Giuseppe Maria Tomasi
Encyclopedia
Saint Giuseppe Maria Tomasi di Lampedusa, CR
(1649–1713), often anglicized as Saint Joseph Mary Tomasi, was born at Licata
, Sicily
, of a princely family. He was an Italian Theatine scholar and reformer, and cardinal
. He was beatified by Pope Pius VII
in 1803, and was canonized by Pope John Paul II
in 1986.
But his own spirit aspired, even from youth, to be small in the Kingdom of God, and to serve not the kings of the earth but the King of heaven. He cultivated his pious desire in his heart until he obtained the consent of his father to follow his vocation to the religious life.
After having renounced, by means of a notarial document, the principate, which belonged to him through heredity, and his very rich patrimony, he was admitted into the Order of the Clerics Regular Theatine
, founded by St. Cajetan of Thien
in 1524. He made his religious profession in the Theatine house of St. Joseph, at Palermo
, on 25 March 1666.
Though destined by his father for the Spanish Court, he joined the Clerks Regular of the Theatine Order at Palermo
, 24 March 1665, renouncing his primogeniture
and the princedom in favour of his brother. He was professed 25 March 1666. He studied philosophy, first at Messina, and later, owing to poor health, at Ferrara
and Modena
; and theology in Rome and Palermo. He was ordained priest on Christmas Day, 1673. To a wide knowledge of Greek
, he united the study of Ethiopic, Arabic, Syriac, Chaldaic and Hebrew—converting his master a Jewish rabbi
, to Christianity. From the Psalter
s in these different languages, he collected the titles of the Psalms. He devoted himself to the study of Scripture and the Fathers. Searching the chief libraries, archives, and monuments, he retraced the ancient ecclesiastical discipline and liturgy
.
Urged by his particular love for the ancient documents of the Church and for the sound ecclesiastical traditions
, he considered that a good part of his own religious perfection lay in dedicating himself, with the spirit of faith, to the publication of rare liturgical books and of the ancient texts of the sacred Liturgy, and so bringing to light many ancient sacred scriptures
which until then had been hidden in the libraries.
made him examiner of the bishops, or of the clergy. Pope Clement XI
, for whom he served as confessor, appointed him consultor of the Theatine Order, theologian of the "Congregatio super Disciplinâ Regulari" and other Congregations, consultor of the Congregations of Rites and Indulgences, and qualificator of the Holy Office. The same pope created him cardinal-priest of the Title of S. Martino ai Monti and compelled him to accept the honour.
He taught catechism to the children of the poor in his titular church. He introduced the use of Gregorian chant
in his church. On his death he was mourned by all, even by the pope, who so admired his sanctity that he consulted him before accepting the papacy.
In truth, not a few of the norms, established by the authority of the Roman Pontiffs and by the documents of the Second Vatican Council
and today praiseworthily in use in the Church, were already proposed and ardently desired by Father Tomasi, among which it is sufficient to recall:
the present-day form of the Liturgy of the Hours for the prayer of the Divine Office;
the distinction and use of the Missal
and of the Lectionary
in the celebration of the Eucharist
;
various norms contained in the Pontifical and in the Roman Ritual;
the use of the vernacular language, which he himself recommended in private devotions and in the prayers made in common by the faithful; all intended to promote a more intimate and personal participation of the People of God at the celebration of the sacred Liturgy.
His works (Codici Tommasiani), published chiefly from ancient codices in the Vatican and Vallicellian Libraries and the Library of Christina of Sweden
, were praised by the academies of Europe. Chief among his publications are the "Codices sacramentorum nongentis annis antiquiores" (Rome, 1680), partly transcribed by Mabillon in his "Liturgia Gallicana". Following these, in order of time, were: "Psalterium" (Rouse, 1683), according to the Roman and Gallican editions, published under the name of Giuseppe Maria Caro. In this work Tomasi introduced Origen
's symbols (obeli
and asterisk
s), obsolete for nine centuries.
Under the same pen-name Tomasi wrote "Responsalia et Antiphonaria Rom. Eccl.", etc. (Rome, 1686); "Sacrorum Bibliorum Tituli, sive capitula" (Rome, 1688); Antiqui libri Missarum Rom. Eccl." or the Antiphonary of Pope Saint Gregory, entitled "Comes", written by Alcuin
at the order of Charlemagne
(Rome, 1691); "Officium Domicinae Passionis", used by the Greeks on Good Friday, translated into Latin (Rome, 1695).
