St. Andrew Corsini’s mother had a dream when he was born. She saw herself give birth to a wolf, which then ran into a church and was changed into a lamb.

Andrew lived his early life as a wolf of sorts—he lived in 14th century Italy and spent his time with troublesome friends pursuing vice and extravagance. His mother never stopped praying for him, however, and told him that he had been dedicated to the service of God through the intercession of Mary.

The rebukes from his parents shamed him, and gave him a desire to live up to their expectations. He went to pray in a Carmelite monastery, and was so moved by grace that he decided to enter that order. His friends tried to convince him to leave and rejoin them, but he stayed.

Andrew was ordained a priest in 1328, and after traveling and preaching, as well as furthering his education, he was chosen to lead the monastery he had joined. He was known as a holy man who could foresee the future and heal the sick. He healed people who were suffering from moral sickness as well—one of his cousins was a hardened gambler who converted his ways thanks to Andrew.

In 1349, Andrew was elected bishop, but he did not want to accept, so he hid himself in a distant cloistered monastery. A child discovered him, and he was forced to accept the role. As bishop, he doubled his disciplines, sleeping on the floor and carefully guarding who he listened to. He took care of the poor in a special way—he washed the feet of poor people every Thursday, for example, and never turned away anyone seeking money or food.

Andrew was also known to be able to effectively resolve conflict, so the pope sent him to a nearby region where the nobility were quarrelling with the people and he was able to make peace.

St. Andrew died at the age of 71, and so many miracles happened around his death that he was immediately declared a saint by popular demand. The pope formally canonized him in 1629, an event that is depicted here in an illustration from the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art on campus. St. Andrew’s relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica and his image, above, is used with permission from Catholic.org.

St. Andrew Corsini, your humility overcame a rebellious childhood, and you tried to avoid your election as bishop by hiding--pray for us!

Image credit:
Agostino Ciampelli (Italian, 1565-1630), Canonization of St. Andrea Corsini (detail), ca. 1629, ink and wash on paper. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art: Gift of Miss Agnes Mongan, 1980.070.