Vincenzo Savio (6 April 1944 – 31 March 2004) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Bishop of Belluno-Feltre. Hailed as a pious and spiritual pastor, there have been calls for his canonization and to date he is recognized as a

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 ...

Life

Vincenzo Savio was born in

Osio Sotto Osio Sotto (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 11,097 and an ...

on 6 April 1944 to Augustus Savio and Santina Arnoldi as the sixth of seven children. He was an intellectual and his talents melded with his religious vocation led him to commence his studies for the priesthood on 26 September 1955. He was admitted to the novitiate of the

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in the late 19th century by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor children du ...

and made his religious profession on 16 August 1961. He took his perpetual vows in 1967. He also completed his philosophical studies and obtained a diploma in science. He undertook theological courses 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 ...

and obtained a licentiate in 1972 as a result of his theological studies. 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 Rome on 25 March 1972. He served as a parish priest in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

from 1977 to 1985 and he collaborated when it came to episcopal conferences in Livorno. He would return to Rome in 1985 to present a thesis but decided to reject the academic career he once held in high esteem. In 1990 he was made the governor of the Salesian Provincial Chapter.

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 ...

appointed him as the Titular Bishop of Garrisana on 14 April 1993 and also appointed him to a post in Livorno. He received

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

in 1993 before he embarked for Livorno. John Paul II later appointed him as the Bishop of Belluno-Feltre on 9 December 2000. He was installed several weeks later and dedicated his first moments to the sick. On 26 August 2001 he celebrated mass for the pontifical election of the late

Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I ( la, Ioannes Paulus I}; it, Giovanni Paolo I; born Albino Luciani ; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City from 26 August 1978 to his death 33 days later. Hi ...

– who reigned a mere month in 1978 – and also celebrated mass on 28 September for the late pope. Savio visited

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in mid 2001 and undertook a pilgrimage to

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château ...

in September. On 18 October 2001 he read a papal document that saw a church raised to the rank of

Minor Basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

. In 2003 he began to assemble documentation for the cause of canonization of Pope John Paul I – the cause was opened on 23 November 2003. His health started to decline at a rapid pace around

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

in 2003 and was operated on at the beginning of 2004. He was admitted to hospital in March 2004 and he received the last rites on 27 March. Vincenzo Savio died on 31 March 2004 at 8:42am with his sisters and niece at his bedside.

Beatification process

There had been calls for a canonization process for Savio which is under investigation. He has the title of

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savio, Vincenzo 1944 births 2004 deaths 20th-century venerated Christians 21st-century venerated Christians Clergy from the Province of Bergamo Italian Servants of God Salesians of Don Bosco Salesian bishops 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops