ST. PETER OF ALCANTARA, CONFESSOR OF THE FIRST ORDER   This glorious disciple of poverty and penance, who was born in Alcantara, in Spain, too the habit of the Discalced Friars Minor at the age of sixteen, and from thenceforth practiced the most fearful mortifications.  For forty years, according to St. Terese, he slept for an hour and a half only every night.  For forty six years, he chastised himself every night, scourging himself so severely that the floor and the wall of his cell were covered with blood.  For twenty years he wore a hair shirt of iron whose sharp points tore into his flesh.  He strove to restore the original severity and discipline of the Franciscan Order.  He also offered great assistance to St. Terese in her Reform of the Carmelites.  He devoted himself to preaching for sixteen years, and this bore abundant fruit everywhere.  St. Peter of Alcantara left this earth at the age of sixty three.  After his death, he appeared to St. Terese , shining with glory, and said to her, "O happy Penance, which won me such great Glory!!   St Jerome on a cloud is guided heavenwards by a guardian angel. His hand rests on a skull, symbolizing the transience of earthly life. The painting was made for an altar in the nave of the popular Venetian church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli. The church was run by Franciscan nuns and in the foreground is a Franciscan friar who can be identified as the renowned sixteenth-century Spanish preacher St Peter of Alcantara. He emphasizes the spiritual character of the event, experiencing the vision of St Jerome inwardly. The altarpiece, which was painted around 1725, was originally arched at the top.