Under his proper name he published "Speculum" (Rome, 1679); "Exercitium Fidei, Spei et Caritatis" (Rome, 1683); "Breviarium psalterii (Rome, 1683); "Vera norma di glorificar Dio" (Rome, 1687); "Fermentum
" (Rome, 1688); "Psalterium cum canticis" (Rome, 1697); "Indiculus institutionum theologicarum veterurn Patrum" ( 3 vols., Rome, 1709, 1710; 1712), an exposition of theological theory and practice, derived from original patristic sources.
Tommasi also wrote numerous opuscula, the last four published by G. Mercati (Rome, 1905). In 1753 Antonio Francesco Vezzosi
published his works in eleven quarto volumes.
Theatines
The Theatines or the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence are a male religious order of the Catholic Church, with the post-nominal initials "C.R."-Foundation:...
(1649–1713), often anglicized as Saint Joseph Mary Tomasi, was born at Licata
Licata
Licata is a city and comune located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River , about midway between Agrigento and Gela...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, of a princely family. He was an Italian Theatine scholar and reformer, and cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
. He was beatified by Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII , born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.-Early life:...
in 1803, and was canonized by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in 1986.
Life
His own life was oriented toward God from his first years. Formed and educated in the noble paternal home, where they did not lack riches nor virtue, he gave proofs of a spirit, very open to study and to piety. His parents cared greatly for this and for his own Christian formation and his instruction in the classical and modern languages, above all in the Spanish language, because he was destined by the family for the court of Madrid, as he was bound to inherit from his own father, for his own noble titles, that of "Grande of Spain".But his own spirit aspired, even from youth, to be small in the Kingdom of God, and to serve not the kings of the earth but the King of heaven. He cultivated his pious desire in his heart until he obtained the consent of his father to follow his vocation to the religious life.
After having renounced, by means of a notarial document, the principate, which belonged to him through heredity, and his very rich patrimony, he was admitted into the Order of the Clerics Regular Theatine
Theatines
The Theatines or the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence are a male religious order of the Catholic Church, with the post-nominal initials "C.R."-Foundation:...
, founded by St. Cajetan of Thien
Saint Cajetan
Saint Cajetan , born Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene , is a Catholic Church saint and founder of the order of the Clerics Regular, better known as the Theatines...
in 1524. He made his religious profession in the Theatine house of St. Joseph, at Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, on 25 March 1666.
Though destined by his father for the Spanish Court, he joined the Clerks Regular of the Theatine Order at Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, 24 March 1665, renouncing his primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
and the princedom in favour of his brother. He was professed 25 March 1666. He studied philosophy, first at Messina, and later, owing to poor health, at Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
and Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
; and theology in Rome and Palermo. He was ordained priest on Christmas Day, 1673. To a wide knowledge of Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, he united the study of Ethiopic, Arabic, Syriac, Chaldaic and Hebrew—converting his master a Jewish rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, to Christianity. From the Psalter
Psalter
A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the later medieval emergence of the book of hours, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons and were...
s in these different languages, he collected the titles of the Psalms. He devoted himself to the study of Scripture and the Fathers. Searching the chief libraries, archives, and monuments, he retraced the ancient ecclesiastical discipline and liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
.
Urged by his particular love for the ancient documents of the Church and for the sound ecclesiastical traditions
Ecclesiastical history (Catholicism)
Ecclesiastical history, for the Roman Catholic Church, is the history of the Roman Catholic Church as an institution, written from a particular perspective. There is a traditional approach to such historiography...
, he considered that a good part of his own religious perfection lay in dedicating himself, with the spirit of faith, to the publication of rare liturgical books and of the ancient texts of the sacred Liturgy, and so bringing to light many ancient sacred scriptures
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
which until then had been hidden in the libraries.
Reformer
Tomasi's efforts at reform were directed not to the introduction of the new, but to the restoration and maintenance of the old. He was not always upheld and was sometimes rebuked for his zeal. Pope Innocent XIIPope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII , born Antonio Pignatelli, was Pope from 1691 to 1700.-Biography:He was born in Spinazzola to one of the most aristocratic families of the Kingdom of Naples, which included many Viceroys, and ministers to the crown, and was educated at the Jesuit college in Rome.In his twentieth...
made him examiner of the bishops, or of the clergy. Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...
