FILARETE DI CALABRIA, SANTO

FILARETE of Calabria, saint. — Basilian ascetic, born in Palermo in 1202 to Calabrian parents who had been deported by the Saracens; died on 6 April 1070. His family regained their freedom in 1038, and with it F. went to Calabria. In 1040 he was in Reggio; shortly afterward he retired to the monastery of Aulinas, near Tauriano; then to Sinopoli, and finally, at the age of 25, to S. Elia above Palmi, where he placed himself under the ascetic guidance of Abbot Oreste, who rigorously trained him in the spiritual life. He underwent many mortifications and was eventually put in charge of the stable. Yet he won the esteem of his contemporaries, who regarded him as a saint. He was publicly venerated at S. Elia (Palmi), which took his name, and at Palermo, where some relics are preserved in the cathedral.