Saint Bernardine of Siena

Bernardine was born in 1380 at Massa Marittima, Italy, to the noble Albizzeschi family, and was orphaned as a child and raised by relatives in Siena. When plague struck Siena in 1400, the twenty-year-old Bernardine and his companions ran the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala for months, nursing the sick and dying. In 1402 he joined the Franciscans of the Strict Observance and was ordained a priest.

From 1417 he became the most famous preacher of his time, walking from town to town and speaking for hours in the piazzas against gambling, vanity, usury and the feuds that tore cities apart. He promoted devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, showing crowds a tablet with the monogram IHS surrounded by golden rays. He refused to become a bishop three times, served as vicar general of the Observant friars, and helped the reform grow from a few hundred to several thousand friars. He died at L'Aquila on May 20, 1444, and was canonized just six years later, in 1450.

The IHS monogram he popularized can be seen on churches, altars and vestments all over the world. In Siena and L'Aquila, where his body lies in the Basilica of San Bernardino, his feast is celebrated with Masses and processions. Because he was such an effective communicator, he is patron of advertising and public relations.