He was the youngest of seven children born to middle-class parents in Diecimo (now within the comune of Borgo a Mozzano) in the Republic of Lucca. From childhood, he sought solitude and wished to dedicate himself to prayer and meditation. At age 17, he began his ten-year study to become a certified pharmacist's assistant in Lucca. Afterward, he studied for the priesthood and was ordained in 1572,[3] as a member of the now defunct Apostolic Clerics of St. Jerome. He first dedicated himself to the Christian formation of adolescents in his local Lucca parish. He also gathered a group of laymen around him to work in hospitals and prisons.[4]
In 1574, he founded a group charged with deepening Christian faith and devotion; this foundation was part of the wider movement of the Counter-Reformation. Leonardi worked with this group to spread devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and devotion to the Forty Hours, as well as spreading the message of the importance of frequent communion.
Founding the orderedit
He became interested in the reforms instituted by the Council of Trent, and he proposed a new congregation of secular priests to convert sinners and to restore Church discipline.[4] In 1583, his association, which became known as the Lucca Fathers, was recognized by the Bishop of Lucca with the approval of Pope Gregory XIII.[5] In 1595, his congregation was confirmed by Pope Clement VIII, and he assumed the religious name "Giovanni of the Mother of God". This foundation received approval from Pope Paul V on January 14, 1614. The pope, encouraged by the cardinal protector Giustiniani issued a papal decree approving the union of the Lucca Fathers with the Piarists of Saint Joseph Calasanz. This union would last only until the beginning of 1617 when Paul V issued another decree constituting the Piarists as a separate congregation.
St. Giovanni Leonardi
Civic leaders in Lucca opposed the establishment of a new religious order for political reasons and acted to stop its formation. While ultimately ineffective, their efforts forced John Leonardi to spend most of the remainder of his life outside Lucca,[4] with special exceptions granted by its government as he was under the protection of the pope. Leonardi took his work to Rome where he became friends with Saint Philip Neri.[5] Neri became his spiritual director and held him in high regard for his qualities of firmness and judgment. In 1596 Pope Clement VIII nominated Leonardi as Commissary Apostolic for the reform of the Benedictine monks of the Order of Monte Vergine and in 1601 their Cardinal Protector appointed him to carry out a similar work among the Vallombrosans.[6]
In 1603, he founded along with Cardinal J. Vivès, the seminary of the Propagation of the Faith for the philosophical and theological training of missionary priests. In 1621, his community would formally be designated "Clerks Regular of the Mother of God'". The final Rule of his institute was published in 1851. Two houses of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God were opened when he died, and three others were opened in the seventeenth century.
Death and sainthoodedit
He died on October 9, 1609, of influenza, which he contracted while ministering to his brothers suffering from the epidemic raging in Rome at the time.[5]
He was venerated for his miracles and his religious fervor. His memory was held so high in Rome that Pope Leo XIII added his name to the Roman Martyrology, and ordered Roman clergy to celebrate his Mass and Office, an honor otherwise strictly limited to beatified popes.
Leonardi was beatified in 1861 and canonized in 1938 by Pope Pius XI. His liturgical feast is celebrated on 9 October. His relics are enshrined under an altar in the Church of Santa Maria in Campitelli in Rome.[7]
Referencesedit
^(October 7, 2009). On St. John Leonardi 2011-09-13 at the Wayback Machine. ZENIT.
^"St John Leonardi". Catholic Online. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
^Delaney, John J. (1980). Dictionary of Saints. New York: Doubleday. p. 357. ISBN0-385-13594-7.
^ abc"Saint John Leonardi’s Story", Franciscan Media
^ abcBritannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Saint John Leonardi". Encyclopedia Britannica
^Carmichael, Montgomery. "Clerks Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 12 November 2021 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^Schofield, Nicholas. "Santa Maria in Campitelli: an old Roman church with strong British connections", Venerable English College, Rome, 26 February 2020
Sourcesedit
"Encyclopédie des Saints et de la Sainteté," Hachette (in French)
Alberto Comuzzi (1988). San Giovanni Leonardi : un nomo per tutte le vocazioni [San Juan Leonardi : un hombre apasionado por Cristo y por la Iglesia] (in Italian, French, and Spanish) (4th ed.). Cinisello Balsamo (Milan); Santiago de Chile: Edizioni Paoline. p. 167. OCLC 645374429 – via archive.is. {{cite book}}: External link in |via= (help)[1]
Bernard Baudouin (2016). Encyclopédie des saints : tous les saints de l'Église de Rome, leurs oeuvres & leurs bienfaits (in French). Bulgary: Éditions Trajectoire DL. p. 330. ISBN978-2-84197-707-9. OCLC 1010280696 – via archive.is. {{cite book}}: External link in |via= (help)
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Giovanni Leonardi.
Catholic Online-Saints & Angels: St. John Leonardi
^Referenced by "Rassegna bibliografica". La Civiltà Cattolica (in Italian) (3317–3324): 202. 1988. OCLC 1774680. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019.
