About the holy man Brother Jacob of Molfetta, priest and preacher

Brother Jacob was from the city in Puglia called Molfetta. He was born to noble parents. At an early age he worked at learning and became very learned in Logic and Philosophy. It pleased the Lord God to show him the fallacies of this world. At about the age of sixteen he decided to leave the world and joined the holy Franciscan Order. He worked at study and in a short time he became a great theologian and great canonist and was instructed in almost all the sciences.

When the Congregation of Capuchins emerged, he took the Capuchin habit in order to better observe his vows. In that habit he usually practised in the office of preacher. He never wanted to accept any kind of office as superior. He was not a very austere man because he was kind and had a feeble constitution. However in everything else he was very austere he was a zealous observer of the seraphic Rule. Usually he hardly ever ate more than once a day. He had from God a particular gift of being zealous about the things that pertain to the Catholic faith. He was an arch-enemy of heretics and hammer that always hammered them as much as he could. He was so zealous about the things of the church that many regarded him as scrupulous. He conversed little with anyone. However the best part of the time he occupied himself in holy meditations and the study of Sacred Scripture.

Not many miracles were seen in him, nor were the extreme way of life in clothing and other things that are usually associated with holy men. However his talent was in study and preaching. He preached in nearly all the major cities of Italy. Because he nearly always preached cases of conscience, Our Lord God bore the greatest fruit through his preaching.

He preached in Naples one forty-days with the greatest approval of the people. Seeing this great fruitfulness, the Viceroy and other Lords then sought him and he preached there for many months. It was a similar thing in Genoa. His preaching a forty-days there was so pleasing that he preached there for close to three years. He preached in Milan and Venice with great approval for many months. When the Lords of Ragusa heard of his fame, they arranged for him through His Holiness that he go to preach in their cities. He preached there for four or five years. During that time the Archbishop of that city died and by common consent they chose him for their Archbishop. However the holy man wanted to remain a minor, not a superior. He immediately left Ragusa. Our Fathers arranged that the election not be held and so he remained in peace over the matter.

He preached in Bologna with great approval and certain Religious opposed him and accused him in many articles. However he found all the authors of these articles and while he was preaching before a huge gathering of people he refuted the authors one by one. He would say, “I have said such and such because Saint Augustine says it. See, here it is,” and he showed the place. “If this is heresy, blame it on him, not on me.” He needed to have a great quantity of books in the pulpit. When he had finished showing them all to everyone, he made such a great rebuttal that it seemed as though the roof of the church would fall in. He called them ignorant and said they should go and study. The President of Romagna wanted those articles disputed and had them brought to the Fathers of Saint Dominic to study. The most learned of them got up and said, “This is a great man. Those who want to accuse him are crazy.” That was the end of that. Brother Jacob was highly honoured and preached in nearly all the cities of Lombardy.

After exercising this very noble office of preaching for many years, because of his old age his body became very weak. He returned to his Puglia and there he passed away to a better life. I do not know where his body was buried.

He was also famous in debate and according to what I have heard he won many debates. In his time Brother Jacob, the “Squinter of Puglia” was reputed as one of the best men at the time.

He wrote some small works. One was on the articles of faith in the form of a dialogue. It was very Catholic and very beautiful and subtle. He wrote another small book on the psalm, Lord, who shall dwell..etc. He composed a very beautiful little work on the divine precepts. I don’t know about the other works.

He was very fluent in Hebrew and Greek. Everyone everywhere regarded him as a holy man and above all a Catholic, fitting and very good Religious. To me these things seem quite sufficient miracles that demonstrate to us the holiness and goodness of this servant of God. As we hope may the Lord grant us that Brother Jacob pray for us in paradise where he reads openly in the divine essence that which he held though doubtless faith in this world, and does so much more infinitely.

To our Lord God be praise, honour and glory. Amen.