Pietro Leonardi

The work of Pietro Leonardi is structured around three major axes: assistance to the sick, education of abandoned youth, and preaching.

In 1796, deeply moved by the dilapidated and neglected conditions in which the sick lived at the Hospital of Mercy in Verona, he founded the "Sacra Fratellanza de' Preti e Laici Spedalieri" (Holy Brotherhood of Hospital Priests and Laymen). This association, approved by the government in 1797, provided spiritual and material assistance to the sick, day and night. For this work, he mobilized the active forces of the Veronese clergy and laity, among whom were future saints and blesseds such as Carlo Steeb, Gaspare Bertoni, and Maddalena di Canossa.

To help street boys, orphans, and vagrants, who were particularly numerous following the Napoleonic Wars, he opened the "Asilo dei Raminghelli" (Asylum for Vagrants) between 1799 and 1801. In this vocational school, funded with his own money, the young people received instruction and learned a trade to integrate with dignity into society.

At the end of 1804, Pietro Leonardi traveled to Paris for the coronation of Napoleon I, hoping to meet Pope Pius VII. The Sovereign Pontiff received him in audience twice, approved his works, and encouraged him in his founding projects. During his Parisian stay, he studied the charitable works of Saint Vincent de Paul and took an interest in methods for educating the deaf-mute. Upon returning to Verona, he opened a school for the deaf-mute in his own house on Via San Cosimo, a work that would later be continued and perfected by the Venerable Antonio Provolo.

In 1812, to respond to the distress of poor and abandoned young girls, he founded the congregation of the Daughters of Jesus (Figlie di Gesù). Assisted by his collaborator Maria Teresa Castelpietra, he brought together volunteer teachers to provide free instruction and Christian formation to young girls within the "Schools of Charity." This religious congregation was distinguished by the absence of strict enclosure and solemn vows, allowing the sisters to act directly in the field. The institute developed rapidly, extending into other Italian cities such as Modena, Reggio Emilia, Carpi, and Massa.

The life of Pietro Leonardi is also marked by the trial of persecution and imprisonment. Due to his preaching and his opposition to the Napoleonic reforms (he was particularly active in 1807 in preventing the transformation of the church of Santa Maria della Scala in Verona into a theater), he drew the suspicion of the French civil authorities. He was incarcerated twice without trial: the first time in 1809 for one month, and a second time from 1810 to 1812.

During these two years of captivity, he maintained a deep inner peace and wrote an ascetic treatise entitled Il povero fatto ricco e contento per la scoperta del sommo tesoro nascosto: il Divino Amore (The poor man made rich and content by the discovery of the supreme hidden treasure: Divine Love).

After his release in 1812, he dedicated himself entirely to the consolidation of his congregation and to the spiritual accompaniment of the sick. He died on April 9, 1844, at the Mother House of the Daughters of Jesus in Verona.

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Pietro Leonardi was introduced in the diocese of Verona. After the examination of his writings and his life, the diocesan inquiry was validated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on July 10, 1987.

On March 3, 1990, in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, in the presence of Pope John Paul II, the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues was promulgated. On that date, Pietro Leonardi was officially proclaimed venerable by the Catholic Church.

Pietro Leonardi's spirituality is deeply Christocentric and is expressed through his motto: "Amare, patire, operare" (To love, to suffer, to act). For him, the love of God must not remain an abstract idea but must be translated into active and concrete charity towards the poorest. He exhorted his spiritual daughters to become "living copies of Jesus," united to God in contemplation while being fully engaged in the service of their neighbor, in the image of the union of Martha and Mary. His educational intuition is summarized in this formula: "If I take care of the youth, I take part in the reform of the whole world."

Today, the congregation of the Daughters of Jesus continues its educational and charitable work. In addition to Italy, the sisters are present in Africa (Angola, Ivory Coast) and South America (Argentina, Brazil), where they manage schools, pastoral centers, and assistance works.