Pietro Riminucci

Although some modern nomenclatures sometimes classify him under the status of priest, Pietro Riminucci was historically a lay brother. Having not pursued advanced theological studies, he dedicated himself entirely to the manual and humble tasks of conventual life. After his religious profession, he was sent to the convent of San Pietro Martire in Jesi, where he would spend fifty-four years of his existence. His main function was that of a begging friar (questuante) for the community and for the seminary of the young Capuchins (the fratini). Affectionately nicknamed by the population the "begging angel of the Vallesina" (l'angelo questuante della Vallesina) or "Serafinello," he traveled daily barefoot, a satchel on his shoulder, along the roads of the Esino valley. Of a gentle, patient, and always joyful temperament, he accepted refusals and mockery with disarming charity. When he was not on the roads, he served as porter at the convent, always offering a piece of bread to the needy. In his cell, he spent his free time making rosaries and repairing the broken dishes of benefactors with the help of a small artisanal tool.

Brother Seraphin suffered for nearly forty years from chronic bronchial asthma. Due to the deterioration of his health, he spent the last three years of his life in the infirmary of the Capuchin friary in Macerata. There, he endured his illness with heroic patience and continuous prayer, edifying all who visited him. He died in holiness on March 17, 1960, in Macerata. His reputation for holiness, already immense during his lifetime, prompted the Capuchin Order to introduce his cause for beatification. The nihil obstat decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints was granted on February 24, 1979. The diocesan cognitive process on the heroism of his virtues was conducted in Jesi and Macerata between February 17, 1980, and October 16, 1982. The legal validity of this process was recognized by a decree on December 14, 1984. The Positio super virtutibus was officially submitted in Rome on May 29, 1993.

On March 15, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues. From that date, Pietro Riminucci was officially declared venerable. The cause is currently awaiting the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession to pave the way for his beatification.

The spirituality of Brother Seraphim is based on evangelical simplicity and Franciscan minority. In the image of Saint Francis of Assisi, he knew how to see in absolute poverty a source of perfect joy. His apostolate consisted of "repairing" wounded hearts with the same meticulous patience he applied to repairing the broken objects of his contemporaries. His memory remains alive in the Marche region. Between 2010 and 2012, the Capuchin community and the parishioners of Jesi had magnificent artistic stained-glass windows installed in the church of San Pietro Martire, paying tribute to his life of prayer and charity.