Lorenzo da Ripafratta was born about 1373 at Ripafratta, a fortified village near Pisa, to a noble family charged with guarding the town's outer defenses. Drawn to the evangelical life, he entered the Order of Preachers and received the Dominican habit at the convent of Santa Caterina in Pisa in 1396. There he embraced the strict Observance that Blessed Giovanni Dominici was restoring throughout Tuscany, dedicating himself to prayer, study, poverty, and preaching.
In 1402 he was appointed novice master at Cortona. Under his guidance the young friars learned the interior life; among those he formed were Antoninus of Florence, later archbishop and saint, and Guido di Pietro, known to history as Fra Angelico. Lorenzo's own austerity was severe: long fasts, night vigils, and harsh personal penances marked his days, yet he tempered severity with fatherly care for souls.
He joined Dominici's reform movement and was later named vicar-general of the reformed Dominican houses. When plague struck Pistoia and Fabriano he went at once to the sick, caring for them without regard for contagion. Afterward he settled at the convent of San Domenico in Pistoia as its vicar-general, continuing to correspond with Archbishop Antoninus, whom he encouraged in the heavy burdens of the episcopal office.
In his later years a grievous wound opened in one leg. He bore the constant pain with remarkable patience, offering it as a further share in the Cross. On 27 September 1456 he died at Pistoia. His body was venerated in the Dominican church there, and popular devotion to the holy friar never ceased. On 4 April 1851 Pope Pius IX confirmed the enduring local cultus, declaring him Blessed. His memory is kept on the day of his death.
May Blessed Lorenzo obtain for us the grace of generous fidelity to our vocation and the courage to serve the suffering without fear.
