Blessed Pietro Parenzo
Profile
Born to the Italian nobility, the son of Giovanni, a senator and judge; his mother‘s name was Odolina. We know he had brothers, and was married at one point, but nothing else survives of his early life. Served in the court of Pope Innocent III. Chosen rector and papal governor of Orvieto, Italy in 1199, a turbulent area used as a base by Patarine Cathar heretics, and in the middle of endless struggles and machinations of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, between supporters of the Pope and those of the Emperor of Germany; Pietro was given a mission to bring peace and suppress heresy which meant he was welcomed with open arms by orthodox Catholics, with open opposition by the supporters of the various heresies and factions. Kidnapped by a gang of Patarine heretics, he was beaten and offered freedom if he would retract all anti–heresy laws in the area, and agree to never trouble the Patarines and Carthars again; he declined. Martyr. The backlash against his killers led to a popular uprising, suppression and exile of the heretics.
Born
- hit in the head with a hammer by Patarine heretic kidnappers on 21 May 1199 in a hut just outside Orvieto, Italy; other kidnappers stabbed his body numerous times with knives and swords
- buried in the graveyard of the church of Santa Maria in Orvieto
- relics in the Chapel of the Corporal in the cathedral of Orvieto
- popularly considered a martyr at the time of his death, there were commemorations beginning in 1200
- his tomb became a stopping point for people passing through Orvieto while on pilgrimages to Rome, Italy
- 16 March 1879 by Pope Leo XIII (cultus confirmation)
MLA Citation
- “Blessed Pietro Parenzo“. CatholicSaints.Info. 12 October 2023. Web. 17 April 2024. <>