Albert of Trapani

Infobox Saint
name= Saint Albert of Trapani
birth_date= ~1250
death_date= August 7, 1306
feast_day= August 7
venerated_in= Roman Catholic Church


imagesize= 250px
caption= Saint Albert (with lily) with the Virgin Mary and Saint Angelus (with knife), before 1431, by Filippo Lippi.
birth_place=
death_place=
titles=
beatified_date=
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canonized_date=May 31, 1476
canonized_place=
canonized_by=Pope Sixtus IV
attributes= lily, book, the Devil; depicted alongside Saint Angelus
patronage= Trapani; Carmelite Order; Carmelite schools
major_shrine=
suppressed_date=
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Saint Albert of Trapani (Albert of Sicily, Albert degli Abbati) (ca. 1250 - August 7, 1306) is a Sicilian saint. Born in Trapani, he entered the Carmelite monastery there at a very young age and was later transferred to the Carmelite house at Messina.

He worked as a mendicant preacher to the Sicilians.

The lifting of a siege at Messina is attributed to him. In 1301, the city was under siege and blockaded by Duke Robert of Calabria. Responding to please for succor, Albert celebrated Mass. As he finished, three ships loaded with grain ran the blockade. Saved from starvation, the city was saved as Robert lifted the siege.

Veneration

His cultus was confirmed in 1454 and he was canonized on May 31, 1476 by Pope Sixtus IV.

The Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin contains some of his relics. On his feast day (August 7), a relic of the saint is dipped into the water of St. Albert's Well and is said to grant healing of body and mind those who use the water. However, Albert's skull is contained in a silver statue crafted in the 18th century by the engraver Vincenzo Bonaiuto of Trapani for the saint's altar in the basilica of Trapani. [http://www.ocarm.org/alberto/iconografia_eng.htm]

He is the patron saint of Trapani.

External links

* [http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0807.htm#albe Saints of August 7: Albert of Trapani]
* [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainta29.htm Patron Saints: Albert of Sicily]
* [http://www.ocarm.org/eng/lnewseng.htm 7th Centenary of the Death of St. Albert of Trapani]
* [http://www.ocarm.org/alberto/iconografia_eng.htm Iconography of Albert of Trapani]