St. Felix of Cantalice, OFM Cap
(1515-1587)
His feast is celebrated on May 18.
Felix was born at Cantalice, Italy, in 1515. His parents, Santi and Santa
Porri, were farmers, struggling to make ends meet. Felix had two older
brothers, Blase and Charles, and two younger brothers, Potenza and Peter
Marino. The latter perished in one of the many battles between Cantalice and
Rieti. When he was about 10 years old, Felix was hired out as a farmhand for
the Picchi family at Cittaducale. Farmhands were rustic, "untamed"
people, raised in the outdoors. Vegetarians, they learned how to survive in
the wild. Their job was grueling. After a hard day's work, Felix found
relaxation in wrestling. As a youngster, Felix' cousin would read to him the
lives of the desert ascetics. Descriptions of their penances had enthused
Felix and sparked in him a desire to imitate their austerity. Felix had a
dream in which an angel directed him to go to Leonessa to join the Capuchins.
In pursuit of his dream, Felix set out for Leonessa where the Capuchin local
minister redirected him to the provincial vicar. Not knowing where to find
him, Felix returned to work in the fields. He was not accustomed to receiving
messages from angels and was even less inclined to waste his time searching
for what was elusive. The angel returned a second time, telling Felix to go to
the Capuchin Friary at Rieti. Again, nothing came of the trip, so Felix
returned to working the land. One day, an Augustinian friar invited Felix to
consider joining the Augustinians. Felix replied, "Either a Capuchin or
nothing."
He persisted in his desire to become a Capuchin and presented himself at the
Capuchin Friary at Cittaducale. The local minister led him into the church,
before a large crucifix, asking that he pray to be enlightened. The corpus on
the cross was bruised, bloodied, and disfigured. Moved by the sight, Felix
experienced the depth of God's love for him. That evening, the local minister
(having forgotten about Felix) returned to the chapel to pray. Felix was still
there. The local minister remarked, "Son, what are you doing? Still here?
You are a good person; we will accept you among us. Jesus will no longer be
alone. You will help him carry the cross." Ten days later, toward the end
of the autumn of 1543, the 20-year-old Felix was received. He immediately set
out for Rome to present himself to the elusive provincial vicar. At the Roman
friary of St. Nicholas de Portiis, Felix was received by Bernardine of Asti,
who was both the Roman local minister and procurator for the Capuchin Order
before the Roman Curia. Bernardine introduced Felix to Raphael of Volterra,
the Capuchin Provincial Vicar of the Roman Province, who officially received
Felix into the Order.
On a rainy morning in early 1544, Felix set out for the Fiuggi friary where
the provincial vicar had determined his year of novitiate would be spent under
the guidance of Boniface. During the harsh days of novitiate, Felix suffered
debilitating fevers. The friars were considering asking him to return to
secular life. As a last resort, they transferred Felix to Monte San Giovanni
Campano where Felix recovered. Before the public notary, James of Mastrantonio,
Felix relinquished his worldly possessions to his siblings and waived all
claim to any future inheritance. He professed vows on May 18, 1545.
Lover of nature that he was, the rustic Felix had become a Capuchin hoping to
be able to live the rest of his days in one of the many friaries located in
secluded forests. In reality, only the first few years of his religious life
were spent in such locations at Fiuggi, Monte San Giovanni, Tivoli, and
Viterbo. Then, in 1547, Felix was introduced to the frenzied life of Rome. In
his younger years, in imitation of the desert ascetics, Felix had vowed never
again to touch bread. Ironically, his Roman assignment was to quest for bread
and wine. Despite his desire for seclusion, Felix' ministry placed him in
direct, daily contact with a multitude of people. Following then current
Capuchin custom, Felix always made his quest barefoot, with eyes cast down.
His response to every benefactor was always a humble yet confident "Thank
God" ("Deo gratias"). So often was it repeated that Felix
became known as "Brother Deo Gratias." Not only did Felix provide
the friars with food, but he also furnished food for the hungry. He received
permission from the ministers to help the needy, especially widows with many
children. It is said that his begging sack was as bottomless as his heart. He
never refused a request for help. Felix would dispense oil, bread, wine, and
meat. When he could not provide the required aid himself, he would solicit the
help of the wealthy, including church dignitaries. Felix always reminded
people, benefactors and beneficiaries alike, of divine providence and urged
them to give thanks to God. He would visit the sick at the friary, in private
homes, at the hospitals of St. James of the Incurables, of the Holy Spirit,
and of St. John Lateran. Felix spoke in simple language, exhorting the sick to
trust, and to accept sickness as a graced moment.
Felix' reputation as a healer of peoples' ills spread. He would often bless
the sick with a crucifix and they would be healed. At other times, he would
give away some of the alms he had collected, which, in turn, became channels
of healing. Felix healed Constance, the mother of the Cardinal Bishop of
Orvieto, Peter Crescenzi, by bathing her eyes with wine he had received as an
alms. Similarly, at the hospital of St. John, a patient was healed
instantaneously after Felix had given him some donated wine. Friends began to
tease Felix saying, "Brother Felix, when I get sick, bring me a little of
your wine!" Felix exhorted everyone in his rustic Sabine dialect, always
using the informal form of address. He treated every individual with the
greatest respect, whether giving alms or receiving them. Felix was a person
who had difficulty saying "no," and benefactors knew this. If
someone asked for something, Felix always provided.
