St. Peter Thomas – January 8 - Carmelite Saints
Summary:
Born about 1305 in southern Perigord in France, Peter Thomas entered the Carmelites when he was twenty-one. He was chosen by the Order as its procurator general to the Papal Court at Avignon in 1345. After being made bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354, he was entrusted with many papal missions to promote peace and unity with the Eastern Churches. He was translated to the see of Corone in the Peloponnesus in 1359 and made Papal Legate for the East. In 1363, he was appointed Archbishop of Crete and, in 1364, Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. He won a reputation as an apostle of church unity before he died at Famagusta on Cyprus in 1366.
History:
Peter Thomas was born around 1305 to an impoverished family in Périgord. His father worked as a serf. At twelve, he left his parents and younger sister to relieve their burden, moving to the nearby town of Monpazier. There, he attended school for three years, subsisting on alms and tutoring younger students. He continued this way of life in Agen, studying at the College of the Carmelites until he was twenty, then briefly returned to Monpazier before departing for Lectoure.
In 1325, the prior of the Carmelite convent of Lectoure employed Thomas as a teacher at that school for a year. His piety and teaching skill soon attracted the attention of the Carmelite prior of Bergerac, who invited him to join that community. Accepting the offer, he entered the Carmelite Order at the age of twenty-one and made his profession of religious vows at Bergerac, where he taught for two years. He then studied philosophy at Agen, where he was ordained a priest three years later. Over the next few years, he continued his studies while teaching in Bordeaux, Albi, and again in Agen. Afterward, he spent three years studying in Paris. Later, while preaching in Cahors during a procession held in hopes of ending a serious drought, rain began to fall, an event viewed by many as miraculous.
While his studies were still in progress, the Carmelites elected him Procurator General in 1345, making him the primary liaison at the Papal Court of Pope Clement VI. In this capacity, he served as head of the curia department, dealing with doctrinal matters submitted to the pope. This was during the 70-year period when a series of popes lived at Avignon, in southern France, so his travels to the pontifical court were somewhat easier. Subsequently, a cardinal friend secured an appointment for him as apostolic preacher at the court of Clement VI and his successors. Following this, he began to be entrusted with a series of crucial diplomatic missions.
From that time on, the whole life of Peter Thomas was dedicated to the fulfilment of delicate missions entrusted to him by the Holy See: negotiating peace among Christian princes, defending the rights of the Church before the most powerful monarchs of the age, advocating for the union of the Orthodox Byzantine–Slavs with the Roman Church, supporting the anti-Muslim crusade and liberation of the Holy Land.
He proved to be a brilliant diplomat, but never ceased to be a good religious as well. He continued to live an austere, simple life amid regal splendor and never missed his prayers or meditation, even when he was intensely busy. His humility meant that he could chat with peasants, soldiers, and sailors just as easily as high government officials.
At the death of Pope Clement VI in April 1353, he accompanied the body to the Chaise-Dieu, preaching at all twelve stops along the way,
In 1353, Pope Innocent VI sent him on a special mission to restore peace between the powerful maritime republics of Venice and Genoa. He was also tasked with settling a dispute between the Pope himself and the Kingdom of Naples. Although these quarrels were not perfectly settled, Peter Thomas proved to be such a skillful and earnest envoy that he was given bigger trials to confront.
The following year, he was made bishop of Patti and Lipari and was sent to Stefan Dusan, King of Serbia, who had shown interest in reuniting the Serbian Church with Rome. Peter Thomas made great progress in reconciling the Serbian bishops, and a final understanding was only frustrated by Dusan’s own death. Most of his remaining years were dedicated to pursuing a similar reconciliation with the Greek Orthodox Church and forging an alliance to defend Constantinople against the Ottoman Turks. Some Greek nobles, including the Byzantine Emperor, John V Paleologus, actually submitted to papal authority, but the Patriarch and most of the Greek bishops hesitated to finalize a reconciliation of the churches. Even so, Peter Thomas was able to put together a credible alliance of Christians with his reputation for personal sincerity and holiness.
In the spring of 1356, Thomas, with the Dominican Guglielmo Conti, bishop of Sizebolu, went to Venice and met with Louis I of Hungary to arrange a peace treaty between Venice and Hungary over Dalmatia, but despite his efforts, the negotiations stalled, and no treaty was signed. In April 1357, Thomas went as papal legate to Constantinople to receive the submission of the Emperor of Byzantium to the Roman Catholic Church in exchange for Western military support to block the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. But the military support promised in the exchanges did not materialize.
