Grimoaldo of the Purification

Although his father wished for him to take over the family rope-making business, Ferdinando felt the call to religious life at a very young age after frequenting the Passionist fathers at the nearby sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie in Pontecorvo. Despite his father's initial reluctance, he finally obtained his blessing and entered the Passionist novitiate in Paliano on February 15 or 16, 1899, at the age of sixteen. On March 5, 1899, he received the religious habit and, on March 6, 1900, he pronounced his temporary vows, taking the name Brother Grimoaldo of the Purification, in honor of the patron saint of his hometown (Saint Grimoald) and out of devotion to the Virgin Mary. He was then sent to the Badia of Ceccano (monastery of Santa Maria di Corniano) to continue his studies for the priesthood. During his three years of religious life, he distinguished himself by his perfect obedience, his constant joy in the face of difficulties, and his love for the Eucharist.

On October 31, 1902, while out for a walk with his fellow students, he felt violent headaches. The next day, All Saints' Day, his condition worsened and the doctor diagnosed acute meningitis. Brother Grimoaldo accepted the illness with total serenity, repeating that he was happy to do the will of God. He died holily on November 18, 1902, in Ceccano, at the age of 19. His reputation for holiness spread rapidly after his death, not only in Italy but also in the United States (notably in Rochester, New York), where his widowed mother and sister had emigrated. In October 1962, his body was exhumed from the Ceccano cemetery to be transferred to the church of the Passionist monastery of the Badia of Ceccano.

The canonization process was opened due to the persistence of his reputation for holiness. On May 14, 1991, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby declaring him venerable. The miracle necessary for his beatification occurred on May 15, 1982, in Cesa, Italy. A four-year-old boy, Nicola Romano, was run over by a heavy agricultural tractor, the right rear wheel of which passed over his chest and head. His father, Antonio Romano, immediately invoked the intercession of the Venerable Grimoaldo Santamaria. Transported urgently to the hospitals of Aversa and then Naples (Santobono), the child was declared completely unharmed and showed no physical lesions, a fact deemed scientifically inexplicable by the medical commission in October 1993. This miracle was officially approved by Pope John Paul II on July 2, 1994. On January 29, 1995, Pope John Paul II celebrated the beatification of Grimoaldo of the Purification in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican.

The spirituality of Grimoaldo of the Purification is deeply marked by the Passionist charism: the contemplation of the Passion of Christ and an intense filial devotion to the Virgin Mary, particularly under the title of the Immaculate Conception. He was strongly inspired by the example of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin), whose purity and love for the Cross he sought to imitate. During his beatification homily, Pope John Paul II presented him as a model of simple and generous spirituality for young people, highlighting his ability to give absolute priority to God, to live in joyful austerity, and to be always available to others. His relics are today venerated in the church of the Badia of the Passionists in Ceccano.