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| Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo b. Sept. 16, 1744—d. Dec. 13, 1827 |
Today we remember and honor the great counter-revolutionary hero Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo, the warrior prelate who liberated the Kingdom of Naples from Franco-Jacobin tyranny.
When Napoleon’s Grande Armée invaded the Kingdom of Naples in December 1798 and installed the Jacobin satellite state (Repubblica Partenopea), Ruffo followed the Bourbon Royal Family to Palermo, Sicily. Named vicar-general on January 25th, 1799, the grey-haired Cardinal crossed the Strait of Messina to his native Calabria with just seven companions to recapture the Kingdom.
On February 8th they landed at Punta del Mezzo in Reggio, Calabria. Armed with only a banner emblazoned with the royal coat-of-arms and a cross, Ruffo began to raise an army. Issuing an encyclical letter commanding the clergy and magistrates to preach the crusade, men from all walks of life readily rallied to defend their faith and traditions, and to restore their legitimate rulers, King Ferdinand IV and Queen Maria Carolina. In less than a month 17,000 Calabrese, including many soldiers from the disbanded Bourbon army, joined the burgeoning ranks of his Royal Christian Army of the Holy Faith (Sanfedisti). Continue reading
