How the first Bull was obtained.

213 Padre Ludovico seeks advice from the assembled friars on what to do 214 They are received by the Duchess of Camerino 215 The Bull Religionis zelus 216 The General of the Zoccolanti refuses to protect the Capuchins They pass to obedience of the Conventuals 217 Two authentic copies of the Bull 218 It is solemnly made public in Camerino 219 Fra Ludovico as the recognised head of the Reform 220 The benefits gained from the Reform

(213) When those servants of His had been prepared and purified in the desert of suffering and countless hardships, the Lord God was pleased to lead them into the promised land of peace and tranquillity. Since the wars and harsh famines had abated somewhat Fra Ludovico, with the great solicitude of a good shepherd, went with his brother Fra Raffaele to search the mountains and plains for the lost sheep whom Fra Giovanni da Fano and their other adversaries had scattered. When he found them he gathered them together and sought their counsel. For them to stay as they were without having any support from Holy Church was not good because this gave their adversaries a free hand to do them all kinds of harm. Fra Ludovico said, “And then many Friars zealous about the observance of the Rule have written to me. They would join but are held back in fear of the excommunications. We cannot consolidate our Congregation and take up some places by staying this way.” On hearing these words his other companions were very pleased. By common agreement they chose Padre Ludovico to take up this task and be leader and guide in this undertaking.

(214) One morning Fra Ludovico said the Mass of the Holy Spirit and everyone received Communion. Then with tears and long prayer they commended themselves to the Lord God to help them in such a difficult task. They decided they should all go to the mother of the poor Congregation, the Duchess of Camerino. She received them very kindly and gave them all a very good hearing. As he began to speak Fra Ludovico said to her, “You Ladyship it is the consensu and opinion of all these brothers of mine to beg you to exercise the usual charity and kindness that you have always shown us. You know how much we have suffered these past two years, especially these brothers of mine who are more dead than alive as a result of their great suffering. For a long time they have been fugitives in the mountains and no longer know the taste of food suitable for rational creatures. For a long time they have lived on herbs, fruit and water. Your Ladyship can see from their faces that they no longer have the faces of men but look more like exhumed corpses.” Lifting her eyes slightly, for a good while that devout Lady was mute with such heartfelt compunction, her eyes full of tears. Catching his breath somewhat Fra Ludovico continued to speak. “All this is happening to us because we do not have a Bull from His Holiness with which to defend ourselves. Therefore we all beg that you might use all your diligence and obtain for us a Bull since a Bull is more adequate and important than a Brief. We ask that it may annul and topple the one His Holiness granted to Padre Fra Giovanni, who believes he is doing the right thing and that they will carry out the Reform among themselves. What a Reform that has been with that Brief. Against the intention of His Holiness, they have imprisoned many of those poor Friars who had joined us. Nor have they observed anything they promised to His Holiness. When these things are reported to him they will not be too favourable towards us. His Holiness should believe us because they will never Reform or do anything good. Rather, they will do everything they can to stop ours.”

(215) The Lady Duchess understood these words and that getting a Bull was more than necessary to maintain and promote the growth of the Reform. Such a Bull would be their defence and bastion where they might guard and defend themselves from those found to be such bitter friends towards it. She ordered that a note be made of all they wanted from His Holiness because she would not fail to give them every support.

So Fra Ludovico went to Rome on the third of July 1528 while His Holiness was still in Viterbo, it being the fifth year of his Pontificate. This was because he had already left Orvieto where he had retreated because of the attack and sack of Rome. The Supreme Pontiff was returning to Rome but spent some days of recreation in Viterbo. In that city therefore His Holiness gave the first Bull to the Congregation of Capuchin Friars.

(216) Fra Ludovico received the Bull in this way. Since His Holiness did not want disunity to appear in the Order he wanted the Bull presented first to the General of the Zoccolanti Fathers. At that time it was the Spaniard called Scalzo because he had come from the Spanish Reform. The Supreme Pontiff later made him Cardinal under the title of the Holy Cross. Padre Ludovico presented himself to this Reverend Father at the order of His Holiness. On behalf of the Supreme Pontiff he asked him if he wanted to receive the Congregation so that it would depend on him under his obedience. However there was this condition that with Vicar General of the Capuchins being elected, as a sign of submission, the Vicar General should present himself to him or notify him so that the Vicar General should be confirmed by him. In the Bull His Holiness wanted that every time a Vicar General was canonically elected by the Capuchins that he (the General) would confirm it. If he is unwilling to make any confirmation it would be held that he would have nothing else to do with that Congregation.

When Scalzo heard the proposal he replied, “As His Holiness wants I am happy to accept you under my obedience and to give you even opportunity, , so that you may live in a reformed manner provided however that you remove that pointed cowl from your heads and that in your clothing you conform with the use in the Order. However, if you do not want to take off that scarecrow outfit and wear habits that conform with the Order I will not accept you. Nor would I regard you as Friars of Saint Francis by hermits and men who want to live in your own way.”

Padre Ludovico reported to His Holiness what the General had answered. So that they might not have any excuse and be unable to complain that the Reform was done without their knowing anything, the Supreme Pontiff sent him again this time to the Protector of the whole Order. He would ask him if he would wish to meet with the General and if they would satisfy themselves in the name of all the Order regarding what His Holiness wanted. The Protector was Cardinal della Valle. Fra Ludovico went to him and carried out the same deputation on the part of His Holiness. However, since he had already met with the General earlier he gave the same response that the General had given him.

Fra Ludovico returned to the Supreme Pontiff who was very displeased with these responses and he knew how much the General disliked the Congregation of Capuchins. Nonetheless it seemed wrong to him that the Reform should not be dependent on the Order in some way. So he said, “The Conventual Fathers have been around longer than the Zoccolanti Fathers even though the latter have the seals of the Order. Nonetheless, because of their antiquity it is more fitting that you depend on them rather than the Zoccolanti Fathers. We have wanted to give them the honour. They will not complain about us but about themselves. I want the Reform to go ahead in as much as We do not want to impede anyone who wants to do good. Therefore go to the Father General of the Conventuals and make him the same offer that you have made to the General of the Zoccolanti.”

So Padre Ludovico went to the Father General of the Conventuals. He made known to him what was the mind of His Holiness about the Congregation of Capuchins and that he was about to grant them a Bull. He told him how His Holiness wanted the Reform to depend upon the Order and how the Reverend Father General of the Zoccolanti did not want to accept them and that his part he was begged that he would have them under his tutelage. Hearing this the Most Revered Father General of the Conventuals embraced Fra Ludovico with great joy and said to him, “My reverend Father, the slightest hints of His Holiness are all precepts to me. It is not necessary that he should beg me about this. For me it is enough to know that it pleases him. For without this I have always regarded you as dear sons and beloved brothers and that we all fight under the standard of Father Saint Francis. Because I am certain that you desire nothing else than to live in the perfect observance of the Rule, I who am unworthily head in this holy Order am obliged by conscience to give you every support. I would very much fail my obligation if I did not embrace you and offer you every possible support in the future. Therefore go and report to His Holiness that to me it is very good thing that he give you the Bull containing every possible support and that I willing accept you.”

Returning to His Holiness he kindly requested of him the Bull according to the form of the minute which His Holiness had wanted to understand well and had considered many times. The then consulted with some Cardinals and other Prelates of Holy Church. He had the dependence on the Reverend Father General of the Conventuals added. In this way they were completely detached from the Zoccolanti Fathers.

(217) This was the good means and method to advance the poor Congregation for if there had been the slightest dependence on the Zoccolanti Fathers and if they had the slightest occasion to have it over us the Congregation would never have gone forward. Therefore everything that could vex the poor Congregation of Capuchins was provided for by the instinct of the Supreme Pontiff for the Holy Spirit. With this beautiful decree in the city of Viterbo the Lord God wanted that the first Bull in favour of the Congregation of the Friars Minor called Capuchins be obtained from the Supreme Pontiff on the 3rd of July 1528. Two authenticated summaries were also obtained.

As soon as Padre Ludovico received the Bull he returned to Rome in great fervour to give infinite thanks for the benefit received to the Lord our God in the church of the Prince of Apostles. He did this because His Majesty had deigned to incline the heart of the Supreme Pontiff in doing this good to the poor Congregation. Enlightened by God he knew clearly that the Congregation would advance for until that time he had always been doubtful about it. Spending some days there he went to visit all those personages who loved and favoured the holy Reform. With great joy he showed them the benefit received from God.

