St. Andrew Avellino

Lancelotto (Andrew) Avellino was born in 1521 in southern Italy. He was intelligent and was sent to Venice to study philosophy and then Naples to study law. It is said he was very handsome and wore the tonsure to deflect women’s interests. In Naples, he got his law degree and was ordained a priest in 1547.

While serving as a canon lawyer in Naples, Avellino was instructed by the archbishop to reform a convent. The convent had lost its religious discipline and the monks were not living a life of piety. Avellino tried to reestablish discipline to the place. Some of the monks opposed his attempts and attacked him. He was severely wounded and taken to a Theatine monastery to recuperate. He wound up joining the new order (the Congregation of Clerics Regular, also called Theatines) in 1556 and changed his name to Andrew after the apostle.  

He visited the tombs of the apostles and martyrs in Rome, then returned to Naples and made master of novices for the order. Later he was elected superior general of the order and founded two new Theatine houses. He was good friends with St. Charles Borromeo, who was archbishop of Naples and a leader in the Counter-Reformation.

Avellino continued to be known for strict discipline and calls for purity and piety. But his style and reforms were welcomed, and he also became known for converting many people who sought his spiritual direction.

On Nov. 10, 1608, Avellino suffered a stroke just as he was beginning Mass and died suddenly. St. Andrew Avellino is the patron of Naples and Sicily as well as the patron of stroke victims and sudden deaths. His feast day is Nov. 10.