Serafino Morazzone

Appointed parish priest of the Virgin of the Assumption in Chiuso, Don Serafino spent forty-nine years there. He opened a free school for poor children and dedicated himself to the sacrament of Reconciliation. In 1799, during the Battle of Lecco, he remained to assist two wounded parishioners before fleeing across the lake. He was also the confessor and friend of the writer Alessandro Manzoni, who drew inspiration from him for the character of the good priest in his work.

Don Serafino died on April 13, 1822, in Chiuso and was buried in the church of San Giovanni Battista. Although the canonical process opened in 1864, it was suspended before being relaunched on November 27, 1947, by Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, who described him as a "new Curé of Ars." He was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on December 17, 2007.

On April 2, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI approved the miracle of the unexplained healing of the newborn Serafino Corti in December 1960 in Lecco, who was suffering from a severe atresia of the digestive tract. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on June 26, 2011, on the parvis of the Duomo of Milan, presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato on behalf of Benedict XVI, in the presence of Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi.

Don Serafino's spirituality is based on simplicity, evangelical poverty, and love for one's neighbor. His former rectory in Chiuso has now been transformed into a museum (Museo Beato Serafino). His liturgical memorial is celebrated on April 13 according to the Roman Martyrology, and on May 9 according to the Ambrosian rite.