Giuseppe Oddi

In 1871, Giuseppe Oddi was finally admitted to the convent of Bellegra. On April 12, 1872, he received the Franciscan habit there as a "tertiary oblate." However, his path toward religious profession was disrupted by the political context of the time: on May 17, 1877, by virtue of the anti-clerical laws of the new Kingdom of Italy, the religious were expelled from their convent. Taking refuge in the home of the Saulini family for more than eight months, the friars had to wait for the storm to subside. Due to these events, Giuseppe's canonical novitiate year was postponed for several years.

On February 12, 1885, he officially began his novitiate as a lay brother and received the religious name of Brother Didace (fra Diego). He made his simple profession on February 14, 1886, followed by his solemn and perpetual profession on May 16, 1889.

From then on, and for nearly forty years, Brother Didace was entrusted with the duty of questing friar (frate questuante) for the convent of Bellegra. He tirelessly traveled on foot the steep, muddy, or dusty roads of the Subiaco region (the Sublacense) and the Giovenzano valley, including his native village of Vallinfreda. Equipped with his satchel, he begged for alms not only to provide for the needs of his community, but above all to redistribute goods to the most destitute. Beyond the material quest, his true work was spiritual and social: he listened to families, comforted the sick, brought peace to divided households, and restored hope to the afflicted. His benevolent and joyful presence earned him the nickname "Angel of Peace" from the local populations.

Although illiterate, Brother Didacus surprised all his interlocutors with the depth and wisdom of his words. This spiritual science did not come from books, but from an intimate and constant union with God. He spent long hours of the night in contemplation before the Blessed Sacrament in the churches of the villages he passed through. His Eucharistic devotion was so intense that the mere sight of him serving Mass or receiving Communion constituted a true silent sermon for the faithful.

Brother Didacus led a life of extreme austerity, always walking barefoot in his sandals, facing the rigors of winter and the heat of summer without ever complaining. His reputation for holiness spread during his lifetime. He was attributed with charismatic gifts, notably the ability to read hearts and to obtain healings through his prayer. At the end of 1917, weakened by age and the fatigue of his incessant travels, he had to cease his activities as a questor. He spent his final years at the convent of Bellegra in prayer and the offering of his sufferings. He passed away peacefully in the convent infirmary on June 3, 1919, at the age of 80, while singing hymns to the Virgin Mary.

The cause for the beatification of Brother Didacus of Vallinfreda was officially introduced on July 1, 1964. Previously, an informative process regarding his reputation for holiness took place from 1933 to 1937 in the Diocese of Subiaco. On January 22, 1991, Pope John Paul II recognized the heroic nature of his virtues and declared him Venerable.

To allow for his beatification, an investigation into an unexplained healing attributed to his intercession was conducted in the Diocese of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto in 1960. This process concerning the miracle was validated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on September 27, 1985. Following the favorable opinion of the medical commission and the theological consultors, the decree recognizing the miracle was officially promulgated by Pope John Paul II on April 6, 1998.

The beatification ceremony was celebrated by Pope John Paul II on October 3, 1999, in Saint Peter's Square in Rome. During this same celebration, the Sovereign Pontiff also raised his former spiritual advisor, Mariano da Roccacasale, to the honors of the altars.

The spirituality of Brother Didacus is fully inscribed in the tradition of the Fioretti of Saint Francis of Assisi. It rests upon an absolute evangelical simplicity, a joyful poverty, and a total abandonment to Divine Providence. For him, everything that man possesses is a free gift from God, and true wealth resides in the search for the essential, that is to say, the "Supreme Good."

Today, the memory of Blessed Didacus remains extremely alive in the Latium region. His birthplace in Vallinfreda has been preserved and transformed into a place of memory and prayer. His mortal remains rest in a bronze urn in the church of the Sacred Retreat of Saint Francis in Bellegra, which remains an important center of Franciscan pilgrimage. The association "Amici di Fra Diego," founded in 1985, strives to promote his spiritual figure and to perpetuate his legacy of charity through concrete works of solidarity, such as aid to people in difficulty, thus walking in the footsteps of the humble begging friar.