Blessed Placido Riccardi
Blessed Placido Riccardi (Italian: Placido Riccardi; baptized Tommaso Riccardi; born June 24, 1844 AD at Trevi, in Umbria, Italy; died March 25, 1915 AD at Rome) was an Italian Benedictine monk and priest of the Cassinese Congregation, long attached to the abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome and to the abbey of Farfa. Renowned for his austerity, his exact fidelity to the monastic rule, and his patient endurance of chronic illness, he was esteemed a holy man in his lifetime and served as spiritual director to many, including the future Cardinal Ildefonso Schuster. He was beatified by Pope Pius XII on December 5, 1954. His feast is kept on March 25 (observed on March 14 in some calendars).[1][2]
Converted to a more fervent life as a young man in Rome, Tommaso Riccardi entered the Cassinese Benedictine abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in 1866, taking the name Placido, and was ordained a priest in 1871.[1] Though burdened from 1881 by a malarial fever that never left him, he served as novice master and spiritual director and, from 1894, as rector of the ancient abbey of Farfa, where he lived a life of great mortification.[1][2]
He died at Saint Paul's abbey in Rome in 1915. He was declared Venerable in 1944 and beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1954.[1]
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Placido Riccardi
| Blessed Placido Riccardi | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | March 25 |
| Profession | Benedictine monk; priest; novice master; abbey rector |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Order of Saint Benedict (Cassinese Congregation) |
| Patronage | Invoked among those who suffer chronic illness |
| Attributes | Benedictine habit |
| Birthplace | Trevi, Umbria, Italy |
| Death Place | Abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes, after long illness; died March 25, 1915, at the abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome |
| Primary Shrine | Abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy |
| Liturgical Class | Not included in the General Roman Calendar; observed by the Benedictine Order |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Birth and early years
Tommaso Riccardi was born on June 24, 1844, at Trevi in Umbria, then part of the Papal States.[1][2] As a young man he went to Rome to study philosophy, and there, after a period of spiritual searching, he underwent a decisive conversion that turned him toward the religious life; tradition connects this with a pilgrimage he made to the Marian shrine of Loreto.[2]
Benedictine monk
On November 12, 1866, Riccardi entered the Cassinese Benedictine abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, and at his monastic profession took the name Placido; he made his solemn profession on January 19, 1868.[1] As a young cleric during the turmoil of the unification of Italy, he was for a time arrested for declining military service and imprisoned at Florence.[1] He was ordained a priest on March 25, 1871.[1]
Ministry and illness
Within the Benedictine life Placido filled a number of offices, serving as master of novices — among his charges was the future Cardinal and Blessed Ildefonso Schuster — and from 1882 as a spiritual director at Perugia.[1] In 1881 he contracted malaria, and the recurring fevers of that disease afflicted him for the rest of his life; he bore them, and other austerities he imposed on himself, with notable patience.[1] From 1894 he was rector of the ancient abbey of Farfa in the Sabine hills, where he lived in great simplicity, and he also acted as confessor to a community of Poor Clares at Amelia.[1][2] His exact observance of the Rule and his life of prayer and mortification gained him a wide reputation for holiness.[2]
Death and beatification
Placido Riccardi died at the abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on March 25, 1915, at the age of seventy.[1] His reputation for sanctity led to the opening of his cause; he was declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII on June 4, 1944, and beatified by the same pope on December 5, 1954.[1]
Significant events
- Born at Trevi in Umbria and educated at Rome, where he underwent a conversion.
- Entered the Benedictine abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in 1866, taking the name Placido.
- Ordained priest in 1871.
- Served as novice master (teacher of the future Cardinal Ildefonso Schuster) and spiritual director.
- Afflicted with malaria from 1881, which he bore patiently for life.
- Rector of the abbey of Farfa from 1894; confessor to Poor Clares at Amelia.
- Died at Saint Paul's abbey, Rome, on March 25, 1915.
- Declared Venerable (1944) and beatified by Pope Pius XII (December 5, 1954).
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Trevi, Umbria, Italy
Death location: Abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy
Notable location: Birthplace (Trevi, Umbria, Italy)
Notable location: Where he entered the Benedictine Order, lived, and died (Abbey of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy)
Notable location: Ancient abbey of which he was rector from 1894 (Abbey of Farfa, Fara in Sabina, Lazio, Italy)
Notable location: Where he served as confessor to a community of Poor Clares (Amelia, Umbria, Italy)
Notable location: Marian shrine to which he made a pilgrimage at the time of his conversion (Holy House of Loreto, Marche, Italy)
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Parishes
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Shrines
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Canonization
Venerable and Beatification
Placido Riccardi was declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII on June 4, 1944, in recognition of his heroic virtues, and beatified by the same pope on December 5, 1954, at Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.[1][2] He has not been formally canonized.
Feast day
March 25 (observed on March 14 in some calendars, since March 25 is the Solemnity of the Annunciation)
Veneration
Blessed Placido Riccardi is venerated especially by the Benedictine Order, at the abbeys of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and Farfa with which his life was bound. He is remembered as a monk of exact observance and deep prayer who sanctified a long illness by patience, and is invoked among those who suffer chronic sickness. In art he is depicted in the black habit of a Benedictine monk.[1][2]
Prayers
Authored
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Intercessory
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External links
- Wikipedia – Tommaso (Placido) Riccardi
- CatholicSaints.Info – Blessed Placido Riccardi
- Encyclopedia.com – Riccardi, Placido, Bl. (New Catholic Encyclopedia)