St. Benedict of San Philadelphio

Apollinario da Conceiçam (1692–1755).
Flor perigrina por preta… prodigiosa Vida do B. Benedicto de S. Philadelfio.
Lisbon: Officinal Pinheiriense da Musica, 1744. (BRB1470)

Bridwell Library holds three early works relating to the life of St. Benedict of San Philadelphio (1526–1589), also known as St. Benedict the Moor. Born in Philadelphio (San Fratello), Sicily, to African parents who had been freed from slavery, Benedict became a Franciscan friar at Palermo. There he became known for his piety, healing abilities, and patience in the face of racial intolerance. He was beatified in 1743, an event celebrated by the exhibited Portuguese biography, and was canonized as a saint in 1807. Considered the patron saint of African American Catholics, African missions, and the towns of San Fratello and Palermo in Sicily, St. Benedict remains particularly popular in Central America and Mexico.