Capuchin
friar. His baptismal name was Carlo Domenico Cristofori, his birthplace
Aviano, a small community in the Republic of Venice (Italy). From an
early age, he felt attracted to a life of devotion and martyrdom.
Educated at the Jesuit College in Gorizia, at 16 he tried to reach the
island of Crete, where the Venetians were at war with the Ottoman Turks,
in order to preach the Gospel and convert the Muslims to Christianity.
On his way, he sought asylum at a Capuchin convent in Capodistria, where
he was welcomed by the Superior, who knew his family, and who, after
providing him with food and rest, advised him to return home.
Inspired
by his encounter with the Capuchins, he felt that God was calling on
him to enter their Order. In 1648, he began his novitiate. A year later,
he professed his vows and took his father’s name, Marco, becoming Fra’
Marco d’Aviano. His ministry entered a new phase in 1664, when he
received the licence to preach throughout the Republic of Venice and
other Italian states, particularly during Advent and Lent. He was also
given more responsibility when he was elected Superior of the convents
of Belluno in 1672, and Oderzo in 1674.
His
life took an unexpected turn in 1676, when he gave his blessing to a
nun, bedridden for some 13 years: she was miraculously healed. The news
spread far and wide, and it was not long before the sick, and many
others from all social strata, began to seek him out.
Among
those who sought his help was Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, whose wife
had been unable to conceive a male heir. From 1680 to the end of his
life, Marco d’Aviano became a close confidant and adviser to him,
providing the irresolute and often indecisive emperor with guidance and
advice for all problems, political, economic, military or spiritual. His
forceful, energetic and sometimes passionate and fiery personality
proved a good complement for Leopold’s Hamlet-like tendency to allow
endless doubts and scruples to paralyse his capacity for action. As the
danger of war with the Ottoman Turks grew near, Marco d’Aviano was
appointed by Pope Innocent XI as his personal envoy to the Emperor. An
impassioned preacher and a skillful mediator, Marco d’Aviano played a
crucial role in resolving disputes, restoring unity, and energizing the
armies of the so-called ‘Holy League,’ which included Austria, Poland,
Venice, and the Papal States under the leadership of the Polish king Jan
III Sobieski. In the decisive Battle of Vienna (1683), the Holy League
succeeded in inflicting a decisive defeat on the invading Ottoman Turks.
This marked the end of the last Turkish attempt to expand their power
in Europe, and the beginning of the long European counter-offensive that
was to continue ultimately until the disintegration of the Ottoman
empire in 1918. This may therefore be considered one of the decisive
battles of history. It also put an end to the period of Ottoman revival
under the Koprulu Grand Vizirs and their protégé and successor, Kara
Mustapha, who was in command of the Ottoman army at Vienna.
King Jan III Sobieski with a gorget of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa.
In the judgement of historians, Marco’s influence over Leopold was exercised responsibly, in the sole interests of Christianity and of the House of Austria. In one of his private letters to the Emperor, Marco actually scolds him quite forcefully for granting a benefit to one of his brothers, reminding him that, by so doing, he was only providing ammunition for the enemies of their cause.
In 2003, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II.
(cfr: Vatican)
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