Saint Peter Thomas: a steadfast trust in the Virgin Mary

Summary:

Saint Peter Thomas is mostly known in the Carmelite order and in the area around Sarlat, southern France. In fact, for a long time, St Thomas was only celebrated on 8 January in his congregation, the Carmelite order, and in the diocese of Périgueux, which inherited the diocese of Sarlat after the latter disappeared with the Concordat of 1804.

He was born in 1305 in "a village called Salimaso de Thomas, in the diocese of Sarlat ", in the south of Périgord, in what is now the Dordogne department. Perhaps it was Lebreil, part of Salles-de-Belvès, the traditional place of worship of the saint? The village lies some forty kilometres south-west of the ancient episcopal town of Sarlat. Around the age of twelve, to relieve his family's extreme poverty, he moved to Monpazier, a village about ten kilometres away, where he attended school for about three years. He lived off alms and taught the younger children. An intelligent student, he was accepted at the Carmelite College in Agen, where he remained until the age of twenty. This was around 1325. Peter Thomas was interested in Carmelite life and moved to the Carmelite convent in Lectoure, where he taught grammar and logic to the younger students. He began his novitiate there. It was in Bergerac that he took his solemn vows, around 1328-1329. There, he devoted himself to teaching for a further two years before moving to Agen, where he was appointed professor of logic, while continuing his studies so that he could be ordained a priest in 1331. Always assiduous in his study of philosophy and logic, on the advice of his superiors, he went to Bordeaux in 1332. The following year, he moved to Albi, then Agen in 1334, and finally Paris, where he received the academic rank of "lecturer" at the university in 1335-1337. However, it was at the fledgling University of Cahors, founded in 1331, that Peter Thomas began teaching as a lecturer in 1338-1339. Then, again at the request of his superiors, he joined the University of Paris for a further five years, to obtain a bachelor's degree in theology.

Returning to his province, he was elected procurator - i.e. representative - of his order to the Holy See in 1345. He then left to join the Papal Curia, which was then in Avignon. Hélie Talleyrand, Cardinal of Périgord, noticed not only his abilities but also the simplicity of his life. He had him appointed apostolic preacher - an office he would exercise mainly after another stay in Paris to obtain a master's degree in theology. Pope Clement VI appointed him regent in theology on his return three years later: Peter Thomas now assisted the titular "Master of Theology ", who was head of the curia department dealing with doctrinal matters submitted to the Pope. It was in this position that he had to rule on the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin, among other issues.

When Clement VI died, Peter Thomas accompanied his mortal remains to the abbey of La Chaise-Dieu, probably in 1353. This gave him the opportunity to preach at each of the twelve stages of the journey. From then on, Peter Thomas devoted himself to carrying out the delicate tasks entrusted to him by the Holy See. First of all, it was a diplomatic mission aimed at appeasing the conflicts between Venice and Genoa on the one hand, and between the papal court and that of Naples on the other. In 1355, having been promoted to bishop of Patti and Lipari, he went to see Stefan Dusan, King of Hungary, to try to reconcile the local churches with Rome, but Dusan's death prevented his efforts from succeeding. In 1356, Innocent VI sent him to resolve the Hungarian-Venetian conflict, as well as to work towards the political and religious union proposed by the Byzantine emperor John V Palaeologus. The first mission was a failure, but the second enabled him to obtain the submission of the emperor (to whom he gave Eucharistic communion) to the Roman Church.

In 1359, Innocent VI appointed Peter Thomas bishop of Koroni, in the south of the Peloponnese, and legate of the Holy See for the East. That same year, accompanied by a fleet supplied by the Venetians and the Hospitallers of Rhodes, Peter Thomas left for Smyrna, where he strengthened the city's defences, paid the soldiers, ensured that the city was supplied and made sure that a new governor of the city was appointed. He then travelled to Constantinople and himself took part in the battles at Lampsach - a port on the Hellespont (now Lapseki). When Peter Thomas learned that Peter I of Cyprus, whom he had left behind shortly before, had conquered Satalya (today's Atalya), he joined him to consecrate places of worship and organise the clergy. After a long illness, the recovery from which he attributed to Saint Gregory, he travelled to Famagusta to crown Peter I of Lusignan as King of Jerusalem. It was Easter Day 1360.

Like Peter I and his chancellor Philippe de Mézières, who had become a friend of Saint Peter Thomas, the latter wished to deliver the holy places and re-establish the kingdom of Jerusalem. For three years, they sought the help of the Christian princes. Peter Thomas obtained the approval of Pope Urban V for his project. At a public ceremony attended by the cardinals, Urban V presented the "Red Cross of Oultremer" to the King of France, John II the Good, the King of Cyprus and the legate, Cardinal Hélie Talleyrand. The death of the King of France in London in 1364 (whom the Black Prince, Edward III's son, had taken him prisoner), as well as that of the Cardinal of Périgord, forced the Pope to hand over command of the crusade to the King of Cyprus; Urban V immediately thought of Peter Thomas to replace the deceased legate. Peter Thomas was then made Latin Patriarch of Constantinople.

