Pasquale Canzii

In 1926, during a popular mission preached in Bisenti by Passionist fathers, young Pasqualino felt an irresistible call to the priesthood. Fascinated by the figure of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, he expressed to the Passionist father Ireneo Cataldi his desire to enter the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ. However, his particularly fragile physical constitution led the religious to guide him instead toward the diocesan clergy. On October 14, 1926, at the age of twelve, he entered the diocesan seminary of Penne (in the province of Pescara) and immediately donned the cassock, according to the custom of the time. At the seminary, Pasqualino proved to be a brilliant, diligent student with exemplary discipline. He refused any form of flattery or honor, constantly seeking humility. His father, from the United States, expressed reservations about this vocation and urged him to leave the seminary to pursue more lucrative secular studies. Pasqualino opposed this with a maturity and firmness surprising for his age, writing to his father to encourage him to trust in Divine Providence and reaffirming his desire to be a priest to save souls.

Pasqualino's life at the seminary was entirely directed toward a single goal: holiness. He drew inspiration from figures of young saints such as Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Saint Stanislaus Kostka, Saint John Berchmans, and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. He frequently repeated his desire to "be a saint, a great saint, and a saint quickly" ("essere santo, grande santo e presto santo").

To achieve this, he imposed upon himself a rigorous discipline of life, marked by numerous mortifications, voluntary renunciations, and long hours of silent prayer before the Tabernacle. This demanding asceticism, combined with his naturally delicate health, gradually weakened his physical strength.

In January 1930, he contracted a serious pulmonary illness (diagnosed as pneumonia by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, although some biographers of the time mention tuberculosis). Faced with the prospect of death, he maintained a deep joy and serenity, abandoning himself totally to the will of God. He passed away holily at the seminary of Penne on January 24, 1930, attended by his mother, at the age of 15.

The reputation for holiness of the young seminarian, nicknamed the "little saint of Bisenti," spread rapidly after his death. Nearly seventy years later, at the request of the Archbishop of Pescara-Penne, Msgr. Francesco Cuccarese, the cause for beatification was officially opened. The Holy See granted the Nihil obstat on January 26, 1999. The diocesan inquiry into the life, virtues, and reputation for holiness of Pasquale Canzii took place from June 10, 1999, to April 1, 2001. His mortal remains were transferred in 1999 to the parish church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Bisenti, where they now rest under a side altar. The validity of the diocesan inquiry was decreed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on February 1, 2002, and the Positio was submitted in 2004. After the favorable examination by the theological consultants and the cardinals, Pope Francis authorized, on January 21, 2021, the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thus conferring upon him the title of Venerable.

The spirituality of Pasquale Canzii rests on an absolute trust in Providence and a constant search for the divine will through daily duties. For him, holiness does not reside in extraordinary actions, but in the perfect and humble accomplishment of ordinary tasks out of love for God.

His intimate writings and letters reveal an exceptional spiritual maturity. In them, he expresses an ardent love for the Eucharist and a filial devotion to the Virgin Mary, whom he describes as a "sure gate to Paradise." His legacy remains alive, particularly in the Archdiocese of Pescara-Penne, where he is proposed to young people and seminarians as a model of joyful fidelity to one's vocation, purity, and trusting abandonment.