BERNARDO (EMILIANI) da PESARO. - Capuchin preacher, born at Pesaro about 1626, died there on 22 April 1706. He donned the Capuchin habit on 16 December 1646, and subsequently commendably held within the Order the offices of guardian and general commissary of the province of Nice.
He preached to great acclaim in the principal Italian cities. Domenico Lazzarini composed an Elegy in his praise (Opere, Venetian ed., p. 366). He published: Innocence Triumphant, a panegyric of S. Geminiano (Modena, 1667–71); The Sublime Goal of Public Regard, an address delivered in the hall of the Senate of Lucca (Lucca 1686); Christian Vigilance, Treasurer of Eternity (Rome 1695), a work of considerable ascetical value. The entire treatise develops around the words Vigilate, omni tempore orantes; it demonstrates that, since forgetfulness of God is the cause of all moral evils, keeping the eyes of the spirit constantly open to the inspirations of grace and to supernatural realities is the most effective remedy. Perfection consists in immersing oneself in God.