Unfortunately, Peter I did not have the aura of the King of France to raise money and men-at-arms. Nevertheless, the expedition was launched and the fleet reached Rhodes in July 1365. Along with the galleys of the Hospitallers of Rhodes, the crusaders also included the fleet from Cyprus. Peter Thomas prepared them to fight for the honour of God and exhorted them to sacrifice and victory. On 9 October 1365, they all arrived in the port of Alexandria. Peter Thomas stood in the middle of the army, holding a cross. The city was taken on the 11th, then pillaged. But the Crusaders feared reprisals from the Saracens and, against the advice of the King of Cyprus and Peter Thomas, who urged them to remain in the city, the Christian fleet set sail again for Cyprus. Peter I, Philip of Mézières and Peter Thomas were very distraught. Urban V, who was committed to the crusade and to whom the legate had written, was no less so. Peter Thomas went to Famagusta to prepare for his trip to Avignon, to give the Pope a first-hand account of events and prepare for the resumption of the crusade. But he fell ill there at Christmas 1365, having caught a cold, and perhaps also as a result of a wound received at the siege of Alexandria: this is why he was considered a martyr. He died surrounded by his Carmelite brothers and assisted by Philippe de Mézières, on the night of 6 to 7 January 1366, testifying that he was attached to God alone. His body lay exposed for six days in the choir of the conventual church, without showing the slightest sign of corruption. Crowds flocked to touch him and pray to him. He was buried on 12 January. Witnesses reported healings and other miracles after his burial. His skills as a preacher, as well as his virtuous and ascetic life, prompted the Bishop of Famagusta, Simon of Laodicea, to initiate a canonical process, and his tomb was opened on 8 May: his limbs were still supple! Peter I then asked Urban V to initiate a canonisation procedure. In 1609, Pope Paul V confirmed the veneration of Peter Thomas, and in 1628 Urban VIII ratified his cult among the Carmelites in the dioceses of Sarlat and Périgueux.

No relics of Saint Peter Thomas have survived: the Turkish conquest of Cyprus in 1571 and the earthquake of 1735 erased all memory of him. However, the church of San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice still possesses the reliquary of the Holy Cross bequeathed to it by Philippe de Mézières in 1370, which had been a gift from St Peter Thomas before his death. The latter was buried at the entrance to the church choir, demonstration his profound humility: Jesus Christ, who suffered to redeem us, should always take the first place, no matter how important our worldy position was.

Going further:

Life of Saint Peter Thomas by Philippe de Mézieres, Edizioni Carmelitane, 1954

More information:

• Father Daniele Stiernon's article (in Italian): "San Pier Tommaso"
• Michel Bousserie, Pierre Thomas (1305 - 1366). L'appel de l'Orient, coll. "Sciences humaines. Religion", Paris,Publibook, 2005, 182 p.
• Philippe de Mézières, o.c., Vita S. Petri Thomasii,... scripta ab... Philippo Mazzerio,... [and] Godefrido Henschenio, Antwerp, 1659, 320 p.
• Simon Martin and François Giry, minimes, Les Vies des saints dont on fait l'office dans le cours de l'année et de plusieurs autres..., tome I, Paris, 1683, 1836 columns, here in the notice of 8 January on Saint Pierre Thomas, columns 184-194. The book can be consulted on the Gallica website.
• Johannes Hildesheimensis, o.c., Defensorium ordinis de monte Carmelo, edited by Daniel a Virgine Maria, o.c.d., Speculum carmelitanum, tome I, Antwerp, 1680, part II, book II, chapter 5, p. 145-159. Father Jean de Hildesheim lived daily with Saint Peter Thomas when the latter was teaching in Avignon.
• Arloldus Bostius, o.c., Speculum historiale sectatorum SS. Prophetarum Eliae et Elisei, 1491. The author describes the life and work of Saint Peter Thomas in Book VIII, chapters 26-46. Cf. Daniel a Virgine Maria, o.c.d., Speculum carmelitanum, volume I, Antwerp, 1680, where a summary is presented in part II, book XI, p. 290, no. 1186.
• Id, De patronatu et Patronicio Beatissimae Virginis Mariae in dicatum sibi Carmeli Ordinem, edited in Daniel a Virgine Maria, o.c.d., Speculum carmelitanum, tome I, Antwerp, 1680, part III, book II, p. 375-431. Chapter 12 deals with the piety of Saint Peter Thomas towards the Blessed Virgin (p. 420-425).
• Johannes Carmessonius, o.f.m., Vita sancti Petri Tomae, published in Daniel a Virgine Maria, o.c.d., Speculum carmelitanum, tome II, Antwerp, 1680, part III, book II, p. 171-195. This Life was probably written around 1370. The author, provincial of the Franciscans of the Holy Land, used the Vita of Philippe de Mézières, and his work is the oldest source with this one. He had worked with Saint Peter Thomas.
• Lucas Waddingus, o.f.m., Vita sancti Petri Tomae, published in Daniel a Virgine Maria, o.c.d., Speculum carmelitanum, tome II, Antwerp, 1680, part III, book II, p. 198-213. This is a reprint of the Vita B. Petri Thomæ Carmelitæ, patriarchæ Constantinopolitani, Lyon, 1637, published by the Franciscan Luc de Wadding (1588 - 1657), a prolific scholar and writer who was professor of theology at the University of Salamanca and in Rome.