Guasto, Andrea del
GUASTO, ANDREA DEL
Founder and superior of the Congregation Centorbi; b. Castrogiovanni, Sicily, Aug. 16, 1534; d. Regalbuto, Sept. 7, 1627. Under the direction of Philip Dulcettus, Guasto joined a group of about 200 hermits on the mountains around Argira. Guasto possessed a reputation of sanctity. At his suggestion, the hermits changed from the Third Order of St. Francis to the First Order of St. Augustine. On Feb. 2, 1579, Pope gregory xiii approved the change, but only after the president of Sicily lent his support did Andrea and 12 confreres receive the Augustinian habit on May 22, 1585, from Melchior Testai of Regalbuto, their first moderator. In 1591, the remaining hermits were discalced and led a common life, living from the work of their hands. The Congregatio heremitarum Siciliae, called the Congregatio Centum Urbium, after Centorbi, their first monastery, from 1602, grew to 19 houses and was united with the order until suppressed in 1873.
Bibliography: Registers of the Priors General, Rome. j. lanteri, Additamenta ad Crusenii Monasticon, 2 v. (Valladolid 1890) v. 1. w. rÜgamer, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner (Freiburg 1957–65) 1:516.
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