January 8 St. Peter Thomas, Bishop
Born about 1305, in southern Perigord in France, Peter Thomas entered the Carmelite Order when he was 21. He was chosen by the Order as its procurator general to the Papal Court at Avignon in 1345.
After being made bishop of Patti ad Lipari in 1354, he was entruted with many papal missions to promote peace and unity with the Eastern Churches. He was transfered to the see of Corone in the Peloponnesus in 1359 and made Papal Legate for the East. In 1363, he was appointed Archbishop of Crete and in 1364 Latin Patriarch of Constantinople.
He won a reputation as an apostle of church unity before he died at Famagosta in Cyprus in 1366.
January 9 St. Andrew Corsini, Bishop
Andrew was born at the beginning of the fourteenth century in Florence and entered the Carmelite Order there. He was elected provincial of Tuscany at the general chapter in Metz in 1348. He was made bishop of Fiesole on October 13th 1349 and gave the Church a wonderful example of love, apostolic zeal, prudence and love of the poor. He died on 6th January 1374.