John Benincasa, Bl.
JOHN BENINCASA, BL.
Servite hermit; b. Florence, Italy, 1376; d. Monticelli, Italy, May 9, 1426. He entered the servites at Montepulciano while still very young and at the age of 25 was permitted to embrace the life of a hermit on Mount Montagnata, near Siena, and later in a cave near Monticelli. The local population had great admiration for the rigorous asceticism he practiced in his lonely retreat, and they often sought him out for spiritual advice. His death was reputed to have been announced by the spontaneous ringing of the local church bells. He was buried at Monticelli, and his cult was approved on Dec. 19, 1829. Although he has the same family name, he is not related to (St.) Catherine of Siena.
Feast: May 11.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum, May 7:651–652. l. raffaelli, Vita breve del beato Giovanni Benincasa da Firenze (Rome 1927). a. butler, The Lives of the Saints (New York 1956) 2:275.
[b. j. comaskey]