Augustine Fangi

Infobox Saint
name=Augustine Fangi
birth_date=1430
death_date=22 July 1493
feast_day=22 Julycite web | last =Rabenstein | first =Katherine | title =Blessed Augustine Fangi, OP (AC) | work =Saints O' the Day for July 22 | date =July 1998 | url =http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0722.htm | accessdate =2007-04-12] or 24 Julycite web | title =Augustine of Biella | publisher =Mary, Star of the Sea Pro-Chapter, of the Fraternities of St. Dominic | url =http://www.3optidewater.org/public/saints.php | accessdate =2007-04-12]
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church


imagesize=200px
caption=Blessed Augustine Fangi of Biella
birth_place=Biella, Italy
death_place=Venice, Italy
titles=Confessor
beatified_date=1878
beatified_place=
beatified_by=Pope Leo XIIIRef_label|A|a|none
canonized_date=
canonized_place=
canonized_by=
attributes=
patronage=
major_shrine=
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Blessed Augustine Fangi (also, Augustine of Biella, or, in Italian, Beato Agostino Fangi) (1430 – 22 July 1493)Ref_label|B|b|none was an Italian Dominican friar and priest. He was commonly regarded in his time as a miracle worker, and as prior of several houses, was concerned with restoring and maintaining regular observance of the Rule of Saint Dominic.

Life

The life of Augustine Fangi was marked by piety and regularity, rather than by extremely unusual events or spiritual ambitiousness.Ref_label|C|c|none Fangi was born in Biella, Italy to a wealthy family who had planned a secular career for him. Instead, young Augustine was impressed at the newly-arrived Dominicans in Biella and joined the convent there.

One remarkable characteristic noted of Blessed Augustine was his and ability to concentrate intensely on spiritual matters. One incident recorded involves a surgical operation that he was required to undergo, without anesthetic (as such conveniences did not exist in the 15th century). He did so without crying out at all. Afterwards, he simply stated that his mind was so intensely focused on something else that he hardly noticed what was being done.

In 1464, Augustine was made prior of the convent at Soncino. He is said to have performed several miracles there. One involved a deformed child who had died without baptism yet was restored to life by Augustine's prayer long enough to be baptized. Another miracle involved a boy who was crying bitterly because he had broken a jug of wine. Augustine gathered up the shards and put them back together again. The account continues to state that with a prayer, he refilled the jug, and handed it back to the startled child.

The last ten years of Augustine's life were spent in Venice, where he died on the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene.

Veneration

Augustine Fangi was buried in a damp place. In the 1530s, workmen doing repairs on the church where he was interred found his coffin floating in water which had seeped into the burial chamber. However, when opened, Augustine's body and clothing were reportedly found to be incorrupt. This did much to increase devotion to his cause for canonization. Even so, by the time he was beatified, three centuries had passed, and he had been forgotten by everyone except the residents of Biella.

In 1872, Augustine's "cultus" was confirmed, and in 1878 he was beatified.cite web | last = Jones | first = Terry | title = Augustine Fangi | work = Patron Saints Index | url=http://www.catholic-forum.com/SAINTS/sainta0a.htm | accessdate = 2007-04-12]

Notes

1. Note_label|A|a|none Unfortunately, this is speculation, as in the year 1878, there were two popes, Pope Pius IX, who died in February, and Pope Leo XIII, who was elected pope in early March of that year. It is most likely that Blessed Augustine was beatified by Leo XIII. At least one source states that we was beatified in 1872 by Pope Pius IX,cite web | title =Blessed Augustine Fangi of Biella, C.O.P. | publisher =Willing Shepherds of Jesus Christ Chapter of the Third Order of Saint Dominic | url =http://willingshepherds.org/Dominican%20Saints%20May.html | accessdate =2007-04-12] but apparently this refers to the confirmation of his "cultus".
2. Note_label|B|b|noneCuriously, Catholic Encyclopedia's article on Dies Irae cites "Agostino Biella, an Augustinian (d. 1491)" as a possible author of that requiem sequence. Any relation to Augustine of Biella is unknown.
3. Note_label|C|c|none This is an interesting comment by the source (Rabenstein), given that both the Patron Saints Index (Jones) and the source itself include a list of outstanding miracles.

References

External links

*
* [http://www.santiebeati.it/Detailed/90788.html Beato Agostino da Biella]
* PDFlink| [http://www.villaschiari.it/insegnamenti/06_188.pdf Beato Agostino da Biella (1430-1493)] |16.0 KiB
* [http://adam.katolsk.no/biografi/abiella.htm Den salige Augustin Fangi av Biella]