Below are some sources of the early Capuchin reform of the 16th century. Some remain in their original Italian or Latin, such as the letters of Cardinal Contarini, others have been translated into English.
♦ Statutes of Observant Houses of Recollection and of the Friars of the Eremitical Life
♦ 1536 Capuchin Constitutions transcribed in original language
♦ 1536 Capuchin Constitutions in modern Italian with footnote references to scripture and Franciscan sources
♦ 1534 witness to the Capuchin Reform in Southern Italy
♦ 1536 Letter of Vittoria Colonna to Pope Paul III
This letter has been translated from the text provided by Fr Cuthbert, The Capuchins: A Contribution to the history of the Counter-Reformation in Appendix II, n. 1. For the orginal Italian text download PDF.
♦ 1536 Vittoria Colonna to Contarini and the Commission of Cardinals
♦ The Chronicles of Bernardino of Colpetrazzo (1514-1594)
♦ Cardinal Gasparo Contarini
♦ Early 16th century correspondence
♦ A scurrilous Letter to Pope Paul III
♦ A Capuchin early sources bibliography
♦ St Bonaventure: On the Perfection of Life for Sisters
The statement: “that the spirit of devotion not grow cold in the friars but burn continuously and ever more intensely on the altar of their heart” reflects the influence of Saint Bonaventure and his accomodation of Leviticus 6:12-16 in his authenticated minor spiritual works De perfection vitae ad sorores and De sex aliis seraphim.
♦ St Bonaventure: The Life of Christ
The Rule and Testament of Saint Francis are a distillation of the prolongation in history of the following in the footsteps of the poor, chaste and obedient One. In the first Capuchin Constitutions (1536), this living according to the pattern of the holy gospel is not only after the example of Saint Francis but also Saint Cecila. The figure of the virgin Cecilia gives an important insight into the contemporary understanding of this particular way of following the Master.
Other sources of influence, contextual or informative
♦ Margherita Porete: The Mirror of Simple Souls
Served as one of the lexicons fo words, concepts and spirituality for the early Capuchin friars.
♦ Francesco da Montepulciano (1476-1513): Sermon, Florence 1513
Francesco emerges from the pages of the early Capuchin chroniclers as the precursor heralding the Capuchin reform.
♦ Ite vos of Pope Leo X, 29 May 1517
Friars from the various Minority families gathered in Assisi in 2016 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Ite vos. An English version of the text is provided.
♦ Juán de Valdés: Alfabeto Christiano
The Christian Alphabet of Valdés unfolds in the form a dialogue with Giulia Gonzaga in which the “Preacher” is referred to around 20 times. The “Preacher” is the Capuchin Bernardino Ochino who is preaching the Lenten cycle in Naples in 1537.
♦ Juán de Valdés: The Hundred and Ten Considerations
Juán Valdés (1490-1541) had a significant influence on the currents of reform in the Catholic Church of Italy in the 16th century, especially evangelical spirituality. Bernardino Ochino came within his circle of influence.The Hundred and Ten Considerations of Juán Valdés gives insight into his soteriology and evangelical spirituality.
♦ The Benefit of Christ’s Death
An indication of the significance of “The Benefit of Christ’s Death” as one of the sources to be studied in appreciating the Capuchin reform is given by Michele Camaioni in his comments on the Capuchin Constitutions of 1536 (published in 1537). He notes that a more profound analysis of the 1536 Capuchin Constitutions (St. Euphemia) reveals them to be much more than just a juridical text or a spiritual comment on the Rule of Saint Francis. Such a study situates them in the tension of an unfolding evangelical-mystical spirituality of the first half of the 16thcentury. The Constitutions are revealed to be a treatise on Christian perfection and a work of piety reflecting the tonality of the language and complex vision of the religious sensibility of the period. These characteristics of the Constitutions can be seen to be the fruit of the relationships between the early friars, such as Bernardino d’Asti, Giovanni da Fano and, above all, Bernardino Ochino. The common theological and spiritual lexical sources of these relationships are to be found in the “The Benefit of Christ’s Death” and a form of mysticism that flowed from beguine and alumbrados sources, which these early Capuchins absorbed from the Franciscan spirituals and from heterodox sources, such as Margurite Porete’sThe Mirror of Simple Souls and the Franciscan Observants, Bartolomeo Cordoni’s, Il Dyalogo della unione dell’anima con Dio.[1]
Note: This version attributes authorship to Aonio Paleario; this is now accepted by scholars today as erroneous; now generally accepted that the first author was a Benedictine from Mantua, Benedetto Fontanini (1495-1556), and revised by Marcantonio Flaminio (1498 – 1550).
♦ The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent
♦ Juan-Luis Vivès: Concerning the Relief of the Poor
Concerning the Relief of the Poor, provides a 16th century European glimpse into the situation of the poor and the communal endeavour to succour them. It helps to contextualise the situation in which the early Capuchins were preaching and working, even if Vivès is concerned with Belgium, while the early Capuchins were confined to the Italian peninsula.[1]
- Guillaume Alonge demonstrates the European network at play. He notes that in 1532 in Lyons the translation of the work of Vives was published demonstrating a reform campaign within this network in favour of refom in the area of assistance to the poor, sick and needy in both a public and centralised manner. Cf. Alonge, Condottiero, cardinale, eretico: Federico Fergoso nella crisi politica e religiosa del Cinquecento, 2017,Roma, Edizione di Storia e Letteratura, pp. 157-158. ↑
- cf. Michele Camaioni, «DE HOMINI CARNALI FARE SPIRITUALI» Bernardino Ochino e le origini dei cappuccini nella crisi religiosa del Cinquecento p. 167.↑