Writers of the Order of Friars Minor

OF THE ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR

B

born in Granada, he was established in the monastery of Lima in the Kingdom of Peru, within the province of the Twelve Holy Apostles. He served as the Guardian The superior or head of a Franciscan monastery. of the monasteries of Chuquiago Now known as La Paz, Bolivia. and Trujillo, and as the Custos An administrative official in the Franciscan Order overseeing a sub-section of a province. of the province of Charcas. He published in Spanish:

Threats, or Warnings of the Final Judgment, and the Pains of Hell, based on Psalm 48. Published in Seville, 1618, by Vincent Alvarez, in quarto.
Attributes of Christ, and the Excellencies of the Name of Jesus. Published in the same place, 1619.
The Anger and Fury of God against those who swear in vain by His holy name. Published in the same place.
The Final Judgment. Published in the same place, 1617.
The Mirror of Good Spouses, based on the epistle "A Strong Woman," taken from the Proverbs of Solomon, chapter 31. Published in Lima, 1627; and in Granada, 1631.
Evangelical Questions for the sermons of Advent, and for the Saints occurring at that time, in two volumes. Published in Lima, 1649.

ALFONSO DE HERRERA

Another of the same name, a Spaniard of the Regular Observance A branch of the Franciscans that sought a stricter adherence to the original Rule of St. Francis. among the Indians, who wrote in the Mexican language Referring to Nahuatl, the primary language of the Aztec Empire and Central Mexico.:
Sunday Sermons.
Sermons on the Saints.

ALFONSO LUPUS

A Spaniard from Madrid—though others (Daza, book 5, part 4, chapter 29) say he was from Medina-Sidonia—of the Strict Observance in the province of Castile. While he took up the defense of the Archbishop of Toledo in a dispute with Royal ministers regarding Church matters, and championed the cause quite vehemently from the pulpit, he was forced into exile outside the borders of Spain by a Royal edict. In Rome, under Pope Gregory XIII, he was treated somewhat harshly due to the efforts of the Spanish and was cast into prison. He later transferred to the Capuchins, among whom he died on October 15, 1593. He left behind a great sense of loss, both because of the holiness of his life and the excellence of his teaching, which produced a most abundant harvest of souls. His life was written by Zacharias Boverius in the second volume of his Annals under the aforementioned year. Also, Federico Borromeo, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and Archbishop of Milan, who often heard the man preaching, includes a distinguished commendation of him in the second book of his work on the sacred orators of our times. He began it with these words:

Alfonso Lupus, of the stricter Franciscan discipline, etc., was the first of all to so disturb and shake the minds of men with his speech that, in all of memory, we can find very few who seem comparable to him. Truly, driven by this man’s voice, a great many mortals renounced the world and betook themselves to sacred cloisters; wherever this "new Apostle" went, the people flocked to him. Nor was this most fertile harvest and great fruit the business of only a year or two, or limited to certain cities—as is the case with the impact of almost all preachers—but throughout the entire course of his life, he maintained the name and fame of an admirable preacher always and everywhere.

He then concluded the eulogy thus:

Thus far, those things have been said of the preacher Lupus which can easily demonstrate that he was the greatest orator of his time, and entirely such a one as perhaps no one else has ever reached the goal of becoming.

And after he had said many things about the man, he added:

This Alfonso Lupus, as far as I know, left no fruits of his leisure, no monument of his talent, except for a Commentary on the divine prophet Isaiah; which, having been received from him, we ordered to be preserved in this Ambrosian Library, to be published someday for the sake of those who delight in these studies.

ALFONSO MALDONADO

A Spaniard from the province of Saint James, an Apostolic preacher and Commissary General in the West Indies. When the Observant Friars in Spain were being troubled by certain people, he sent a learned Spanish treatise to King Philip II, which he titled:
Defense of the Little Ones. original: "Defensio parvulorum." This is kept in the Library of the Minorites of the monastery of Lugo in Galicia. He lived in the year 1572.

ALFONSO OF MADRID

Born in Madrid original: "Mantuæ Carpentanorum," a Latin name for Madrid. in Spain, he published:
A Method for Properly Serving God. A truly golden book translated into various languages. It appeared in Italian at Rome, published by Stephen Paulinus in 1604.
Mirror of Illustrious Men.
A Memorial of the Life of Christ; which he later expanded with seven meditations, which he adapted for the days of the week. Gabriel Chapius of Thuringia, the Royal historiographer, translated these into French, and they were available from Guillaume Chaudiere in Paris in 1587. Furthermore, the Method itself, written in Spanish, was translated by Johannes Hentenius together with the Mirror of Illustrious Men, and was published in Leuven by Zangrius, and in Ingolstadt by David Sartorius in the year 1578.

ALFONSO DE MENDIETA

See the entry under Diego de Cordoba.

ALFONSO DE MEDRANO

Of the province of Castile, he wrote:
Instruction and an Easy Method for Reciting the Divine Office. Published in Alcalá de Henares original: "Compluti." in 1512, in octavo.

ALFONSO DE MOLINA

A Spaniard, taken by his parents as a boy to that part of the West Indies called New Spain Mexico.. Because of his tender age, he so quickly mastered the hidden details of the elements of the Mexican language Nahuatl., and spoke it so fluently, that the Franciscan brothers who arrived there used him as an interpreter. When he reached the appropriate age, he joined them, and for fifty whole years he devoted himself to preaching to the Mexicans with a most abundant harvest. Afterward—so that even after his death he might act as an interpreter for those coming there to cultivate the same harvest—he composed many works which greatly assist both the ministers of Evangelical teaching and the Indians themselves. Indeed, he was the first and foremost of all to bring the greatest aid to the conversion of those regions through these books. He therefore dictated, for the thorough learning of the Mexican language:
A Grammar, or "Children's Art."
A Vocabulary, or Dictionary, of the same idiom.
Both a Greater and Lesser Christian Doctrine, or Catechism.
A Double Confessional, greater and lesser.
Preparatory acts for the reception of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.
The Life of St. Francis of Assisi.
The Gospels for the entire year, published in this idiom.
Furthermore, the Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Many orations and pious prayers, by which that nation might become accustomed to piety.
After a long illness, during which he continually prepared himself for the heavenly homeland, he rested in the Lord in the Mexican monastery in the year 1580.

ALFONSO DE MONTESINO

Published:
Various Sermons on all the Gospels of the entire year. Published in Valladolid, 1618.

ALFONSO DE OROSIO

A Spaniard, who wrote:
The History of the Queen of Sheba, with learned reflections interspersed...