In 1359, Pope Innocent VI appointed Peter Thomas as Universal Legate for the East. That summer, Peter Thomas departed for Smyrna with a fleet supplied by the Venetians and the Hospitallers of Rhodes. He fortified the city's defenses, paid the soldiers, secured provisions, and installed a new governor. He traveled to Constantinople and fought in the battles of Lampsacus. Philippe de Mezières wrote: "Physically involved in the battle, Peter Thomas stimulated the troops: it was necessary to avoid a stampede [in front of the janissaries]. The bishop gave of himself, he encouraged, he struck, sword in fist ". Between defeats and victories, Peter Thomas was "tireless, leading the troops into battle by his example and his exhortations, sometimes in Smyrna, sometimes in Rhodes, sometimes in Constantinople, sometimes in Cyprus, sometimes in the island of Crete, and sometimes in Turkey with a few galleys".
At Christmas 1359, Peter was in Rhodes, sick with a long illness, but recovered sufficiently by Easter to perform the coronation of his personal friend, Peter I of Cyprus, and Eleanor of Aragon as king and queen of Jerusalem in Famagusta on April 5, 1360. In turn, Peter I became an enthusiastic participant in the alliance. All the while, Peter Thomas worked to persuade the Orthodox bishops of Cyprus to reestablish their own unity with the Roman church.
At the end of 1361, he was in Cyprus during a severe plague and organized masses, prayers, and processions in Nicosia and later in Famagusta to halt the outbreak.
In October 1362, Peter Thomas, Peter I of Cyprus, and Chancellor Philippe de Mezières left Paphos to seek financial, logistical, and military support in Europe for a crusade to deliver the holy places and re-establish the kingdom of Jerusalem. They stopped in Avignon, where Peter Thomas presented his Crusade project to Pope Urban V, and he received the Pope's official approval on March 31, 1363. He was later appointed Archbishop of Crete that year.
Venice was chosen as the rallying point, and Urban V asked Peter Thomas to go and remain there while awaiting the return of the King of Cyprus from his tour of the European royal courts. In November 1364, Peter I of Cyprus finally joined him, although the king had achieved little in terms of financial results and had not secured the much-needed manpower. Despite the king's discouragement, Peter Thomas and Mezières persuaded him to continue with the plan. Meanwhile, Thomas was tasked with negotiating a peace treaty between Milan and Bologna. When war broke out between Cyprus and Genoa, Urban V sent him to negotiate terms there as well.
In 1364, Pope Urban V named him Latin Patriarch of Constantinople to enhance his standing in negotiations with the Byzantine leaders. That same year, Peter Thomas led his alliance to capture Alexandria in Egypt, but the military leaders hesitated to move on to Cairo. When they withdrew to their ships, the expedition collapsed, and Peter Thomas concealed his own discouragement by trying once again to forge unity.
In June 1365, they set sail with their troops once again to Alexandria. The troops at their disposal were weak, but Peter Thomas and his companions hoped that reinforcements would be sent to them in the event of a first striking victory. The fleet rendezvoused at Rhodes in mid-July with the Hospitallers of Rhodes and the fleet from Cyprus.
On October 9, 1365, the galleys and ships of Peter I of Cyprus disembarked in the port of Alexandria. It was captured quickly, and the crusaders were in the city the next day. Once in the city, the Christians ransacked the city, looted it, partially burned it, and massacred its population. On October 11, the city was taken. But this victory was short-lived because the crusader soldiers were seized with fear at the idea that the Saracens would come to the rescue of the besieged city, which they soon did. After consultation and against the advice of Peter I of Cyprus and Peter Thomas, who urged them to hold out, the Crusaders re-embarked for Cyprus on October 16, 1365.
Peter Thomas, as Legate of the Crusade, planned go to Avignon to make his report and ask for support and means to resume the Crusade. He went to Famagusta to organize his trip. However, around Christmas 1365, Thomas fell seriously ill. He died during the night of January 6-7, 1366, at Famagusta, after distributing all his belongings to the poor, and was buried in the church of the Carmelites.
His remains seemed surrounded by light to those who watched them during the wake. The funeral eulogy was delivered by John Carmesson, who several times felt himself mysteriously urged to call him a saint. The body remained exposed for six days and was visited by a great number of people. Cures and other miracles were verified before and after the burial.
He left a legacy of simplicity, devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Conception, and steadfast pursuit of peace and unity. Power, wealth, and luxury never swayed him, even amid his time with rulers and nobles. The triumph of Christ and his Kingdom of Love was his single, inflexible goal.
He was Beatified in 1609 by Pope Paul V and Canonized in 1628 by Pope Urban VIII.
Prayer:
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 Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
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