Francis Solanus
Encyclopedia
Saint
Francis Solanus, O.F.M., (10 March 1549 – 14 July 1610) was a Spanish
friar
and missionary
in South America, belonging to the Order of Friars Minor (the Franciscans), who is honored as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church
.
, near Córdoba, Spain
, the third child of Mateo Sánchez Solano and Ana Jiménez. He was educated by the Jesuits, but felt drawn to the poverty and penitential
life of the Franciscan friars. At the age of twenty, he joined the Order of Friars Minor at Montilla, entering the novitiate
at St. Lawrence Friary, which was located in place of great natural beauty. The community there belonged to the Reformed observance within the Order, following a very strict routine of prayer, silence and fasting
. Francis followed this regimen rigorously, always going barefoot, abstaining from meat and wearing a hairshirt
throughout that entire year. As a result, however, his health was permanently effected, leaving him sick and fatigued.
He was solemly professed at the end of his novitiate year, on 25 April 1570. He was then sent to the friary of Our Lady of Loreto in Seville
for his seminary
studies. There he learned not only Philosophy
and Theology
but developed his musical talents. He was ordained
in 1576, a ceremony his mother was unable to attend due to her poor health. He was then named Master of Ceremonies for the community. Still a lover of simplicity, Francis made a small cell
for himself by the chapel of the friary, made of clay and reeds, with a waterspout for ventilation.
After completing his final theological studies, Solanus was assigned as a itinerant preacher to the surrounding villages of the region. He was eventually given a license as a confessor
. During this period, he requested that he might be allowed to go preach in North Africa
, with the hope of achieving martyrdom for preaching the Catholic faith. He was denied this request. At that point, Solano shifted his vision to the American missions.
After the death of his father, Solano returned to his hometown of Montilla to care for his mother. During that time, he gained the reputation of a wonderworker, as a number of people were cured of their afflictions through his intervention. In 1581 he was sent by his superiors to the friary in Arruzafa as Master of novices
, where he served for two years, giving the young novice
s inspiration through his constant visits to the sick. About that time, there occurred a large outbreak of the plague
in Andalusia
, centered in the city of Montoro
. With another friar as a companion, Solano spent over a month caring for and consoling the victims, who had been sent out of the city to a small chapel in the outlying countryside. Both friars contracted the plague, but Solano was the only one to survive the infection. There is still a street in that city to honor him for his labors during that plague.
Philip II
requested that the Franciscans send missionaries to preach the Gospel
in the Americas. Solano still desired greatly to serve there. He was granted his request and sailed from Spain to the Americas
in 1589, landing in Colombia
, then boarding a boat to Peru
on the Pacific side, after crossing the Panamanian isthmus.
For twenty years Francis worked at evangelizing the vast regions of Tucuman
(present day northwestern Argentina) and Paraguay
. He had a skill for languages and succeeded at learning many of the regions' native tongues in a fairly short period. It is claimed that he could also address tribes of different tongues in one language yet be understood by them all. Being a musician as well, Francis also played the violin frequently for the natives, which helped them relate better to him. He is often depicted playing this instrument.
After that came Francis' appointment as guardian of the Franciscan friary in Lima
. Further, he filled the same office for the friaries of his Order in Tucuman and Paraguay.
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In 1610, it is said he predicted the devastating 1618 earthquake
of Trujillo
, Peru. He is also said to have foretold his own death, which occurred in 1610 at Lima, Peru. Solanus was beatified by Pope Clement X
in 1675, and canonized by Pope Benedict XIII
in 1726. His feast is kept throughout the Franciscan Order on July 24 (except currently the United States, where it is celebrated on July 14).
, the northernmost mission along California's
El Camino Real
, was named in 1823 for Francis Solanus.
In Humahuaca
, every day at precisely 12-noon, on the city-hall bell-tower, heavy copper doors slowly open and a life-size animated wooden, dramatic-looking statue of San Francisco Solano appears for about two minutes and gives his benediction
to the silent crowd amassed on the village plaza.
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
Francis Solanus, O.F.M., (10 March 1549 – 14 July 1610) was a Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
and missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
in South America, belonging to the Order of Friars Minor (the Franciscans), who is honored as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
Early life
Solanus was born 10 March 1549 in MontillaMontilla
Montilla a town and municipality of southern Spain, in the province of Córdoba, 32 miles south of the provincial capital, Córdoba, by the Córdoba-Bobadilla railway. , the town had a population of 23,245. The olive oil of the district is abundant and good, and it is the peculiar flavour of the pale...
, near Córdoba, Spain
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, the third child of Mateo Sánchez Solano and Ana Jiménez. He was educated by the Jesuits, but felt drawn to the poverty and penitential
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
life of the Franciscan friars. At the age of twenty, he joined the Order of Friars Minor at Montilla, entering the novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
at St. Lawrence Friary, which was located in place of great natural beauty. The community there belonged to the Reformed observance within the Order, following a very strict routine of prayer, silence and fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
. Francis followed this regimen rigorously, always going barefoot, abstaining from meat and wearing a hairshirt
Hairshirt
A hairshirt is a cilice, an uncomfortable shirt worn by some Catholics and, earlier, by Jews as a sign of penance. This may also refer to:*Hairshirt , a 1998 motion picture starring Dean Paras, Chris Hogan, Evan Glenn and Neve Campbell...
throughout that entire year. As a result, however, his health was permanently effected, leaving him sick and fatigued.
