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Nobility. Married Euphrosyne, daughter of a nobleman. One day while
hunting he ordered attendants to set fire to some brush in order to flush
out the game. A strong wind carried the flames to nearby fields, forests,
towns and villages. Conrad fled in panic; an innocent peasant was
imprisoned, tortured into a confession and condemned to death for the
fire. Remorseful, Conrad stepped forth to confess, saving the man. He then
paid for the damaged property.
Conrad and his wife saw the hand of God in the dramatic events and chose
to give the poor everything they owned. They then separated: she to a Poor
Clare monastery, he to a group of Franciscan tertiary hermits. Conrad
lived such a life of piety that his reputation for holiness spread
quickly; had the gift of healing. Visitors destroyed his solitude, so he
fled to the valley of Noto in Sicily where he lived 36 years in prayer as
a hermit.
Legend says that when the Bishop of Syracuse visited him, the bishop asked
if Conrad had anything to offers guests. Conrad said he would check in his
cell. He returned carrying newly made cakes, which the bishop accepted as
a miracle. Conrad returned the bishop's visit, and made a general
confession to him. As he arrived, he was surrounded by fluttering birds,
who escorted him back to Noto.
Conrad died kneeling before a crucifix.
Born: 1290
Died: 1350
Canonized: 1625
Patronage: against hernias
Representation
Franciscan hermit with a cross upon which birds perch; bearded, old man
with a tau staff, bare feet, Franciscan cincture, and small birds
fluttering around him; old man with stags and animals around him
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