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As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
c. 1245–September 10, 1305
Patron Saint of souls in Purgatory, the dying, babies, sailors, and the Augustinian Order
St. Nicholas of Tolentino was an Augustinian priest whose holiness, pastoral care, and extraordinary miracles made him a beloved pastor.
Born around 1245 in Sant’Angelo in Pontano, Italy, he was the long-awaited child of parents who had prayed for years for a son. They made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Nicholas of Myra, asking for his intercession. After their son was born, they named him Nicholas in gratitude for the saint’s intercession.
As a young man, Nicholas was moved by a sermon on the world’s fleeting vanity, which inspired him to join the Augustinian order. After seven years of study and formation, he was ordained a priest and assigned to the town of Tolentino, where he would serve for the rest of his life.
In Tolentino, Nicholas became known as a compassionate pastor who devoted himself to the poor, the sick, and those burdened in spirit. He faced hardships in his ministry due to the social strife, crime, and opposition in the community he served. In addition, illness and physical weakness challenged his well-being. Yet he remained steadfast, drawing strength from prayer, fasting, and penance.
Nicholas was also favored with visions and mystical experiences. Once, when he was sick, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in a vision instructing him to bless bread marked with a cross and to dip it in water before eating to recover his own health. Recovering quickly, he blessed bread and shared it with the sick and needy. Many healings were reported because of this practice.
According to tradition, a deceased friend appeared to him asking Nicholas to offer Masses and prayers for souls in Purgatory. He offered Masses for seven consecutive days. After a second apparition from his friend, Nicholas learned the Masses he had offered released many souls from Purgatory. Because of this, Nicholas is honored as a patron and intercessor for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
At his death in 1305, devotion to Nicholas spread quickly. More than three hundred miracles were recorded through his intercession, leading to his canonization in 1446. Today, the “St. Nicholas Bread” is still blessed and distributed in his honor in many parishes on his feast day.
Nicholas is remembered as an intercessor for the Holy Souls in Purgatory because he had a vision of a deceased friar and friend, Pellegrino, who was suffering there. Pellegrino showed Nicholas a valley of suffering souls and asked him to offer Masses and prayers for their release. Filled with compassion, Nicholas began to pray, fast, and offer daily Mass for the suffering souls. After seven days, St. Nicholas received a second visit from Pellegrino, who said St. Nicholas’s prayers had helped many souls enter the Glory of Heaven. This experience gave St. Nicholas a fervent devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and he began offering penance and prayers for them.
As an Augustinian, St. Nicholas drew strength from community life, his love of Scripture, and his love for his flock. He lived a strict life of penance, fasting, and intense contemplative prayer. As a preacher and peacemaker, St. Nicholas helped the people of Tolentino, a city experiencing civil strife and social unrest. He served the marginalized in Tolentino, Italy, providing food and aid to beggars and the destitute. As a confessor, he preached in the streets, delivering sermons that led to conversions and helping to restore peace and unity within the community. Through his preaching and peacemaking, he embodied the Augustinian ideal of seeking unity and reconciliation within the Church and among people.
Through the intercession of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, God performed various miracles, including healing the sick, multiplying food, and raising more than one hundred children from the dead, including a remarkable account of several children who had drowned together. About three hundred reported miracles were attributed to his intercession. He healed the blind, lame, and deaf and is particularly recognized as a protector of the souls in Purgatory. Known for his compassion for the sick, he would often distribute blessed bread marked with a cross (now known as “St. Nicholas Bread”) to those seeking healing.
The Blessed Virgin Mary bore extreme pains throughout her life. And as the mother of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53), she witnessed her Son’s Passion and Death on the Cross. This is why, as we face our own pains and temptations, we should turn to Our Lady of Sorrows and meditate on her Seven Dolors, or Sorrows.
This free eBook will encourage you to meditate on these Sorrows that pierced Mary’s Immaculate Heart. Use the form below to tell us where to send your free eBook, The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
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