Our Patron, Saint Bernardine of Siena, was born on September 8, 1380 in Massa Marittima (Tuscany), in the region of Siena, Italy. In his sixty-three years of life he was an accomplished missionary, a religious reformer, a zealous preacher and a virtuous confessor. He is known as the "Apostle of Italy."
At the time of his birth, Bernardine's father was Governor of Massa Marittima. At the age of six Bernardine became an orphan and then was raised by his aunts and was given a formal education. He studied both canon law of the Church and civil law. In 1397 he entered the Confraternity of Our Lady at the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. For about three years he lived a life of seclusion, study and prayer.
In 1400 there was an outbreak in Italy of the bubonic plague. Bernardine generously volunteered to care for the sick in the hospital. He encouraged his friends to come and help, and ten of them joined the volunteer effort. One by one hospital personnel and volunteers died of the plague. Bernardine also became very ill with the plague but did not die. Faced with the deaths of the others Bernardine himself took on the role of hospital administrator which he carried on for four months.
In 1402 Bernardine received the habit of the Friars Minor at San Francesco in Siena. The following year he joined the Observant branch of the Friars Minor and withdrew to the Observantine convent of Columbaio outside the city. He made his religious profession on September 8, 1403 and was ordained to the priesthood September 8, 1404. About a year later he was given a missionary mandate and was commissioned to preach by St. Vincent Ferrer. For several years he lived a quiet life of which very little is known.
It was not until 1417 that Bernardine began to significantly manifest his missionary vocation. While preaching at Milan he drew great crowds of people. He became widely known and sought as a preacher. Various cities requested his presence. He was asked to preach in marketplaces where thousands of people would gather. He traveled throughout Italy by foot. His preaching influenced many people, even noble rulers, and brought about reforms as Bernardine urged people to overcome temptation and sin. He promoted peace and reconciliation among rival political factions and strongly attacked sins of injustice such as usury and confiscation of possessions of political exiles.
Many of Bernardine's sermons were written down and preserved. He is best known for his preaching on devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. In one of his sermons he said: "The name of Jesus is the glory of preachers, because the shining splendor of that name causes his word to be proclaimed and heard. And how do you think such an immense, sudden and dazzling light of faith came into the world, if not because Jesus was preached? Was it not through the brilliance and sweet savor of this name that God called us into his marvelous light? ...This name must be proclaimed, that it may shine out and never be suppressed." (Sermon 49, On the glorious Name of Jesus Christ.)
To assist in the promotion of the Holy Name of Jesus, Bernardine designed a symbol which he carried while preaching. He also enlisted help of a painter to make copies of the symbol so as to give them to others to promote the Holy Name of Jesus. The symbol is made up of the first three Greek letters of the name of Jesus, IHS, from which emanate rays of light. The name Jesus, derived from the biblical Hebrew name Joshua, means "God saves." It is the name entrusted by the Angel Gabriel to Mary at the Incarnation, and given by Mary and Joseph to Jesus at the time of his Presentation in the Temple and Circumcision. Bernardine was so successful in spreading this symbol that he could even convince rulers to take down their coats of arms that had been hung on church walls, and to replace them with this symbol of the Name of Jesus. This same symbol has often been used on vestments and church artifacts throughout the centuries.
In 1427 Bernaradine was accused of heresy, and had to go to Rome to be tried by theologians in the presence of Pope Martin V. Charges stemmed from his use of the IHS symbol and Bernardine was falsely accused of heresy. Bernardine's friend, St. John Capistran, was in charge of his defense. Pope Martin, after hearing testimonies, promptly acquitted Bernardine of all charges and encouraged him to continue preaching. Three times Bernardine was offered the possibility of becoming a bishop: First by Pope Martin to become Bishop of Siena. Bernardine humbly declined, saying that his missionary call led him to carry the message of the Holy Name of Jesus to all dioceses all over Italy. Then in 1431 he was asked to become Bishop of Ferrara, and in 1435 to become Bishop of Urbino. In each of these instances he also declined.
Bernaradine did however accept, for a time, service to his religious order, the Friars Minor Observants. He was elected in 1438 as Vicar General. With the help of St. John Capistran, Bernardine set about to reform the Order. He not only brought the community to a deep spiritual reform and revival, but also helped to increase the size of the order. Thousands of new Friars entered the Order. Bernardine founded, or reformed, at least three hundred monasteries of Friars, many of which were Conventual monasteries that at Bernardine's urging changed to the Strict Observance. Bernardine also sent missionaries to work in the Orient.
In 1944 Bernardine requested of the Pope to be relieved of his responsibility as Vicar General in order to dedicate himself again to missionary preaching. His resignation was accepted by the Pope, yet it was becoming more and more difficult for Bernardine to travel due to his illness, due in no small part to the plague that he had suffered in his earlier years. Still he continued to travel and was willing to go to the one area where he had not yet fully preached, Naples. On the way there, he became feverish and weak and, in Aquila, in the Abruzzi region, he died on the eve of the Feast of the Ascension, May 20, 1444. His body was first laid in the Church of the Conventuals. Just six years after his death, May 24, 1450, Pope Nicholas V canonized St. Bernardine. In 1472 his body was transferred to the Church of the Observants at Aquila and enclosed in a shrine provided by King Louis XI of France. That Church was destroyed by an earthquake in 1703, but then it was replaced by another church where his relics are still venerated.
St. Bernardine of Siena is Patron of our Historical Parish of St. Bernardine, founded in 1862, situated in the San Bernardino Valley and in the heart of the city of San Bernardino. The Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino likewise regards St. Bernardine as Patron Saint of the Diocese. The Diocese of San Bernardino, created in July, 1978 by Pope Paul VI, was carved out of the northern half of the Diocese of San Diego. The Diocese consists of 92 parishes and comprises all of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. The Diocese of San Bernardino cares for the spiritual welfare of more than 1.2 million Catholics whom we confidently place under the protection and care of our beloved Patron, St. Bernardine of Siena, and whom we joyfully entrust to the Holy Name of Jesus.