PETER THOMAS

Memorial Day - 8 January

Profile
Carmelite at age 21. Noted preacher and homilist. Order's procurator-general to the papal court at Avignon in 1345; while there, he entered the papal diplomatic service. Papal legate to Genoa, Milan, and Venice. Bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354. Bishop of Coron in 1359. Papal representative to the Eastern Churches, working for peace, unity, and healing of the Great Schism. Papal legate to the East in 1359. Archbishop of Crete and Candia in 1363. Latin Patriarch of Constantinople in 1364. Preached crusade against the Turks throughout Serbia, Hungary, and Constantinople, and travelled with the armies. Enjoyed a reputation among both Catholic and Orthodox spheres as an apostle of Church unity.

Born - c.1305 in southern Perigord, France

Died - 1366 at Famagorta, Cyprus from wounds received in a military action in Alexandria, Egypt in 1365

Beatified - 1608 (cultus confirmed)