September 10
Nicholas (named after Saint Nicholas of Myra) became a priest in the Society of Saint Augustine and was sent to Tolentino, Italy—a town divided by civil strife at the time. He preached every day. He ministered to the poor and to criminals and was placed in charge of the daily meal for the poor at the monastery gates. The monk in charge of supplies at the monastery asked the superior to restrain Nicholas’s generosity because he was giving away many of the monastery’s provisions!
Once, when Nicholas was weak from fasting, and in obedience to a vision he had of Our Lady and Saint Augustine, he was told to eat some bread marked with a cross, with some water. He did so and felt stronger immediately. He began to distribute these rolls, while praying to Mary, to those who were sick. They were often cured. This was the beginning of the Augustinian custom of distributing Saint Nicholas Bread on his feast day. This custom has become particularly popular in Ireland, especially in County Waterford.
Whenever someone was cured through his prayers, Saint Nicholas directed them to “say nothing of this” and explained that he was merely God’s instrument. At his canonization in 1446, Nicholas was credited with over three hundred miracles. It was also reported that he had raised over one hundred children from the dead, including several who had drowned together. After his death, Nicholas saved a boat from a shipwreck. Survivors wrote down the details and gave their testimony at his canonization. It was reported that about a year before Nicholas’s death, a star (depicted as the sun) started to go before him wherever he went. This star is often depicted on his portrait, usually with a crucifix, a lily, and the Rule of Saint Augustine. Nicholas died due to a long illness. His body is venerated in the Basilica of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, in Tolentino, Marche, Italy
(Image © Ambito bolognese, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)