Saint Conrad of Piacenza Biography
Saint Conrad of Piacenza Biography, Feast Day, Date of Birth, Country of Birth, Profession, Place of Work, Date of Death, Place of Death, Beatification Date, Canonization Date |
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| Date of Birth | 1290 AD |
|---|---|
| Country of Birth | Italy in Europe |
| Matrimony/Holy Orders | Saints who were Bishops |
| Profession | Missionary |
| Place of Work | Italy |
| Date of Death | 19 February 1351 |
| Place of Death | Noto, Sicily |
| Feast Day | February 19 |
| Beatification | Beatified by N/A |
| Canonization | Canonized by Pope Leo X in 1515 |
| Patron Saint of | 1. against hernias 2. Noto, Sicily, city of 3. Noto, Sicily, diocese of |
Saint Conrad of Piacenza Biography
Saint Conrad of Piacenza was born to nobility and married to Euphrosyne where they led a religious life. One day while he was hunting, he ordered some attendants to set fire on a bush in order to flush out the game. The fire was carried away by a strong wind spreading to the nearby fields, forests, towns, and villages a circumstance which made him flee.
An innocent peasant was arrested and made responsible for the fire outbreak. He was tortured and condemned to death for the fire. Conrad stepped forward to confess and saved the man. He then paid for the loss, selling nearly all he had in order to raise the cash.
Conrad and his wife saw God's blessings in the dramatic events and chose to give everything they had left to the poor. They then divorced, she went to a Poor Clare monastery while he went to a group of Franciscan tertiary hermits. Conrad lived such a life of devotion that his reputation for holiness grew quickly. He had the gift of healing people. When visitors destroyed his loneliness, he fled to the valley of Noto, Italy in Sicily where he lived 36 years as a hermit.
It is said that when the Bishop of Syracuse visited him, the bishop asked if he had anything to offers to his guests. Conrad went into checking his cell and returned carrying newly made cakes, which the bishop accepted as a miracle. He later returned the bishop‘s visit and made a general confession to him. As he arrived, he was surrounded by flapping birds, who escorted him back to Noto.
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