Luigi Maria Ranieri

In 1916, in the midst of the First World War, despite his fragile health and having been discharged twice, Luigi was declared fit for military service during a third medical examination. He spent his period of military service in Turin and Tortona. In 1918, he was sent to Caserta to take the course for officer cadets (Allievi Ufficiali). Despite a military environment very far from seminary life, he strove to remain faithful to his religious ideal. Thanks to leave, he went to Rome where he was able to maintain contact with the Barnabite community and take several theology exams. Promoted to lieutenant of machine gunners (tenente mitragliere), he was sent to the front at the beginning of November 1918 in Guardianboschi, a hamlet of Crespano, on Monte Grappa. After a brief stay in Brescia, he received orders to go to Montruglio, in the province of Vicenza. This new assignment, particularly exposed to the wind and freezing temperatures of the mountain, caused a rapid decline in his health. Transferred to the field hospital in Crespano, he was diagnosed with severe bronchopneumonia (linked to the Spanish flu) which took away his ability to speak. After receiving the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, he died peacefully on November 24, 1918, at the age of 23, only twenty days after the armistice.

The reputation for holiness of the young Barnabite religious spread rapidly after his death. On December 20, 1953, his mortal remains were transferred to the church of Gesù Adolescente in Genoa. The cause for beatification and canonization was officially introduced a few years later. The diocesan informative process opened on October 1, 1959, and closed on December 21, 1962. The decree on his writings was published on February 9, 1967. The validity of the diocesan inquiry was recognized by a decree on May 6, 1988. The Positio super virtutibus (the file documenting the heroism of his virtues) was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on October 11, 1990. Although the examination of the cause was delayed several times, the approach of the centenary of his death in 2018 prompted the Barnabite Order to request an acceleration of the procedure.

On April 19, 2018, the Particular Congress of Theological Consultors gave a favorable opinion on the heroic nature of the virtues of the Servant of God. On November 7, 2018, the ordinary session of cardinals and bishops, presided over by Cardinal Angelo Becciu, confirmed this conclusion. On the same day, November 7, 2018, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Luigi Maria Raineri, thus officially declaring him Venerable. His liturgical feast is set for November 24, the anniversary of his birth into Heaven.

The spirituality of Luigi Maria Raineri is characterized by a simple, deep, and joyful faith, lived out in the exact and daily fulfillment of his duty of state. From the moment he entered the novitiate, he formulated his spiritual life project with this phrase noted in his notebooks: "Non sarò felice se non sarò santo" (I will not be happy if I am not a saint). He allowed himself to be shaped by the charism of Saint Anthony Maria Zaccaria, founder of the Barnabites, living his religious consecration with generous commitment. Affectionately nicknamed "nonno" (grandfather) by his confreres due to his early maturity and wisdom, he was a constant support for his fellow students and soldiers, consoling those who suffered. His absolute trust in Divine Providence allowed him to endure the trials of war and the barracks with serenity. During his final illness, he reached the pinnacle of his spiritual maturity by accepting suffering and imminent death as a joyful encounter with the Father.