9 January: Saint Andrew Corsini, Bishop
A peacemaker in the midst of conflicts
As a mediator and peacemaker in disputes between warring towns, Saint Andrew Corsini, a Carmelite religious and Bishop of Fiesole, was imprisoned for his zeal.
Saint Andrew was born into an aristocratic Florentine family in Florence on 30 November 1301, and had a carefree adolescence. He entered the Carmine convent when he was 15 years old, distinguishing himself for his charity towards the poor and those in need. After he was ordained a priest, he was sent to the University of Paris to complete his studies.
Andrew was appointed Counsellor of the convent in Florence, in the 1344 Chapter of the Tuscan Province, a position he held until May 1347. In 1348, he travelled to France to participate in the General Chapter of the Order in Metz, during which he was appointed Superior of the Tuscan Province of the Carmelites, a position he held until the early days of 1350.
During the tragic plague of 1348, he dedicated himself with charity and courage to serving the sick. In 1350, when the Bishop of Fiesole died from the plague, Andrew was appointed to succeed him. Feeling unworthy, he hid to avoid the appointment. However, he was found, and was consecrated a Bishop on 13 October 1349.
During his episcopate, he made a significant break from tradition. Unlike the previous Bishops of Fiesole, who had been residing in a lavish Florentine palace for a century, he chose to reside in the episcopal palace of Fiesole, despite its need for repairs and its lack of furnishings.
He was a well-known preacher, who was dedicated to prayer, penance, and pastoral visits to parishes, and a staunch defender of the Church’s freedom, against the powerful. He focused his attention on the clergy, promoting both their cultural and spiritual formation.
The Holy See also entrusted him with difficult missions, such as his 1368 mission to Bologna, to reconcile the warring factions.
He died on the evening of Epiphany in 1374.
Clement XII, who was pope from 1730 to 1740 and a member of the Corsini family, had a chapel built in the Basilica of St. John Lateran as a family tomb, in honour of Saint Andrew.