Saint Andrew Avellino

Theatine Priest († 1608)

Feast – November 10

Saint Andrew Avellino, Born 1521 at Castronuovo (today Castronuovo di Sant’Andrea), a small town in the province of Potenza Basilicata in the Kingdom of Naples, his baptismal name was Lancelott. From his early youth he was a great lover of chastity. After receiving his elementary training in the school of Castronuovo, he was sent to Venice to pursue a course in the humanities and in philosophy. Being a handsome youth, his chastity was often exposed to danger from female admirers, and to escape their importunities he took ecclesiastical tonsure.

He went to Naples to study canon and civil law, obtained the degree of Doctor of Laws and was ordained priest at the age of twenty-six and became a lawyer at the ecclesiastical court at Naples. During a heated courtroom argument he supported his position with a lie; in that setting, he had committed perjury.

When, soon afterwards, his eyes fell upon the passage in the Bible, ” A lying mouth destroys the soul ” (Wisdom 1:11), he felt deep remorse, renounced his profession as ecclesiastical lawyer and for some time devoted himself entirely to holy meditation and other spiritual exercises, settling into a life of penance and giving himself up to the care of souls.

The Archbishop of Naples now commissioned him to reform a convent at Naples, which by the laxity of its discipline had become a source of great scandal. By his own example and his untiring zeal, he restored the religious discipline of the convent but not without many and great difficulties. Certain wicked men who were accustomed to have clandestine meetings with the nuns became exasperated at the saint’s interference, and one night, with companions waiting for him when he was about to leave a church, felled him with three sword thrusts. Severely wounded, St. Andrew was brought to the house of the Theatine Clerks Regular to recuperate. He lost much blood, but his wounds healed perfectly without leaving any trace. The viceroy of Naples was ready to employ all his authority to punish the authors of this sacrilege; the holy priest, not desiring the death of sinners but rather their conversion and their salvation, declined to pursue them.

He resolved to devote himself entirely to God and joined the Order of Theatines, which had been recently founded by St. Cajetan. In 1556, on the vigil of the Assumption he was invested, being then thirty-five years of age and took the name of Andrew in honor of the crucified Apostle.

After completing his novitiate, he obtained permission to visit the tombs of the Apostles and the Martyrs at Rome. After a pilgrimage St. Andrew returned to Naples and was named master of novices in his Community. All his spare moments he devoted to prayer and contemplation. The souls committed to his care made great progress in perfection.

After holding this office for ten years, he was elected Superior of the house there. His zeal for strict religious discipline and for the purity of the clergy, as well as his deep humility and sincere piety, induced the General of his Order to entrust him with the foundation of two new Theatine houses, one at Milan and the other at Piacenza.

He became Superior of the Milan foundation where his friendship with Saint Charles Borromeo took root, the two Saints conversed together often. St. Andrew, with his admirable simplicity, confided to the Archbishop that he had seen Our Lord, and that since that time the impression of His divine beauty, remaining with him constantly, had rendered insipid all other so-called beauties of the earth.

Through Saint Andrew’s efforts, many more Theatine houses rose up in various dioceses of Italy. As superior of some of these new foundations, he was so successful in converting sinners and heretics by his prudence in the direction of souls and by his eloquent preaching that numerous disciples thronged around him, eager to be under his spiritual guidance. One of the most noteworthy of his disciples was Lorenzo Scupoli, the author of “The Spiritual Combat.”

God honored him with the gifts of prophecy and miracles. He practiced the greatest mortifications and gave an admirable example of that Christian charity which consists in doing good to those who do harm to us.
Petitions were presented to Pope Gregory XIV to make him a bishop, but he declined that honor with firmness, having always desired to remain obedient rather than to command. When his term as superior ended, he was successful in avoiding the government of another Theatine residence for only three years, but eventually he became the Superior at Saint Paul of Naples.

Once when St. Andrew was taking the Viaticum to a dying person and a storm extinguished the lamps, a heavenly light surrounded him, guided his steps, and sheltered him from the rain. However, he was far from exempt from sufferings. His horse threw him one day on a rough road, and since his feet were caught in the stirrups, dragged him for a long time along this road. He invoked St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas, who came to him, wiped his face covered with blood, cured his wounds, and even helped him back onto the horse. He attributed such episodes to his unworthiness, believing he was among the reprobate, but St. Thomas once again came to him, accompanied by St. Augustine, and restored his confidence in the love and mercy of God.

Though indefatigable in preaching, hearing confessions, and visiting the sick, he still had time to write some ascetical works. His letters were published in 1731 at Naples in two volumes, and his other ascetical works were published three years later in five volumes.

On the last day of his life, November 10, 1608, St. Andrew rose to say Mass. He was eighty-eight years old, and so weak he could scarcely reach the altar. He began the Judica me, Deus, (Judge me, O God) the opening prayer, but fell forward, the victim of apoplexy. Laid on a straw mattress, his whole frame was convulsed in agony, while the ancient fiend, in visible form, advanced as though to seize his soul. Then, while the onlookers prayed and wept, he invoked Our Lady, and his Guardian Angel seized the monster and dragged it out of the room. A calm and holy smile settled on the features of the dying Saint and, as he gazed with a grateful countenance on the image of Mary, his holy soul winged its way to God.

In 1624, only 16 years after his death, St. Andrew was beatified by Pope Urban VIII, and in 1712 was canonized by Pope Clement XI. His remains lie buried in the Church of St. Paul at Naples.

References and Excerpts

[1] Matthew, “St. Andrew Avellino,” A Catholic Life. [Online]. Available: https://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2016/11/st-andrew-avellino.html. [Accessed: 04-Nov-2019].
[2] “Saint Andrew Avellino, Theatine Priest.” [Online]. Available: http://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_andrew_avellino.html. [Accessed: 04-Nov-2019].
[3] “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Andrew Avellino.” [Online]. Available: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01472b.htm. [Accessed: 04-Nov-2019].
[4] “Saint Andrew Avellino,” CatholicSaints.Info, 08-Oct-2010. .
[5] “Andrew Avellino,” Wikipedia. 14-Oct-2019.