BL. AUGUSTINUS NOVELLUS, RELIGIOUS - 19 MAY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY

Saints celebrated on the 19th of May

BLESSED AUGUSTINUS NOVELLUS, RELIGIOUS

A page of one of Fortunatus Hueber's
Saints' books,
"Stammenbuch..." (1693)

Blessed Augustinus Novellus' name in the world had been Matteo de' Termini. This Prior General of the Augustinian Order of Hermits was descended from the noble family Thermes (Termini) of Sicily. 

At Bologna, where he had settled to study, he had obtained his doctorate in law and held the office of privy councilor and chief judge/chief minister (Præfectus Curiæ) at the court of King Manfred.

After Charles of Anjou's victory over Manfred, he fled to Sicily and entered the Order of Saint Augustine with the name of Augustinus Novellus, because, in his humility, he considered himself the holy father Augustine's mere newcomer.

Well versed in legal scholarship, he conducted the paperwork and the legal affairs of his convent. 

After having lived at the Rosia monastery in Sicily for some time, his order general Clement of Osimo sent him to Rome, where he was kindly received by Pope Nicholas IV and made penitentiarius of the papal court by him. After the death of the general in 1298, Augustinus was elected in his place; this choice was confirmed by Boniface VIII.

Meanwhile, Augustinus built the Hermitage of Saint Leonhard in the vicinity of Siena. Two years later, he withdrew into this lonely spot and lived in quiet seclusion until he died on May 19, 1309. Clement XIII confirmed his veneration in 1759. The Roman Martyrology for the Augustinian Order* lists his his festival on April 28.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 1, Augsburg, 1858, p. 355)

*A hagiography source used by the authors 

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of the blessed Augustinus may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.