Benedict the Moor, Saint

BENEDETTO the MOOR, saint. - Born c. 1526 in S. Fratello near Messina, of descendants of slave ancestors brought to Sicily from Africa, he was freed. Even among the companions with whom he tended the flock, he was called the “Holy Moor” because of his angelic disposition and native complexion. Eager for penance, he joined the institute of the Hermits of Girolamo Lanza, whom he succeeded as superior. In 1562, when the institute was suppressed by Pius IV, he entered the Friars Minor at the convent of S. Maria di Gesù in Palermo, humbly performing the office of cook. Severe with himself, he was wholly loving toward his confrères, who, admiring such virtue, in 1578 elected him, although a lay brother, guardian, then vicar and master of novices in the same convent, where he died on 4 Apr. 1589. He was canonized by Pius VII on 24 May 1807, and Palermo had chosen him as its patron as early as 1652. His feast is observed on 4 Apr.