Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo

Who they were

Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo was born at Bra, near Cuneo, on 3 May 1786, the eldest of twelve children, six of whom died young, and showed great feeling for the poor from boyhood. He became a priest, as did two of his brothers, and at 32 was made a canon in Turin, but was restless in that post.

Trusting in divine Providence alone, he opened a house to receive the poor, the sick and outcasts of every kind. He died on 30 April 1842 saying 'Misericordia, Domine'. A newspaper of the time called his life 'one intense day of love'.

The miracles

In 1916 Benedict XV approved the decree on miracles worked through his intercession; the biography does not describe them.

Why that counted as sanctity

A priest who opened his doors to every kind of suffering, trusting in Providence alone.