Leopoldo da Gaiche (30 October 1732 - 2 April 1815), born Giovanni Croci, was an Italian

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 member of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

who became well known for wearing a

crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or ) was placed on the head of Jesus during the Passion of Jesus, events leading up to his crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion. It was one of the Arma Christi, instruments of the Passion, e ...

. He was a preacher who went from diocese to diocese and served in a position of power in the Franciscan order in the

Umbrian Umbrian is an extinct Italic language formerly spoken by the Umbri in the ancient Italian region of Umbria. Within the Italic languages it is closely related to the Oscan group and is therefore associated with it in the group of Osco-Umbr ...

region in which he pushed for strong adherence to the Rule of Saint Francis of Assisi. He has been called the "Apostle of Umbria". His beatification cause started earlier than was the norm due to miracles being done at his tomb and

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

beatified him on 12 March 1893 after the verification of two miracles.

Life

Giovanni Croci was born on 30 October 1732 to poor farmers and he lived a pious life which he picked up from his devout parents; he also worked as a shepherd as a child. From his parish priest he did most of his studies and also learned

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 ...

. It was a shining moment for Croci's parents when he announced his intention to become a Capuchin friar. He entered a Franciscan convent in his hometown to become a friar in 1752 and assumed the religious name of "Leopoldo da Gaiche" upon admittance, taking the habit for the first time in the convent of Saint Bartholomew in Cibottola. Croci 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 1757 after his novitiate where he was regarded as an excellent student; he received his ordination from the

Bishop of Terni The Diocese of Terni-Narni-Amelia () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Umbria, central Italy. It was created in 1983, when the Diocese of Amelia was united with the Diocese of Terni and Narni. The l ...

Cosimo Pierbenedetto Maculari. He was appointed as an "apostolic missionary" in 1768 and for the duration of a decade travelled across multiple dioceses for the purpose of preaching. As his guide, the friar took the method of

Leonard of Port Maurice Leonard of Port Maurice, O.F.M., (; 20 December 1676 – 26 November 1751) was an Italian Franciscan preacher and ascetic writer. Life Leonard was born 19 December 1676, the son of Domenico Casanova and Anna Maria Benza. He was given the name ...

for his own preaching. He was appointed as a "chief missionary" four years after being named as the "apostolic missionary" in 1772. Croci kept with him a journal in which it was later learned that he did 330 missions that each lasted an average of two weeks and he also led a total of 40

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

en retreats. He also restored the devotion of the

Via Crucis The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

in many areas where it fell into obscurity or was suppressed. He was appointed as the Minister Provincial for the Franciscan friars in the

region in 1781. His tenure was noted for his strong insistence on the careful study and application of the Rule of Saint Francis of Assisi. In 1788 he chose Monteluco near

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...

as the site of a monastery, or cloister, he would build, the Monastery of Saint Francis, and he would remain there as part of an ongoing spiritual retreat of strict observance. In 1809 he climbed a mountain in a protest against the invasion of the Italian nation, led by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, and planted a tree representing justice and liberty, but the invasion forced him to leave the convent, which was subsequently closed down, and abandon his ministry; he was also briefly imprisoned for his refusal in joining the Napoleonic Republic. He began to preach once more following the

European Restoration The Concert of Europe was a general agreement among the great powers of 19th-century Europe to maintain the European balance of power, political boundaries, and spheres of influence. Never a perfect unity and subject to disputes and jockeyin ...

not long after. He travelled to

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in 1814 where he met with

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

and in the private audience requested that the pope restore the Monteluco convent. Once that was done he returned and spent the remainder of his life there. During a sermon for

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

in 1814 he was taken ill and would later die on 2 April 1815 of that illness and was buried in the Church of Saint Francis in Spoleto; his tomb became the site of reported miracles.

Beatification

Resti del Beato Leopoldo da Gaiche - Monteluco di Spoleto

The process of beatification opened in Spoleto in 1844 under

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

and was the site of two diocesan processes that would collect evidence for the potential sanctification of Leopoldo da Gaiche. Upon the recognition of his model 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 ...

he was proclaimed to be

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on 13 February 1855 after

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

granted his approval to the Congregation of Rites' findings. The acceptance of two miracles attributed to his intercession allowed for

to celebrate his beatification on 12 March 1893. The current

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

of the cause is Father Giovangiuseppe Califano, O.F.M.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaiche, Leopoldo da 1732 births 1815 deaths 18th-century venerated Christians 18th-century Italian people 19th-century venerated Christians 19th-century Italian people Beatifications by Pope Leo XIII Capuchins Italian beatified people People from Perugia