Bartolomeo Fanti (c. 1428 - 5 December 1495) 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 ...

from the

Carmelite order The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

. Fanti served as the

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divinity, divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters ...

and rector of a religious movement in his hometown and oversaw the establishment of their rule and statutes while himself serving as a novice master for his own order where he became known for being an effective preacher.

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

beatified Fanti on 18 March 1909 upon the confirmation of his local 'cultus' - or popular devotion - rather than following the main process for beatification.

Life

Bartolomeo Fanti was born in

around 1428. He became a professed member of the

at the age of seventeen at which point he received the white habit of the order. Fanti became the

and the rector of the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 1 January 1460 for which he also composed their rule and statues; he was even a member of that confraternity since 28 February 1452. He was also the spiritual teacher of Giovanni Battista Spagnuolo and became well known for being an effective preacher with an ardent devotion to the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

. Fanti served as a novice master for the Carmelites at some stage in the latter half of his life. He died on 5 December 1495 in Mantua. His remains were relocated to another chapel in 1516 and again in 1783 to the church of Saint Mark in Mantua before being relocated for the final time to another chapel elsewhere in 1793 a decade later.

Beatification

His beatification received the papal approval of

on 18 March 1909 as 'cultus' (local devotion) confirmation rather than following the usual requirement for recognized miracles.

References

External links

Saints SQPN
1428 births 1495 deaths 15th-century venerated Christians 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Beatifications by Pope Pius X Carmelite beatified people Italian beatified people Clergy from Mantua {{Italy-RC-clergy-stub