Bernardino of Siena

Timeline

1. 1380–1400Siena · TuscanyBernardino was orphaned at six and raised by his aunt; after studying civil and canon law in 1397 he joined the Confraternity of Santa Maria della Scala. When the plague struck Siena in 1400, he and ten companions took over the Scala hospital for four months, caring for the sick at full stretch, after which his health was impaired.
2. 1401–1410Colombaio · TuscanyHe entered the Franciscan convent of San Francesco in Siena in September 1402, went to the convent of Colombaio to complete his novitiate, professed religious vows in 1403, and was ordained in 1404. Around 1405 he founded the convent of Capriola and served as its guardian; in 1406 Vincent Ferrer prophesied that he would inherit the mission of preaching in Italy. Between 1401 and 1410 he focused on retreat, spirituality, and convent building, laying the groundwork for his later large-scale public preaching.
3. 1417–1444Italian Peninsula · ItalyFrom 1417 Bernardino preached publicly in Florence and elsewhere, famed for the IHS monogram of the Holy Name of Jesus and calls for moral reform, drawing audiences of tens of thousands. In 1438 he became vicar-general of the Observant Franciscans in Italy, promoting the order's unity and reform; he died at L'Aquila on 20 May 1444 and was canonized in 1450.