Saint Albert of Trapani
PATRON OF CARMEL
HISTORY FAITH
AND MIRACLES
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Who is Saint Albert of Trapani?
Albert of Trapani, also called Albert of Messina or Albert of Sicily, born c. 1240 in Trapani, Sicily and died in 1307 in Messina, is an Italian Carmelite religious of the Middle Ages, canonized in the fifteenth century by the Catholic Church and celebrated on August 7. Famous in Sicily, he is known to have performed many miracles, including the rescue of the besieged city of Messina in 1301.
Albert was born into a noble Florentine family: the Degli Abati. He would have been born after 6 years of marriage (without children for the couple). His parents had promised to consecrate him to God because they had trouble having a child.
Albert entered the Carmelite monastery of Mount Trapani at a very young age. Some sources indicate that he would have returned to the Carmel order at the age of 8. There, the young Albert « vows chastity, renounces wealth, the pleasure of the senses, thus abandoning all the servitudes of the world, and devotes his life to contemplation ». He initially refused to be ordained a priest, but finally gave in to the insistence of the brothers and superiors.
Dans sa communauté, Albert est reconnu pour ses vertus, son amour de la pureté et de la prière, et la qualité de sa prédication. De nombreux miracles lui sont même attribués.
In 1280 he was appointed provincial of the Carmel of Trapani. He was sent in 1287 to the Carmel priory of Messina where he devoted himself to the proclamation of the Gospel and dialogue with the Jewish community. He will stay there until his death. Some members of the Jewish community discover Jesus of Nazareth thanks to him, recognize him as the Messiah expected (by the Jews), and convert to Catholicism.
In 1301, the city of Messina was besieged by Duke Robert of Calabria and lacked food. Albert celebrates Mass, at the request of the inhabitants. When the service ends, three ships loaded with grains cross the besiegers’ troop and enter the city. She is saved from famine, and Robert lifts the siege. This miracle was attributed to Albert who was venerated long after his death.
Saint Albert is celebrated on August 7th.
Saint Albert was the first Carmel whose worship spread in the Carmel order. He was thus considered his boss and protector or « father » of Carmel. He shares this title with another saint of his time: Angel of Jerusalem.
The most typical iconographic attribute of this saint is a crucifix between two lilies, as appears the polychrome sculpture by Alfonse Cano (Carmelite priory of Seville, seventeenth century). Other times, the saint is represented with the Child Jesus in his arms, while he chases the devil with his foot. We also find him represented with a book (or without a book), wearing a lily flower, a symbol of his victory over the senses at the beginning of his religious life. From the seventeenth century he is represented performing miracles1.
Saint Albert is invoked for the exorcisms of the possessed, as well as against earthquakes and for the healing of the sick. The healing of certain patients by the saint is represented in the Sforza Book of Hours (British Museum).
(Source: Wikipedia)
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