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Blessed Gratia of Kotor
Illustration of Blessed Gratia of Kotor by János Hajnal in Il fascino di Dio: profili de agiografia agostiniana by Fernando Rojo Martínez, O.S.A. Copyright © 2000 Pubblicazioni Agostiniane Rome. Used with permission. Original art preserved in the Office of Augustinian Postulator of Causes, Rome.
November 7
Gratia of Kotor (1438-1508) was known for his humility, spirit of penance, love of the Eucharist and hard work.
Born in 1438 in Mulla, near Kotor, on the Dalmatian coast in former Yugoslavia, Gratia was a sailor as a young man.
One day, while his ship was docked in Venice, he heard Augustinian Simon of Camerino preach. He was so deeply moved that he decided to become an Augustinian Brother. He was about 30 years old at the time.
Gratia joined the Augustinian monastery at Monte Ortone, Italy in 1468, at the age of 30. Monte Ortone was noted for its strict observance of the Rule of Augustine and the Constitutions of the Order.
He worked primarily in the monastery garden, and distinguished himself by his virtuous life and love of the Eucharist.
Late in his life Gratia was transferred to St. Christopher Monastery near Venice.
Many details of his Augustinian life are not known. Seventeenth Century Italian biographies of Gratia are not reliable, because they are not based on well-documented research. But they do testify to the esteem that people had for him as a holy man.
He died at St. Christopher Monastery on November 8, 1508. His remains were preserved at St. Christopher until 1810, when his body was moved to the parish church of Mulla.