LUDOVICO da FOSSOMBRONE. — Of the noble Tenaglia family, from 1526 promoter and first organizer of the Franciscan reform of the Friars Minor Capuchin, he died outside the Order, probably in the region of Cagli, after 1555.
From a military career he entered the Friars Minor Observants; toward the end of 1525, he joined Matteo da Bascio in order to establish a strict observance of the Franciscan Rule.
He obtained an initial authorization from the Holy See on 18 May 1526, which was expanded by the bull Religionis zelus (Clement VII, 3 July 1528), establishing the canonical foundation; in 1529 he promulgated the first Constitutions. After Matteo da Bascio had regained his freedom of action, as vicar general (1529–33) he skillfully defended the Order against obstacles and opposition, won for it religious of notable mettle, and spread its convents. But he was at fault in wishing to remain in command, in order to impose his orientation toward an eremitical life, contemplation, and manual labor, against the Chapter of November 1535, reiterated on 22 September 1536, which tempered the primitive form with choral liturgy, study, preaching, and the ministry of charity. Expelled from the Order, he maintained an edifying conduct; around 1550 he was readmitted by the superior general to the Convent of Amelia, but the protector cardinal, R. Pio Leonelli, ordered his removal. He lived as a penitent hermit.