GABRIEL FERRETTI, BL.

Responsible for the Franciscan crown; b. Ancona, Italy, 1385; d. there, Nov. 12, 1456. Born of the noble family of Ferretti, he joined the Franciscan Observants at the age of 18 (1403), and from the very beginning he was

scrupulous in his observance of the smallest rules. He showed remarkable humility, a virtue that inspired his whole life. He was ordained and became a renowned preacher, and served both as guardian and as provincial. On his death bed in the Franciscan house in Ancona, he was assisted by Bl. George and by St. james of the marches. He was buried in the old church of St. Francis in Ancona. With the permission of innocent viii (1489), two relics were later interred at the right of the high altar in a marble Renaissance mausoleum. Shortly after his death his fellow citizens drew up an official account of his miracles—unfortunately lost—and sent it to Pope callistus iii. A copy of this document was kept in the Franciscan convent; L. wadding quoted from it and noted that it had been damaged. His cult was approved

by benedict xiv in 1753. He is responsible for promoting the Franciscan rosary in honor of the seven joys of Our Lady, known as the Franciscan or Seraphic crown.

Feast: Nov. 12.

Bibliography: l. wadding, Scriptores Ordinis Minorum 12:546–550. s. melchiorri, Leggenda del b. Gabriele de' Ferretti d' Ancona (Ancona 1844). a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. h. thurston and d. attwater, 4 v. (New York 1956) 4:326–327. g. mencarelli, L'angelo di Ancona: Vita del b. Gabriele dei conti Ferretti (Ancona 1956). w. forster, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 4:92. m. a. habig, The Franciscan Crown (Chicago 1976).

[t. c. crowley]