Born in Ferrara, Italy, in 1452, Savonarola was born into a wealthy family of seven children. Before his youth he became very diligent in seeking God through prayer and fasting. He was shocked by the vice and immorality of the world and by the corruption that existed in the Church. As a youth he would walk beside the River Po, singing to God and weeping for the sins, the injustices, and the poverty of the people. He wept over the lewdness, luxury, and cruelty of many leaders of the church. He would lie for hours prostrate on the altar steps in the church, weeping and praying for God to intervene.
Revival came to Florence, Italy, during 1496-98 when God spoke to him in a vision and he heard God's voice charging him to warn the people of the trouble that was coming. He was suddenly filled with a new and awesome anointing. His preaching was with power and demonstration. His listeners were often so overcome with tears that the whole church reverberated with the sound of weeping. Workmen, poets and philosophers, all would burst into tears under his passionate preaching. He was often overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit and would withdraw from the crowds. On several occasions, while seated in the pulpit, all in the church could see his face seemingly illuminated with a heavenly glow, and he would sit in the pulpit lost in prayer or in a trance for up to 5 hours at a time.
It is no wonder that Martin Luther, though just a boy at this time, was greatly influenced by Savonarola - a mighty pre-reformation reformer!
