Giustino Sebastiano Pasquale de Jacobis, CM (9 October 1800 – 31 July 1860) 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 ...

Catholic 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 ...

bishop and member of the

Congregation of the Mission The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vin ...

who served as Apostolic Vicar of Abyssinia and the Titular Bishop of Nilopolis. He is often known in English-speaking countries as Justin de Jacobis.

Life

Giustino Sebastiano Pasquale de Jacobis was born on 9 October 1800 at San Fele in the

Province of Potenza The province of Potenza (; Potentino: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza. Geography It has an area of and a total population of 369,538 (as of 2017). There are 100 ''comuni'' (singular: ''com ...

. On 17 October 1818, he entered the

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and made his

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

there on 18 October 1820. 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 at

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

on 12 June 1824. After spending some time in the care of souls at Oria and

Monopoli Monopoli (; ) is a town and comune, municipality in Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Bari and region of Apulia. The town is roughly in area and lies on the Adriatic Sea about southeast of Bari. It has a population of 49,246 (2014), ...

he became superior first at

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

and then at

.Ott, Michael. "Blessed Justin de Jacobis." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 15 October 2021 He was among the priests who ministered during the cholera epidemic in Naples in 1836-1837. In 1839, he was appointed as the first

Prefect Apostolic An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and entrusted with the foundation of Catholic missions there, a jurisdiction that included what is now Eritrea. He worked first in Adwa, celebrating the liturgy in the local language following the

Alexandrian Rite The Alexandrian rites are a collection of ritual families and uses of Christian liturgy employed by three Oriental Orthodox churches (the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Ethiopian Orthod ...

. After laboring with great success in Ethiopia for almost a decade he was appointed as the Titular Bishop of Nilopolis in 1847 and not long afterwards the Vicar Apostolic. However he declined the episcopal honor until 1849 when he was prevailed upon to accept it and receive episcopal consecration in secret."Feast of St. Giustino de Jacobis", ''The Catholic Sun'', Diocese of Phoenix
/ref> Jacobis built schools in

Agame Agame () is a Provinces of Ethiopia, province in northern Ethiopia. It includes the northeastern corner of Tigray Region, Tigray, borders the Eritrean province of Akele Guzai in the north, Tembien Province, Tembien, Kilte Awulaelo, Kalatta Awlalo ...

and Akele Guzay for the training of a native priesthood and in the process founding the beginnings of the Ethiopian Catholic Church and the Eritrean Catholic Church. His missionary efforts aroused opposition on the part of Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarch Abuna Salama III and Emperor

Tewodros II Tewodros II (, once referred to by the English cognate Theodore; baptized as Kassa, – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868. His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia and brought an end to ...

which resulted in imprisonment and exile. Despite various other kinds of persecution, he founded numerous Catholic missions. He died of fever in 1860 at Hebo of what is now the Southern Administrative Region of

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

, while en route to Halai, where he hoped to regain his health.

Gabra Mika'el

Jacobis befriended an Orthodox monk named Ghébrē-Michael. After some time Jacobis converted his friend to Catholicism and eventually ordained him to the priesthood. Together they co-wrote a

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

and established a seminary. Ghébrē-Michael was imprisoned at the same time as Jacobis, but Ghébrē-Michael not survive the maltreatment by his jailers. For his martyrdom, Ghébrē-Michael was beatified in 1926.

Sainthood

The canonization process commenced in Ethiopia in 1891 in an informative process that finished in 1894. Theologians approved his writings in 1902 as being in line with the magisterium of the faith. The apostolic process then opened not long after in 1904 and concluded less than a decade later in 1913. The formal commencement of the cause - in the pontificate of

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 ...

- came on 13 July 1904 after having received the approval of the Congregation of Rites. Jacobis was declared 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 28 July 1935 after

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 ...

acknowledged the late bishop's 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 ...

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 ...

beatified him on 25 June 1939 while

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 ...

canonized him as a saint on 26 October 1975. olenne rito di canonizzazione del vescovo Giustino de Jocobisvatican.ve, article in Italian

References

Sources

*Devin, A., (English trans by Lady Elizabeth Herbert of Lea), ''Abyssinia and its Apostle'' (biography) (1867) London: Burns and Oates.
Edition of A. Devin biographySaint of the Day, July 31: ''Justin of Jacobis''
at ''SaintPatrickDC.org''

External links