Early Capuchin Preaching in Italy

Vice and Virtue, Punishment and Glory

A Comparison of Early Capuchin Preaching from 1525 to 1552 with that of St Francis of Assisi’s (1182-1226) Preaching in Italy.

By  Lam Vu OFM Cap

14th November 2003

Table of Contents

Synopsis:

During the fifteenth and early sixteenth Century, preachers abused the office of preaching by preaching philosophy, poetry, engaged in doctrinal debate, etc. Consequently, the early Capuchin preaching assisted enormously the Catholic Church in her Reformation and resurrected the office of preaching to its full dignity. Like St Francis of Assisi’s charism of preaching, the Capuchins proclaimed ‘vice and virtue, punishment and glory.’ Preaching for them was a means of expressing their relationship with God. Typically, they preached with fire, fervour and directness, which centred on moving hearts rather than minds. These qualities were formalised in new Constitutions in 1552.

Abbreviations

(The following documents are taken from the primary sources in the bibliography).

1Cel The Life of St Francis by Thomas of Celano (1228-1229)

2Cel The Remembrance of the Desire of a Soul

by Thomas of Celano (1245-1247)

1LC The First Letter to the Custodians (1220)

2LC The Second Letter to the Custodians (1220)

CC The Capuchin Constitutions of 1536.

DCT The decrees of the Council of Trent (1545-1563)

LR The Rule of 1223 (Regula bullata)

Introduction

The early Capuchin (founded in 1525) preaching is considered the most influential form of preaching during the sixteenth century. Capuchin preachers were described as ‘street preachers’ and ‘evangelical preachers’ (CC 117). For them, preaching was a primary means of expressing their religious vocation. Their reception of St Francis of Assisi’s (1182-1226) charism of preaching brought the practice of preaching to its full dignity and esteem. Thus, it is my intention in this research paper to study how the preaching of the early Capuchins resembled the preaching of St Francis’. By ‘preaching,’ I mean the proclamation of the Word of God or a religious subject by one having authority to do so, usually given by bishops, priests, or deacons.[1] There are three parts to this essay: first, I shall attempt to study preaching in general during the early sixteenth century in Italy; second, I shall attempt to examine the early Capuchin preaching; and finally, I shall compare the early Capuchin preaching with that of St Francis’ preaching.

Part 1: Preaching in general during the early sixteenth century in Italy:

During the early sixteenth century in Italy, there were many issues that affected the preaching of the Word of God in the Catholic Church: these were the decadence of ecclesiastical learning, the predilection for a pagan humanism, the spread of heresy, and civil discords.[2] Preaching took on a rhetorical form.[3] Preachers used the poetry of Francesco Petrarch (1304-74) and Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) to shape their preaching.[4] The promotion of indulgences was commonly undertaken by preachers.[5] The challenge of Protestant doctrine made most preachers change their preaching to a form of oratory beyond the reach of common people. Philosophy was introduced to discuss or debate theological questions. Preachers used the philosophy of Plato (428-347 BC), Aristotle (384-322 BC), St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) and John Duns Scotus (1265-1308).[6] Consequently, Sacred Scripture was hardly mentioned and the holy Doctors of the Catholic Church were rarely cited.[7]

Part 2: Capuchin preaching

Origin of Capuchin preaching:

As the founding of the Capuchin Order cannot be attributed to one man, so with the origin of Capuchin preaching. Most of the early Capuchin preachers came from the Observant Franciscans. Some of these men were already brilliant and outstanding preachers. Many of them imprinted and initiated the form of Capuchin preaching, but two most influential persons were Matteo of Bascio (1495-1552) and Bernardino of Ochino (1487-1564). Even though they left the Order later, they had a remarkable influence on Capuchin preaching by their individual charism of preaching and their reception of St Francis’ Rule of 1223.

