Giuseppe Ambrosini

Appointed parochial vicar in Arzignano by Bishop Rodolfi, Don Giuseppe distinguished himself by his Eucharistic and Marian piety, as well as by his devotion to the youth, the sick, the poor, and the workers. He secretly desired to join the work of Don Giovanni Calabria. After seven months of ministry, his health deteriorated due to pulmonary tuberculosis. He had to leave his parish on Holy Saturday 1912 to return to Villanova. He spent his convalescence at the Casa Buoni Fanciulli in Verona to help with the supervision of the children and to pray. In September 1912, he made a pilgrimage to Lourdes to ask for the grace to enter Paradise. Suffering a serious malaise in October 1912, he returned permanently to his parents' home in Villanova. He spent his final months in great suffering, assisted by his family and two Camillian religious. On March 30, 1913, Don Giovanni Calabria visited him and granted him the obedience to die. Don Giuseppe passed away on March 31, 1913, at the age of 24.

The reputation of holiness of Father Giuseppe spread rapidly after his death, but the World Wars delayed the opening of his cause for forty-five years. The diocesan informative process took place in Vicenza from March 31, 1958, to March 16, 1960. The decree on his writings was published on July 8, 1965, and the cause was officially introduced in Rome on December 15, 1977. After an apostolic process between 1979 and 1980, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree on the heroic nature of his virtues on July 10, 1990, conferring upon him the title of Venerable.

Currently recognized as Venerable, Father Giuseppe Ambrosini requires the recognition of a miracle to be beatified. On June 11, 1963, his mortal remains were transferred to the Romanesque crypt of the abbey church of San Pietro Apostolo in Villanova di San Bonifacio. His tomb is a place of constant devotion for the faithful and pilgrims of the Romea Strata, who affectionately nickname him "the Saint of the Abbey" (il Santo dell'Abbazia).

The spirituality of Giuseppe Ambrosini is based on an absolute pursuit of holiness and a zeal for the salvation of souls. On the eve of his diaconal ordination, he wrote to Don Giovanni Calabria of his desire to become a saint in order to sanctify others. His ecclesial obedience was total: he refused his father's suggestion to settle near his property to preserve his health, affirming that he must go where the bishop sends him. His spiritual legacy remains alive in the dioceses of Vicenza and Verona, testifying that a life that is brief but consumed by the love of God can attain Christian perfection.