April 2 is the feast of St. Francis of Paola (1416-1507), the founder of the Order of the Minims and the last of the great medieval hermits. Born at Paola, in Calabria, he was educated by the Franciscans and as a boy lived as a hermit on his father's land. He was joined by companions, and in 1436 founded the community that became the Order of the Minims — the least, as Francis called them, lesser even than the Friars Minor.
The Minims took a fourth vow, beyond the three of poverty, chastity, and obedience: a vow of perpetual Lent, abstaining from meat, eggs, and dairy. Francis was called to France by King Louis XI in 1483, and remained at the French court until his death at Plessis-les-Tours in 1507. He is the patron of Calabria and of sailors — the tradition that he crossed the strait of Messina on his cloak gave him the patronage.
Francis was canonized in 1519. His body was translated from Plessis to Paola, where it lies in the basilica he founded. From Paola, where he was born and is buried, to the Minim houses of Italy and France, the April 2 feast is the feast of the hermit who became the counsellor of kings.
