” The Duke said, “You have no safer place than my palace. I will give you an apartment and there you can do your devotions. For me and my consort it will be the greatest pleasure to be able to further enjoy your Masses and your presence.”

This advice pleased Padre Fra Ludovico and His Lordship gave them many large rooms with a chapel where they could celebrate their Masses. He provided for all their needs. However Fra Ludovico did not want to accept anything other from the Duke than a certain ordinary alms. For the rest he went begging through the city according to their profession. The whole city was so edified by their holy conversation that everyone regarded them as saints. This was especially so since they knew the holy man Fra Matteo from the time during they plague when they all, both rich and poor, had received so much from him.

(169) Fra Ludovico saw he already had three preachers in the little family of Jesus Christ. Fra Matteo da San Leo and Fra Paolo da Chioggia were both learned and well instructed in the scholastic doctrine. Then Brother Matteo da Bascio, even if he didn’t have a lot of learning, was adorned every virtue and the best of example. With fiery words he inflamed in the love of God whoever heard him. He decided to send them out to preach. He received permission from the Bishop to preach in his diocese. They divided into three. Fra Matteo da Bascio went off towards Montefeltro, Fra Matteo da San Leo preached in the villas and castles of Camerino and wherever he was invited. Fra Paolo mostly preached in the city. The people had no longer seen this kind of Religious – Religious who marvellously put the world beneath their feet. With their poverty they despised every worldly desire. They went about dressed in a habit that could be called more of a hairshirt rather than a habit. They went barefoot summer and winter with a crucifix in their hand. The practice of holding the crucifix in the pulpit began with these servants of God. It was not customary before then. They received nothing from seculars except a little bread which they would eat alongside some spring or after withdrawing to a hidden place. They preached with such fervour that everyone wanted to hear them. Because of this their fame was rumoured throughout Christendom. Letters were written about them: that in the Marches of Ancona some Religious had appeared who preached with such fervour that they seemed to have come from heaven. They preached the Sacred Scripture, principally the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, while exhorting people to observe the commandments of God. Because there was a very severe famine at the time, those servants of God went around procuring grain, beans, bread and other things to eat from the rich and wealthy, which they dispensed to the extremely poor who were in the greatest need. Our Lord God was so pleased with these servants of his that it seemed that in them the apostolic life had been renewed, relying totally on the providence of God. By day they worked at preaching and helping the poor. Often at night they withdrew as best they could to some abandoned church, hospice or confraternity and spent most of the night in saying the Office, the Discipline and other devotions. Seculars often heard them weeping so intensely over the passion of the Lord as if they had been present themselves. They organised many sodalities and exhorted the people to frequent the Holy Sacraments.

(170) The reputation of these holy preachers was of no small asset to the poor Congregation because news of the results that the Lord God was working through the poor Capuchins reached the ears of His Holiness. He was very happy for having given them the Brief. He was even disposed to give them a Bull especially since he had some noblemen from Camerino in his Court. They often spoke to him so affectionately about the Capuchins that they depicted them as saints. On the other hand his niece often wrote to him. She did this to try and place them in his good graces. Many personages took up the protection of the poor Congregation which helped us very much at the time. The friars no longer went about as fugitives in fear of being captured. They worked everywhere and everyone held them in the highest regard.

(171) On the other hand when the Venerable Padre Fra Giovanni da Fano and all the adversaries came to know about the sudden departure of Fra Ludovico and how he had already obtained the Brief a great confusion rose among them. For some of them were very glad, those who desired the Reform. The others who didn’t want it were very upset. Consequently a great unpleasantness arose among them. It was like the time when Our Lord gave sight to the man born blind. Some wicked Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God because he does not observe the Sabbath.’ Others said “If he is not from God how could he perform these miracles?” So among these friars some said, “This cannot be a good thing. We know who their leaders are. They are simple persons with little expertise in these matters. It will soon fail.’ On the other hand, those who desired the Reform said, “No, you are very much deceived. All the Orders, even the Church herself, began with such poor instruments. Who were the Apostles? Who was our Father Saint Francis? Wasn’t our Reform done by a lay friar, Brother Paoluccio of Foligno? For us instead this confirms that it is a work of God. Because it has such poor instruments can’t you see that the Lord God wants the honour, that it be recognised as coming from him and not men? What if they had been men of letters: it would have been regarded as coming from them and their prudence and not from God.” “I am very happy about this,” many said, “and once they are a bit more established I won’t be the last to take up that habit.”

