TOMMASO da VILLANOVA, saint. - Archbishop of Valenza, born in 1488 at Fuenllana near Villanueva, died at Valenza on 8 Sept. 1555.
Having entered the Hermits of St. Augustine in 1515 and been ordained priest (1520), he was prior of various convents and provincial of Andalusia and Castile. Court preacher to Carlo V, he refused appointment as archbishop of Granata (1542), but, by virtue of obedience, had to accept the archbishopric of Valenza in 1544. In the exercise of his pastoral duties, he regarded himself as the servant of his spiritual children. Allowing the singular charity toward the poor, which he had practised from childhood, to expand, he employed the revenues of the episcopal mensa in charitable works for the needy and sick, for the ransom of prisoners, and founded three colleges for poor students and abandoned young women. As a sign of humility and penance, he wished to continue wearing the religious habit and observing the rules of his Order. His writings are also important, especially the ascetical treatise Sermón del amor de Dios. His example and doctrine made him one of the most important figures of the Spanish Catholic Reform. He was beatified by Paolo V (1618) and canonized by Alessandro VIII on 1 Nov. 1658. Feast day: 22 Sept.