st. Francis Of Paola | Oil On Canvas 17th Century      

Oil painting on canvas depicting the saint in prayer with the inscription CHARITAS his inspirational motto at the top. The canvas was not recently mounted on a marbled cardboard support and inserted into a wide banded frame with a large 19th century sgolo. Anonymous painter of the Neapolitan school active at the end of the 17th century. 
Measurements: 47x53 including frame 
  "...His life was enveloped in an aura of the supernatural from birth to death. He was born in Paola (Cosenza) in 1416 to parents in advanced years who were devoted to Saint Francis. He eventually chose the hermit life and retired to Paola to a family-owned territory. Here he devoted himself to contemplation and corporal mortifications, arousing astonishment and admiration among his fellow citizens. Soon many people began to flock to his hermitage, eager to place themselves under his spiritual guidance. . His approval was facilitated by Francis' great fame as a thaumaturge who worked wonders for everyone, especially the poor and oppressed. The astonishment at the miracles reached as far as France, to the court of Louis XI, who was ill at the time. The king asked Pope Sixtus IV to send the Paulan hermit to his bedside. During his 25 years in France, he remained a man of God, a reformer of religious life. He died near Tours on 2 April 1507'.
Patron saint of: Calabria, sailors, fishermen.

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