About the venerable Father John of Fano, priest and most excellent preacher

Brother John was from the town of Fano situated in the province of the Marches. He was born to noble and wealthy parents. At a young age he began his education and because the Lord God gifted him with a good intelligence he quickly gained a sound foundation in grammar. His parents nourished many refinements and wanted him to study civil law. They had great hopes for him since he was so fair in body and intelligence and he had a remarkable memory. However as it pleased the Lord God when he was about seventeen years old, touched by the Holy Spirit, he decided to leave the world and took the habit of the Seraphic Francis to serve God in his holy Order.

When the fine youth left home he went with great enthusiasm to find the Minister of the Zoccolanti Fathers who received him very kindly. He completed his novitiate honourably and with great exemplarity of life. When those Fathers saw his good intelligence, his good life and his zeal for the observance of the rule they decided to have him study. They hoped that he would become a very good preacher within a short time. Giving himself to the study of letters he became quite a theologian. In that habit he preached with great acceptance in all the principal cities of Italy. In particular he very fruitfully for two forty-days in the city of Venice.

Understanding good order those Fathers often elected him as Minister. In his day he was among the first Fathers of the Province of the Marches and of the whole Order. He was so zealous about his Order that when the Capuchin Congregation was emerging and he was Minister of the Marches no one persecuted the Capuchins as viciously as he did. He was motivated by zeal though without knowledge. He felt that the Capuchins were the cause of the ruin of his Order. Since he was the head he felt he had this task to persecute the Capuchins as destroyers of his Order and that they disturbed the peace. He did not realise that the Congregation was a work of God and that peace the Order enjoyed outside the observance of the Rule was not a good peace but a carnal one. However when it pleased the Lord God to enlighten him, he did as he later told anyone who wanted to listen: “I have been Saul. God granted me the grace so that in the future I may be Paul.” As he often told the Friars, since the Congregation of Capuchins began among simple, unlettered persons, on the other hand was opposed by an Order full of learned men. The Order held the world by the hair since it had the support of all the Christian princes of whom almost all went to confession to them. Held in such high regard throughout the world, nonetheless they made four barefoot stand firm. All the remedies of Briefs and excommunications that they obtained from His Holiness against them were worth nothing. Although he tried many times with an armed posse and the secular arm to capture them, the Lord God never gave them strength against them. Instead he freed them miraculously.

Moved by these examples, the venerable and judicious Father began to return to his heart and say to himself that which the Saviour of the world said to Saul: O Brother John, I worry that you may not stop kicking against the goad. You want to resist the providence of God in persecuting these poor fellows. You have given them such a bad name with your tongue and stopped so many Friars from observing their Rule because they are not there. It will take a great deal to be able to save you if you do not restore their reputation by taking up the same habit and observing what they observe.”

At that time he was in the friary at Cingoli with the venerable Father Eusebius of Ancona. They took counsel together about the salvation of their souls. Finally they decided to leave that Congregation and come away to the Capuchins. They left that house at Cingoli along with some other Friars and went to Rome to Father Louis whom he had persecuted so much before. He received them with great joy. Thus by the just judgement of God Brother John found himself taken and bound by the one whom he had once taken and bound and had put in prison. However this was different nevertheless because the Holy Spirit bound and imprisoned Brother John under the obedience of the Congregation – bonds that were full of love and joy. As soon as he was clothed with many tears he knelt and asked forgiveness of Father Louis and all his companions for all the many tribulations he had given them. He added that he had done this in ignorance, saying that it had been zeal on his part, though foolish and without knowledge. For all that he had done against him and the Congregation he was very sorry. With great bitterness he acknowledged his fault before God and all the Friars and asked pardon and penance for it. He added, “I have been Saul. Now I want to be Paul is support of the holy Reform.” He carried this out until his death for it was he who established the Province of Lombardy, as will be said in its proper place.

