Thomas Illyricus

Thomas Illyricus (1484/5–1528/9) was a Dalmatian Franciscan theologian, hermit, pilgrim and itinerant preacher who spent most of his life in southern France. He is known for the purported discovery of the venerated image of Our Lady of Arcachon. He gained a substantial following for his prophetic preaching and advocacy of church reform. He later wrote two early critiques of Martin Luther.

Life Thomas was born in 1484 or 1485 in the town of Vrana in Dalmatia. The nickname Illyricus implies that he was a Slav. While still a child, he moved with his family to Osimo in the March of Ancona in Italy. He spent his early life in the fields, herding goats. Nothing is known of his education, although he was fluent in Latin and claimed to have been a professor of theology. He eventually joined the Observant Franciscans in the province of Ancona. In 1510, at the age of twenty-five, he became a priest and an itinerant preacher. In 1520, he attended the Franciscan general chapter in Bordeaux. He made a second trip to the shrine of Saint James and upon his return founded a hermitage at La Teste-de-Buch near Arcachon. Miracles were reported at the spot where he died.

Works

Thomas's works are mostly in Latin, though he also published a collection of French prayers and songs, Devotes oraisons en françois avec une chanson d'amour divin, in Paris in 1528.

Treatises against Luther Thomas's most famous works are his two treatises against Luther. The earlier and shorter is titled Libellus de potestate summi pontificis but is better known as Clipeus status papalis. It was written in response to Luther's To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (1520), but, owing to difficulty finding funding, was not published until 1523 at Turin. It contains a quadruple dedication to Pope Adrian VI, Duke Charles III of Savoy, Cardinal John of Lorraine and the people of Lyon. Thomas argued for papal authority but denied papal infallibility, giving precedence to ecumenical councils. He called for a new council and condemned the abusive sale of indulgences, but defended the doctrine of penance.

Thomas's longer treatise against Luther, In Lutherianas hereses, was published in 1524 in response to Luther's On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church and On the Freedom of a Christian. It is dedicated to Pope Clement VII and Augustine Grimaldi. His approach was analytical and his arguments based on the Bible and the Church Fathers, which Luther respected, rather than papal decretals and scholastic theology, which he despised. He rejected Luther's doctrine of justification by faith alone and defended the value of celibacy.

Letters Several of Thomas's letters have survived. A collection of four letters (Litterae or Epistolae) was published at Toulouse in 1519. The letters, all from that year, were addressed to the senate of Toulouse on the Holy Name of Jesus; to the students of the University of Toulouse; to the faithful generally, on marriage; and to the king's army, on salvation. The letter on marriage was translated into French as S'ensuyt l'epistre de fr. Thomas Illyric à tous les chrétiens sur le mariage and published at Poitiers in 1525. A letter to all Christians on church reform, Epistola fratris Thome Illyrici ordinis Minorum divini verbi predicatoris generalis directa ad omnes Christi fideles contra hypocritas, quorum bellum est intestinum contra Ecclesiam dei, was published at Limoges in 1520. A letter to Ragusa, De invicem habenda caritate, is preserved in manuscript.