The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

, time
276
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
forty years he never slept for more than an hour and a half
a day, and that standing with his head leaning on a piece of
wood fastened to the wall ; he could not lie down because his
cell was only four and a half feet in length ;
often he ate only
once in three days, and " when I expressed my wonder at
this," says St. Teresa, " he said that it was very easy once he
had got accustomed to it ; his body was in consequence
extremely emaciated." 'xVith all his sanctity, he was very
gracious, he only spoke when he was spoken to, but then the
holiness and grace of his soul gave to his words an irresistible
power and attractiveness. His whole life was one unbroken
prayer, in which he attained to the highest degree of mystical
contemplation.
When he was a student of 16 at the University of Salamanca
in 15 1 5 Peter entered an already very strict congregation of
Franciscan Observants, which had come into existence in the
of Alexander VI., and had one so-called ciistodia in Spain,
and another in Portugal. Peter himself and his whole life
is an eloquent witness to the spirit which prevailed in this
body. In spite of his overwhelming austerity he was elected
guardian, and in 1538 provincial of his custodia, which had by
this time been formed into a province. His constitutions, in
which he still further increased strictness to its utmost limits,
were immediately accepted in 1540 by the chapter-general at
Plasencia. Soon afterwards Peter was called to Portugal
to introduce his reform there. There, too, disciples flocked
to him, so that it was possible to form a new custodia, that
of Arabida, which in 1560 became a province. He was able
at last to satisfy his desire of leading a life given over entirely
to meditation in' a lonely convent, but once again he felt
himself irresistibly drawn to the foundation of a manner oi
life of even greater severity and self-denial. Since this time
he met with opposition, he travelled bare-foot to Rome, in
1555, and after many difficulties won over Juhus III. to his
plan, and then founded at Pedrosa, near Plasencia, a convent
in accordance v/ith his ideals. In spite of its severity the new
life met with such success that in 1561 an entire province of
the Order followed its example, and after the death of the