Matteo of Bascio is seen as the first contributor to Capuchin preaching, because of his charismatic performance in preaching and his desire to observe chapter nine (on preaching) of St Francis’ Rule in the perfect and strictest manner.[8] St Francis decrees that:

I admonish and exhort those brothers that when they preach their language be well-considered and chaste for the benefit and edification of the people, announcing to them vices and virtues, punishment and glory, with brevity, because out Lord when on earth kept his word brief (LR 9:3).

Matteo began this form of preaching as an itinerant preacher in 1525. He clothed himself in a coarse habit, walked barefooted and bore in his hand a crucifix; he wandered from place to place preaching the Word of God and proclaiming ‘vice and virtue, punishment and glory.’[9] His usual cry before his sermon was, “To hell, to hell! Ye usurers; to hell ye adulterers; to hell ye blasphemers.” [10]

The main contribution of Bernardino of Ochino to Capuchin preaching was his effort in composing chapter nine on preaching in ‘the Capuchin Constitutions of 1536.’[11] The genius of Bernardino’s insight into preaching in this Constitutions paraphrases St Francis’ decrees on preaching in the ‘Rule of 1223’ to its finest form, which ‘The Constitutions of Albacina’ (1529) did not achieve. His specification on preaching is purely Gospel based and orthodox, which is essentially evangelical.[12] Father Cuthbert considers Bernardino as the greatest preacher of his time.[13] Unlike Matteo’s form of preaching, Bernardino usually quoted the Sacred Scripture and preached on the mercy of God.[14]

The purpose of early Capuchin preaching:

Although there was a need for reform in preaching, the early Capuchins did not seek to amend the church, the hierarchy, or the abuses of the Catholic Church’s preaching.[15] Instead, their fundamental intention was to reform their own lives by observing more rigorously the Rule of St Francis.[16] Consequently, this task not only transformed their way of life but also that of others around them. Furthermore, they restored the preaching of Sacred Scripture, which had won the Protestant reformers so many converts, to its place of pre-eminence, since it was concretised in their lives.[17] Thus, not only did the early friars reform the Franciscan way of life, but also resurrected Catholic Church preaching to its full dignity.

The requirements in the office of preaching:

The office of preaching in the Capuchin Order was no simple task to acquire; ‘The Capuchin Constitutions of 1536’ demands that its candidates must pass two strict requirements. First, the Constitutions decrees that the candidate must be ‘examined and approved, as the Rule desires, by the General Chapter or by the Father Vicar General’ (CC 110). Second, he must live a ‘holy and exemplary life, of clear and mature judgement, of strong and ardent will’ (CC 110). The purpose of screening candidates was to have virtuous preachers of high quality, rather than to have a huge number of preachers who are ‘useless’ (CC 110).

Types of sermons:

Like St Francis’ sermon, the early Capuchins’ sermons were moral and practical.[18] The purpose of their sermons was to proclaim ‘vice and virtue, punishment and glory’ (CC 118), so that it facilitates the spiritual well-being of the listeners’ souls.[19] The motivation behind this form of preaching came from their semi-pelagian beliefs. Semi-Pelagianism is a doctrine concerning Divine grace; it assigns a greater role to a person’s will than to God’s grace in an individual’s conversion to a religious way of life leading to salvation.[20]

The type and form of Capuchin sermons are mandated exclusively in the ‘Capuchin Constitutions of 1536.’ The friars must refrain from preaching sermons that have ‘trifles, foolish stories, useless questions, curious and far-fetched opinions’ (CC 111). Furthermore, they are forbidden to preach profane theories and subtleties that only a few understand (CC 118) and are not to be involved in debate over the mystery of justification (which is the process of a sinner becoming justified or made right with God).[21] Instead, they are to preach in language (even common language and local dialect)[22] that is plain, pure, and simple (CC 112). In giving sermons, the friars are to be humble, holy, full of charity and zealous in manner (CC 112). They are to preach primarily on Christ crucified, with the allowance of quotes from the holy Doctors of the Catholic Church (CC 111). Their main source of reference are to be from ‘the Sacred Scriptures, especially the New Testament and in particular the Gospels’ (CC 117).

