Franciscus Quaresmius

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Francisco Quaresmio or Quaresmi (4 April 1583 – 25 October 1650), better known by his Latin name Franciscus Quaresmius, was an Italian writer and Orientalist.

Life

Quaresmius was born at

, and became successively guardian, custos, and minister of his province. Later (1645-8) he occupied the two highest posts in the order, that of definitor and procurator general. The memoirs of the order extol his consummate virtue, particularly his piety, prudence, and extraordinary meekness. His long apostolate in the East and the works he left secured his fame, especially among earlier historians, Biblical scholars, and Orientalists.

On March 3, 1616, he went to

Between 1616 and 1626 he wrote his work Elucidatio terræ Sanctæ, a contribution to history, geography, archæology, Biblical and moral science.

During 1627-29 he was at

. In 1637 he was guardian of S. Angelo (Milan), where in 1643 he completed his other work on the Passion of Christ.

He died in Milan in 1650.

Works

His published works include:

• Historica, theologica et moralis terræ sanctæ elucidatio: in qua pleraque ad veterem et præsentem ejusdem terræ statum spectantia accurate explicantur (2 fol. vols., pp. xxx-924-98 and 1014-120, Antwerp, 1639); second edition edited by P. Cypriano da Treviso (4 pts. in 2 fol. vols., Venice, 1880-1);
• De sacratissimis D. N. J. Christi quinque vulneribus, varia, pia et luculenta tractatlo . . . [5, not 3, fol. vols.; I, 202; II, 258; III, 368; IV, 400; V, 271, besides an index of pp. 200 (Venice, 1652)], approved by the examining theologians in 1643, but unknown to bibliographers; only three copies are extant—one in the library of Brera, the Ambrosiana of Milan, and the National Library (Florence);
• Jerosolymæ afflictæ et humiliatæ deprecatio ad suum Philippum IV Hispaniarum et Novi Orbis potentissimum ac Catholicum Regem (1 quarto vol., pp. 74, Milan, 1631), very rare; there is a copy in the Ambrosiana of Milan and in the Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno in Buenos Aires, as well as an English-language translation, edition, and study of the work by Chad Leahy and Ken Tully;^[1]
• Ad SS. DD. N. Alexandrum VII Pont. Opt. Max. Fr. Francisci Quaresmii Laud. Ord. Min. Pia Vota pro anniversaria Passionis Christi solemnitate (1 quarto vol., pp. xx-58, Milan, 1656), of which there is one copy in the Ambrosiana;
• Pro confraternitate SS. Stellarii B. Virginis Mariæ tractatus (1 quarto vol., Palermo, 1648);
• Itinerario di Caldea del Rev. P. Francesco Quaresmio e di Fr. Tomaso da Milano suo compagno. Min. Oss. e Giov. Batt. Eliano. Maronita, ed Elia Patriarca e con li Nestoriani etc. l'anno 1629, edited by Marcellino da Civezza as an appendix in Storia Universalle delle Missioni Francescane, vols. VIII-XI (1895), 597-608.

Still in manuscript are:

• Apparatus pro reductione Chaldæorum ad catholicam fidem ("six manuscript volumes", says Fr. Cyprian), which Quaresmius wrote when among the Chaldeans, and to which he refers in Elucidatio terræ sanctæ, I, li;
• Adversus errores Armenorum ("three volumes in folio", says
  Sbaralea
  ), preserved in the Convent of Lodi;
• Deipara in Sanguine Agni dealbata, left incomplete by the author;
• Epistolæ ex oriente, in the archives of the Propaganda Fide.

These and other manuscript works are said^{[by whom?]} to be preserved, some in the municipal library of Pavia and Lodi and some at Jerusalem.

References

External links

• Historica theologica et moralis Terrae Sanctae elucidatio in qua pleraque ad veterem & praesentem eiusdem terrae statum spectantia accuratè explicantur, varij errores refelluntur, veritas fideliter exacteque discutitur ac comprobatur. ... Auctore Fr. Francisco Quaresmio Laudensi, ordinis Minorum theologo, ... Tomus 1., Volume 1
• Historica theologica et moralis Terrae Sanctae elucidatio in qua pleraque ad veterem & praesentem eiusdem terrae statum spectantia accuratè explicantur, varij errores refelluntur, veritas fideliter exacteque discutitur ac comprobatur. ... Auctore Fr. Francisco Quaresmio Laudensi, ordinis Minorum theologo, ... Tomus 1., Volume 2

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Franciscus Quaresmius". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.