Thomas Olera
| Blessed Thomas Olera | |
|---|---|
| Brother | |
| Born |
1563 Olera, Bergamo, Italy |
| Died |
3 May 1631 Olera, Bergamo, Italy |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 21 September 2013, Bergamo, Italy by Cardinal Angelo Amato |
| Feast | 3 May |
| Attributes | Capuchin habit |
Blessed Thomas Olera (1563 - 3 May 1631), born Tommaso Acerbis, was a Roman Catholic Italian who was a member of the Franciscan Capuchin order.[1] He was beatified in 2013.
Biography
Tommaso Acerbis was born in 1563 to a poor family and he worked as a shepherd as a young child, without ever having received schooling.
He joined the Order of Friars Minor on 12 September 1580 in Verona where, at the age of 17, he finally learnt how to read and write. He made his last profession on 5 July 1584 and served in the convents of Vicenza, Verona and Rovereto until 1617.
Out of those convents he visited the sick people and also helped the poor. He frequently encouraged and championed a love of the faith to those who listened to him. When Lutheranism began to take root in the area he spoke out and also wrote in defense of the Catholic Church. He chose not to confront but simply spoke on his love of 'the impassioned Christ' and the church He founded.[1]
Admired and loved by all around him, he died in 1631.
Beatification
The stages of the beatification process commenced in 1967 with the Positio submitted to Rome in 1978. This occurred despite the fact that the formal introduction of the cause was not granted until 4 December 1980 with the declaration of "nihil obstat" (nothing against). He was proclaimed Venerable on 23 October 1987 after Pope John Paul II recognized his heroic virtues.
An alleged miracle led to a tribunal from 2006 to 2007 to investigate and later submitted its findings to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Pope Benedict XVI approved it on 10 May 2012, and Cardinal Angelo Amato - on behalf of Pope Francis - celebrated the beatification mass in Bergamo.
References
- 1 2 "Blessed Tommaso Acerbis". Saints SQPN. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2015.