PARENTI, GIOVANNI. — Friar Minor, born, it seems, at Carmignano near Florence in the second half of the 12th century and died at Ornano (Corsica) in 1250.
A doctor of law, he first held the office of judge at Civita Castellana; having become a Franciscan, in 1219 he was sent by St Francis to Spain, where he founded a first convent near Saragossa. He was the first minister of the Spanish province. At the Chapter of Assisi, on 30 May 1227, G. was elected the first successor of St Francis.
His activity, often obstructed by the interference of Friar Elia, was directed toward the expansion and organization of the Order. In 1230, together with St Anthony and other ministers, he took part in the delegation to Gregory IX, who on that occasion issued the bull Quo elongati in order to resolve disputes that had arisen concerning the interpretation of the Rule of the Friars Minor. During his government, the canonization of St Francis and St Anthony of Padua took place, as did the translation of the remains of the holy Founder to the new basilica at Assisi. In 1230 Gregory IX sent him from Perugia to Rome to quell the revolt provoked by Annibaldo degli Annibaldi (Anal. Franc., 3 [1897], p. 211), and then to Florence to negotiate peace between that city and Siena (Bull. Franc., I [a. 1230], no. 57, p. 70 ff.). In 1232, having resigned the office of minister general, he was replaced at the Chapter of Rieti by Friar Elia, and G. requested permission to retire to Corsica, where he continued for several years to work to establish the Order on the island.