HISTORY OF St. Peter Thomas
HISTORY OF St. Peter Thomas
Carmelite Latinpatriarch and papal legate. Peter was born in Gascony, France and joined the Carmelites while still a young man. In 1342 he was appointed procurator of the order and, from Avignon, he oversaw the organization and government of the Carmelites. As Avignon was then the seat of the popes, he entered into their service, attracting papal attention because of his skills as a preacher and his eloquence. Named to the papal diplomatic service, he held the post of papal legate to Genoa, Milan, and Venice, and was appointed bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354, bishop of Coron in 1359, archbishop of Candia in 1363, and titular Patriarch of Constantinople in 1364. At the behest of Pope Urban V, he journeyed to Serbia, Hungary, and Constantinople in an effort to organize a crusade against the Turks. He took part in a military operation against Alexandria, Egypt, in 1365 during which he was severely wounded. He died from his injuries at Cyprus a few months later. While never formally canonized, his feast was permitted to the Carmelites in 1608.
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Born in Perigod, France, around 1305, Saint Peter Thomas joined the Carmelite Order when twenty years of age. He was Procurator General of the Order at the Papal Curia at Avignon and also an official preacher to the Curia there. In 1354, he was appointed bishop of Patti and Lipari. He acted as papal legate to the kings and emperors of his time, seeking to promote peace and to re-establish unity with the Eastern Churches. He was translated to other episcopal sees: in 1359 to that of Corinth in the Pelopennese with the role of papal legate in the East; then to Crete as archbishop in 1363 and finally to Constantinople in 1364 as Latin Patriarch. His efforts for the unity of the Church make this fourteenth century saint a precursor of ecumenism. He died in 1366 at Famagusta in Cyprus
PRAYER: St. Peter Thomas
Lord,
you inspired in your bishop St Peter Thomas
an intense desire to promote peace and Christian unity.
Following his example
may we live steadfast in the faith
and work perseveringly for peace.
We ask this through our Lord.