San Giacomo della Marca

He was born Domenico Gangala into a poor family in Monteprandone. In 1412 he got his degree in law in Perugia. He left the attorneyship in 1416 and entered the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans). In his long life, he was a preacher, an inquisitor, a writer, a counsellor of kings and lords, a pacifier and an apostolic nuncio in Eastern-Europe. He promoted the construction of libraries, hospitals, orphanages. St. James of the Marches wrote municipal Statutes and founded “Monti di Pietà” offices to help poor people and keep them safe from the threat of usury. He died in Naples on the 28^th of November 1476 and was buried in the Franciscan church of Santa Maria la Nova, where his body remained until 2001. In this year, his incorrupt body was relocated to Monteprandone, where it is visible to the public in the dedicated chapel of Sanctuary “Santa Maria delle Grazie”. He was canonized by Pope Urban VIII in 1624. St. James of the Marches was among the greatest preachers of his age. He helped spread devotion and he preached against usury, luxury, gambling, superstition, magic practices and blasphemy. He focused his attention as inquisitor against some heretic sects (i.e. the “Fraticelli”) that misinterpreted the Franciscan spirituality. His library and autographs are partially preserved in Monteprandone, at Civic Museum.