Ignatius of Santhià (5 June 1686 – 22 September 1770), born Lorenzo Maurizio Belvisotti, 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and a professed member of the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

. Belvisotti made it his mission to help penitents in the sacrament of

Reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Books * Reconciliation (Under the North Star), ''Reconciliation'' (''Under the North Star''), the third volume of the ''Under the ...

and also devoted himself to the care of the ill. He gained a strong reputation for the humble and austere nature of his life in addition to the application of the Franciscan charism in his life which served as a model for thousands. He was canonized in 2002 after three miracles had been attributed to him and as recognition for his long life of service and

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

.Sant' Ignazio da Santhià Sacerdote cappuccino
Santiebeati.it, biography of Ignatius of Santhià, text in Italian

Life

Lorenzo Maurizio Belvisotti was born in

Vercelli Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC. ...

on 5 June 1686 as the fourth of six children to Pietro Paolo Belvisotti and Maria Elisabetta Balocco. His education came from a local priest - Bartolomeo Quallio - who inspired him to discern a potential call to religious life. His education came at the age of seven after the death of his father. He travelled to Vercelli from his village for theological and philosophical studies in 1706. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood in 1710 and remained as a parish priest until 1716. He was offered a position of power in Vercelli but he declined it and instead became a novice in the

. He made his religious profession on 24 May 1717 and assumed the name of "Ignatius of Santhià" - this earned the ire of his parents who did not understand his decision to join the order. He assumed his name in honor of

Saint Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basques, Basque Spaniard Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six compa ...

. He was assigned to a convent in

Saluzzo Saluzzo (; ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy. The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are found in the su ...

in 1717 and served as a

sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...

there. He was also a novice master at

Chieri Chieri (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Torinese, Pino ...

for a time and a sacristan in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

in 1723. He also served as the novice master at Mondovi from 1731 to 1744 but an ailment in one of his eyes caused him to retire from the position for two years. Between 1743 and 1746 war broke out in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. After he had recovered from his near blindness he became the head chaplain of the armies of

Charles Emmanuel III Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy, List of monarchs of Sardinia, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his Victor Amadeus II, father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death ...

who were combating the Franco-Hispanic forces. He gained a strong reputation for his work with the injured. He also worked in that position in hospitals in both

Asti Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...

and

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

. He returned to his old life after the conflict ceased where he served as a confessor and religious instructor. He continued to visit the ill and the poor across Turin and ministered to the thousands that flocked to receive his blessing and would often state: "Paradise is not made for slackers. Let's get to work". He died on 22 September 1770 with a reputation for holiness and hailed as a saint across Turin where he died.

Canonization

He had a formidable reputation as a saint after his death and it led to numerous petitions for his sainthood. The first process - which granted him the title

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 ...

- spanned from 1777 until 1780 when it closed after the conclusion of its work. A second process opened sometime later to follow suit. These occurred despite the fact that the formal introduction to the cause did not occur until the pontificate of

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

on 23 February 1782. Both local processes in Turin were granted the formal decree of ratification on 24 September 1791 in order for the cause to proceed to the next stage. He was proclaimed to be

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 19 March 1827 after

Pope Leo XII Pope Leo XII (; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death in February 1829. ...

recognized the fact that he had lived a life of

. Two miracles that were said to be attributed to his intercession were placed under investigation in two diocesan tribunals and both were granted their ratification on 19 October 1963.

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

approved them both and beatified him on 17 April 1966.Beatification of Ignatius of Santhià
vatican.va, 17 April 1966, article in Italian The third and final miracle for sainthood was investigated in 1993 and was ratified on 3 June 1994.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

approved the miracle on 20 December 2001 and canonized him on 19 May 2002. His body lies under the altar in the left chapel in the Church of Santa Maria al Monte dei Cappuccini, Turin.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santhia, Ignatius of 1686 births 1770 deaths People from Vercelli 17th-century venerated Christians 18th-century venerated Christians 18th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Capuchins People from Santhià Italian Roman Catholic saints Canonized Roman Catholic religious brothers Capuchin saints