ABSTRACT
Andrew Avellino was a modern saint in that he had lived in the sixteenth century. He had performed genuine miracles of resurrection and lived a truly holy life until he met an even holier death on the altar. Andrew visited the Theatine province of Lombardy and of Campania, imposing a strict Tridentine discipline everywhere he went. His commitment as a zealous reformer made Andrew the victim of no less than three assaults, which he miraculously escaped. Andrews's holy life ended with an equally holy death. Before and after his death, Andrew was venerated as a saint. His cult was sagaciously promoted by the Theatines, who were eager to compete with other Counter-Reformation religious orders like the Jesuits, the Oratorians and the Discalced Carmelites, whose founders were climbing to the status of saints. In Andrews Life, written by Giovanni Bonifacio Bagatta at the end of the seventeenth century, all hagiographic topoi regarding the aspiring saint are solidly established.
