Isnard of Chiampo, Bl.
ISNARD OF CHIAMPO, BL.
Preacher, spiritual director; b. Chiampo (Vicenza, Italy); d. Pavia, Mar. 19, 1244. Isnard was perhaps of the noble Nardi family. He received the Dominican habit from St. dominic c. 1219 at Bologna or Padua and studied at Bologna and Milan. He founded the Pavia priory (1231) at the church of S. Maria di Nazareth. As prior at Pavia until his death, Isnard became noted as a preacher and director of souls, winning many from vice and heresy. Contemporaries esteemed him for his power of miracles, spirit of prayer and penance, fidelity to the rule, and constant study of the sacred sciences. Isnard, whose body lies in SS. Gervase and Protase, Pavia, was venerated immediately upon his death. His cult was approved in 1912 (decree published in 1919).
Feast: March 22.
Bibliography: Analecta Sacri Ordinis Praedicatorum 6 (1908) 650–651, 652; 10 (1911–12) 722; 11 (1913–14) 294, 475–477; 14 (1919) 81–85; 14 (1920) 6–11, 65. r. maiocchi, Il b. Isnardo da Vicenza (2d ed. Foligno 1920). j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes 13:31–32. a. duval, Catholicisme 6:187–188.
[w. a. hinnebusch]