February 19 + Saint Conrad of Piacenza

Born in 1290, Conrad was a member of one of the noblest families of Piacenza, Italy. When he was quite young, he married an aristocratic young woman named Ephrosyne.

One day, as he was engaged in his usual pastime of hunting within his family's domain, he ordered his attendants to set fire to some brushwood in which game had taken refuge. A sudden wind caused the flames to spread rapidly to the surrounding homes, fields and forest. A peasant who happened to be found near where the fire began was accused of starting the blaze and was imprisoned, tortured to confess, and condemned to death.

Devastated by the tragic turn of events, Conrad rushed to the innocent peasant’s defense and revealed the truth about what happened that day. The peasant was freed and Conrad was ordered to make restitution to everyone who had lost homes, fields, and crops to the fire. It took nearly all of his wealth to repay the people. But in the loss of those riches, Conrad and his wife, saw the finger of God directing their lives. They decided to give the rest of their fortune away and to dedicate the rest of their lives to serving God in poverty.

Soon after this event, Conrad and his wife agreed to separate and Conrad became a hermit of the Third Order of Saint Francis of Assisi, while his wife became a nun of the Order of Poor Clares.

Conrad quickly developed a reputation for holiness and the flow of visitors left him unable to keep the solitude he sought. He then embarked on the life of a pilgrim. After many years of an itinerant life, he settled in a grotto now named for him and for the rest of his life spent a most austere and penitential life of solitude, working numerous miracles, and gifted with prophecy. Conrad died in 1351 kneeling and praying before a crucifix. He is invoked as a patron of hernia sufferers due to several healings that were attributed to him.