Foundations of Capuchin preaching:

The foundation of Capuchin preaching is rooted in two charisms.

First, Capuchin preachers must be ingrained in prayer and contemplation. Capuchin way of life consists of a balance between contemplative life and active life; that is between solitude and preaching.[23] The Capuchin Constitutions of 1536 decrees that the preachers must return to prayer when they feel weakened in spirit (CC 114). It was ordained that the superiors are commanded not to leave preachers idle during the year.[24] While ascending the mountain of prayer and contemplation, the friars will endeavour to inflame themselves with Divine love like the Seraphim, and when they are inflamed with this love then they can enkindle others (CC 120). This decree asserts that God plays a key role in the motivation of their preachers; the service of faithful is one in service of God. Anthony of Monteciccardo says, “There is no organ in man more precious than the heart, and it is the tongue that broadcasts the heart’s thoughts and secrets. What we have in the heart we manifest by the tongue.”[25]

Second, Capuchin preachers must live a virtuous life, which demonstrates their good examples of penance and poverty. It was decreed that preachers should not only preach by words but much more by deeds (CC 112); they must not preach unless they first practise it (CC 112). Even the appearance of the friars moved people to do penance.[26] The early Capuchins wore rough fabric habits with distinctive hoods, they walked barefooted or sandaled, they begged for food and lived in makeshift hermitages.[27] Preachers were not exempted from fasting during Lent or other special time. Angelo of Asti was commanded by the Minister General not to preach unless he can fast and preach at the same time.[28] The friars were required to travel on foot while on preaching mission.[29] Thus, their deeds preceded their words, since they preached what they did; their proclamation of penance exemplified their asceticism.

The contribution of early Capuchin preaching:

During the sixteenth century, the early Capuchins contributed tremendously to the renewal of the Catholic Church by their form of preaching. Capuchin preachers were fearless in preaching moral practise to their audience. They proclaimed ‘vice and virtue, punishment and glory’ to everyone at every place they went – in the cities, villages, from the pulpits and in the square.[30] They were seen as ‘street preachers’ who preached with fire, fervour and direct.[31] They preached ‘like fiery Seraphim as they spoke mightily of the things of God and the great goodness and glory of the life to come.’[32] People came in great numbers to hear Capuchin sermons, often as many as twenty thousand people.[33] Their preaching attracted all classes of people – kings, nobles, ecclesiastics, scholars, and the poor.[34] People were not only fascinated by their sermons, but also by their penance and mortification.[35] Historians record that the early Capuchins ‘acted primarily on the broad masses of the people, and stirred them to the depths by their penitential preaching.’[36] Their preaching brought many people back to the Catholic Church and reconciled many relationships.[37] Giombi says that when Giuseppe of Ferno (d.1556) was preaching to a great crowd on the feast of the Ascension in 1538, he accused the civil authorities of being unjust to the poor and allowing the faith of the people to become decadent.[38] He also condemned religious for not living virtuously, so that people may have models to follow.[39] In preaching, the friars usually favoured the poor or the ‘common people.’ Consequently, Capuchin preaching instigated many penitential groups, particularly to continue the practise of virtues as proclaimed to them by the friars.[40]

Soon Capuchin preachers became so popular that many public authorities requested them to preach in where there was need of their talents. In 1540, Pope Paul III (pontificate 1534-1549) sent James of Molfetta (d.1561) to preach in Ragusa.[41] In northern Italy, he was known as a powerful preacher who refuted the errors of Martin Luther (1483-1546), John Calvin (1509-1564) and the French Huguenots in their doctrines.[42] Bernardino of Balbano (d.1558) was sent by Pope Julius III (pontificate 1550-1555) to preach in Mesanae in 1553.[43] In southern Italy, Bernardino preached fervently against heretics.[44] Angelus of Ferno (d.1567) worked side by side with St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) to defend and preach against heresy.[45] In the province of Modena, people always invited Capuchin preachers to preach during Lent and Advent.[46]

