St. Bernadine of Siena
(1380 - 1444)

St. Bernardine was born in Tuscany. His parents died when he was seven years old and he was taken in by relatives who raised him as if he were their own.

As a youth, he possessed a strong love for the Blessed Virgin Mary and spoke to her as a child speaks to his mother. She kept him chaste and pure.

While still a student at the University of Siena, he took charge of the hospital there when an epidemic killed most of the staff. Later he looked after a bedridden aunt until her death.

At the age of 22, he became a Franciscan. He was an energetic and popular preacher who spent years travelling on foot throughout Italy preaching to huge audiences. As a priest, he promoted peace among the warring Italian cities, and worked hard for the reform of the Franciscan order and for church unity. He encouraged devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus and is known for his use of the monogram IHS.

Bernadine died on May 20, 1444, at the age of sixty-four in Aquila, Italy. He was declared a saint in 1450, by Pope Nicholas V. Saint Bernardine is the patron of advertisers and advertising; he is invoked against hoarseness.

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