BERNARD (EMILIANI) of PESARO. – Capuchin preacher, born in Pesaro around 1626, died there on 22 April 1706. He took the Capuchin habit on 16 December 1646 and later held with distinction within the Order the offices of guardian and general commissioner of the Province of Nice.
He preached with acclaim in the major Italian cities. Domenico Lazzarini composed an elegy in his praise (Opere, Venetian edition, p. 366). He published: *L’Innocenza trionfante*, a panegyric on St Geminian (Modena, 1667–71); *La mela sublime dei pubblici sguardi*, a discourse delivered in the Senate hall of Lucca (Lucca, 1686); *La vigilanza cristiana tesoriera dell’eternità* (Rome, 1695), a work of notable ascetical value. The entire treatise unfolds around the words *Vigilate, omni tempore orantes*; it demonstrates that forgetfulness of God is the cause of all moral evils, and that keeping the eyes of the spirit constantly open to the inspirations of grace and supernatural realities is the most effective remedy. Perfection consists in being immersed in God.