TOMMASO ELIA (Hélève) of BIVILLE, Blessed. Priest, b. at Biville (Manche) in 1187, son of Elia and Matilda, d. at the castle of Vauville on 19 Oct. 1257.
He studied in Paris and, after being ordained priest, distinguished himself as a preacher and confessor, marked by a spirit of prayer and penance, and by his care for the sick. Almoner to King St. Louis IX, he devoted the night to prayer and the day to the needs of his neighbour. He was favoured with the spirit of prophecy and the gift of miracles. After his death the people began to venerate him. In 1833 a confraternity in his name was still flourishing. His cult was approved only in 1860, although the process for his canonization had been begun as early as 1261.
BIBL.: Acta SS. Octobris, VIII, Brussels 1833, pp. 592-622; Confirmations cultus ab immemorabili tempore praestiti, Rome 1859; L. de Pontounant, Vie du B. T. Hélève de Biville, suivie d'un poème du XIIe s. publié par la première fois, Cherbourg 1868; C. Louis, Vie du B. T. Hélève, missionnaire, ibid. 1903 (cf. review by Van Ortroy, in Anal. boll., 22 (1903), p. 505). Felice da Mareto