Peter Thomas (saint)

In 1325 the prior of the Carmelite convent of Lectoure employed Thomas as a teacher for a year in that school. He entered the Carmelite Order at the age of twenty-one and made his profession of religious vows at Bergerac where he taught for two years. He studied philosophy at Agen, where he was ordained a priest three years later. For the next few years, he continued his studies, while also teaching in Bordeaux, Albi, and again in Agen. This was followed by three years of study in Paris.[1] He was preaching in Cahors, during a procession held to in hopes of an end to a serious drought, when rain began to fall. This was viewed by many as miraculous.

He was the Order's Procurator General and an official preacher at the Papal Court of Pope Clement VI at Avignon where he then assisted the Master of Theology as head of the curia department dealing with doctrinal matters submitted to the pope.

In October 1353, Pope Innocent VI appointed legate to regularizing relations between the rival republics of Venice and Genoa. The parties failed to find any ground of agreement and the attempt at mediation was not successful. In 1348, he was sent to the Kingdom of Naples in order to negotiate an agreement concerning the appointment of the tutor of the two daughters of the late Charles of Durazzo. His widow (Marie d'Anjou) and the King of Naples had one candidate, and the paternal grandmother of the children had another. Although she was the sister of Cardinal Hélie Talleyrand, the King prevailed.

In 1354 he was made bishop of Patti and Lipari and In 1354-1358, Peter Thomas, promoted bishop of Patti and Lipari7, was sent to Serbia with the main objectives of putting an end to the vexatious measures against the Catholics of Serbia and evaluating the intentions of Stefan Dusan concerning his desire to unify the Orthodox Church of Serbia with the Roman Catholic Church. Dusan's goal was in fact to find political support in order to set out, under the cover of defense of the Catholic faith, to conquer Byzantium and its Empire. In view of the complex geopolitical situation and the lack of honesty of the ruler of Serbia, this mission of Peter Thomas did not succeed, in spite of his efforts.

In the spring of 1356, Thomas, with the Dominican Guglielmo Conti, bishop of Sizebolu, went to Venice and met with Louis I of Hungary to arrange a peace treaty between Venice and Hungary over Dalmatia, but despite his efforts, the negotiations became bogged down and no peace treaty was signed. In April 1357, Thomas went as papal legate to Constantinople, to receive the submission of the Emperor of Byzantium to the Roman Catholic Church in exchange for military support of the West to block the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. But the military supports promised in the exchanges does not materialize. In 1358, Peter Thomas went on a private pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

In 1359, Pope Innocent VI appointed Peter Thomas Universal Legate for the East. In the summer of 1359, Bishop Thomas left for Smyrna accompanied by a fleet supplied by the Venetians and the Hospitallers of Rhodes. He strengthened the city's defenses, paid the soldiers, ensured the supply of the city and the appointment of a new governor. He also went to Constantinople and took part in the battles of Lampsach. Philippe de Mezières wrote: "Physically involved in the battle, Pierre Thomas stimulated the troops: it was necessary to avoid a stampede [in front of the janissaries]. The bishop gave of himself, he encouraged, he struck, sword in fist ". Between defeats and victories, Pierre Thomas was "tireless, leading the troops into battle by his example and his exhortations, sometimes in Smyrna, sometimes in Rhodes, sometimes in Constantinople, sometimes in Cyprus, sometimes in the island of Crete, and sometimes in Turkey with a few galleys".

At Christmas 1359, Thomas was in Rhodes and sick with a long illness but had recovered sufficiently by Easter to crown Peter I of Cyprus titular "King of Jerusalem". The ceremony took place in Famagusta on April 5, 1360. At the end of 1361 he was in Cyprus8 at the time of a great plague epidemic and organized masses, prayers, and processions in Nicosia and then in Famagusta to stop the plague.

In October 1362, Peter Thomas, Peter I of Cyprus and chancellor Philippe de Mezières left Paphos to seek financial, logistical and military support in Europe for a crusade to deliver the holy places and re-establish the kingdom of Jerusalem. They stopped in Avignon where Pierre Thomas explained his Crusade project to Urban V, whose official approval he obtained on 31 March 1363. Thomas was appointed Archbishop of Crete.

It was agreed that Venice would be the rallying point and Urban V asked Peter Thomas to go to Venice and stay there while waiting for the King of Cyprus to return from his tour of the Royal Courts of Europe. Peter I of Cyprus6 joined him only on November 1364 without having obtained important financial results or pledges of manpower. The King discouraged, however, Thomas and Mezières managed to persuade him to proceed. In the meantime, Thomas was sent to work out a peace treaty between Milan and Bologna. Then war broke out between Cyprus and Genoa, and Urban V sent him to negotiate terms there as well. In 1364 Thomas became the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople.

Finally, in June 1365, they set sail with their troops described as follows: "the reduced image of what was then the Western Chivalry. A few Englishmen and Scotsmen ...A few Teutonic knights: very few Italians... Mostly French." The troops at their disposal were weak, but Pierre Thomas and his companions hoped that reinforcements would be sent to them, in the event of a first striking victory. The fleet rendezvoused at Rhodes in mid-July with the fleet of the Hospitallers of Rhodes as well as the fleet from Cyprus.

On 9 October 1365, the galleys and ships of Peter I of Cyprus disembarked in the port of Alexandria. It was captured quickly and the crusaders were in the city the next day. Once in the city, the Christians ransacked the city, looted it, partially burned it and massacred its population. On October 11, 1365, the city was taken. But this victory was short-lived because the crusader soldiers, motivated by the lure of gain, were seized with fear at the idea that the Saracens would come to the rescue of the besieged city, which they soon did. After consultation and against the advice of Peter I of Cyprus and Peter Thomas who urged them to hold out, the Crusaders with their rich booty, re-embarked for Cyprus on 16 October 1365.