Girolamo Savonarola
1452-1498

Savonarola was in a Dominican monastery for seven years. He began to preach the Bible in Florence, Italy, in 1481. The city became a “republic” due to Savonarola’s preaching and his immense popularity with the common people. They elected him to be the city manager.

Pope Alexander VI offered him a cardinal’s position if he would quit preaching the Bible and exposing the sins of the Vatican. Savonarola refused the “red hat” of the cardinal and replied, “I’ll take a ‘red hat’ of blood.”

He was excommunicated, imprisoned, tortured, then burned at the stake. Before dying he said, “Rome will not quench this fire . . .”