Felix de Cantalicio (1513–1587)

Biography

When he asked where it was possible to live as an anchorite, he was told that in the Capuchin convent in Città Ducale, and there he entered as a lay brother. Two years later he was sent to Rome, where he served as an almsman until his death. The “thank you brother,” as he was called, because that was what he said when receiving alms, was soon a popular character in the city, bearded and smiling, with his bag on his shoulder. He had a predilection for children, to whom he taught catechism, attracting them with his jokes and little songs that he improvised. His sense of humor, his humility and his patience were proverbial, and in the convent there was no friar more mortified and with more hours dedicated to prayer than him. This was one of his great formulas, to pray, and when his friend Saint Philip Neri and Cardinal Charles Borromeo asked that poor layman for advice about the projected reform of the diocesan clergy, Saint Felix only recommended that the priests pray the divine office with devotion. “Eyes on earth, spirit in heaven and rosary in hands,” as he liked to repeat, he went around Rome collecting crusts of bread and alms, thanking God for everything and praying for everyone. Until in old age he felt death approaching, which he announced with one of his usual smiles.