Thomas of Cori

Thomas of Cori was born Francesco Antonio Placidi on 4 June 1655 in the town of Cori in Latium, then part of the Papal States. He came from a poor family and was orphaned while still young. After the death of his parents he worked as a shepherd in order to support his sisters until they were married. In his early twenties he entered the Order of Friars Minor, taking the religious name Thomas, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1683.

He spent most of his religious life at the isolated Franciscan convent of Civitella, later known as Bellegra, in the mountains near Subiaco. There he followed a strict observance of the Franciscan rule, combining prolonged contemplative prayer and penance with an active ministry as a preacher of popular missions. He traveled through the towns and countryside of the region around Subiaco and Paliano, preaching in a simple and fervent style that drew large numbers of hearers and was credited with many conversions and a renewal of Christian practice among rural people.

Thomas was widely regarded as a mystic. Contemporaries reported that he frequently fell into ecstasy, especially during the celebration of Mass, and that miracles of healing and other favors were attributed to his intercession even during his lifetime. He served at various times as guardian of the Bellegra convent and as master of novices, forming younger friars in poverty, humility, and charity. He remained noted for his personal austerity and for his care of the poor.

He died at the convent in Bellegra on 11 January 1729. Popular devotion to him grew quickly. Pope Pius VI beatified him on 3 September 1786, and Pope John Paul II canonized him on 21 November 1999. His relics are preserved in the Franciscan church at Bellegra, and he is venerated as the patron saint of his native town of Cori.