LUCHESIUS OF POGGIBONSI, BL.

First Franciscan tertiary; b. Gaggiano, Tuscany, Italy, c. 1181; d. Poggibonsi, between Florence and Siena, April 28, 1260. A tall Guelf soldier turned greedy merchant and grain speculator, Luchesius underwent a change of heart, probably before meeting St. francis of assisi c. 1213. With his wife, Buona dei Segni, he distributed his wealth to the poor, retaining only a field that he farmed himself. He then undertook an apostolate of charity, seeking out and nursing sick paupers and begging food for the hungry. Luchesius and Buona were among the first to whom St. Francis, in 1221, gave the long grey habit and strict rule of his Third Order. Luchesius and Buona died the same day. Luchesius had received the graces of ecstatic prayer and levitation, and after his death acquired fame for miracles. Pope Bl. gregory x first approved his cult in 1273 at Poggibonsi, and a basilica was built over his tomb c. 1300. The cult was confirmed in 1694. Basilica and town, almost completely destroyed by Allied bombing in 1944, have been rebuilt.

Feast: April 28.

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum Apr. 3:600–616. c. r. hallack and p. f. anson, These Made Peace, rev. and ed. m. a. habig (Paterson, N.J. 1957) 2–9, 243. g. duhamelet, Lucchese, Premier tertiaire franciscain, 1180–1260 (Paris 1960). Quaderni Poggibonsesi (Poggibonsi 1960). o. englebert, St. Francis of Assisi: A Biography, tr. e. m. cooper, 2d augm. ed. by i. brady and r. brown (Chicago 1966). m. minghi, Poggibonsi: repertorio bibliografico delle località e delle persone (Poggibonsi 1986).

[r. brown]