Francis of Paola

Saint Francis of Paola O.M.
Francis by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, from the altarpiece The Immaculate Conception with Saint Lawrence and Saint Francis of Paola
Hermit of St Francis
Born	27 March 1416 Paola, Calabria Citeriore, Kingdom of Naples
Died	2 April 1507(1507-04-02) (aged 91) Plessis-lez-Tours, Touraine, Kingdom of France
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	1 November 1518
Canonized	1 May 1519 by Pope Leo X
Feast	2 April[1]
Patronage	Patron saint of Calabria; Paola, Calabria, Corigliano-Rossano, Altomonte, Botricello, Paterno Calabro, Sicily, Stornarella, San Fili, and formerly of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; co-patron saint of Naples, Cosenza, Castrovillari, Bitonto, Castelleone di Suasa, Castrolibero, Luzzi, and of Bisignano; Amato; La Chorrera, Panama; Mabini, Batangas; boatmen, mariners, and naval officers

Francis of Paola, OM (also known as Francis the Fire Handler; 27 March 1416 – 2 April 1507), was an Roman Catholic friar from the town of Paola in Italy who founded the Order of Minims. Like his patron saint (Francis of Assisi), but unlike the majority of founders of men's religious orders, Francis of Paola was never ordained a priest.