When Father Louis had invested him he sent him to the stay in the devout friary at Scandriglia for this was the first house that the Capuchins had taken up in the Province of Rome. Father James of Gubbio was Guardian in the friary at that time. While residing in that house the venerable Father John asked the grace of Father Louis to allow him to stay away in a little cell in an isolated wood. This was kindly granted him. He remained withdrawn there for many months and fasted continuously on bread and water. He said his Mass every morning and then withdrew to his little cell in the woods, exercising himself in holy contemplation. Within a short time he acquired the grace of perfect prayer. A short time later in the same little cell he composed a devout and holy little book divided into two volumes. In the first he dealt with the purgative life and in the second, the contemplative life. Before he became a Capuchin he had written a commentary on the Rule in the form of a dialogue between two interlocutors, Brother Rational and Brother Enthusiastic. In this he spoke great evil against the Congregation of Capuchins. Having come now to the Congregation, his conscience nagged at him and he felt that he could not be saved if he did not compose another book about the Rule, retracting all the evil he had said about the Capuchins in the first. Moved therefore by this urging, in the same house, he commented on the Rule again with great diligence and retracted all he had said against the Congregation. Hence moved and urged by the example of his coming and by what he said with voice and wrote with the pen, many good Friars came to become Capuchins. He also composed another very useful little book on holy poverty and another little book against the Lutherans.

He was so enthusiastic about the solitary life that is the Fathers had left him there, he would not have left until he died. This is what I heard from his own mouth. Because he once preached in the city of Siena and passing through Borgo Santo Sepolcro he came to our house at Monte Casale where I was part of the family of friars. The holy man Brother Vincent of Foiano asked if he would give a sermon. He kindly did this and burst forth with these words, “Happy are you, o blessed sons, to be in this holy place where our Seraphic Father once lived, in this solitude that is so suitable for the spirit! By the grace of God I was allowed to stay withdrawn for some months. However holy obedience then chased me out. Because for myself I would not have asked anything else from the Order than to apply myself to the opportunity to attend to weeping for my sins and to holy contemplation. Later I came to the fireplace and moved by a certain fondness when I saw that venerable old man who didn’t have s ingle back hair on his head or his beard. I said to him, “Father, it would be necessary to be able to make you young again and to reshoe you like the blacksmiths do.” With a completely joyful face he replied, “I would like to beat you fifty times.” I replied, “But wouldn’t it be good for us?” The holy old man replied, “I would not want to become young again because I care for my soul. I you knew the dangers and grave errors I have done in my youth you would not speak this way. I am really very happy to be old.”

Since he had been withdrawn some months in the friary of Scandriglia, Father Louis sent him to Lombardy, realising that he was a very suitable instrument for such an undertaking, in order to preach and establish some houses in those parts. The first city where he preached in the Capuchin habit was Verona. As soon as he entered the city, when the people saw this new kind of Religious, the artisans and children and other people gathered round them. With great scorn they laughed and mocked them. The children threw little stones, many of which hit them on the head. For when they saw him with nothing on his head, completely bald with age, they children delighted to see the little stones bouncing off his head. Such was the shouting of the children that most of the city gathered. Although many stones hit them on the head, they did them no harm nonetheless. Remembering the mocking our Lord Jesus Christ suffered out of love for us, the holy old man went on with a completely joyful face. Without ever showing the slightest impatience, he went to the Cathedral of that city, accompanied by the great crowd. Entering the church he threw himself down with great humility before the Blessed Sacrament. When the people in the crowd realised that they were kneeling with such devotion they all withdrew. They persevered in their prayer and commended themselves to God. They persevered there, hoping that the Lord God would provide fro them so that they might lodge somewhere and begin to preach. The divine Majesty immediately heard their prayers for as it pleased God Monsignore Tullio Crispolti of Rieti arrived in the church together with the Bishop’s vicar. He was staying with the Bishop, John Matthew. What I am telling here happened during the time of the Bishop’s Lord Vicar called Monsignor Philip Stridonio of Lignano. He was the Archpriest of that region and this Archpriest told all these things to Reverend Father Marius who was in Verona in 1569. He says he often spoke with that Lord Vicar who still exercised that office of the Vicariate. When these two gentlemen had entered the church and had seen the Capuchins, Monsignor Tullio who had known the Capuchins in Rome asked where they were from, what they were doing in those parts and where were they lodging. When they learned that they had only just arrived and had no lodgings, as soon as they allowed both to go wherever they wanted, they returned to the Bishop. Monsignor Tullio said to the Lord Vicar, “This is the office of the Bishop. According to the teaching of Saint Paul he should be the one to give hospitality to such kinds of people who serve God.” Once they had returned to the good Bishop they undertook for His Lordship to give the accommodation in his own house. The following day His Lordship wanted to speak with these two Fathers and in the discussion it came up that Father John was lettered. Likewise the Bishop learned that he was a preacher and so invited him to give some sermons. Father John willingly accepted, saying to the bishop that he had come to Verona for that.

