PART TWO

HISTORY AND CHRONICLE

SECTION THREE

SPIRITUALITY AND APOSTOLATE

FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE FIRST CAPUCHINS (1536 – 1628)

INTRODUCTION

TEXTS AND NOTES

The work of

CALLISTO URBANELLI

A translation from I FRATI CAPPUCCINI. Documenti e Testimonianze del Primo Secolo. Vol. II. A cura di COSTANZO CARGNONI. Roma 1982, 821-822.

Prepared in English by Gary Devery OFM Cap

(Original text in I frati cappuccino here)

It is well known that among documentary sources, correspondence occupies a place of primary importance, since it allows us to understand the personality of the author, his aspirations and the activities he carried out. It can be said that in no other literary composition is the writer’s soul reflected with greater fidelity.

No one has ever questioned the historical value of these documents. They are authentic treasures where one can find first-rate and particularly interesting information. It is therefore understandable why historians have given so much importance to these sources. For these reasons it was considered appropriate to include a collection of letters from these religious in this collection, because from them one can have a direct testimony of the spirit that animated them, of their spiritual and cultural dimension and of the apostolic actions they carried out.

One can imagine that the number of letters written by Capuchins in the 16th century was significant. One only has to consider the number of religious and the number of foundations to realise the continuous recourse to prelates and public authorities to obtain the help necessary for their daily life and their apostolate.

However, despite this, only a very limited number of letters written by them are available. The research carried out to date has been done without a unified programme and not in all possible directions. There are still many archives and libraries to be explored. The reason for this gap in the documentary sources concerning the history of the Capuchins is to be attributed, at least in part, to the difficulties inherent in this work and to the lack of efficient editorial organisation.

Of the many Capuchins who played an important part in the history of their Order and who therefore, because of their office, were in correspondence with various people, there are no correspondences in their own hand available. One need only think of Ludovico da Fossombrone, who was the driving force behind the reform, of whom it has not been possible so far to trace any writings. Very few letters are available from Giovanni da Fano, Bernardino d’Asti, Eusebio d’Ancona, Bernardino da Montolmo, and Giuseppe da Ferno, who together played a major role in the affirmation of the new Franciscan family and in determining its physiognomy. For the Capuchins of the second generation, such as Mario da Mercato Saraceno, Bonaventura da Reggio Emilia, Girolamo da Pistoia, Girolamo da Montefiore, Mattia da Salò and a few others, we have a fair number of their letters.

The correspondence of those of the third generation is more significant, and among them, to mention a few examples, we should remember St Lorenzo da Brindisi and the blessed Benedetto da Urbino.

Most of these letters are to be considered writings of immediate practical interest: that is, they are the response to particular requests or give news about events pertaining to the daily life of the Order. The missives that have as their exclusive object problems of spiritual life are scarce. They are written in dry and sparse prose, devoid of any literary intent or depth. Therefore, it would be wrong to try to find in these writings a unified representation of the life and activities of the Capuchins of the first generations. Instead, we have a collection of fragments from which it is possible to grasp some aspects of the physiognomy of the Capuchin reform.

Despite the aforementioned limitations, these documents are to be considered an irreplaceable source for a contemporary testimony of the life of the new Franciscan family. These letters, in fact, shed light on the personality of the authors, reveal their plans of action and provide first-hand evidence of the impact they had on practical reality. In particular, it can be said that these sources reveal the aspects characterising the life and spirituality of the first Capuchins, the integral poverty they practised, their zeal for the spiritual wellbeing of the faithful, the intense and fruitful apostolate carried out in the midst of the society of the time, the very lively and active interest in the disadvantaged classes and the marginalised and, in general, for a true and profound renewal of the Christian life of the people of their time.