Capuchin preaching was not restricted distinctively to the pulpit, nor was it restricted to the friars with the office of preaching; almost all the friars preached – priests and lay brothers alike.[47] Preaching was regarded as the top priority in their ministry; it stimulated other apostolic ministries. In 1537, in Milan, Giuseppe of Ferno (d.1556) founded the Forty Hours Devotion, during which he preached at various stages of the devotion.[48] Their preaching was also heard by the sick, dying, prisoners, soldiers, sailors, Christian captives of the Moslems, etc. The friars’ most common place of preaching was in their encounter with people while questing for food. Another area of preaching was their ‘mission’ to small villages and hamlets of the rural areas. Here, they preached, taught catechetic, educated adult, heard confessions, etc.[49] Working according to a set programme, they travelled in a group of two to eight friars and stayed for four to eight weeks.[50] The Capuchin developed a fine pastoral relationship with the rural people, since they were attuned to people.

The chief contribution of the early Capuchin preaching to the Catholic Church was to inspire decisions at the Council of Trent (1545-1563). People was so receptive to Capuchin preaching, that they refused to listen to anything else but Sacred Scripture and ‘vice and virtue, punishment and glory.’[51] Eventually, Capuchin preaching became a universal norm, which caused other preachers to preach like them if they wanted people to listen to them.[52] Bishops began to impose on their secular priests to preach as did the Capuchins.[53] Their preaching theme or statement ‘vice and virtue, punishment and glory’ became one of the most influential statements in the tradition of preaching in the Christian West of the sixteenth century. On 17th of June 1546, the Council of Trent adopted this theme to a decree on preaching.[54] Trent decrees that

by teaching them [the faithfuls] those things that are necessary for all to know in order to be saved, and by impressing upon them with briefness and plainness of speech the vices that they must avoid and the virtues that they must cultivate, in order that they may escape eternal punishment and obtain the glory of heaven (DCT session 5, chapter 2).

So, the Council of Trent also emphasised moralistic preaching. Consequently, the Dominicans (founded in 1215) and Jesuits (founded in 1534) were instructed to use this moralistic style in their preaching.[55]

Part 3: Comparing early Capuchins’ charism of preaching to that of St Francis of Assisi’s

Although St Francis did not leave us any sermons, a clue to his preaching may be found in his first and second letters to the Custodians (1220). He seems to have three basic messages in his preaching: love of God (1LC 8), fear of God (1LC 7), and penance for sins (1LC 6). Thomas Celano (d.1260) tells us that whenever St Francis met a crowd of people assembled in the street or market place, he would first greet them with a sign of peace by saying, ‘The Lord give you His peace’ (1Cel 23). ‘Thereupon he invariably began his exhortation to love and fear of the Lord and the sincere practise of penance, modest in words, perhaps, but sublime in thought and sentiment, and ever coupled with wholesome results.’[56]

Likewise, no early sermons recorded from the early Capuchin preachers who also proclaimed the love of God, fear of God, and penance for sins. They were convinced that the love of God was the root of their lives and their Franciscan vocation.[57] Consequently, their preaching and other apostolic ministry expressed this form of love to the people. Once Dominic of Boschetto inflamed his listeners so much with the love of God that they refused to listen to other educated preachers.[58] One message that the early Capuchins preached was the sovereignty of God.[59] While preaching to the people in a village on the mountain of Foligno, Louis of Foligno held up his crucifix, looking at it and said, “O Lord, who has put you in this cross? Was it the scribes and Pharisees?” After a while Louis replied, “Those present here at the sermon who do not want to be forgiven. They have put me on the cross.”[60] The Capuchin Constitutions of 1536 asserted that the friars should proclaim to the people: ‘Do penance for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (CC 118). Capuchin preachers often urged people to penance by exhorting them to confession and communion.[61] Furthermore, they gave practical advice and examples of how to avoid vice and to practise virtue.