After the first sermon, the Monsignor and all the people were so pleased that the church couldn’t contain the multitude for the second sermon. Because he stayed there for many days they were compelled to arrange a pulpit in the square. He preached there. The bishop came every time as did the lords and a countless number of people. The square was often full and this I heard from some persons where present there. The servant of God did not want to stay in the Episcopal house like a Monsignor but like a poor Friar Minor he went with his companions to a disused little Church and had a kind of room in the choir. He ate and slept there and celebrated Mass every morning in the Church.

He bore the greatest frit in that city. One morning in particular he invited the people for the following day saying that he wanted to talk about death. Such was the gathering of gentlemen and ladies was such who came into the square in their carriages, as well as the multitude of people, that the square was so full that if one threw a grain of millet it could not have fallen to the ground. When the holy old man was in the pulpit and saw that great devotion he became so fervent that it seemed as though a flame issued from his mouth. His face was so blushed that he appeared a very fine scarlet. His voice was so sonorous it was as if it came from the mouth of an ox. He began straight away to preach about death. While continuously referring to three things: frightening death, the vanity of our life and despising the world he preached very profoundly about despising the world that he terrified the entire multitude. They listened to him with such silence that it seemed as though there was no one else there but the preacher. Finally he pulled out a skull. He faced the people then he faced the skull. His preaching was so effective and so penetrated the hearts of the gentlemen and ladies that almost the entire city reformed from all the ostentation of the women and the young. Helped by the work of that holy Pastor this reform lasted for many years. And the despising that they first received changed into such glory that anyone who see and touch their habit regarded himself truly blessed.

The Bishop and the lords decided to given them a house in their city. With a very short time they had it made ready. This was the first place that the Capuchins established in Lombardy to the great joy of the whole city and some Friars moved in. After he had sown to good gospel seed for many, many days in Verona he went off to do the same in other cities of Lombardy and the Lord God worked marvels through his preaching everywhere. It seemed as though the ancient miracle was renewed which God did in his holy Apostles. For as the holy man established houses in all the provinces of Lombardy, Brother Louis sent there other preachers set that whole region agog through the novelty of their habit, their despising of the world and the spirit apparent in them, and because of their new way of preaching. A city called itself blessed if it could have a Capuchin preacher. Within a short time many young men joined and the Lord God greatly increased the Capuchin Congregation in those parts.

This servant of God was a very suitable instrument for preaching because he was a good theologian and imbued with all the sciences. However what amazed everyone was his beautiful way of speaking, his remarkable inventiveness, his effective delivery, his attitude towards things, his forceful arguments to persuade and dissuade, the vehemence of his reprimands, his embellishments against the vices, his ability to strike the heart and soul of sinners and make the virtues great and to inspire others to carry them out.

