lessed Gratia of Kotor distinguished himself by his humility, work, spirit of penitence, and love of the Eucharist.
The second half of the fourteenth century saw the emergence of a great spirit of reform in the Augustinian Order as well as in many other religious congregations. Friars committed to an enthusiastic observance of religious life in perfect fidelity to the Rule and Constitutionsshunning every abuse and opportunity for compromise. They were authorized to live in specially designated βobservantβ communities under the immediate authority of the prior general and his appointed vicar. Eleven distinct congregations of observant monasteries were formed during this period. Gratia entered one of these congregations, centered at Monte Orotne, near Padua, in 1468 Gratia was born in 1438 in the town of Mulla near Kotor (Cattaro) on the Dalmation coast in former Yugoslavia. Fifteen years earlier Kotor had submitted to Venetian rule and became a busy and prosperous seaport. Gratia was a sailor whose work brought him to Venice where, on a certain occasion, he was so deeply moved by the preaching of the Augustinian friar, Simon of Camerino, a distinguished speaker and leader of the Augustinian Observant Movement, that he decided to join the Augustinian Order as a lay brother. He was thirty years old. In his forty years of religious life Gratia distinguished himself by his virtues and love of the Eucharist.
After many years at Monte Ortone, where he devoted his time an energy to the service of his brethren, principally in the monastery garden, he was transferred to the monastery of San Cristoforo near Venice, where he died on 8 November 1508.
Four centuries later he is still venerated by his countrymen in Kotor, and especially in his hometown of Mulla, where his body has been kept in the parish church since 1810. In 1889 Pope Leo XIII beatified Gratia.
The Augustinian Family celebrates his memorial on 7 November.
Rotelle, John, Book of Augustinian Saints, Augustinian Press 2000
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