(172) Not many years earlier the Order began to boil with a great desire to do some Reform. For at that time there were excellent, highly educated men gifted with sound refinement and greatly favoured by the potentates of Christendom. Although they struggled to advance the Reform they could never accomplish it because of many difficulties. For there was a great multitude of lax Friars too who said, ‘We are quite OK and we are making things too complicated.’ This came about because they liked easy living too much as well as all the comforts that the flesh demands. This was the reason that those Venerable Fathers were so happy: to see that which so many zealous Fathers couldn’t achieve was achieved by the power of God in the lowliest and simplest little Brothers in the Order at the time. With so many favours those Venerable Fathers were unable to do a Reform. It was done by those simple ones. Although the multitude of lax Friars would prevail over and impugn that Reform done by a multitude of zealous Fathers, it was unable to remove or prevail against those four barefoot friars who had no learning or eloquence. Therefore those judicious Fathers recognised there the arm of God and were very happy. When they learned that Fra Ludovico had obtained the Brief, given the great favour the Order had at the time throughout all the world, it was as if they could not believe that His Holiness would have granted that Brief. And as much as the General tried through his Court Procurator to revoke the Brief, working through their contacts, they were nonetheless unable to revoke it. Then many of them were enthused and went to find Fra Ludovico . They wanted to see and read the Brief. When they were sure many of them took up the Capuchin habit.

The Brief was addressed to Fra Ludovico as leader of the undertaking, to Fra Matteo and to Fra Raffaekki, Fra Ludovico’s sibling.

(173) This news reached the ears of that very zealous Father, Fra Giovanni da Fano, Minister of the Province of the Marches. The departure of those Fathers from his Province of the Marches saddened him. He decided to dedicate all his effort and use all his wit and diligence to repair the calamity and completely uproot this sect, as he called it. Let no one err by judging this Venerable Father – he was one of the Venerable Fathers in the Order in his time. He did all this because of the zeal of the zeal this good Father had to preserve the Order. This was something incredible. He firmly believed that Brother Padre Ludovico’s break away would cause many problems and would denigrate the good reputation the Order had among seculars when they discovered that it was not possible to live in good conscience in the Order without doing another Reform. Furthermore he didn’t think that either Fra Ludovico or Fra Matteo were suitable for such a task. He knew Fra Matteo to be a great servant of God who was passionate about the observance of the Rule, but he thought him to be too scrupulous. He considered Fra Ludovico, though wise and astute, to be neither zealous nor spiritual. Nor could he imagine him to be moved by zeal for the Rule. Among the friars he was considered haughty, one moved more by indignation than anything else especially to vanquish the one who had once held him in prison. Nor would he have released him since he felt sure that Fra Ludovico would do what he did do to leave the Order. However he feared Brother Ludovico’s uncle who more than once sent to say to him, “If you do not leave my Fra Ludovico alone, I will do to you something not very nice.” He was just the man to do that and worse because he was quite terrible, as we said above.

This good Father was not aware that this was a work of God who uses all the poor instruments he likes. For as first cause he can do everything he wants without secondary causes. The secondary causes though cannot do anything without the first cause. That divine and almighty cause can impede the secondary causes that do not produce their effects without something being created. It is enough that the first cause not concur with the secondary causes. And if as the first cause His Majesty does not concur with the secondary causes, the secondary causes cannot produce their effects. This His Majesty showed in this zealous Friar. As much as he tried to impede the Reform his wishes had no effect because the Lord God did not concur as He did with those Friars in impeding the first Reform for a long time because he wanted this reform and not the first one. This was so that everyone would know that this was a work of God just as is seen in the early Church and in all the religious Orders.