Thomas of Olera

Although a simple lay brother and questor, Tommaso da Olera exerted considerable spiritual and pastoral influence in his time. His daily apostolate, marked by humility and service to the destitute, was coupled with a role as a spiritual advisor to people of all social conditions. In Rovereto, he became the spiritual guide of the young Bernardina Floriani (the future Venerable Giovanna Maria della Croce), whose exceptional charisms he discerned very early on. In the Tyrol, he was appointed spiritual director of the 'Virgins of Hall,' an educational institution for young noblewomen. His influence quickly extended to the highest spheres of power. He became the advisor and confidant of Archduke Leopold V of Austria and his wife, Duchess Claudia de' Medici, as well as Emperor Ferdinand II and Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria. He used this influence to promote peace, encourage charitable works, and support the Catholic Reformation in Germanic territories. Brother Tommaso was also the initiator of the construction of the Marian sanctuary of Volders, near Innsbruck. Designed by his friend, the physician and scientist Ippolito Guarinoni, this sanctuary is the first church dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in German-speaking lands. Despite his late learning of writing, he composed several mystical treatises of great theological depth, notably: Selva di contemplazione (Forest of Contemplation), a meditation on the life and Passion of Christ; Scala di perfezione (The Ladder of Perfection); and Concetti morali contra gli heretici (Moral Concepts against the Heretics), written in Vienna in 1620 to defend the Catholic faith.

From the time of his death in 1631, Brother Tommaso was considered a saint by the population of Innsbruck and the Tyrol. However, the official introduction of his cause for beatification was delayed for several centuries. The diocesan informative process finally opened in Bergamo on February 28, 1967. The cause was officially introduced in Rome on December 4, 1980. On October 23, 1987, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, conferring upon him the title of Venerable. On this occasion, the Sovereign Pontiff hailed him as a "brother of the Tyrol" who had strengthened the faith of both the humble and the powerful. The figure of Tommaso da Olera also left an impression on several popes of the 20th century. Pope John XXIII (a native of Bergamo) considered him an "authentic saint and a master of the spirit"; on his deathbed in 1963, he had passages read to him from Brother Tommaso's mystical work, Fuoco d'amore (Fire of Love). Pope Paul VI also praised his role as a "valiant instrument of general spiritual renewal" in the wake of the Council of Trent.

The path to beatification concluded with the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession. By a decree promulgated on May 10, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to recognize the scientifically inexplicable healing of a patient seriously ill with complicated typhoid fever, which occurred in Italy in January 1906. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on September 21, 2013, in the Cathedral of Bergamo. It was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis. By apostolic letter, Pope Francis set his liturgical memorial for May 4 (May 3, the day of his death, being already occupied by the feast of the Apostles Saint Philip and Saint James).

The spirituality of Tommaso da Olera is deeply Christocentric and Marian. It rests upon the loving contemplation of the suffering Christ. His famous formula, preserved in the official archives of his cause, summarizes his approach: "Né mai ho letto una sillaba di libri; ma bene mi fatico a leggere il passionato Christo" ("I have never read a single syllable in books, but I strive to read the suffering Christ"). For him, the Cross is the supreme book of Christian wisdom. He is also considered a precursor to the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which he presents as the source of divine love for humanity. On the Marian level, Brother Tommaso anticipates by more than two centuries the dogmatic definitions of the Immaculate Conception (proclaimed in 1854) and the Assumption (proclaimed in 1950). In his writings, he constantly attributes these titles to the Virgin Mary, propagating this devotion among both the peasants of the Tyrol and the princes of the imperial court. His literary and mystical heritage, rediscovered in the 20th century, testifies to the possibility of a high mystical theology born not from academic studies, but from a life of prayer, poverty, and fraternal charity.