Hence Father Bernardine of Asti was discussing in my presence the fine intelligence of this holy man. He said, “Among all the preachers I have never seen such a beautiful grace of finding new arguments in a flash while preaching and such a fine skill in making people laugh and weep at the same time. And I,” said the good Father, “was present once when while he was preaching he said such joyful words and made all the people laugh. Their laughter had no sooner finished than on the contrary he said such words that he moved all the people to tears. I was aware that he did this to demonstrate that fine skill. Another time he was preaching on Good Friday and wanted to show the Crucifix. It was a very beautiful one though it had been broken. Having put back the head it didn’t stick properly so that when he removed the veil the head of the crucifix fell to the ground. This fall made all the people laugh. As soon as he saw this, Brother John broke forth, “O my people it is no mystery that our Lord does not want to see you.” With other suitable and improvised words he made it appear that the head hadn’t fallen by accident. Rather because of the many grave sins that the people had the Lord hid from them. His words were so effective that he moved all the people to weep very much.

Another time he was preaching some sermons in Borgo Santo Sepolcro. He was on a journey. I was present for the last sermon. In the middle of the sermon he suddenly rose up in spirit and blushed like flame of bright, shining fire. He turned to the three sides of the pulpit and cried out in a very strong voice, “Judgement! Judgement!” and he began to prophesy with that same fervour, threatening the city that if it did not review itself and make peace among themselves, “such and such will happen to you.” Not long after these prophecies were fulfilled. For one morning the factions rose up and about fourteen of the leading men of Borgo were killed. Then they continued to kill one another. When the people of Borgo came across Friars they said to them, “Father, do you think that Brother John has the spirit of prophecy, when every detail of what he told us has not failed, but has been fulfilled among us?”

He also preached in Siena to a large gathering of learned men. When the zealous servant of God heard that that preacher had uttered some heresies in the pulpit, he immediately sent for him give him fraternal correction. When he saw that he did not benefit but instead continued to go on sewing contaminating words stinking of Lutheranism, he began to strike down those false opinions with such great fervour and persuasive arguments that he moved the whole city and it was necessary that that preacher flee. For fear of being captured he had armed men of the same persuasion accompany him.

Once it happened while he was still in the zoccolanti habit he was preaching in the city of Brescia where he was well received. In the middle of his sermon two Capuchins entered Church to hear the sermon. Capuchins had never been seen in those parts because at that time there was no Capuchin house in all of Lombardy. When Brother John realised he stopped paused in his speaking. Then he started to say these words, “My people, when you see any of these hypocrites” – while he pointed to the Capuchins – “make the sign of the cross and cry, ‘Mercy!’ Because they are not men but demons from hell.” Having said that he unleashed his very powerful tongue and said as much evil as he could about those Friars and their Congregation. While he unloaded a sea of insults on them, the those poor fellows stayed kneeling in the middle of the Church where everyone saw them. When he had finished outraging them the preacher returned to his initial theme, those Friars stood up and with a happy face sat to one side. Staying there they listened to the rest of the sermon. This is amazing because he later became a Capuchin. Now when he had finished his preaching in Verona, which we have described above, he left for Brescia. When he arrived he came to the square where there were a lot of people, including a certain gentleman who was present at the time when he preached that sermon in the zoccolanti habit and rebuked the Capuchins. When that gentleman saw Brother John with the Capuchin habit he recognised it straight away. The gentleman was walking with others and stopped. Making the sign of the cross with a loud voice he name the three Divine Persons. Everyone around heard him and then he let out a cry as loud as he could, “Mercy!!” Because of this a crowd of people gathered round. Brother John remembered the instruction he had given in the pulpit that the people make the sign of the cross whenever they saw Capuchins. Stung at heart, without changing his expression and with much self-despising, he went straight away to that gentleman who was one of the key men of the city. With many tears he knelt before him and asked forgiveness. Then turning around he acknowledged his fault to all the people. The gentleman replied and said, “Father, I made the sign of the cross and cried ‘mercy’ in no way with the intention and purpose that you taught us. Rather I did it considering the great mercy that God has shown with you. For since you were such an enemy of these poor fellows and he has led you among them to do penance for it. For then Father you gave bad example to all the hearers while those poor fellows on the other hand gave good example. Now you will truly edify this entire city with such a beautiful and holy transformation to which God has led you four our good and your benefit. In saying these words the gentleman embraced him and kissed him on the forehead and wanted to take him to his home.