He was solemly professed at the end of his novitiate year, on 25 April 1570. He was then sent to the friary of Our Lady of Loreto in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
for his seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
studies. There he learned not only Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
but developed his musical talents. He was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
in 1576, a ceremony his mother was unable to attend due to her poor health. He was then named Master of Ceremonies for the community. Still a lover of simplicity, Francis made a small cell
Cell
-Science and technology:*Cell , the functional basic unit of life*Cell , a term used in an electronic circuit design schematics*Cell , a three-dimensional element, part of a higher-dimensional object*Cell , a scientific journal...
for himself by the chapel of the friary, made of clay and reeds, with a waterspout for ventilation.
After completing his final theological studies, Solanus was assigned as a itinerant preacher to the surrounding villages of the region. He was eventually given a license as a confessor
Confessor
-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...
. During this period, he requested that he might be allowed to go preach in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, with the hope of achieving martyrdom for preaching the Catholic faith. He was denied this request. At that point, Solano shifted his vision to the American missions.
After the death of his father, Solano returned to his hometown of Montilla to care for his mother. During that time, he gained the reputation of a wonderworker, as a number of people were cured of their afflictions through his intervention. In 1581 he was sent by his superiors to the friary in Arruzafa as Master of novices
Master of novices
The master of novices or novice master is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to refer those religious to whom is committed the training of the novices and the government of the novitiate of a religious order or congregation...
, where he served for two years, giving the young novice
Novice
A novice is a person or creature who is new to a field or activity. The term is most commonly applied in religion and sports.-Buddhism:In many Buddhist orders, a man or woman who intends to take ordination must first become a novice, adopting part of the monastic code indicated in the vinaya and...
s inspiration through his constant visits to the sick. About that time, there occurred a large outbreak of the plague
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, centered in the city of Montoro
Montoro
Montoro is a city and municipality in the Córdoba Province of southern Spain, in the north-central part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located about east-northeast of the capital of the province, Córdoba...
. With another friar as a companion, Solano spent over a month caring for and consoling the victims, who had been sent out of the city to a small chapel in the outlying countryside. Both friars contracted the plague, but Solano was the only one to survive the infection. There is still a street in that city to honor him for his labors during that plague.
The New World
Shortly after that period, the EmperorEmperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
requested that the Franciscans send missionaries to preach the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
in the Americas. Solano still desired greatly to serve there. He was granted his request and sailed from Spain to the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
in 1589, landing in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, then boarding a boat to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
on the Pacific side, after crossing the Panamanian isthmus.
For twenty years Francis worked at evangelizing the vast regions of Tucuman
Tucumán Province
Tucumán is the most densely populated, and the smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the capital is San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighboring provinces are, clockwise from the north: Salta, Santiago del Estero and...
(present day northwestern Argentina) and Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
. He had a skill for languages and succeeded at learning many of the regions' native tongues in a fairly short period. It is claimed that he could also address tribes of different tongues in one language yet be understood by them all. Being a musician as well, Francis also played the violin frequently for the natives, which helped them relate better to him. He is often depicted playing this instrument.
After that came Francis' appointment as guardian of the Franciscan friary in Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
. Further, he filled the same office for the friaries of his Order in Tucuman and Paraguay.
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
of Trujillo
Trujillo, Peru
Trujillo, in northwestern Peru, is the capital of the La Libertad Region, and the third largest city in Peru. The urban area has 811,979 inhabitants and is an economic hub in northern Peru...
, Peru. He is also said to have foretold his own death, which occurred in 1610 at Lima, Peru. Solanus was beatified by Pope Clement X
Pope Clement X
Pope Clement X , born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was Pope from 29 April 1670 to 22 July 1676.-Early life:Emilio Altieri was born in Rome, the son of Lorenzo Altieri and Victoria Delphini, a Venetian lady...
in 1675, and canonized by Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII
-Footnotes:...
in 1726. His feast is kept throughout the Franciscan Order on July 24 (except currently the United States, where it is celebrated on July 14).
Legacy
Mission San Francisco SolanoMission San Francisco Solano
Mission San Francisco Solano was founded on July 4, 1823, and named for Francis Solanus, a missionary to the Indians of Peru born in Montilla, Spain, known as the "Wonder Worker of the New World." Originally planned as an asistencia to Mission San Rafael Arcángel, it is the northernmost Alta...
, the northernmost mission along California's
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
El Camino Real
El Camino Real (California)
El Camino Real and sometimes associated with Calle Real usually refers to the 600-mile California Mission Trail, connecting the former Alta California's 21 missions , 4 presidios, and several pueblos, stretching from Mission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego...
, was named in 1823 for Francis Solanus.
In Humahuaca
Humahuaca
Humahuaca is a city in the province of Jujuy, Argentina. It has 11,369 inhabitants as per the , and is the principal town of the Department of Humahuaca...
, every day at precisely 12-noon, on the city-hall bell-tower, heavy copper doors slowly open and a life-size animated wooden, dramatic-looking statue of San Francisco Solano appears for about two minutes and gives his benediction
Benediction
A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service.-Judaism:...
to the silent crowd amassed on the village plaza.
External links
- Francis Solano at Patron saints Index
- St. Francis Solano at "Saints Alive" San Francisco Solano