ZANFREDINE (ZANFERDINI), FRANCESCO, called CECCO da PESARO, blessed. — Hermit of the Third Order of St Francis, born in 1270, died at Montegranaro on 5 August 1350.
Around 1300 he donned the habit of a tertiary, having distributed his goods among the poor; then, after building, in a secluded place, three little shrines in honor of the Madonna, he withdrew near them to live as a hermit, living in contemplation. Only once a month did he go into the surrounding area to beg for nourishment. He subdued his body with hair shirts, fasts, and vigils; he was granted the gift of miracles and prophecy. His body is preserved in the cathedral of Pesaro, and the veneration shown to him at all times was approved by Pius IX on 31 March 1859.
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BIBL.: Acta SS. Augusti, I, Venezia 1750, pp. 658-62; M. Bonucci, Vita del b. Francesco da Pesaro volcamente chiamato Cecco, Pesaro 1855; BHG, 471; Leone [Patrem], Aureola serafica, III, Quaracchi 1899, pp. 148-54. Felice da Mareto