A Punch In The Face From A Saint

Saint of the Day - May 20

Saint Bernardine of Siena (+1444) 

An Italian Franciscan and a great preacher who spread devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus (IHS).

Saint Bernaardine was dangerously handsome as a youth.   It is reported that he punched an older man in the face who had made improper advances toward him.  

Years, later when Bernardine became the most celebrated preacher of the 15^th century, the molester returned to hear one of his fiery sermons and was reduced to tears on account of his sin, a vice that the Franciscan preacher listed as one of the most ignominious in all of hell.  Witches and usurers were also admonished in his charismatic preaching.

He was the greatest preacher of his time, journeying across Italy, calming strife-torn cities, attacking the paganism he found rampant, attracting crowds of 30,000, following St. Francis of Assisi’s admonition to preach about “vice and virtue, punishment and glory.”

Especially known for his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, Bernardine devised a symbol—IHS, the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek, in Gothic letters on a blazing sun.  The devotion spread, and the symbol began to appear in churches, homes and public buildings.

Leader of a branch of the Franciscan Order, the Friars of the Strict Observance, he strongly emphasized scholarship and further study of theology and canon law. When he started there were 300 friars in the community; when he died there were 4,000. He returned to preaching the last two years of his life, dying while traveling.