November 13

Saint Homobonus

Roman Martyrology

An honest cloth merchant of Cremona who shared his earnings with the poor

Homobonus, whose name means “good man”, was a merchant in Cremona, in northern Italy, in the twelfth century. His birth year is not known. Like his father, he worked in the cloth trade, and he married and kept a household like any other trader in the busy city.

He became known for dealing honestly and for giving much of what he earned to the poor, the sick and people in need. Cremona was split by rival factions, and he was remembered for trying to make peace between them. He prayed daily at the church of Sant’Egidio, often before dawn. On 13 November 1197 he collapsed there during Mass, kneeling before a crucifix, and died.

Just over a year later, in January 1199, Pope Innocent III declared him a saint at the request of Cremona’s bishop. He was one of the first ordinary lay people, a married businessman, to be canonised. Tailors and merchants still call him their patron.

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,

1 Timothy 6:17–18 · BSB

A prayer

God of every honest labour, you made Homobonus holy in the shop and the marketplace, faithful in his trade and generous to the poor. Teach us to work with integrity, to share what we earn with open hands, and to seek peace where people are divided. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.