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Hermit of the Third Order of
St. Francis, date of birth
uncertain; died at Noto in
Sicily, 19 February, 1351.
He belonged to one of the
noblest families of
Piacenza, and having married
when he was quite young, led
a virtuous and God-fearing
life. On one occasion, when
he was engaged in his usual
pastime of hunting, he
ordered his attendants to
fire some brushwood in which
game had taken refuge. The
prevailing wind caused the
flames to spread rapidly,
and the surrounding fields
and forest were soon in a
state of conflagration. A
mendicant, who happened to
be found near the place
where the fire had
originated, was accused of
being the author. He was
imprisoned, tried, and
condemned to death. As the
poor man was being led to
execution, Conrad, stricken
with remorse, made open
confession of his guilt; and
in order to repair the
damage of which he had been
the cause, was obliged to
sell all his possessions.
Thus reduced to poverty,
Conrad retired to a lonely
hermitage some distance from
Piacenza, while his wife
entered the Order of Poor
Clares. Later he went to
Rome, and thence to Sicily,
where for thirty years he
lived a most austere and
penitential life and worked
numerous
miracles. He is
especially invoked for the
cure of hernia. In 1515
Leo X permitted the town
of Noto to celebrate his
feast, which permission was
later extended by
Urban VIII to the whole
Order of St. Francis. Though
bearing the title of saint,
Conrad was never formally
canonized. His feast is kept
in the Franciscan Order on
19 February. |
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