Giuseppe Ghezzi

Having become a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis, Michele felt the call to religious life after the death of his parents. Despite an initial refusal due to his fragile health and his age, he was admitted to the convent of Sant'Antonio in Lecce in July 1905. He began his novitiate in 1906 in Galatone under the name Fra Giuseppe (Brother Joseph). He made his solemn profession on December 8, 1915, after having renounced his title of count. For fifty years, Fra Giuseppe lived in various convents in the Land of Otranto (Lecce, Squinzano, Manduria, Soleto, Francavilla Fontana, and Martano), performing the humble duties of sacristan and questing brother. Nicknamed 'the Count with the satchel,' he traveled throughout Salento to beg for the poor and bring peace to families. During the World Wars, he offered his physical sufferings for the soldiers. Gravely ill from Christmas 1954, he passed away on February 9, 1955, in Lecce.

The reputation for holiness of Brother Giuseppe Ghezzi, already immense during his lifetime, continued to grow after his death. On June 19, 1982, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued the nihil obstat for the opening of his cause for beatification. The diocesan inquiry was validated by a decree on January 24, 1992. The Positio super virtutibus was approved by the theological consultants on April 14, 2000, and then by the cardinals and bishops on November 17, 2000. Finally, on December 18, 2000, Pope John Paul II authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, conferring upon him the title of Venerable.

Currently recognized as Venerable, the process for his beatification continues, awaiting the official recognition of a miracle. His mortal remains were transferred on February 11, 1979, from the Lecce cemetery to the Sant'Antonio parish church in Fulgenzio (Lecce), where they are still venerated. To support his cause, the documentary film 'L'Uomo della Carità' was presented in 2021. In February 2025, for the 70th anniversary of his death, a peregrinatio of his religious habit was organized across several dioceses in Puglia to revive popular devotion.

The spirituality of Fra Giuseppe Ghezzi rests on the ideal of Saint Francis of Assisi: absolute poverty, joyful humility, and love for the destitute. He adopted the motto of his noble family, 'Non sibi, sed aliis' (Not for oneself, but for others), giving it an evangelical meaning. His life of prayer was centered on the Eucharist, spending long hours in nocturnal adoration, as well as on devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Virgin Mary. He left a precious spiritual legacy through his letters, notably to his Carmelite sister, Sister Clotilde.