One form of preaching of St Francis that the early Capuchin preachers did not imitate was his preaching by symbolic actions or gesture without words. Celano says that at St Damiano Church, instead of preaching by words to the Poor Clare sisters (founded in 1215), he sprinkled ashes on his head (2Cel 207). The meaning of this action was to show that he was all ashes. In another instance, he asked a brother to tie a cord around his neck and drag him through the city as if he was a thief (1Cel 52). Essentially, St Francis was a man who thought in images. He preached by means of visible, tangible, symbolic, emotive and persuasive action or gesture.[62] His symbolic action and drama captured the imagination of people, touched their hearts, and simultaneously communicated his idea or message directly.[63]

Thus far, why did the Capuchins’ form of preaching surpass other forms of preaching (for example, rhetoric, poetry, philosophy, etc.) during the sixteenth century? Ultimately, Capuchin preachers preached from the heart rather than from the mind. They sought to stir people’s hearts rather than their minds. Their sermons were simple, so that everyone clearly understood, rather than designed to impress a few people with esoteric words. Moreover, instead of defending the church by refuting the heresy and eccentric doctrine of Luther and Calvin, they sought to change themselves first by observing the Rule of their founder and practising a life of virtue. Another key element of success in early Capuchin preaching was their ‘holiness,’ subjectively and objectively. These brilliant and holy Capuchin preachers preached words and messages that seemed to come from God with great zeal; it seemed as if they themselves had pre-prayed and pre-experienced these messages before delivered to the faithful.

Finally, in seeking to reform their Franciscan way of life by observing the Rule of St Francis ‘to the letter,’ the early Capuchins had contributed an enormous effort in reforming the Catholic Church during the Reformation period, namely in the area preaching. These early Capuchins set their preaching at a high standard for the thousands of friars who were to follow them. The desire to have virtuous preachers who are ‘holy’ rather than to have huge numbers of preachers who are useless, made their preaching among the best and most influential during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The foundations of their preaching were rooted in their life of prayer, penance and poverty. Their form of preaching excelled other forms of preaching because they focused on the heart rather than the mind. In an effort to follow St Francis ‘to the letter’ and thus his form of preaching, they preached the love of God, fear of God and penance for sins. Their main mission was to proclaim ‘vice and virtue, punishment and glory.’ However, they did not imitate St Francis entirely in his form of preaching; they did not observe St Francis’ preaching by symbolic actions or gesture without words. Nevertheless, the early Capuchins’ reception of St Francis’ decree on preaching was most commendable; truly, they were genuine evangelical preachers of Christ and true imitators of St Francis.

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

Armstrong, Regis J. et al. (eds). Francis of Assisi: Early Documents – The Saint. Volume I. NY: New City Press, 1999.

Armstrong, Regis J. et al. (eds). Francis of Assisi: Early Documents – The Founder. Volume II. NY: New City Press, 2000.

Mausolf, Isidore. (Translator). The Constitutions of Albacina (1529). (?).

Schroeder, H.J. Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent. St Louis: B. Herder Book Co., 1941.

The Capuchin Constitutions of 1536. (?).

Secondary Sources:

Berschneider, C.J. ‘Semi-Pelagianism.’ New Catholic Encyclopedia XIII (1967) 75-79.

Father Cuthbert, OFM Cap. The Capuchins: A Contribution to the History of the Counter-Reformation. Volume I & II. London: Sheed and Ward, 1928.

Giombi, Samuele. “Predicazione e missioni popolari.” I Cappuccini in Emilia-Romagna: Storia di una presenza. Ed. by Giovanni Pozzi & Paoplo Prodi. Bologna: Grafiche Dehoniane, 2002, 472-515.

Gleason, Elizabeth G. “The Capuchin Order in the Sixteenth Century.” Religious Orders of the Catholic Reformation. Ed. by Richard DeMolen. New York, 1994, 31-50.

Hsia, R. Po-Chia. The World of Catholic Renewal 1540-1770. NY: CUP, 1998.

McBrien, Richard P. (ed). The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. NY: HarperCollins, 1995.

Nembach, Ulrich. “Preaching and Sermons.” The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation. Vol. 3. Ed. by Hans J. Hillerbrand. Oxford: OUP, 1996, 323-326.

