BASILICI (Mgr Francesco Saverio) - Lot 5

BASILICI (Mgr Francesco Saverio) Bishop of Népi and Sutri. 19th-century Italian religious, particularly famous for spreading devotion to Saint Philomena. Important L.A.S. "F. évêque de Népi" to a nun. Népi, May 12, 1833. 1 page in-4 on laid paper, with intact armorial red wax seal and later autograph annotation. A beautiful and moving spiritual letter addressed to a nun, in which Mgr Basilici dispenses mystical advice and exhortations to abandon oneself in God, drawing on the writings of Saint Teresa of Avila. In particular, the bishop recommends reading The Way of Perfection: "Chapters 6, 8 and 10 of Saint Teresa's Way of Perfection (...) are just right for you." The text then develops a profound meditation on divine charity and mystical abandonment: "I have loved you, says God, with an eternal charity that has had no beginning and will never have an end..." and concludes with a formula of great spiritual intensity: "Throw all your care on God, then, and he will feed you. That is his promise, and that is enough. A remarkable document both for the quality of its religious content and for its devotional context linked to the cult of St. Philomena, of which Basilici was one of the most fervent propagators in the 19th century. Generally well preserved, despite creases and minor marginal damage; very fine red wax seal.