Blessed Conrad of Piacenza

Blessed Conrad of Piacenza, of the Confalonieri family, was an Italian nobleman who lost his fortune after an ill-fated hunt, entered the Third Order of Saint Francis, and spent the rest of his life as a hermit. He died at Noto in Sicily, the town of which he is the patron. The Church commemorates him on February 19.

He was born in Piacenza, into a wealthy noble family. The year of his birth is not known for certain: 1290 is given most often, while some point to 1284. Little is known of his youth, and the old lives do not always agree with one another. According to tradition he married young, and his wife’s name was Euphrosyne.

The turning point was a hunt. Conrad ordered the brushwood to be set on fire to drive out the game, and the wind carried the flames to the surrounding fields and buildings. A man found nearby was accused of starting the fire and sentenced to death. Conrad then presented himself to the city authorities and confessed that the fault was his. He saved the innocent man, and making good the damage consumed his fortune.

In what had happened he saw a call from God. According to tradition the spouses parted by mutual consent: his wife entered the Poor Clares, and he joined hermits living by the rule of the Third Order of Saint Francis at Calendasco near Piacenza. The year 1315 is given for this. Later he went as a pilgrim to Rome, and from there to Sicily.

The sources differ on when he reached Noto: some speak of thirty years spent in that area, others of his arriving only in the early 1340s. At first he lived in the cells by the church of the Holy Crucifix, beside another hermit, William Buccheri. When too many people began to visit him, he moved to a cave at a place called Pizzoni. He lived austerely, in prayer and penance, and at the same time helped the sick and those who asked for his intercession. The Roman Martyrology speaks of nearly forty years of such a life.

Tradition attributes many healings to him, especially of people suffering from hernia, which is why he is invoked in that illness to this day. It also tells of the bread with which he is said to have fed the people of Noto in a time of famine. He died on February 19, 1351, according to tradition while at prayer. He was buried in the church of Saint Nicholas in Noto, and his relics now rest in a silver urn in the cathedral there.

In 1515 Pope Leo X allowed Conrad to be venerated in Noto, Paul III extended this permission to the whole of Sicily, and in 1625 Urban VIII allowed the Franciscans to keep his memorial with a proper Office and Mass. There was no solemn canonization. For this reason the Roman Martyrology calls him blessed, although in Noto, in Piacenza, and in the Franciscan family he has been venerated for centuries as Saint Conrad.