José D'Andrea Valeri (5 March 1916, in

Montorio al Vomano Montorio al Vomano ( Abruzzese: ') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Teramo, in the Abruzzo region of central-southern Italy. It is located in the natural park known as the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park. Geography The ci ...

, Italy – 22 March 1990, in

Matagalpa, Nicaragua Matagalpa () is a city in Nicaragua which is the capital of the department of Matagalpa. The city has a population of 111,258 (2021 estimate),San Rafael del Norte in the department of

Jinotega Jinotega () (derived from Náhuatl: ''Xiotenko'' ‘place next to the jiñocuajo trees’) is the capital city of the Department of Jinotega in north-central Nicaragua. The city is located in a long valley surrounded by the cool climate and Da ...

, Nicaragua. He is known as Servant of God (Siervo de Dios) Fr. Odorico D'Andrea.

Early life

He was born on 5 March 1916 in Montorio, Italy as the son of Catholic parents Antonio D'Andrea and Ana Rosa Valeri. On 26 September 1930, he entered the Franciscan Lower Seminary of Città di Castello in Umbria. On 10 September 1933, in the novitiate of the la Santa Annunziata in Amelia he adopted the name Odorico. On 25 April 1942, he received priestly ordination in Santa María degli Angeli near Assisi. After a brief period in the seminary of Farneto in 1945, he moved to the Convents of Amelia, Lugnano and Pantanelli in Umbria, from where he exerted the itinerant apostolate in Toscolano, Melezzole Morre and Attigliano.

Career

In 1952 he requested his superiors to be sent to their Mission in Nicaragua. He arrived in Nicaragua on 26 August 1953, and was allocated to the House of San José in Matagalpa.

Social work in Jinotega Departament, Nicaragua

He is considered a prophet and conciliator of peace in Nicaragua by the Catholic Church in time of war, for getting together the Contras with the Popular Sandinista Army. He reconstructed the hermitage of San Rafael del Norte and the Community of La Concordia (1962). He initiated construction of the Hospital of San Rafael (1964). He managed the installation of drinkable water for San Rafael del Norte and the community of Savannah Grande (1965). He built the hermitage of Tepeyac, and the house of Retreat Tepeyac (1966), where the

Via Crucis The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitati ...

is the most famous in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

. He built the school of the Community of San Marcos and a medical dispensary (1967). He built the house for doctors and the sick (1947).

Death

He died due to a complete blockage of the left artery in his heart (22 March 1990). His burial was attended by more than ten thousand people. His body was interred and exhumed to be placed in a sarcophagus inside the Tepeyac chapel. Steps for the canonization process of the now called "Servant of God" were then started in 2002 by Bishop Sergio Goretti.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Andrea, Odorico 1990 deaths Italian Franciscans Founders of Catholic religious communities Italian Roman Catholic missionaries 1916 births Nicaraguan Roman Catholic priests Italian Servants of God Franciscan missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Nicaragua Italian expatriates in Nicaragua 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests