Saint of the day, February 19 – Zeale
Born into a noble family in Italy, Conrad married a nobleman’s daughter named Euphrosyne. One day while he was hunting, Conrad ordered his servants to make a fire to flush out the game. The wind spread the flames and the nearby fields, forests, towns and villages were burned. In fear, Conrad fled.
February 19 – St. Conrad of Piacenza
Born: c. 1290
Died: 1351
Nationality: Italian
Vocation: lay, married
Attributes: Franciscan habit, fluttering birds
Patronage: hernias
Canonization: 1625 by Pope Urban VIII
Born into a noble family in Italy, Conrad married a nobleman’s daughter named Euphrosyne.
One day while he was hunting, Conrad ordered his servants to make a fire to flush out the game. The wind spread the flames and the nearby fields, forests, towns and villages were burned. In fear, Conrad fled.
An innocent man was convicted for the act and condemned to death. When he heard of this, Conrad turned himself in and saved the man’s life. He paid for the damage and he and his wife gave all they had to the poor.
Conrad joined a group of Franciscan hermits and Euphrosyne joined the Poor Clares. His holiness, piety, and gift of healing became widely known, causing him to receive many visitors. His life of silence and solitude became impossible, so he moved to Sicily where he lived as a hermit for 36 years.
Conrad visited the Bishop of Syracuse at one point to make a general confession, and upon his arrival, he was surrounded by fluttering birds.
He died kneeling before a crucifix in 1351.
St. Conrad of Piacenza, pray for us.
