Padre Raffaele of Sant'Elia a Pianisi (14 December 1816 – 6 January 1901), baptized as Domenico Petrucelli, commonly known as Padre Raffaele, was an Italian Priest and a monk of the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Capuchin order.

Early life

Padre Raffaele was born in

Sant'Elia a Pianisi Sant'Elia a Pianisi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Campobasso in the region of Molise, about northeast of Campobasso. As of 31 December 2021, it had a population of 1,585 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: It ...

on December 14, 1816, to a peasant

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Roman Catholic family; he was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

the next day. Domenico was the seventh of ten children. His father was a farmer and, his mother was a housewife. He would work in the fields and care for his family's animals. His parents names were Salvatore Petruccelli and Brigida Mastrovita. He worked several different jobs before joining the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Religious life

In 1834, he was admitted to the novitiate of Capuchin Friars in

Morcone Morcone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italy, Italian region Campania, located about 70 km northeast of Naples and about 25 km northwest of Benevento. The villages (Contrade) of Morcone include: Canep ...

. During this time he was given the name Raffaele after, Archangel Raffaele. In 1835, he made it his profession. After his studies 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 ...

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 ...

, on March 29, 1840, in

Larino Larino (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of approximately 8,100 inhabitants in Molise, province of Campobasso, southern Italy. It is located in the fertile valley of the Biferno River. The old town, seen from the mountains, is shaped like a bird' ...

Time at various convents

From this time he spent time at various convents in

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

and

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

. The most notable being in Morcone,

Campobasso Campobasso (, ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Molise and of the province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by Sannio and Matese mountains. Campobas ...

, and Sant'Elia a Pianisi. In September 1900, he was reassigned to the convent in Sant'Elia a Pianisi, he later died here 4 months later.

Oppression

After the

Unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

, more

secularist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

policies arouse, these policies were seen as discriminatory towards Capuchin friars and Catholics, prompting responses from local Catholics. Padre Raffaele lived under these policies, which took many of their assets away.

Veneration

Padre Raffaele is venerated in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He was declared venerable by Pope Francis on April 6, 2019, and two days later, on April 8, 2019,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

authorized the promulgation of the decree

positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...

for

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 ...

Raffaele. His

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

process is currently underway. He was declared venerable because of his heroic virtues.

Padre Pio Pio of Pietrelcina (born Francesco Forgione; 25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968), widely known as , , was an Italian Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, celebrated on 23 Septembe ...

spoke of and wrote about the good virtues of Padre Raffaele and thought of him to be a saintly model for monks. He was a consistent witness of the sequela Christi according to the Capuchin charism. He observed the rule and was loyal to the Church and faith. Padre Raffaele is heavily venerated and respected in Sant'Elia a Pianisi; many homes have pictures of him, and a tarp of him is on the local Franciscan Convent.

Death

He died and was buried January 6, 1901, in Sant'Elia a Pianisi. In 1904, Padre Pio visited the convent where Padre Raffaele died; he stated he felt the "aura" Padre Raffaele left.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338101005_Canonical_exhhumation_and_reconnaissance_of_the_mortal_remains_of_the_servant_of_God_P_Raffaele_da_Sant'Elia_a_Pianisi On April 26, 1936, his remains were exhumed and transferred to the convent church, where they are preserved and venerated. He was later exhumed for a second time in 2017.

References

19th-century Italian Christian clergy Italian monks {{DEFAULTSORT:Raffaele, Padre 1816 births 1901 deaths People from Molise People from the Province of Campobasso Italian venerated Catholics