Antonio Maria Gianelli

The major work of Antonio Maria Gianelli is the foundation, on January 12, 1829, in Chiavari, of the congregation of the Daughters of Mary Most Holy of the Garden (Figlie di Maria Santissima dell'Orto), popularly known as the "Gianelline." Intended for the Christian education of young girls, particularly the poorest, as well as for the care of the sick and orphans, this congregation responded to the social and religious needs of a Liguria marked by rural poverty. Gianelli, attentive to popular education, had already supported initiatives for free schooling for disadvantaged young girls. He also devoted himself to the formation and renewal of the clergy, founding groups of missionary priests dedicated to preaching and spiritual life. Having become Bishop of Bobbio, he continued this action by reviving the cult of Saint Columbanus, founder of the famous local monastery, and by multiplying pastoral visits and popular missions. The congregation he founded obtained definitive pontifical approval from Pope Leo XIII in 1882 and subsequently spread outside of Italy, notably in Europe, America, and Asia.

During his lifetime, Antonio Maria Gianelli enjoyed a great reputation for holiness, founded on his charity toward the poor, his personal austerity, and the intensity of his apostolic zeal. A sought-after preacher, he combined eloquence with a life of prayer and penance, and distinguished himself by his availability to the sick and the most destitute. According to the testimony reported by Tommaso Reggio, the future Archbishop of Genoa who was himself beatified, his life could be summarized as "a continuous and perpetual act of faith, hope, and charity toward one's neighbor." This spirituality, deeply marked by the love of Christ and concern for souls, drove him to exhaust himself in his episcopal ministry. The memory of his devotion and his detachment from material goods—he died possessing nothing—nurtured a persistent popular cult after his death, particularly vibrant in Liguria and in the Diocese of Bobbio, and was at the origin of the introduction of his cause for beatification.

The process for the recognition of the holiness of Antonio Maria Gianelli led to the proclamation of the heroic nature of his virtues, which caused him to be declared Venerable on April 11, 1920, under the pontificate of Benedict XV. Pope Pius XI beatified him on April 19, 1925. His canonization was celebrated by Pope Pius XII in St. Peter's Basilica on October 21, 1951, jointly with Francesco Saverio Maria Bianchi and Ignazio da Làconi; two days later, on October 23, 1951, Pius XII addressed an allocution to the thousands of pilgrims who had come to Rome for these canonizations. His liturgical feast is set for June 7, the anniversary of his death which occurred in 1846 in Piacenza. The cult of the saint remains particularly vibrant in Bobbio and in his native Liguria, as well as in the congregation he founded.

The most enduring legacy of Antonio Maria Gianelli is the congregation of the Daughters of Mary Most Holy of the Garden, which still continues its work of education, care for the sick, and assistance to the poorest today, in Italy as well as abroad, reaching as far as America and Asia. A prominent figure of 19th-century Ligurian Catholicism, the saint is honored as the patron of the city of Bobbio and the Val di Vara, where he originated, patronages recognized in the year 2000. His memory remains attached to the cathedral of Bobbio, of which he was the bishop, as well as to Chiavari, the cradle of his foundation, and his native Cereta. His spirituality, centered on concrete charity toward one's neighbor, service to the poor, and the sanctification of the clergy, continues to inspire religious communities and the faithful who claim his example. His memory is celebrated each year on June 7 by the Church and particularly in the Ligurian and Emilian dioceses linked to his life and death.