His upbringing prevented him from putting on airs. A person's social or
ecclesiastical position notwithstanding, Felix would directly (and
unceremoniously) confront those in need of conversion. Stories of Felix' life
read like incidents out of the Fioreffi. One day, Felix, seeking food for the
poor, knocked at the door of a lawyer who was immersed in reading a legal
treatise. The lawyer, indignant over the intrusion, made it known that he was
involved in something far more important than any trivial affair in which the
brother was involved. Felix's eyes filled with tears and he asked, "Is
there perhaps some law more important than God's?" The lawyer soon
abandoned his law career to pursue a life of ministry in the church. On
another occasion, Felix confronted the illustrious lawyer, Bernardine Biscia,
by placing a crucifix on top of some legal tomes Biscia was perusing. Felix
pointed to the Crucified One and said, "Look, Sir Bernardine, all these
books were made for you to better understand him."
Felix normally spoke little outside the friary. Even within the friary, what
he had to say was more often than not an exhortation for others to give good
example. His style was frank and direct. He might tell someone, "I want
to correct you." He often reminded Capuchin preachers, "Preach in
order to convert people, not to make a name for yourself." At times, he
would quote Brother Giles' quip: "Bo, bo, bo, assai dico e poco fo!"
("Tsk, tsk, tsk, a lot of talk, but no action.") To Cardinal Julius
Anthony Santori, the Capuchin cardinal protector, Felix once said: "My
lord cardinal, you were designated to protect us, not to interfere with
matters that pertain to the superiors of the Order." He advised the
future Sixtus V, "When you become pope, be pope for the glory of God and
the good of the church. Otherwise, it would be better for you to remain a
simple friar." The same pope would occasionally encounter Felix questing
and would ask for a piece of bread. One day, Felix gave him a piece of stale
black bread and remarked to the Franciscan pope, "Excuse me, Holy Father,
but you're still a friar."
For his personal devotion and meditation, Felix memorized prayers and
liturgical and biblical texts. Despite being illiterate, Felix prayed from the
heart and occupied his mind with spiritual reflections. Whether he was walking
the streets of Rome, in his cell or in chapel, he was absorbed in
contemplation. He would recall the words of the gospel for inspiration. After
everyone else had gone to bed, Felix would spend long hours before the Blessed
Sacrament entrusting to God's care the people he had met in the course of the
day.
He had a curiosity about subjects of which he had no formal education. Often
he would seek counsel from the famous Spanish priest, Alphonse Lupo. Felix was
a personal friend of Philip Neri and an acquaintance of Charles Borromeo.
Felix recognized that authentic holiness was both enlightened and
enlightening. Thus, by seeking the advice of knowledgeable people, the
"saint of the streets of Rome" was enabled in turn to advise or
admonish the people who sought counsel from him.
Felix was an institution for two generations of Roman youth. Youngsters would
affectionately call him "Papa," causing some raised eyebrows among
those who were unfamiliar with the esteem in which the Capuchin was held.
People brought their cares immediately to Felix for help. Even before going to
the doctor, they would call on Felix. He would go to their side, kneel, and
say an "Our Father" and a "Hail Mary," and then return to
the friary confident that providence would take care of the rest. At other
times, Felix would exhort the sick to acceptance, saying, "Heaven,
heaven," or, "Allow yourself to go to paradise." Felix had an
intense fondness for mothers and babies. He would always take a moment to
dedicate the infants and to teach the young to repeat, "Jesus,
Jesus," or, "Deo gratias." Felix had a talent for spontaneously
creating and singing spiritual hymns. People would often ask him to sing. His
devotion to the Virgin Mary was not apparent, except in these free verse songs
and from the testimony of Alphonse Lupo who knew Felix well. Felix carried out
his ministry until just days before his death. Cardinal Santori had offered to
use his influence to have the elderly Felix relieved of the difficult task of
questing, but Felix refused.
On April 30, 1587, Felix fell ill. He knew he was about to die. To the friars
he remarked, "This little ass has dropped; it will not rise again."
With Urban of Prato at his bedside, Felix raised his hands and his face became
resplendent. Urban asked him what was happening and Felix responded, "I
see the Virgin Mary surrounded by a throng of angels." As the local
minister was bringing Eucharist as Viaticum, Felix began to sing, "O
Sacrum Convivium." He died on May 18, 1587. Felix' remains are enshrined
in the Capuchin church of the Immaculate Conception on Rome's exclusive via
Veneto.
Sixtus V was determined to proceed to canonization, by Roman acclamation if
necessary, but the process was not concluded. After Sixtus V died, the
momentum of the process dissipated. Finally, on October 1, 1625, Urban VIII
beatified Felix and Clement XI canonized him on May 22, 1712, the first
Capuchin to be so honored.
Homily from the mass on St. Felix by the Franciscan Friars:
