Bartolomeo Maria Dal Monte

Bartolomeo Maria Dal Monte dedicated the essential part of his ministry to evangelization through popular missions, Lenten sermons, and spiritual exercises. During his 26 years of apostolate, he preached in more than 62 dioceses of northern and central Italy, leading more than 300 missions. Becoming the sole heir to his parents' fortune upon their death, he decided to devote all of his assets to the work of evangelization. He thus founded the Pia Opera delle Missioni (the Pious Work of the Missions), a congregation of diocesan priests trained specifically for popular preaching and the instruction of the faithful. He acquired a house in Bologna to serve as the headquarters for this institute. Convinced that preaching cannot be improvised, he wrote several works of spiritual and pastoral formation for his collaborators. His reputation as a preacher spread rapidly. In 1774, he was called to Rome by Cardinal-Vicar Marcantonio Colonna to preach a great mission on the Piazza Navona and to give spiritual exercises to the Roman clergy at the Church of the Gesù, in preparation for the Jubilee of 1775. Pope Pius VI wished to keep him in Rome, but Bartolomeo refused in order to continue his missions among the rural populations. On March 16, 1777, in recognition of his charity, the purity of his doctrine in the face of the spread of Jansenism, and his holiness, the Republic of San Marino awarded him honorary citizenship.

After his death on December 24, 1778, the reputation for holiness of Bartolomeo Maria Dal Monte continued to grow. In 1808, his mortal remains were transferred to the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna, where they rest in the Chapel of the Virgin of Peace (Cappella della Beata Vergine della Pace). The ordinary process of beatification was opened on November 25, 1874, by Cardinal Morichini and closed on April 21, 1881, under the direction of Cardinal Parocchi. Pope Leo XIII declared him Venerable on January 22, 1890. His heroic virtues were officially recognized by Pope Benedict XV on January 23, 1921. A miracle is attributed to his intercession: during the night of January 22 to 23, 1882, Sister Raffaella Rambaldi, a Poor Clare nun at the Corpus Domini monastery in Bologna (known as the monastery of the Saint), was inexplicably cured of chronic and acute lymphadenitis, likely of a tubercular nature, after invoking the Venerable during a novena. The decree recognizing this miracle was signed by Pope John Paul II on July 11, 1995.

Bartolomeo Maria Dal Monte was solemnly beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 27, 1997, in Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, in front of the Basilica of San Petronio, on the occasion of the Italian National Eucharistic Congress. His liturgical feast is set for December 24, the day of his birth into Heaven. In the Archdiocese of Bologna, his memorial is also celebrated on September 26.

The spirituality of Blessed Bartolomeo Maria Dal Monte is deeply Eucharistic and Marian. He placed the celebration of the Mass, the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and confession at the heart of his life and missionary work. His devotion to the Virgin Mary was total, as evidenced by his personal motto: "Every thought, every movement, every word: yes, I have had everything for Mary."

Faced with the rationalist currents of the Enlightenment and the cold rigor of the Jansenism of his time, he tirelessly preached divine mercy and reconciliation. His missions frequently concluded with spectacular public reconciliations within divided families and communities.

His written legacy includes several spiritual works, the most famous of which is Gesù al cuore del sacerdote secolare e regolare, ovvero considerazioni ecclesiastiche per ogni giorno del mese (Jesus at the heart of the secular and regular priest, or ecclesiastical considerations for every day of the month), published in 1775. This book saw numerous reissues until the beginning of the 20th century. Today, a life-size terracotta statue, created by the sculptor Luigi E. Mattei, depicts him preaching in the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna.