Saint Conrad of Piacenza (1290-1350) was born of a noble family in northern Italy and as a young man married Euphrosyne, daughter of a nobleman.

One day while hunting he ordered attendants to set fire to some brush in order to flush out the game. The fire spread to nearby fields and to a large forest. Conrad fled. An innocent peasant was imprisoned, tortured to confess and condemned to death. Conrad confessed his guilt, saved the man’s life and paid for the damaged property.

Soon after this event, Conrad and his wife agreed to separate: she to a Poor Clare monastery and he to a group of hermits following the Third Order Rule. His reputation for holiness, however, spread quickly. Since his many visitors destroyed his solitude, Conrad went to a more remote spot in Sicily where he lived 36 years as a hermit, praying for himself and for the rest of the world.

Prayer and penance were his answer to the temptations that beset him. Conrad died kneeling before a crucifix. He was canonized in 1625.

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9 COMMENTS

  1. I always see myself telling lies even when I have resolved to stop. Pray for me dear st Conrad that I may alway say the truth even in the face of death.

  2. i always seems to dewell in the past pains and heart aches that hurted me so much ..i want to stop hurting myself about my past please st Conrad pray for me

  3. Almighty God,
    You attracted Saint Conrad through his zeal for justice to serve You faithfully in the desert.
    Through his prayers may we live justly and piously, and happily succeed in coming to You.
    Amen.

    Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that as Thou wert pacified by the penance of Blessed Conrad, so we may imitate his example and blot out the stains of our sins by crucifying our flesh. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

  4. Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that as Thou wert pacified by the penance of Blessed Conrad, so we may imitate his example and blot out the stains of our sins by crucifying our flesh. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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