GIACOMO della MARCA, saint. — Born in 1394 at Monteprandone (diocese of Ripatransone in the Marches) to a very humble family, he died at Naples on 28 November 1476. He completed his studies through the intervention of an uncle who was a priest and, at about the age of twenty, became a Franciscan at Assisi. Having come into contact with s. Bernardino
da Siena, he was won over by him, imitated his preaching, and spread devotion to the name of Jesus, which was dear to Bernardino, defending it against the attacks to which it was subjected. He also went abroad, especially to Hungary, and led the struggle against the Hussites; he came into contact with the Emperor Sigismund, negotiated with the Council of Basel on behalf of the Pontiff, and devoted much attention to the crusade against the Turks, collecting money and influencing the authorities.
He also took part in the disputes between the Conventuals and the Observants and held offices in his Order. Nor should his activity as an inquisitor against the Fraticelli be passed over in silence, an activity that brought him severe criticism and even excommunication, which the Pope promptly lifted, as well as his constant concern for the pawnshops. Tireless in travelling from one city to another for preaching, he gave it a tone of simplicity and liveliness, while grounding it in profound learning; his rich library suffered various vicissitudes after his death. In the final years of his life he settled in Naples. His process of beatification, and subsequently that of canonization, were long and difficult because some of his statements concerning the Most Precious Blood were unclear; he was canonized by Benedict XIII in 1726. Feast day: 28 November.
Of his works, only a small portion of which were published, the following unpublished ones may be mentioned: Quaresimali ed altre raccolte di prediche; the treatise Del Sangue di Cristo; the Dialogo contro i Fraticelli and other polemical writings against heretics; the Campo di Fiori o gran somma di casi penitenziali; Della Confessione, etc.