About the holy man Brother Giles of Sant’Angelo in Vado, lay Friar

Brother Giles was from region called Sant’Angelo in Vado, situated in the dominion of the Duke of Urbino. He was born of humble parents an when the Reformed conventual Friars established a house in Sant’Angelo in Vado, the good youth saw the exemplary life of that holy servants of God and decided to abandon the world. He made known his good intention to one of those Fathers, which was to serve God in that Order. That Father reassured him and helped him with the Superiors. Because he knew how to read only a little, he was received as a lay Friar. When he saw himself clothed in the habit he decided to live an austere life. When those Fathers saw that he had a good constitution and that he was very faithful in his tasks, willing to serve and kind, they gave him to the venerable Father Hubert of Casale as his disciple. For there were seven founders of that Reform: Brother Francis of Montepulciano, Brother Julian of Salona, Brother Modestus of Piacenza, Brother Xavier of Val’ di Buona, Brother Thomas Schiavone, Brother Dominic of Udine and Brother Hubert of Casale. Together they began this holy Reform and almost all of them performed miracles both in life and in death. However when it happened that the Zoccolanti obtained the seals of the Order from His Holiness it caused that Reform to fail because the Conventual Fathers experienced great difficulties. Therefore those holy masters withdrew to further advance that Reform.

However, as it pleased the Lord, not long after, the Capuchin reform emerged and the majority of them came to the Congregation of Capuchins. They gave their houses at Giannazzano, Sant’Angelo in Vado and of Mary Magdalen near Montepulciano to the Capuchins. Almost all the Friars in those houses became Capuchins and Brother Giles was on of those who was in the house of Giannazzano. He asserted that when he was young and after the death of Brother Hubert, he was the disciple of Brother Ilmbrio (?) of Hungary, a man of great holiness and perfection. When he saw the ruin the ruin of that Reform, out of devotion for Saint Francis he began to serve in the Convento at Assisi. Those Fathers gave him the office of sacristan, which he did with great diligence. He liked things so neat and clean that not only swept the entire loser church once a week but also washed the entire paved area with water. When the Priests went there to celebrate Mass, when this servant of God was aware that they had dirt feet he would take them by the arm and lead them to the sacristy as if they were children. He was very large and quite gracious. He always went dressed with only one completely patched habit only as was the practice in that Reform. He never wanted anything of the Convento except a small amount of bread. Most of the cost for him and his companion, Brother Giles, was met devout persons. Because of the great devotion they bore towards him they gave him bread, fruit and other things. In that convent, as Brother Giles used to relate, this holy man saw marvellous things, for he slept very little and used to be in the Church at prayer two or three hours before Matins. One night when he got up he found the choir full of Friars who were singing Matins. Brother Ilmbrio was very comforted by this. He believed that they were Friars, no doubt and with great devotion he listen to Matins. After he had found them there many times he began to wonder why so many Friars rose before the others. Wanting to clarify the matter he asked the Custos whom the Friars were. The Custos answered, “Brother Ilmbrio I wonder whether too little sleep has effected your brain and put there such vanities. Amazed at this, the following night he found the same Friars there. Plucking up courage he went to the choir and asked who they were. Immediately there was silence and one of them said to him, “Brother Ilmbrio, do not be afraind. We are dead Friars. Because we have missed the Office many times and have been extremely negligent in giving God due praise, even though we went to confession at the time of our death, nonetheless because there was no time to do penance and make satisfaction for this. So the Lord God has committed us to this place as our purgatory. Until we have made up for the Office we didn’t say we will not be freed. We will be here until that day and then you will no longer hear us.” And that is how it was because when that day came Brother Ilmbrio no longer heard them.

One night it happened to him that while he was at prayer after Matins a naked Friar appeared to him, and he knew him. He had a great bundle of thorns on his shoulder. He pretended that he wanted to throw the thorns at Brother Ilmbrio with a pitchfork. He annoyed him like this for an hour. He thought that he was doing this for fun and said to him many times, “Brother, do not disturb my prayer because I will tell the Custos.” The fellow would go away some distance and then return. AS the since this servant of God could not longer endure this nuisance, he went very early in the morning to the Custos and told him that he should do something so that this fellow would not bother him any more. At this the Custos answered with tears that it was the fellow’s soul. “The poor fellow was killed last night.” Saddened by this , from then on when Brother Ilmbrio heard the fellow discussed, he used to weep and say, “The poor fellow. His appearing to me naked and with thorns was a bad sign that he was naked of all the holy virtues and dressed only with the thorns of his sins. May God forbid that he lost.”

Another time this servant of God was in front of the altar. With many tears he was commending himself to the Lord so that he might reveal to him where the body of Saint Francis was. For he had an incredible to see that holy body. He heard a clear voice that said to him, “O Brother Ilmbrio, why are you looking for me so? Know that I and there. Serve God faithfully and you will see me in paradise, etc.”

Therefore Brother Giles told of all these things he had heard from the mouth of Brother Ilmbrio himself, his master. When he joined the Capuchins he told these things to anyone who would listen and I was quite close to him when I was with in him in the same fraternity in the friary in Rome.

This servant of God exercised the greatest austerity that few have been able to imitate. For he never ate more than once a day, and for all the forty-days, Fridays and vigils of the entire year he fasted on bread and water. He always went barefoot and never wore sandals. He was happy with just one completely patched habit. He never wore a mantle or any other clothes. For about thirty years he collected alms in Rome with such exemplarity to the seculars that all of Rome regarded him as holy. The gentlemen and Prelates of Holy Church so loved him that it was a great effort for him to get away from them – so much did they love to hear him speak about the things of God! When the Hospital for the Incurable was established he stayed there about three years. He was the reason that Hospital got onto such a good footing because it had been almost abandoned.

He was very fervent in holy prayer for in winter he was always in the Church two hours before Matins and continued there until the first Mass had been said. He never wore the cowl on his head. It seemed as though he had no feeling. He was so faithful in the tasks enjoined on him that he did not omit anything that his Superiors enjoined on him. He rarely spoke except when it was necessary. When he did not have anything that had to be done anyone looking for him could find him in the Church.

Adorned with all these holy virtues and good ways, finally after having served God for about fifty years, the servant of God was in the friary of Saint Nicholas in Rome. After receiving all the most holy sacraments, that happy soul passed away to its Creator after a grave and brief illness. He was buried in that house.

He did many miracles in his life, but because at the time the Friars attended to mortification they avoided whatever could bring them honour. Therefore they did not keep a record of the miracles. Because I was not of that Province I was unable to know about them fully. Therefor I pass over them.

To the praise of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.