Background
Thomas was from Celano in Abruzzo and was born in 1185.
Thomas was from Celano in Abruzzo and was born in 1185.
Birth
Works and Franciscan life
The third is a treatise on the saint"s miracles, written sometime between around 1254 and 1257 at the bidding of Blessed John of Parma, who succeeded Crescentius as Minister General. Thomas"s authorship of the three works on Francis of Assisi is well-established. Thomas also wrote Fregit victor virtualis and Sanctitatis nova signa in honor of Francis. of Saint Clare of Assisi, on the early life of Saint Clare of Assisi and the hymn "Dies Irae" are also traditionally attributed to him, but the authorship of both works is in fact uncertain.
Thomas was not among the earliest disciples of Francis, but he joined the Franciscans around 1215, during the saint"s lifetime, and evidently knew him personally.
In 1221, Thomas was sent to Germany with Caesarius of Speyer to promote the new order there, and in 1223 was named "sole guardian" (custos unicus) of the order"s Rhineland province, which included convents at Cologne, Mainz, Worms, and Speyer. Within a few years he was back in Italy, where he seems to have remained for the rest of his life, with some possible short-term missions to Germany.
Death and burial
He was at first buried in the church of South. Giovanni Val dei Varri, attached to his monastery, but his body is now reburied in the church of South. Francesco at Tagliacozzo. The process for beatification was initiated in Avezzano.
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints declared the process valid and allowed for the opening of the so-called "Roman Phase" on 27 November 1991.
The initiation of the process prior to this date granted him the title Servant of God.