Charles of Sezze, Blessed

CARLO DA SEZZE, beato. - Franciscan lay brother, in the world Giovanni Carlo Melchior, b. at Sezze Romano on Oct. 19, 1613, d. at Rome on Jan. 6, 1670. Having made his solemn vows on May 19, 1636, after a brief stay in some convents of the Roman province, he entered

Rome, in that of S. Francesco a Ripa where he remained almost uninterruptedly until his death. Through ecstatic prayer he attained the passive purification of the soul and consequently mystical graces such as visions, prophecies, etc., for which he was venerated by many even while still alive. In Oct. 1648, while praying in the church of S. Giuseppe a Capo le Case, his heart was pierced by a dart of light emanating from the consecrated Host, and it remained wounded. The process of beatification was opened immediately after his death, and on Oct. 1, 1881, Leo XIII inscribed him in the catalogue of the blessed.

Although he was practically illiterate, he wrote several works, of which the following have been published: Trattato delle tre vie della meditazione, e stati della santa contemplazione (Roma 1654, 2nd ed. ibi 1664; 3rd ed. ibi 1742); Canti spirituali (in the appendix to the 2nd ed. of the preceding work); Cammino interno dell'anima (ibi 1664); Settenari sacri (ibi 1666), with the Esercizio divoto per la novena di Nostro Signore in the appendix, republished in 1865. Many others are preserved in manuscript in the library of the Postulation of the Friars Minor in Rome, the most important of which is: Le grandezze della misericordia di Dio, which contains his autobiography.