Benedetto Menni

In 1867, the Superior General sent him to Spain to restore the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, which had been suppressed by the anticlerical laws of 1835-1836. Without resources, Menni opened a children's hospital in Barcelona during this period, considered the first pediatric establishment in Spain, followed by a psychiatric hospital in Ciempozuelos, near Madrid. For thirty-six years, he restored and developed the Spanish, Portuguese, and Mexican provinces of the Fatebenefratelli, multiplying foundations in the service of the mentally ill, disabled children, and the most neglected patients; sources indicate that about fifteen houses were opened at the beginning of the 20th century. Aware that these establishments lacked female staff for female patients, he welcomed María Josefa Recio and María Angustias Giménez in Granada and, on May 31, 1881, founded the Congregation of the Hospitaller Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from the Ciempozuelos hospital. This work received the approval of the Holy See in 1901. Apostolic Visitor of his order from 1909 to 1911, then Prior General in 1911, he had to resign from this position after one year for health reasons.

The spirituality of Benedetto Menni is rooted in the hospital charism of Saint John of God: to see and serve Christ in the sick, particularly in the mentally ill, the most despised and abandoned of his time. He transmitted to his religious sisters a program of life summarized in a few words—to pray, to work, to endure, to suffer, to love God, and to keep silence—which reflects his own ideal of self-denial. His reputation for holiness was also forged in trial: at the end of the 19th century, he was falsely accused of mistreatment toward a patient (the "Semillán affair"). An investigation conducted as far as Rome concluded in his favor, with the slanders being officially dismissed. This persecution, borne with patience and without bitterness, manifested the solidity of his virtues. The Church has recognized in him the heroism of charity, patience, and obedience, virtues exercised amidst material difficulties, political opposition, and illness.

The process for the recognition of the holiness of Benedetto Menni first led to his beatification, celebrated by Pope John Paul II on June 23, 1985, in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican. This step was based on the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession, identified in the sources as the healing of Asunción Cacho. A second miracle was subsequently examined and recognized as valid, with its pontifical approval given on March 26, 1999, paving the way for canonization. Benedetto Menni was proclaimed a saint by John Paul II on November 21, 1999, during a ceremony that brought together several other saints, including Cirilo Bertrán and his companions, Inocencio de la Inmaculada, and Thomas of Cori. His liturgical feast is set for April 24, the anniversary of his death.

The legacy of Saint Benedetto Menni continues through the dual dimension of his work. On one hand, he is considered the restorer of the Spanish, Portuguese, and Mexican provinces of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God, whose apostolate he relaunched after decades of suppression. On the other hand, the Congregation of the Hospitaller Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which he founded in 1881, has developed extensively: present today in many countries, it manages hospital and psychiatric centers on several continents, faithful to its primary mission of welcoming the mentally ill and the most fragile individuals. Considered a prophet of hospitality, Menni remains a reference figure for psychiatry of Christian inspiration and for the humane care of mental illness. Several healthcare facilities bear his name in Italy and Spain, perpetuating the memory of his service.