SERAFINO da FERMO. - Ascetic writer and preacher, b. at Fermo in 1496, d. at Bologna in 1540. He entered the Canons Regular of the Lateran, preached with fruit in northern Italy (Milan, Mantua, and Bologna), drawing inspiration from Fra Battista da Crema (q.v.) and securing a special place in the pre-Tridentine reform.
Among his widely circulated ascetical writings, translated into various languages, may be mentioned: *Opera nova del discernimento delli spiriti* (Mantua 1535); *Specchio interiore* (Bologna 1539); *Problemi sull'orazione* (ibid. 1539), in the form of questions and answers; *Primo e secondo trattato della discrezione* (ibid. 1539); *Trattato per la vita cristiana utilissimo della cognitione et vittoria di se stesso* (ibid. 1541), a compendium of the principal work of Fra Battista da Crema; *Apologia di fra' Battista da Crema* (Milan 1541; the pamphlet, placed on the Index in 1564, was removed in 1900); *Trattato della mental orazione* (ibid. 1543), the most complete work of S., almost a guide to the spiritual life.
S.’s spiritual doctrine, though an occasional elaboration of that of Fra Battista da Crema and lacking in organic unity, emphasizes the work of grace and complete renunciation of one’s own will. He counsels one to “pray in the interior of the spirit,” for this is the ordinary way to attain perfect union with God. For S., the absence of effort is one of the proper elements of contemplation.