Augustine Fangi (also known as Augustine of Biella; 1430 – 22 July 1493) was an Italian Dominican friar and Catholic priest. He was commonly regarded in his time as a miracle worker, and, in serving as the prior of several of his Order's monasteries, was concerned with restoring and maintaining a faithful observance of the Rule of Saint Dominic. He was beatified in 1878.
Life
Fangi was born in 1430 in Biella, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, to a wealthy family who had planned a secular career for him. Instead, he was impressed by the newly arrived Dominican friars in Biella and joined the monastery there.
One notable characteristic of Fangi was his equanimity and ability to concentrate intensely on spiritual matters. An incident recorded involves a surgical procedure he underwent without anesthetic (unavailable in the 15th century), during which he did not cry out. He later stated that his mind was so intensely focused on something else that he hardly noticed the procedure. It is claimed that in prayer he was often seen levitating in ecstasy.
In 1464, Fangi was made prior of the priory at Soncino, Lombardy. He is said to have performed several miracles there, including the restoration to life of a deformed child who had died without baptism, and the repair of a broken wine jug through prayer.
The last ten years of his life were spent in Venice, where he died on 22 July 1493, the feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene.
Veneration
Augustine Fangi was buried in a damp crypt in Venice. In the 1530s, workmen repairing the church found his coffin floating in water that had seeped into the burial chamber. When opened, Fangi's body and clothing were reportedly found to be incorrupt, which increased devotion to his cause for canonization. His cultus was confirmed in 1872, and he was beatified in 1878 by Pope Pius IX.
His feast day is celebrated on 22 July (or 24 July). He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, particularly within the Dominican Order and in Biella, Italy. His major shrine is the Church of St. Dominic in Venice.
