Giacinto Longhin

Appointed Bishop of Treviso by Pope Pius X on April 13, 1904, he was consecrated in Rome on April 17, 1904, by Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val. During his thirty-two years of episcopate, he led intense reforms: three complete pastoral visits, reorganization of the seminary, celebration of a diocesan synod in 1911, and active support for the laity and the most destitute. During the First World War, he refused to evacuate Treviso despite the bombings, organizing assistance for refugees and the wounded, which earned him the War Merit Cross. After the conflict, he firmly opposed fascist persecutions against Catholics. Pope Pius XI appointed him Apostolic Visitor to Padua and Udine, then raised him to the dignity of titular Archbishop of Patras in 1928 while maintaining him in Treviso.

Tested at the end of his life by a painful illness that impaired his mental faculties, Bishop Longhin endured this trial with total abandonment to the divine will. He passed away in Treviso on June 26, 1936. His reputation for holiness, founded on his charity and poverty, led to the official introduction of his cause for beatification in 1964. On December 21, 1998, Pope John Paul II recognized the heroic nature of his virtues, declaring him venerable.

The beatification of Bishop Longhin was made possible by the recognition of a miracle that occurred in 1964: the scientifically inexplicable healing of a young man suffering from acute and diffuse peritonitis, attributed to his intercession. The decree validating the miracle was promulgated on April 23, 2002. Pope John Paul II celebrated his solemn beatification on October 20, 2002, in Saint Peter's Square in Rome. His mortal remains rest in the Cathedral of Treviso.

Marked by his Capuchin roots, the spirituality of Bishop Longhin is characterized by poverty, rigor, and a spirit of penance. Nicknamed the "bishop of essential things," he conceived his ministry as a service of evangelization. His close spiritual bond with Saint Pius X guided his vision of a Church centered on doctrinal formation. His legacy remains alive in the Diocese of Treviso, where his liturgical feast is celebrated on June 26.