Preacher to the People

Lorenzo Brunazzo

It was: “Truly a man well-versed in divine wisdom, already recognised as poor in spirit amongst the brotherhood of the poor, who does not assume this honour of his own accord, but is called to it, and is rightly entrusted with the office of the Word.” In the brief biography accompanying my liturgical office, I, brother Giuliano da Spira, wished to comment on the great turning point that occurred in the life of Blessed Anthony. In 1222, in Forlì, the Saint was compelled to reveal his evangelical wisdom, which had been kept secret in the hermitage of Montepaolo, and to preach to the people. This was a crucial turning point not only for him, but also for the entire Order of Friars Minor, to which I belong.

From that moment on, our fraternity combined the poverty and communion desired by St Francis with the ever-urgent mission of proclaiming the foundations of the faith to the people and urging them to convert their hearts and customs. Throughout the history of the Church, preaching has experienced mixed fortunes. Following the sermons of the early Church Fathers, which remain unsurpassed models to this day, it was the Carolingian Empire that imposed the obligation on clerics to preach in the vernacular during homilies, conveying the essential principles of the faith. In practice, however, this amounted to a modest form of catechesis: the bishops, who were primarily responsible for this task, were often distracted by other matters, and even the monks and canons regular who had left their cloisters to support the Gregorian Reform eventually abandoned it... (continue)

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