Then he did many sermons in that city that were very satisfactory and he informed everyone about the bad teaching he had given concerning the Capuchins., Just like Saint Peter as Saint Clement says who could not hold back his tears every time he remembered how he had denied our Lord, so this great servant of God did the same. Every time he remembered having persecuted the poor Congregation of Capuchins he could not hold back his tears. As he said himself in his exposition of our Rule he felt that he could not save himself if he did not restore the reputation of the Congregation. If he had tried so hard to annihilate it should he not strive with all diligence to advance it by the pen, preaching and the habit, by becoming a Capuchin himself.

Hence it was amazing to see that venerable old man go barefoot and against his skin only on a totally patched habit of coarse, russet cloth. He fasted almost continuously. He spoke little except about the things of God, the observance of the Rule or to give advice and wholesome instruction. He spent most of the night in the Church persevering in holy contemplation. Every morning he said his Mass. An idle word never came from his mouth. Whenever he came across any who knew him when he was a Zoccolante and who had heard him say things against the Capuchins or who knew that he had persecuted them, he threw himself to his knees. With tears he said to them while he knelt, “Forgive me because the infernal enemy was blinding me to persecute these servants of God.” In many places he did this with letters where he could not do it with his presence. When he was with the other venerable Fathers of the Congregation he always stayed with his head bowed in silence. Thinking to himself, he said the words of the Apostle Paul: I am not worthy to be called an Apostle because I have persecuted the Church of God. So when the other Fathers asked advice of this venerable Father, he answered with tears, “I am not worthy to give advice nor to have any seniority in this holy Congregation because like the most wretched of men I have persecuted it.” When he saw the number of Friars growing, he said with tears, “Thanks to Our Lord God the Seraphic Father Saint Francis is renewed in the world today. What have I so that I may deserve in my old age to find myself within the true observance of the Rule, numbered with these servants of God whom I persecuted so viciously? This has not happened to me except by the mercy of God and through the merits of Saint Francis.”

Although he would have been a Prelate in the Order of Zoccolanti and very lax in spending money, he had become so enthusiastic about most holy poverty. He especially abhorred spending money so that if some one spoke to him about some need, it seemed as though he trembled. This compelled him to compose such a strict little treatise on holy poverty.

When finally he was preaching in Siena he was elected Vicar of the Province of the Marches. He visited that Province with a very exemplary life. He bore great fruit in that visitation to his poor little Friars, for he gave sermons that fired the heart of all his hearers in the love of God and the true observance of the Rule. In his sermons he said, “My sons, the right desire and good will are not enough in order to persevere in the observance of the Rule. The support of God is necessary because the Rule is a state of great perfection in which our human is frailty is such that we cannot keep it without a special gift of God. Therefore assiduous holy prayer is necessary. It is the mother of all the graces we received from God. One cannot practise that fitting perfection is he does not keep his mind purified of every earthly affection. Therefore the Lord Our God has given us the Rule. I confess frankly that I never understood what the Rule of Saint Francis is except when I found myself in its true observance in this holy Congregation. Therefore these two things are necessary: the full observance of the Rule and the continuous practice of holy prayer. This moved me in Scandriglia to write that little treatise on the purgative life.” In this the servant of God strove very much in exhorting the Friars to holy prayer.

