PACIFICO, Blessed. - A companion of s. Francesco, native of the March of Ancona. He was called the “king of verses”: in secular life he was probably a renowned jongleur, skilled also in composing and singing.
He had also been crowned by the Emperor (perhaps Enrico VI or Ottone IV). He had a sister who was a nun at Sanseverino, and once, while going to visit her, he met s. Francesco. A vision prompted him to embrace his way of life, and he became one of the Saint’s confidants. In 1217 the latter sent him as superior of the first Franciscan expedition to France, where he founded convents and became the first provincial of the region. Perhaps in 1223 he returned to Italy, where he is again found at the side of s. Francesco. After 1230, when he was already old, frate Elia, general of the Order, sent him once more to the regions of northern France, where, at an uncertain date, he died in the convent of Lens (Belgium), which he had founded during the first mission.
He enjoys the title of Blessed in the Franciscan Order, in whose Martyrology he is commemorated on 10 July.