Nicholas joined the Augustinian Order a few years after its enlargement at the “Grand Union” of 1256. In his early life he was influenced by the contemplative spirituality of his native region The Marches. As a friar he combined the strict asceticism of this tradition with the apostolic work assigned to the newly formed Augustinians Order by Pope Innocent IV in 1244

He spent the last thirty years of his priestly life in Tolentino working among the poor and the sick, and especially among those estranged from the Church. His reputation as a worker of miracles and his holiness brought many people to the monastery of Tolentino.

Nicholas was born in 1245, ordained in 1271, and died in 1305. He was the first Augustinian friar to canonized and is the patron of the Holy Souls.