O’Malley, John W. Religious Culture in the Sixteenth Century: Preaching, Rhetoric, Spirituality and Reform. Hampshire: Variorum, 1993.

Pobladura, Melchior of, OFM Cap. The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance. Trans. by Paul Hanbridge, OFM Cap. Delhi: Media, 2003.

Journals:

Doerfler, Camillus, OFM Cap. “Some Early Capuchin Preachers.” The Round Table of Franciscan Research IX & X (1949), 51-61.

Dombrowski, Francis, OFM Cap. “Symbolic Action as a Way of Franciscan Preaching.” The Round Table of Franciscan Research 36/3 (1983), 81-87.

Dusick, Roland, OFM Cap. “The Early Apostolate of the Capuchins.” The Round Table of Franciscan Research VIII (1949), 23-33.

Mullen, Virgil, OFM Cap. “First Hundred Years of Capuchin Preaching.” The Round Table of Franciscan Research XIII/3 (1948), 113-123.

Villapadierna, Isidro De. ‘The capuchins – Hermits and Preachers.’ Greyfriars Review 2/3 (1988), 93-113.

Zawart, Anscar, OFM Cap. “The History of Franciscan Preaching and of Franciscan Preachers (1209-1927).” Franciscan Studies 7 (1928), 233-596.

Zuelke, Michael, OFM Cap. “Historical Foundations of Capuchin Preaching.” The Round Table of Franciscan Research 36/3 (1983), 53-64.

  1. Richard P. McBrien, (ed), The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism, (NY: HarperCollins, 1995), 1042. ↑
  2. Roland Dusick, OFM Cap., “The Early Apostolate of the Capuchins,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, VIII (1949), 25. ↑
  3. Ulrich Nembach, “Preaching and Sermons,” The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, Vol. 3, ed. Hans J. Hillerbrand (Oxford: OUP, 1996), 325. ↑
  4. Virgil Mullen, OFM Cap., “First Hundred Years of Capuchin Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, XIII/3 (1948), 114. ↑
  5. Nembach, “Preaching and Sermons,” The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, 325. ↑
  6. Melchior of Pobladura, OFM Cap., The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance, trans. Paul Hanbridge, OFM Cap. (Delhi: Media, 2003), 337 or #813. ↑
  7. ibid., 337 or #813. ↑
  8. Michael Zuelke, OFM Cap., “Historical Foundations of Capuchin Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 36/3 (1983), 53. ↑
  9. Father Cuthbert, OFM Cap., The Capuchins: A Contribution to the History of the Counter-Reformation, Vol. I, (London: Sheed and Ward, 1928), 34. ↑
  10. ibid., 34. ↑
  11. Isidro De Villapadierna, ‘The capuchins – Hermits and Preachers,’ Greyfriars Review, 2/3 (1988), 105. ↑
  12. ibid., 105. ↑
  13. Cuthbert, OFM Cap., The Capuchins: A Contribution to the History of the Counter-Reformation, Vol. I, 109. ↑
  14. Samuele Giombi, “Predicazione e missioni popolari,” I Cappuccini in Emilia-Romagna: Storia di una presenza, ed. by Giovanni Pozzi & Paoplo Prodi (Bologna: Grafiche Dehoniane, 2002), 481. ↑
  15. Mullen, OFM Cap., “First Hundred Years of Capuchin Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 114. ↑
  16. ibid., 114. ↑
  17. ibid., 114. ↑
  18. ibid., 121. ↑
  19. Giombi, “Predicazione e missioni popolari,” I Cappuccini in Emilia-Romagna: Storia di una presenza, 480. ↑
  20. C.J. Berschneider, ‘Semi-Pelagianism,’ New Catholic Encyclopedia, XIII (1967), 75. ↑
  21. Giombi, “Predicazione e missioni popolari,” I Cappuccini in Emilia-Romagna: Storia di una presenza, 480. ↑
  22. Elizabeth G. Gleason, “The Capuchin Order in the Sixteenth Century,” Religious Orders of the Catholic Reformation, ed. by Richard DeMolen (New York, 1994), 46. ↑
  23. Villapadierna, ‘The capuchins – Hermits and Preachers,’ Greyfriars Review, 106. ↑
  24. ibid., 100. ↑
  25. Pobladura, OFM Cap., The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance, 144 or #291. ↑
  26. ibid., 335 or #808. ↑
  27. R. Po-Chia Hsia, The World of Catholic Renewal 1540-1770, (NY:CUP, 1998), 29. ↑
  28. Pobladura, OFM Cap., The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance, 322 or #784. ↑
  29. Mullen, “First Hundred Years of Capuchin Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 120. ↑
  30. Pobladura, OFM Cap., The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance, 320. ↑
  31. Mullen, “First Hundred Years of Capuchin Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 113. ↑
  32. Pobladura, OFM Cap., The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance, 324 or #790. ↑
  33. Mullen, “First Hundred Years of Capuchin Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 119. ↑
  34. Pobladura, OFM Cap., The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance, 320. ↑
  35. Mullen, “First Hundred Years of Capuchin Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 119. ↑
  36. Anscar Zawart, OFM Cap., “The History of Franciscan Preaching and of Franciscan Preachers (1209-1927),” Franciscan Studies, 7 (1928), 378. ↑
  37. Mullen, “First Hundred Years of Capuchin Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 115. ↑
  38. Giombi, “Predicazione e missioni popolari,” I Cappuccini in Emilia-Romagna: Storia di una presenza, 474. ↑
  39. ibid., 474. ↑
  40. ibid., 479. ↑
  41. Mullen, “First Hundred Years of Capuchin Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 119. ↑
  42. Dusick, OFM Cap., “The Early Apostolate of the Capuchins,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 32. ↑
  43. Mullen, “First Hundred Years of Capuchin Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 119. ↑
  44. Camillus Doerfler, OFM Cap., “Some Early Capuchin Preachers,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, IX & X (1949), 53. ↑
  45. Dusick, OFM Cap., “The Early Apostolate of the Capuchins,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 30. ↑
  46. Giombi, “Predicazione e missioni popolari,” I Cappuccini in Emilia-Romagna: Storia di una presenza, 477. ↑
  47. Pobladura, OFM Cap., The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance, 323 or #787. ↑
  48. Doerfler, OFM Cap., “Some Early Capuchin Preachers,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 57. ↑
  49. John W. O’Malley, Religious Culture in the Sixteenth Century: Preaching, Rhetoric, Spirituality and Reform, (Hampshire: Variorum, 1993), XIII 240. ↑
  50. ibid., XIII 240. ↑
  51. Pobladura, OFM Cap., The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance, 337 or #813. ↑
  52. ibid., 337 or #813. ↑
  53. Giombi, “Predicazione e missioni popolari,” I Cappuccini in Emilia-Romagna: Storia di una presenza, 480. ↑
  54. O’Malley, Religious Culture in the Sixteenth Century: Preaching, Rhetoric, Spirituality and Reform, IV 46. ↑
  55. ibid., IV 49. ↑
  56. Zawart, OFM Cap., “The History of Franciscan Preaching and of Franciscan Preachers (1209-1927),” Franciscan Studies, 261. ↑
  57. Cuthbert, OFM Cap., The Capuchins: A Contribution to the History of the Counter-Reformation, Vol. I, 182. ↑
  58. Pobladura, OFM Cap., The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance, 326 or #795. ↑
  59. Dusick, OFM Cap., “The Early Apostolate of the Capuchins,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 28. ↑
  60. Pobladura, OFM Cap., The Capuchin Reform: A Franciscan Renaissance, 325 or #794. ↑
  61. ibid., 324 or #789. ↑
  62. Francis Dombrowski, OFM Cap., “Symbolic Action as a Way of Franciscan Preaching,” The Round Table of Franciscan Research, 36/3 (1983), 84. ↑
  63. ibid., 84. ↑