Nicholas was born in Sant' Angelo, Italy, in 1246. After hearing a sermon by an Augustinian hermit, he decided to become an Augustinian friar at the age of 18. Seven years later, he was ordained and became well-known as a brilliant confessor and preacher.

He observed strict fasting and engaged in extreme mortifications. In Tolentino, where he lived for the final thirty years of his life, he was well-known for healing several sick people.

The origin of St. Nicholas' bread, a dough roll with a cross in the middle, can be traced back to the bread he would distribute to the ill after pleading for the Virgin Mary's intercession in healing them.

After dying on September 10, 1306, Pope Eugene canonized St. Nicholas in 1446.

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