However when he reached the fullness of years the Lord God allowed that in his efforts he be overtaken by a quartan fever. Because of the effort of visiting the Friars and since he was old the fever tormented him very badly. As winter was coming and because he was ill he planned not to preach that forty-days. Leaving Monte Feltro and then from our house at Pietrarubbia he came to Sant’Angelo in Vado. He rested there some days and left for Fossombrone. It was necessary for him to pass through Casteldurante, the land of the Duke of Urbino situated in the region of Massa. When the people heard that he was not bound by promise to preach the forty-days anywhere, the consulted among themselves about asking him if he would preach to them in the coming forty-days. They went off together to him. After strongly expressing their desire to him they begged him to console them. However he pointed out to them the difficulty in being able to carry out such an office because of his sickness and rejected their request firmly. However the people answered on the contrary that since Casteldurante was a little place and friendly towards the Order that he consider not stopping there to preach in the usual way, but to stay in a house of his own in order to be comforted and recover. “Nor will we worry about preaching from a pulpit. Rather you can sit there in a chair on the feast days. When you feel up to it, give us a talk about our salvation and we promise that you will not lack anything necessary for your needs and we’ll provide for your sickness. You can count on staying with us in that informality and security that a Father has with his children. They knew what to do to make the good Father promise them and he went to Fossombrone. Seeing that this fever was still increasing he did all he could to make those people happy by providing another preacher. However since they had his promise he did not want to break his word, even though the Friars begged him not to go there. They feared something bad would happen to him. However the more the Friars begged those citizens to be calm and not make him go because he was gravely ill and would not have been able to preach, the more they were inflamed in the desire that he go. Straightaway they sent him representatives and an animal to ride. They pleaded with him not to break his promise to them. They added that they didn’t want any other preacher but him and that he be certain to come. If he was unable or did not want to preach he could stay with them because they would be content just to see him.

Hence the holy old man was compelled. When the forty-days arrived he began his sermons there, always preaching in the pulpit every day, except on the days of the fever. Because it was his usual way to exert himself very much in his sermons, one morning he became so heated in his sermon that he broke out into a great sweat. Taking himself from the pulpit in that sweat and going to his room he caught a chill and was overtaken by a grave condition of pain. Finding himself so infirm and work, his condition deteriorated so much that neither the doctors nor the medicines nor the remedies they gave him were of any value to him. In that infirmity he showed such joy and patience that he gave a marvellous proof of holiness to anyone who saw him. Neither the Friars nor the seculars failed to give him every possible remedy. However it pleased the Lord God to reward his servant for the many struggles he had endured in the Order and for all the good fruit he had produced by preaching, for when he came to the end of his life he took a crucifix that was there and with great fervour said these words, “My Lord Jesus Christ I give you countless thanks for the many benefits I have received from your Majesty. First of all because you have deigned to create me a rational creature, born of Christian parents and that I have always lived in the bosom of the Holy Roman Church. In the same way I thank you that in my youthful age you deigned to call me to your holy service. Although I may believe that Your Majesty has forgiven my error in persecuting this poor Congregation, nonetheless with all my heart I again ask forgiveness for all my other faults. And I thank you that you have deigned to enlighten and called me to he true observance of the Rule in which, thank to your mercy, I come to the end of my life.

After having received all the most holy sacraments from Holy Church, raising his eyes to heaven with a joyful face, with a good voice and quite fluently he began to say Te Deum laudamus. He added to the last verse In te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum and kissing the crucifix that blessed soul flew to its creator.

The whole region mourned the loss of such a man and he was buried there with great honour. When the citizens of Fano and his noble relatives heard, they sent representatives to Castledurante seeking with great insistence to have that holy body. However their every plan was in vain for the people of Cateldurante would have given them anything else rather than be deprived of such a gift that God had given them, even though they had been asked by their Lord, the Duke of Urbino.

The Lord God did not fail to demonstrate the goodness and holiness of the life of this holy man after his death. Through his holy merits he did many miracles as may be seen from the tablets attached to his tomb.

To the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, of his blessed Mother, and of our Father Saint Francis and of blessed John of Fano. Amen.