ALFONSO DELLA MADRE ADDOLORATA - Enciclopedia Cattolica, Vol. I, p. 524

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

ALFONSO della MADRE ADDOLORATA – Discalced Carmelite, born León Pavy; b. 7 Feb 1842 at Audenaarde (East Flanders), d. 18 May 1927 at Bruges. He entered the Order in 1861 and in 1869 went to the mission at Mangalore, where at Calicut he built a church, a hospital, and orphanages. Recalled to his province in 1880, he was entrusted in 1893 with the office of promoter of the Malabar missions and founded in Belgium the “Pium Opus,” through which he supplied bishops and missionaries in India with large sums for erecting institutions, schools, and churches. He published several works on missionary history and ascetics.

BIBL.: L. van den Bossche, Le p. Alphonse... contemplatif et apôtre, Bruges 1934; Ambrosius a S. Terezia, Nomenclator Missionariorum Carmelitani, Roma 1943, pp. 23-25.

Alfonso (Alonso) of Madrid. – Spanish Franciscan writer, b. in Madrid in the last quarter of the 15th century. Nothing is known of his life. He wrote: Arte para servir a Dios (Seville 1521); Espejo de ilustres personas (Burgos 1542); Siete meditaciones de la Semana Santa, of which only the place and date of the French translation are known (Paris 1587); Trattato de la doctrina christiana, published together with the Arte.

First in chronological order, the Arte is A.’s masterpiece not for originality of content (the doctrine is faithfully traditional) but for method, clarity, and beauty of exposition. It therefore met with great favor: already in 1526 the 3rd definitive edition appeared at Alcalá, and many subsequent editions and reprints followed in the original language (about 30) and translations into the principal foreign languages. Of the Italian translations the first appeared at Venice in 1558, by the priest Tullio Crispoldo. The Arte is divided into 3 parts: the first expounds the general principles by which our actions must be directed; the second applies these principles to the acts necessary to heal the soul from the ruins of sin, adorn it with virtues, and render it capable of observing the law of love; the third treats of love for God, for neighbor, and for oneself. St Teresa (Vita, ch. 12) recommends this “excellent book,” which stimulates generous love in the service of God.

BIBL.: N. Antonius, Bibliotheca Hispana Nova, I, Madrid 1783, p. 33; L. Wadding, Scriptores Ordinis Minorum, ed. Roma 1906, p. 13; J. B. Sobarlea, Supplementum et castigatio ad scriptores trium Ordinum s. Francisci, I, ed. Roma 1908, p. 26; P. Pourrat, La spiritualité chrétienne, III, Paris 1927, pp. 132 ff.; P. Guillaume, Un précurseur de la Réforme catholique: Alonso de Madrid, in Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique, 25 (1929), pp. 260-74.

Alfonso de Orozco: V. Orozco, Alfonso de.

ALFONSO, Pietro (Mose Sephardio): V. Pietro d'Alfonso.