Antonio Maria Pucci (16 April 1819 - 12 January 1892) - born Eustachio Pucci - was an

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 The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise that is solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding c ...

member from the

Servite Order The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nu ...

. He was beatified on 12 June 1952 under

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

and was later made a saint on 9 December 1962 at the conclusion of the first session of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

Life

Eustace Pucci was born on 16 April 1819 to a poor

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 ...

as the second of seven children. He felt called to life in a

religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...

in his childhood but his father opposed this despite his own service as a Church worker. Overcoming this opposition later allowed Eustace to enter the

in 1837 (at Santissima Annunziata) at which time he was given the religious name of "Antonio Maria". 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 1843 after having made his profession into the order a few months prior. In 1843 he was assigned to serve in

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city in the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as well a ...

at the parish church of Sant'Andrea and in 1846 was made its

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

. He went on to serve in the post for the next four decades until his death. He became known as (the Little Parish Priest). He took geart care of the poor and the sick as well as the elderly. His labors were intensified by his response to two epidemics. In 1853 he founded a school for the education of children and in the same year found the Holy Childhood Society for educational purposes. He also took the initiative in founding the first seaside hostel for sick and poor children in Viareggio. On 6 January 1892 he celebrated

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in the parish for the feast of the Epiphany and that night went out during a storm to render assistance to a sick person. This led to him contracting

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, Over the next days his condition worsened and on 12 January 1892 he died. He was buried locally. On 18 April 1920 his remains were relocated inside the church of Sant'Andrea.

Sainthood

He was proclaimed 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 ...

on 13 April 1932 under

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

with the introduction of his sainthood cause and he was later made

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 18 January 1948 upon the confirmation of his life of

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 ...

beatified him on 22 June 1952 while

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

canonized him on 9 December 1962.

References

Sources

* Calabuig I. M. (editor), ''Sant'Antonio Maria Pucci'', Facoltà Teologica Marianum, 2004 * Antonio Maria Pucci, ''Epistolario di s. Antonio M. Pucci osm (1847-1891), Vol. 1: 1847-1883'', Facoltà Teologica Marianum, 2001 * Antonio Maria Pucci, ''Epistolario di s. Antonio M. Pucci osm, Vol. 2: 1883-1891'', Facoltà Teologica Marianum, 2006 * Peretto E. (editor), ''Storia e profezia nella memoria di un frate santo. Atti del Convegno di studio nel primo centenario della morte di s. Antonio Pucci (Roma, 14-16 ottobre 1992)'', Facoltà Teologica Marianum, 1994

External links

Hagiography Circle

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pucci, Antonio Maria 1819 births 1892 deaths 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests 19th-century venerated Christians Beatifications by Pope Pius XII Canonizations by Pope John XXIII Deaths from pneumonia in Tuscany Italian Roman Catholic saints People from the Province of Prato Servites