Saint Andrew Avellino, Confessor
S. Andreae Avellini Confessoris
Saint Andrew Avellino, a priest of the Theatine Order, was renowned for his zeal in the reform of souls, his daily vow to grow ever in virtue, and his holy and happy death at the foot of the altar.
Saint Andrew Avellino was born in the year 1521 at Castronuovo, in the kingdom of Naples, and was given at baptism the name of Lancelot. He studied the law and was ordained a priest, serving at first in the courts of the Church; but moved by grace, and resolved to give himself wholly to God, he laid aside the practice of law and entered the Order of Clerics Regular, the Theatines, taking the name of Andrew in memory of the Apostle.
A life of zeal and penance
As a Theatine, Saint Andrew gave himself to the reform of religious life and the salvation of souls. He laboured at the reform of convents, was a tireless preacher and confessor, and undertook with great fruit the founding and direction of houses of his Order in various cities of Italy. He was sought out as a spiritual guide by many, among them holy men and bishops of his time, and his counsel and example drew many souls to a more fervent service of God.
What the tradition remembers above all is the resolution by which he ordered his whole inner life: a daily vow to advance continually in virtue, never to rest content with what he had attained, but to press on toward perfection. This was the secret of his holiness, the “wondrous ascents” of the soul to which the prayer of his feast makes reference — the steady, daily climbing toward God by self-denial, prayer, and charity. He joined to this zeal a deep humility and a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
His holy death
Saint Andrew died at Naples on the tenth of November, 1608, in the eighty-eighth year of his age. He was stricken as he began to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and so passed to God at the very foot of the altar he had served so long — a death that the faithful have ever regarded as the fitting crown of his life. From this circumstance he came to be invoked by many as a patron for a holy death and against sudden and unprovided death. He was canonised in the eighteenth century.
The collect of his feast recalls the wondrous ascents which God wrought in the heart of Saint Andrew through his daily vow of growing in virtue, and prays that we, by his merits and intercession, may so share in that same grace as to be brought at last to the height of God’s glory. In him the Church honours a priest of penance and zeal, ever striving toward perfection, and faithful to the end.
The Collect
O God, who in the heart of blessed Andrew, by his daily vow of advancing in virtue through earnest striving, didst dispose wondrous ascents unto thee: grant unto us, by his merits and intercession, so to be made partakers of the same grace, that, ever pursuing the things that are more perfect, we may be happily brought unto the height of thy glory.
Deus, qui in corde beáti Andréæ per árduum quotídie in virtútibus proficiéndi votum, admirábiles ad te ascensiónes disposúisti: concéde nobis, ipsíus méritis et intercessióne, ita eiúsdem grátiæ partícipes fíeri; ut perfectióra semper exsequéntes, ad tuæ tandem glóriæ fastígium felíciter perducámur.
Patronage
He is invoked as a patron for a holy death and against sudden and unprovided death, having died at the foot of the altar as he began to say Mass.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar this commemoration is no longer kept on the universal calendar.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Andrew Avellino?
His feast is kept on 10 November in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Third Class feast. In the modern calendar it is no longer observed on the universal calendar.
Who was Saint Andrew Avellino?
He was an Italian priest of the Theatine Order (1521–1608), born at Castronuovo near Naples. A lawyer who became a priest and then a Theatine, he laboured at the reform of religious life and the care of souls, was renowned for his daily vow to grow in virtue, and died at the foot of the altar as he began to offer Mass. He was canonised in the eighteenth century.
Why is he invoked against sudden death?
Saint Andrew was stricken at the very beginning of Mass and died at the foot of the altar in 1608. Because his own passing, though sudden, found him in the act of holy service and well prepared, the faithful have long invoked him as a patron for a holy death and against sudden and unprovided death.
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