FELIX
33
FELIX
to the churcli of St. Stephen in Vienna in 1361. The
heads are ciaimed by Anjou and Colof-ne. Aecording
to the "Chronicle of .\ndeclis" (Donauworth, 1S77,
p. 69), Henry, the latst count, received the rehcs from
Honorius III and brought them to the Abbey of
Andechs. Their feast is kept on 30 August.
.Stokes in Diet. Christ. Biog., a. v. Felix (217); Acta SS., Aug., VI, .'J45; .Stadler, Heiligentexiccm, s. v.
Francis Mershman.
Felix of Cantalice, Saint, Capuchin friar, b. at Cantalice, on tlie north-western border of the Abruzzi; d. at Rome, IS May, 1587. His feast is celebrated amongst the Franciscans and in certain Italian dioceses on 18 May. He is usually represented in art as holding in his arms the Infant Jesus, because of a vision he once had, when the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and placed the Divine Child in his arms.
His parents were peasant folk, and very early he was set to tend sheep. When nine years of age he was hired out to a farmer at Citta Ducale with whom he remained for over twenty years, first as a shepherd- boy and afterwards as a farm labourer. But from his earliest years Felix evinced signs of great holiness, spending all his leisure time in prayer, either in the church or in some solitary place. A friend of his hav- ing read to him the lives of the Fathers of the Desert, Felix conceived a great desire for the eremitical life, but at the same time feared to live otherwise than under the obedience of a superior. After seeking light in prayer, he determined to ask admittance amongst the Capuchins. At first the friars hesitated to accept him, but he eventually received the habit, in 1543, at AnticoU in the Roman Province. It was not without the severest temptations that he persevered and made his profession. These temptations were so severe as to injure his bodily health. In 1547 he was sent to Rome and appointed questor for the community. Here he remained for the rest of his life, and in fulfilling his lowly office became a veritable apostle of Rome.
The influence which he speedily gained with the Roman people is an evidence of the inherent power of
Eersonal holiness over the consciences of men. He ad no learning; he could not even read; yet learned theologians came to consult him upon the science of the spiritual life and the Scriptures. Whenever he appeared in the streets of Rome vicious persons grew abashed and withdrew from his sight. Sometimes Felix would stop them and earnestly exhort them to live a better life; especially did he endeavour to re- strain young men. But judges and dignitaries also at times incurred his rebuke; he was no respecter of per- sons when it was a matter of preventing sin. On one occasion, during a Carnival, he and St. Philip Neri organized a procession through the streets. The Ora- torians headed the procession with their crucifix; then came the Capuchin friars; last came Feli.x leading Fra Lupo, a well-known Capuchin preacher, by a rope round his neck, to represent Our Lord led to judgment by his executioners. Arrived in the middle of the revels, the procession halted and Fra Lupc cached to the people. The Carnival, with its open vice, was broken up for that year.
But Felix's special apostolate was amongst the chil- dren of the city, with whom his childlike sim.plicity made him a special favourite. His method with these was to gather them together in bands and, forming a circle, set them to sing canticles of his own composing, by which he taught them the beauty of a good life and the ugliness of sin. These canticles became popular, and frequently, when on his rounds in quest of alms, Felix would be invited into the houses of his benefac- tors and asked to sing. He would seize the oppor- tunity to bring home some spiritual truth in extempo- rized verse. During the famine^jf 1580 the directors of the city's charities asked his superiors to place Felix at their disposal to collect alms for the starving, and he was untiring in his quest. VI.— 3
St. Philip Neri had a deep affection for the Capuchin
lay brotlier, whom he once proclaimed the greatest
saint then living in the Church. When St. Charles
Borromeo sought St. Philip's aid in drawing up the
constitutions of his Oblates, St. Phihp took him to St.
FelLx as the most competent adviser in such matters.
But through all, Felix kept his wonderful humility and
simplicity. He was accustomed to style himself " The
Ass of the Capuchins". Acclaimed a saint by the
people of Rome, immediately after his death, he was
beatified by Urban VIII in 1625, and canonized by
Clement XI in 1712. His body rests under an altar
dedicated to him in the church of the Immaculate
Conception in Rome.
Ada SS., ed. Palme (Paris. 1866). 18 May, XVII; Bullarium Ord. F. M. Cap. (Rome, 1740), I; BovERlus. Annal. Cap., ad ann. 1587; Kerr, A Son of Saint Francis (London, 1900).
Father Cuthbert.
Felix of Nola, Saint, b. at Nola, near Naples, and lived in the third century. After his father's death he distributed almost all his goods amongst the poor, and was ordained priest by Maxinms, Bishop of Xola. In the year 250, when the Decian persecution broke out, Maximus was forced to flee. The persecutors seized on FelLx and he was cruelly scourged, loaded with chains, and cast into prison. One night an angel appeared to him and bade him go to help Maximus. His chains fell off, the doors opened, and the saint was enabled to bring relief to the bishop, who was then speechless from cold and hunger. On the persecutors making a second attempt to secure Felix, his escape was miraculously effected by a spider weaving her web over the opening of a hole into which he had just crept. Thus deceived, they sought their prey elsewhere. The persecution ceased the following year, and Felix, who had lain hidden in a dry well for six months, returned to his duties. On the death of Maximus he was ear- nestly desired as bishop, but he persuaded the people to choose another, his senior in the priesthood. The remnant of his estate having been confiscated in the persecution, he refused to take it back, and for his sub- sistence rented three acres of land, which he tilled with his own hands. Whatever remained over he gave to the poor, and if he had two coats at any time he in- variably gave them the better. He lived to a ripe old age and died 14 January (on which day he is com- memorated), but the year of his death is uncertain. Five churches were built in his honour, outside Nola, where his remains are kept, but some relics are also at Rome and Benevento. St. Paulinus, who acted as porter to one of these churches, testifies to numerous pilgrimages made in honour of Felix. The poems and letters of Paulinus on Felix are the source from which St. Gregory of Tours, Venerable Bede, and the priest Marcellus have drawn their biographies (see Paulinus OF Nola). There is another Felix of Nola, bishop and martyr under a Prefect Martianus. He is considered by some to be the same as the above.
Acta SS., Jan., II, 219; Phillott in Diet. Christ. Bioo.. s. V. Felix (186); Stokes, ibid., s. v. Felix (122); Butler, Live-t of the Saints, 14 Jan. ; Baring-Gould, Lives of the Saints (London, 1898), I, 199-201. Ambrose Coleman.
Felix of Valois, S.unt, b. in 1127; d. at Cerfroi, 4 November, 1212. He is commemorated 20 Novem- ber. He was surnamed Valois because, according to some, he was a member of the royal branch of Valois in France; according to others, because he was a native of the province of Valois. At an early age he renounced his possessions and retired to a dense forest in the Dio- cese of Meaux, where he gave himself to prayer and contemplation. He was joined in his retreat by St. John of Matha, who proposed to him the project of founding an order for the redemption of captives. After fervent prayer, Felix in company with John set out for Rome and arrived there in the beginning of the pontificate of Innocent III. liiey liacl letters of rec- ommendation from the Bishop of Paris, and the new
