Bidspirit auction | Antique manuscript Letter of Fr.

Antique manuscript Letter of Fr. Aloysius of Bastia, President of the Holy Land to missionary Kilian Stockh, 1767, in Latin, Rare! - Antique manuscript Letter of Fr. Aloysius of Bastia, President of the Holy Land to missionary Kilian Stockh, 1767, in Latin, Rare! Fr. Aloysius of Bastia issued it as an official testimonial for the Austrian Franciscan missionary Kilian Stockh, confirming his honesty and service in collecting alms for the upkeep of the Holy Places. Handmade paper with water marks, sealed. 2 pages. Size: 33.5 x 22 cm. (13.1 x 8.6 inches) With original signature of Fr. Aloysius of Bastia This is full translation of the letter into English: Fr. Aloysius of Bastia of the Order of Friars Minor of St. Francis, Reformed Province of Corsica, Professor of Theology, Guardian of the Holy Mount of the Most Holy Sepulchre of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and also President of the Holy Land with full authority, humble servant in the Lord. To our most beloved in Christ, Father Kilian Stockh, Lecturer and Preacher of the Reformed Province of Saint Bernard of Austria, disciple, greeting and abundant blessing from Heaven. Since it is most fitting, according to equity, that benefits should be repaid with benefits, it is therefore right that we honor with due testimony those religious who, with burning zeal for the most holy places consecrated by the footsteps, life, death, and most precious blood of Jesus Christ, have gathered alms for their support and, enduring so many and various hardships of journeys by sea and land with the greatest peril to life, have faithfully and diligently brought them hither. Thus, by the permission of the Reverend Father Minister General, through the Most Reverend Father Cyprian Palm, Commissary of the Holy Land throughout the Holy Roman Empire and the neighboring kingdoms, you, dearest Father in Christ, have been sent, and having safely reached this Holy City of Jerusalem, have faithfully delivered to us the alms entrusted to you, to be used for the expenses, rents, heavy tributes, for preserving the sacred places, and for relieving the needs of the religious who serve God within them. And now, since you again desire and petition to serve with the attached letters of obedience, we remit you once more to the same Most Reverend Father Commissary, dwelling within the aforesaid Holy Roman Empire, humbly beseeching that, in his prudence, he employ your labors anew, especially in those things which are known to pertain to the service of the Holy Land. Moreover, we bear witness that you have devoutly visited the Holy Places both in Judea and in Galilee, such as are customarily frequented by our brethren, and that in them you have many times celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Meanwhile, we warmly commend you to the Commissary and to all to whom you may come, that you may be received charitably and be supplied with all things necessary for the completion of your journey. Farewell, and may God be with you. Given at Jerusalem, from our Convent of the Holy Savior, on the 15th day of September, 1767. Fr. Aloysius of Bastia President of the Holy Land By mandate of the Reverend Father Vicar of the Most Reverend: Fr. Paulus of Agronas, Secretary Fr. Aloysius a Bastia was a Franciscan friar from the Reformed Province of Corsica (Order of Friars Minor). His name indicates that he came from Bastia, the main city of Corsica. In September 1767, he held the office of Praeses Terrae Sanctae (“President of the Holy Land”), a high position within the **Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land in Jerusalem. This role meant he had both spiritual and administrative responsibility for the Franciscan monasteries, sanctuaries, and missions in the Holy Land, especially the Holy Sepulchre and other pilgrimage sites. The letter you have is one of the very few surviving records that mention him. He issued it as an official testimonial for the Austrian Franciscan missionary Kilian Stockh, confirming his honesty and service in collecting alms for the upkeep of the Holy Places. No detailed biography of Aloysius a Bastia appears in published sources or major Franciscan catalogues, which suggests he was a regional leader whose activity was important locally but did not reach wider historical prominence. To learn more, one would need to consult the archives of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land in Jerusalem, or the Franciscan Reformed Province of Corsica’s records