The Fourth General: Bernardine Occhino of Siena

13 He is elected Minster General twice His governance His fall

(13) The General was the wretched and disgraceful Brother Bernardine Occhino of Siena. He was elected at the General Chapter held in Florence on the feast of Pentecost on 24th May, 1539.

He governed our Congregation for three years to the great satisfaction of everyone, He almost always went on foot and visited the entire Congregation. He was marvellous in his preaching. However when the Chapter assembled in Naples on the feast of Pentecost the Friars did not know that he had already been corrupted and elected him again. However he resisted very much to the extent that it was a great effort to have him accept office. This was because he already felt contaminated. Nonetheless, forced by the Friars, he accepted and governed for two years, but in the way he did in his first triennium so that both from external signs and his words one recognised that he was already depraved. When he realised that he had been discovered, he gave himself in prey to Lucifer. Having become useless he turned his back on the Holy Church and joined the heretics.