BELLARMINE ROBERT: (1542-1621) Saint of the Catholic Church, canonized a saint in 1930. Italian Jesuit and Cardinal of the Catholic Church. Very rare A.L.S., `Il Card.le Bellarmino, Protettore de´ celestini´, one page, 4to, Rome, 24<sup>th</sup> August 1617, Saint Robert Bellarmino, who was at the head of the Order of the Celestines, gives his permission to a Neapolitan monk who has to travel to Rome, and states in part `…dritto al monastero di S.to Eusebio, dove habita il molto R.do Padre Abbate, don Celso Romano, Procurator generale delli Celestini..´ ("..straight to the monastery of Saint Eusebio, where the very Reverend Father Abbot, Don Celso Romano, General Procurator of the Celestines lives..") With blank address leaf in Bellarmine´s hand. Overall age wear, toning, and small staining, with a tear to the centre as a result of the opening, not affecting the text or signature, and uneven right edge. Considering the age of the document, about G

 

The Celestines were a Roman Catholic monastic order founded in 1244, a branch of the Benedictines. At the foundation of the new rule, they were called Hermits of St Damiano, or Moronites, and did not assume the appellation of Celestines until after the election of their founder, Peter of Morone (Pietro Murrone), to the Papacy as Celestine V. Due to the political reforms movements and to the French Revolution, the Order of the Celestines is now disappeared.