Bl. Agnellus of Pisa
Friar Minor and founder of the English
Franciscan Province, born at
Pisa c. 1195, of the noble
family of the Agnelli; died at
Oxford, 7 May, 1236. In early youth he was received into the Seraphic Order by St. Francis himself, during the latter's sojourn in
Pisa, and soon became an accomplished model of religious perfection. Sent by St. Francis to
Paris he erected a
convent there and became
custos. Having returned to
Italy, he was present at the so-called
Chapter of Mats, and was sent thence by St. Francis to found the Order in
England. Agnellus, then in
deacon's orders, landed at Dover with nine other
friars, 12 September, 1224, having been charitably conveyed from
France by the
monks of Fecamp. A few weeks afterwards they obtained a house at Oxford and there laid the foundations of the English Province, which became the exemplar for all the provinces of the order. Though not himself a learned
man, he established a
school for the
friars at
Oxford, which was destined to play no small part in the development of the
university. But his solicitude extended beyond the immediate welfare of his brethren. He sent his
friars about to preach the word of
God to the
faithful, and perform the other offices of the sacred ministry. Agnellus wielded considerable influence in affairs of state and in his efforts to avert civil
war between the King and the Earl Marshal, who had leagued with the
Welsh, he contracted a fatal illness.
Eccleston has left us a brief account of his death. Agnellus's body, incorrupt, was preserved with great veneration at Oxford up to the
dissolution of the religious houses in the time of
Henry VIII. The cultus of Blessed Agnellus was formally confirmed by
Leo XIII in 1882, and his
feast is kept in the Order on 7 May.
Publication information
Written by Stephen M. Donovan. Transcribed by Christopher Schaeffer.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I. Published 1907. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