April 18, 2024
john, leonardi, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John Leonardi news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message John Leonardi OMD Italian Giovanni 1541 9 October 1609 was an Italian Catholic priest and the founder of the Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca 2 SaintGiovanni LeonardiOMDPriestBorn1541Diecimo Lucca Republic of LuccaDiedOctober 9 1609 1609 10 09 aged 67 68 Rome Papal StatesVenerated inRoman Catholic ChurchBeatified10 November 1861 Saint Peter s Basilica Papal States by Pope Pius IXCanonized17 April 1938 Saint Peter s Basilica Vatican City by Pope Pius XIMajor shrineSanta Maria in Campitelli ItalyFeast9 OctoberAttributesPriest s cassockRule of the OrderQuillMortar and pestlePatronagePharmacists 1 Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca Contents 1 Biography 2 Founding the order 3 Death and sainthood 4 References 5 Sources 6 External linksBiography editHe was the youngest of seven children born to middle class parents in Diecimo now within the comune of Borgo a Mozzano in the Republic of Lucca From childhood he sought solitude and wished to dedicate himself to prayer and meditation At age 17 he began his ten year study to become a certified pharmacist s assistant in Lucca Afterward he studied for the priesthood and was ordained in 1572 3 as a member of the now defunct Apostolic Clerics of St Jerome He first dedicated himself to the Christian formation of adolescents in his local Lucca parish He also gathered a group of laymen around him to work in hospitals and prisons 4 In 1574 he founded a group charged with deepening Christian faith and devotion this foundation was part of the wider movement of the Counter Reformation Leonardi worked with this group to spread devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and devotion to the Forty Hours as well as spreading the message of the importance of frequent communion Founding the order editHe became interested in the reforms instituted by the Council of Trent and he proposed a new congregation of secular priests to convert sinners and to restore Church discipline 4 In 1583 his association which became known as the Lucca Fathers was recognized by the Bishop of Lucca with the approval of Pope Gregory XIII 5 In 1595 his congregation was confirmed by Pope Clement VIII and he assumed the religious name Giovanni of the Mother of God This foundation received approval from Pope Paul V on January 14 1614 The pope encouraged by the cardinal protector Giustiniani issued a papal decree approving the union of the Lucca Fathers with the Piarists of Saint Joseph Calasanz This union would last only until the beginning of 1617 when Paul V issued another decree constituting the Piarists as a separate congregation nbsp St Giovanni LeonardiCivic leaders in Lucca opposed the establishment of a new religious order for political reasons and acted to stop its formation While ultimately ineffective their efforts forced John Leonardi to spend most of the remainder of his life outside Lucca 4 with special exceptions granted by its government as he was under the protection of the pope Leonardi took his work to Rome where he became friends with Saint Philip Neri 5 Neri became his spiritual director and held him in high regard for his qualities of firmness and judgment In 1596 Pope Clement VIII nominated Leonardi as Commissary Apostolic for the reform of the Benedictine monks of the Order of Monte Vergine and in 1601 their Cardinal Protector appointed him to carry out a similar work among the Vallombrosans 6 In 1603 he founded along with Cardinal J Vives the seminary of the Propagation of the Faith for the philosophical and theological training of missionary priests In 1621 his community would formally be designated Clerks Regular of the Mother of God The final Rule of his institute was published in 1851 Two houses of the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God were opened when he died and three others were opened in the seventeenth century Death and sainthood editHe died on October 9 1609 of influenza which he contracted while ministering to his brothers suffering from the epidemic raging in Rome at the time 5 He was venerated for his miracles and his religious fervor His memory was held so high in Rome that Pope Leo XIII added his name to the Roman Martyrology and ordered Roman clergy to celebrate his Mass and Office an honor otherwise strictly limited to beatified popes Leonardi was beatified in 1861 and canonized in 1938 by Pope Pius XI His liturgical feast is celebrated on 9 October His relics are enshrined under an altar in the Church of Santa Maria in Campitelli in Rome 7 References edit October 7 2009 On St John Leonardi Archived 2011 09 13 at the Wayback Machine ZENIT St John Leonardi Catholic Online Retrieved 31 January 2022 Delaney John J 1980 Dictionary of Saints New York Doubleday p 357 ISBN 0 385 13594 7 a b c Saint John Leonardi s Story Franciscan Media a b c Britannica The Editors of Encyclopaedia Saint John Leonardi Encyclopedia Britannica Carmichael Montgomery Clerks Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 4 New York Robert Appleton Company 1908 12 November 2021 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Schofield Nicholas Santa Maria in Campitelli an old Roman church with strong British connections Venerable English College Rome 26 February 2020Sources edit Encyclopedie des Saints et de la Saintete Hachette in French Alberto Comuzzi 1988 San Giovanni Leonardi un nomo per tutte le vocazioni San Juan Leonardi un hombre apasionado por Cristo y por la Iglesia in Italian French and Spanish 4th ed Cinisello Balsamo Milan Santiago de Chile Edizioni Paoline p 167 OCLC 645374429 via archive is a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a External link in code class cs1 code via code help 1 Bernard Baudouin 2016 Encyclopedie des saints tous les saints de l Eglise de Rome leurs oeuvres amp leurs bienfaits in French Bulgary Editions Trajectoire DL p 330 ISBN 978 2 84197 707 9 OCLC 1010280696 via archive is a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a External link in code class cs1 code via code help External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Giovanni Leonardi Catholic Online Saints amp Angels St John Leonardi Catholic Saints Info Saint John LeonardiPortals nbsp Saints nbsp Biography nbsp Catholicism nbsp Italy Referenced by Rassegna bibliografica La Civilta Cattolica in Italian 3317 3324 202 1988 OCLC 1774680 Archived from the original on August 29 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Leonardi amp oldid 1179439611, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