(218) Then with great haste he went back to Camerino where he had left his beloved companions. When he arrive he showed the great favour they had received from God through His Holiness and through the intercession and support of the Duchess of Camerino, Caterina Cibo. The poor fellows were waiting day after day. When they heard that their adversaries who attacked them so severely had been defeated, their joy was so great that they all went as one to the chapel singing Te Deum laudamus. Amazed at this new experience, the Lord Duke and his consort imagined what it might have been – that Padre Ludovico had returned from Rome with good news. He sent them a servant to say he wanted them in the salon. Kneeling in his presence all those poor fellows were weeping for joy and gave thanks to God and to the Duke and Duchess. They said to them, “We poor men acknowledge this benefit from God through the intercession of you both with His Holiness.” Fra Ludovico took the Bull from his tunic and handed it to the Lord Duke. However he gave it to the Lady Duchess. He wanted the Friars to recognise this benefit and favour as hers, being the niece of the Pope. She immediately gave the Bull to the Most Reverend Monsignor Bishop of Camerino and asked him to read it and then to have it made public. The Monsignor kindly fulfilled everything. Hence during the day, because there were more people, he had it made public to the sound of trumpets with solemnity in the square. It contained every possible favour for the augmentation of the holy Reform.

(219) With the Bull read and publicised Fra Ludovico took it in hand because he said the Bull was only for him and his brother, Brother Raphael. This was the reason that Fra Ludovico exercised the office of General for ten years. He did so without being elected by the Friars as Orders usually do during Chapters, but in the strength of the Bull. For His Holiness had made him head of the Reform and declared him the legitimate Prelate of our Congregation for the Congregation was small and they had not yet started friaries. It was also because the Duchess, by the will of the Friars, had informed His Holiness that there was no one more suitable for the task than Brother Padre Ludovico . He would help the Congregation with his greater zeal and would embrace every effort more readily for the sake of the Reform, exposing himself more often to danger for his life because there was no shortage of hardship in that time. Therefore the Supreme Pontiff gave them this suitable leader because he desired that the Reform make progress.

As for the two copies he wanted one to stay with the Duchess and the other to remain with Father Raphael.

His Holiness commanded that when the Congregation had grown to some suitable number Fra Ludovico should by all means convoke the General Chapter. Then according to the due ceremonies that the Order uses they should elect the Vicar General, Provincials, Custoses and Guardians, as the Rule requires.

(220) It was by the providence of God that His Holiness gave them that head because, humanly speaking, the Congregation would never have grown if God had not given them such robust instruments like the Lady Duchess. In that time she was very capable with His Holiness. She supported the Congregation not only for herself but she strove to attract of the main personages and Barons of Rome to devotion towards the Capuchins and especially because the majority of them continuously had the ear of His Holiness. They disposed him so much that notwithstanding the strong arm of the adversaries they nonetheless obtained from him all that they wanted. It was truly amazing to get that Bull in times when the Supreme Pontiff was amid so many problems and didn’t have many cardinals with whom to consult. One cannot but think it was the providence of God which numbers it among all the other miracles God did to found the poor Congregation and to give courage to those venerable Fathers suffered so much at first from many tribulations, imprisonment and persecutions. They were completely beaten. If our Lord God had not relieved their spirits to hope in the providence of His Majesty with this miracle, human frailty being what it is, they would have been completely at a loss and knocked down. As desperate men they would have been unable to continue the Reform. Completely dispirited and some here and there returned to the Order. Most of the Friars were more inflamed in the desire for the perfect observance of the Rule and were hunted into the harsh deserts to observe their profession there under the wings of the mercy of God. However they were all revived by that Bull and became more ardent in their desire to never want to abandon the observance of the Rule but, if necessary, to lay down their lives for it.

The Bull threatened excommunication to anyone who would have given any more trouble to the Capuchins. So the adversaries lost hope completely of ever being able to remove from the earth the memory of that habit of Saint Francis that had been lost for many years. For there was great disagreement about this because they would not have wanted the Friars of that Reform to wear that pointed cowl on their heads. Nonetheless it pleased the Lord God that it was brought to light and given to the whole world by the Head of the Holy Church just as it was taken from this world by Pope John XXII. Out of a sound respect and by the providence of God he deprived the Order of the habit of the Seraphic Father Saint Francis. He deprived the Order of such a rich treasure because it was unworthy in its laxity and scant observance of the Rule. To the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.