, for whom he served as confessor, appointed him consultor of the Theatine Order, theologian of the "Congregatio super Disciplinâ Regulari" and other Congregations, consultor of the Congregations of Rites and Indulgences, and qualificator of the Holy Office. The same pope created him cardinal-priest of the Title of S. Martino ai Monti and compelled him to accept the honour.
He taught catechism to the children of the poor in his titular church. He introduced the use of Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
in his church. On his death he was mourned by all, even by the pope, who so admired his sanctity that he consulted him before accepting the papacy.
Works
His many publications on liturgical subjects, in which piety was united with scholarship, motivated the titles which some of his contemporaries gave to him, those of "the Prince of the Roman Liturgists" and of "Liturgists" and of "Liturgical Doctor".In truth, not a few of the norms, established by the authority of the Roman Pontiffs and by the documents of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
and today praiseworthily in use in the Church, were already proposed and ardently desired by Father Tomasi, among which it is sufficient to recall:
the present-day form of the Liturgy of the Hours for the prayer of the Divine Office;
the distinction and use of the Missal
Missal
A missal is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year.-History:Before the compilation of such books, several books were used when celebrating Mass...
and of the Lectionary
Lectionary
A Lectionary is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion.-History:...
in the celebration of the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
;
various norms contained in the Pontifical and in the Roman Ritual;
the use of the vernacular language, which he himself recommended in private devotions and in the prayers made in common by the faithful; all intended to promote a more intimate and personal participation of the People of God at the celebration of the sacred Liturgy.
His works (Codici Tommasiani), published chiefly from ancient codices in the Vatican and Vallicellian Libraries and the Library of Christina of Sweden
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
, were praised by the academies of Europe. Chief among his publications are the "Codices sacramentorum nongentis annis antiquiores" (Rome, 1680), partly transcribed by Mabillon in his "Liturgia Gallicana". Following these, in order of time, were: "Psalterium" (Rouse, 1683), according to the Roman and Gallican editions, published under the name of Giuseppe Maria Caro. In this work Tomasi introduced Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
's symbols (obeli
Dagger (typography)
A dagger, or obelisk. is a typographical symbol or glyph. The term "obelisk" derives from Greek , which means "little obelus"; from meaning "roasting spit"...
and asterisk
Asterisk
An asterisk is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often pronounce it as star...
s), obsolete for nine centuries.
Under the same pen-name Tomasi wrote "Responsalia et Antiphonaria Rom. Eccl.", etc. (Rome, 1686); "Sacrorum Bibliorum Tituli, sive capitula" (Rome, 1688); Antiqui libri Missarum Rom. Eccl." or the Antiphonary of Pope Saint Gregory, entitled "Comes", written by Alcuin
Alcuin
Alcuin of York or Ealhwine, nicknamed Albinus or Flaccus was an English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York...
at the order of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
(Rome, 1691); "Officium Domicinae Passionis", used by the Greeks on Good Friday, translated into Latin (Rome, 1695).
Under his proper name he published "Speculum" (Rome, 1679); "Exercitium Fidei, Spei et Caritatis" (Rome, 1683); "Breviarium psalterii (Rome, 1683); "Vera norma di glorificar Dio" (Rome, 1687); "Fermentum
Fermentum
Fermentum is a practice of the Early Christian Church whereby bishops affirmed their communion with one another.The custom of the fermentum was first practiced as early as 120 AD. A particle of the Eucharistic bread was carried by a minister of the Church from the bishop of one diocese to the...
" (Rome, 1688); "Psalterium cum canticis" (Rome, 1697); "Indiculus institutionum theologicarum veterurn Patrum" ( 3 vols., Rome, 1709, 1710; 1712), an exposition of theological theory and practice, derived from original patristic sources.
Tommasi also wrote numerous opuscula, the last four published by G. Mercati (Rome, 1905). In 1753 Antonio Francesco Vezzosi
Antonio Francesco Vezzosi
Antonio Francesco Vezzosi was an Italian Theatine and biographical writer.-Life:...
published his works in eleven quarto volumes.