Confessor Laurence of Brindisi

Laurence of Brindisi was born Giulio Cesare Russo on 22 July 1559 in Brindisi, then in the Kingdom of Naples. His father, Guglielmo Russo, was of Venetian origin; his mother was Elisabetta Masella. He was orphaned while still a boy—his father died when he was about twelve, and his mother not long afterward—and was placed with the Conventual Franciscans in Brindisi for his early schooling. He later continued his studies in Venice under an uncle who was a priest. In 1575, at about sixteen, he entered the Capuchin Franciscans at Verona and took the religious name Lorenzo (Laurence). He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Padua and was ordained priest in 1582.

He was renowned for an exceptional memory and for languages. Besides Italian he used Latin, Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish, and French. His Hebrew was strong enough that he preached to Jewish communities from the Hebrew Scriptures, a ministry often assigned to him. He became one of the leading preachers of the Catholic Reformation, working to consolidate Catholic practice in territories affected by Protestant reform. Inside the Capuchin order he served as provincial in Tuscany, Venice, and Switzerland and the Tyrol. From 1602 to 1605 he was minister general of the Capuchins, visiting houses widely and urging strict observance of the Rule.

He was also drawn into the wars and diplomacy of his time. In 1601, as chaplain to imperial troops under Rudolf II, he accompanied Christian forces against the Ottoman army in Hungary. At the Battle of Székesfehérvár (Stuhlweissenburg) he is reported to have ridden at the head of the soldiers with a crucifix; the Christian side won a significant victory. He later served as a papal diplomat and preacher in Germany, Bohemia, and Austria, founding Capuchin houses and promoting the disciplinary and pastoral reforms associated with the Council of Trent. He was repeatedly elected definitor general and continued to preach and to write throughout these missions.

In his last years he acted for the people of Naples, who suffered under a harsh Spanish viceroyalty. He went to the court of Philip III, first in Spain and then in Portugal (then under the same Habsburg crown), to seek relief. While in Lisbon he fell ill and died on 22 July 1619, his sixtieth birthday. His remains were later taken to the Poor Clares’ convent at Villafranca del Bierzo in the Kingdom of León, where they have continued to be venerated.

His writings include sermons, a commentary on Genesis, and the Mariale, a large collection of sermons on the Virgin Mary. He was beatified by Pope Pius VI in 1783 and canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1881. In 1959 Pope John XXIII named him a Doctor of the Church with the title Doctor Apostolicus. In the General Roman Calendar his feast is kept on 21 July.