Carmelite Saint of the Day

Saint Peter Thomas, Bishop

The Carmelite Proper

Born about 1305 in southern Periogord in France, Peter Thomas entered the Carmelites when he was twenty-one. He was chosen by the Order as its procurator general to the Papal court at Avignon in 1345. After being made bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354, he was entrusted with many papal missions to promote peace and unity with the Eastern Churches. He was translated to the see of Corone in the Peloponnesus in 1359 and made Papal Legate for the East. In 1363 he was appointed Archbishop of Crete and in 1364 Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. He won a reputation as an apostle of church unity before he died at Famagosta on Cyprus in 1366.

A reading from the Life of St. Peter Thomas by his secretary, Philip of Mezieres:

As the Feast of Christmas drew near, my father presided in person at the divine services. In the middle of the night which ushered in the feast he made his way from the Carmelite Monastery where he was staying to the cathedral of Famagosta for the solemn celebration of Matins...he was affected by the cold and caught an infection in the throat, for he was weakened by fasting and vigils and wore only light clothing, following the example of the holy fathers of the desert...

Then he asked that the sacred Body of the Lord be brought to him, and he received communion with reverence and unfeigned faith...after this he lay down on some sackloth spread on the ground and waited calmly for the arrival of the bishop...

When the anointing was finished, my father devoutly recited the confiteor and received absolution from the bishop. He humbly asked forgiveness of him, his household and all the assisting clergy if he had in any way offended them in the exercise of his office; and at the same time he requested them to ask on his behalf the same pardon of all the inhabitants of Cyprus and elsewhere. Finally, he gave up his soul to the God who made him. It was the sixth day of january in the year of our salvation thirteen hundred and sixty -six.

Peace be with you!
Rosemarie
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