Benedict Menni, OH (11 March 1841 – 24 April 1914), born Angelo Ercole Menni Figini, was an Italian Roman Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. Menni was a professed member of the Order of the

Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God The Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, officially the Hospitaller Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God (abbreviated as O.H.), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1572. In Italian they are also known commonly as the Fatebenef ...

and he went on to establish a religious congregation of women known as the

Sisters Hospitaller of the Sacred Heart of Jesus The Sisters Hospitallers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, acronym H.S.C.,''Ann. Pont. 2007'', p. 1657. is an institute of consecrated life established in 1881 by the Italian priest St. Benedict Menni (1841–1914). It is devoted to poor sick peopl ...

and based upon the one of which he was a member. As part of his pastoral mission, he worked in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The Saint worked for the elderly and those who were abandoned. He also worked and aided victims of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

and those with mental health problems. He was canonized in 1999 after the recognition of two miracles attributed to his intercession. His order continues to flourish across the world in locations such as

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Life

Angelo Ercole Menni Figini was born as the fifth of fifteen children to Luigi Menni and Luisa Figini on 11 March 1841 in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

.Benedict Menni (1841-1914), Holy See
/ref> He was baptized hours after he was born. As a child he was noted for his strength of spirit and for his intellectual abilities. His religious calling came when he was an adolescent. At the time he had a position at a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

and was faced with a request to falsify records. He refused and resigned his post. This gave him the opportunity to pursue his spiritual vocation. In 1858 Piedmontese and French troops confronted Austrian troops outside of Milan and Menni volunteered to work as a stretcher-bearer to assist soldiers wounded at the

battle of Magenta The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, resulting in a French-Sardinian victory under Napoleon III against the Austrians under Marshal Ferencz Gyulai. It took place near the town of Magenta ...

, transporting the wounded from Milan railway station to the nearby hospital. This brought him into contact with the Hospitallers of Saint John of God; he entered their novitiate in 1860 and took his vows as a member in 1864. He undertook his studies in philosophy and theology in Lodi and later in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Upon their conclusion he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood in 1866, after which he assumed the name of "Benedict". At the behest of

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

- in 1867 - he started the restoration of the Saint John of God order in both

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, a restoration needed because of a situation of political strife. After settling in Spain he began by setting up a children's hospital in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in 1867 and this marked the first of his several undertakings. A short time later Menni attracted numerous followers to his cause and this allowed him to establish new institutions of his new order on a rapid scale, not only in Spain but also in

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The 1868 deposition of

Queen Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

set off renewed persecution and Menni - chosen as the Superior of the order in 1872 - found himself the object of constant threats. To recover from an illness he moved to

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

but later returned to Spain to help the victims of the

Third Carlist War The Third Carlist War ( es, Tercera Guerra Carlista) (1872–1876) was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relatively trivial ...

. Arriving in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

in 1878, he met two women - María Josefa Recio and María Angustias Giménez - who in 1881 set up a women's hospital. Their work inspired Menni to establish a new women's congregation and accordingly on 31 May 1881 he founded in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

the

."St. Benedict Menni", Ordine Ospidaliero di San Giovanni di Dio
/ref>

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

granted the Decree of Praise in 1892 and in 1901 his formal approval to the new congregation. This looked to the example of Saint

John of God John of God ( pt, João de Deus; es, Juan de Dios; lat, Joannes Dei; March 8, 1495 – March 8, 1550) was a Portuguese soldier turned health-care worker in Spain, whose followers later formed the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, a ...

as it set forth on its mission to provide care to all people. However, the sisters' task was not a simple one; for instance one patient killed one of the nuns in 1883. Menni established around seventeen mental hospitals in Spain. It was in 1890 that he began to reform the order in

and instituted several hospitals and a home for priests in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. He participated in the General Chapter of the Order in Rome in 1905 and returned to Spain afterwards. He was accused of violence against a patient who suffered from

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

and faced a criminal court in Madrid. He refused legal representation but relented at the behest of the Bishop of Madrid. Reports of the case also reached Rome and as a result Menni decided to resign as Superior General on 20 June 1912. In his final years he suffered a stroke and developed dementia. Given these health problems, and knowing his end was not far off, he asked to spend the remainder of his life at

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead of n ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, where he died on 24 April 1914. His remains were taken to Spain, after his triumphant funeral, to the mother house of the order.

Canonization

The canonization process commenced under

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

in Spain on 26 February 1964. The commencement of the local process conferred upon him the posthumous title of

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

. As was the usual manner, after the gathering of documentation and testimonies, the cause was granted formal ratification and allowed to proceed to the subsequent phases, including the compilation of an extensive large dossier to be sent to the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...

in Rome for further evaluation. On 11 May 1982, on the advise of the Congregation,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

approved a declaration that Menni had lived a life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...

and proclaimed him to be

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

. The miracle required for his beatification was investigated in a diocesan tribunal and its validity ratified on 3 December 1982. All documentation was sent to Rome and John Paul II approved the miracle on 14 December 1984 and on 23 June 1985 presided over the beatification at St Peter's in Rome. The second miracle needed for sainthood was investigated in the same manner as the first and was ratified in 1998. The pope approved the miracle on 26 March 1999 and canonized him as a saint on 21 November 1999.Our Founder: Fr. Benedict Menni
/ref>

References

External links

Saints SQPNSisters Hospitallers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menni, Benedict 1841 births 1914 deaths 19th-century venerated Christians 20th-century venerated Christians Founders of Catholic religious communities Italian beatified people 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Clergy from Milan Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Italian Roman Catholic saints Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Mental health professionals