MACONI, STEFANO. - Carthusian, born in Siena around 1350, died in the convent of S. Maria delle Grazie in Pavia on 7 September (or August) 1424. In 1376 he joined the “comitiva” of St. Catherine of Siena, becoming one of her habitual secretaries; he accompanied her on her travels and served as her ambassador to Florence (1377). To obey the Saint’s wishes, he entered the Charterhouse of Pontignano (1381), of which he became prior (1382–89). From then on, he devoted himself to implementing the reform of the Order, in accordance with St. Catherine’s desire. At the express request of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, he served as vicar general (1389–1410), which required him to move to Seitz (Austria). He later became prior again at Pontignano (1410) and then at S. Maria delle Grazie in Pavia. He is venerated as blessed within his Order.
In 1411, he sent his deposition in support of the canonization of St. Caffarini (v.): this was published in Brescia (1496), in the *Acta Sanctorum Aprilis* (III, Antwerp 1675, pp. 968–973), and in various other editions, including the most recent in *Il processo Castellano*, edited by M.-H. Laurent (*Fontes vitae s. Catharinae Senensis*, 9), Milan 1942, pp. 257–74. In April 1419, he translated into Latin the *Dialogo della Divina Provvidenza*, which the Saint had dictated to him in the vernacular shortly before her death; this translation was long attributed to Raymond of Capua (editions: Brescia 1496; Cologne 1553, 1596, 1601; Ingolstadt 1583; cf. I. Taurisano, *Dialogo della Divina Provvidenza*, Rome 1947, pp. xxiv–xxix). Modern scholarship has also definitively attributed to Maconi the vernacular version of the *Leggenda minore di s. Caterina da Siena* written by Tommaso Caffarini, which he completed between 1417 and 1421 (ed. F. Grottanelli, *Leggenda minore di s. Caterina e lettere dei suoi discepoli* [*Collezione di opere inedite o rare*, 26], Bologna 1686). Several letters by Maconi have also been published (cf. F. Grottanelli, *op. cit.*, see index).