Giovanni Battista Piamarta

Piamarta's work responded to the social question of the late 19th-century Italy. On December 3, 1886, he founded the Artigianelli Institute (Istituto Artigianelli) in Brescia, intended for the Christian, moral, and professional training of young workers, placed under the patronage of Saint Philip Neri and Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Also concerned for rural youth, in 1895, with the assistance of the agronomist Father Giovanni Bonsignori, he acquired the Remedello Sopra estate, where he established an agricultural colony dedicated to raising the dignity of farm labor. He also engaged in the apostolate of the Catholic press, linked to the Queriniana publishing house in Brescia. To ensure the continuity of his works, in March 1900 he founded the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth, composed of priests and laypeople dedicated to the education of youth; its constitutions were approved in 1902. In 1911, with the collaboration of Mother Elisa Baldo, he gave birth to a women's institute, which became the Congregation of the Humble Servants of the Lord, for the education of young girls.

Piamarta's spirituality is rooted in an unshakable trust in divine Providence and a deep spirit of sacrifice. At his canonization, Pope Benedict XVI described him as "a great apostle of charity and of the young" and located the secret of his intense and laborious life in the long hours he devoted to prayer, particularly before the Blessed Sacrament, meditating on the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. Far from letting himself be absorbed by the overflowing activity of his works, he instead prolonged his "heart-to-heart" conversation with the Lord to draw from it the strength for his pastoral mission. His Eucharistic devotion, his detachment from material goods, his fatherly solicitude toward the most destitute young people, and his trusting obedience characterize his reputation for holiness. According to the tradition of his congregation, he liked to repeat that, through prayer, "one becomes strong with the very strength of God" and that, since the work was God's, no one could stop it. On March 22, 1986, the Church recognized the heroic nature of his virtues, declaring him venerable.

The beatification process first recognized, on March 22, 1986, the heroic nature of Piamarta's virtues, conferring upon him the title of venerable. After the approval of a miracle attributed to his intercession, Pope John Paul II proclaimed him blessed on October 12, 1997, during a celebration presided over in St. Peter's Basilica. A second miracle having been recognized—the medical commission having validated the healing examined in December 2007—his canonization was celebrated on October 21, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI, during a ceremony that simultaneously raised several other figures to the honors of the altars, among whom were Marianne Cope, Kateri Tekakwitha, Pedro Calungsod, and Anna Schäffer. His liturgical feast is set for April 25, the anniversary of his death; some sources mention it on April 26, as April 25 is already occupied by the feast of Saint Mark. His remains, initially buried in Remedello, were transferred in 1926 to the church of the Artigianelli Institute in Brescia.

The legacy of Giovanni Battista Piamarta is perpetuated through the two religious families he founded: the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth, whose members are often called "Piamartini," and the Congregation of the Humble Servants of the Lord. Faithful to the intuition of their founder, these institutes pursue a mission of Christian education, vocational training, and assistance to youth, both in Italy and in mission lands, particularly in Latin America and Africa. The Artigianelli Institute of Brescia remains the heart of his educational work and houses his tomb in the Church of Saint Philip Neri. A figure of Catholic social charity during the time of industrialization, Piamarta is honored as a model educator and a priest attentive to the poor and the world of work. His memory remains particularly alive in the Diocese of Brescia, of which he is one of the great spiritual figures of the 20th century.