CIVITANOVA MARCHE

The city of Civitanova Marche has had an ancient and significant Franciscan presence over the centuries. The   original   place was dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene and was visited by Saint Francis during his lifetime. The official consecration of the church dates back to 1399.

The Convent was restored in 1747- 1751. Lost due to suppression in 1861, it is now the town hall. The Convent of St. Joseph of the Friars Minor was built in 1512. Handed over to the Reformed Friars Minor in 1534-1545, it became a Retreat, a place of particularly austere life and prayer. It was lost in 1810, during the Napoleonic suppression (A. D’ARQUATA, Cronaca della riformata Provincia de’ Minori nella Marca, Cingoli, 1893, 83-84).

The Poor Clares had two Monasteries in Civitanova: the first, dedicated to Saints Philip and James, existed before 1230 and was under the Friars Minor. It moved within the city walls, near the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, at the end of the 1200s, and in 1424, it was incorporated into the Convent of the Conventual Friars. The second was founded in 1583 and dedicated to St. John the Baptist, but it ceased to exist in 1861.

The Capuchin Friars still have their Convent in this city to this day. After the initial Convent and Church dedicated to St. Bernardino on a hill away from the city, a new Convent was built in 1625 along with the Church dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Following the suppression of 1810, the Convent and Church were closed. They were returned in 1816, and the church was reopened in 1819. With the suppression of 1866, the friars were forced to leave the convent again, and a cemetery was built nearby. The friars returned in 1881, and the Convent now serves as the center for youth pastoral activities and many initiatives promoted by the friars.