Claudio Granzotto

Riccardo Granzotto's artistic talent quickly turned toward sacred art, which he conceived as a means of evangelization. In 1930, he won the competition to create a statue of an athlete (Il Giocatore di palla or La volata) intended for the Foro Mussolini in Rome. However, the work was never realized because Riccardo categorically refused to join the National Fascist Party, which led to his removal from the project. Among his notable achievements is the holy water font of the parish church of Santa Lucia di Piave (1928), depicting a kneeling demon bending under the weight of the holy water basin, surmounted by a statue of the Virgin Mary. His undisputed masterpiece remains the Cristo morto (Dead Christ, 1939), sculpted from a single block of marble for the church of San Francesco in Vittorio Veneto. This work, striking in its realism and spirituality, represents the body of Christ just before the Resurrection. In 1933, feeling an irresistible call to dedicate himself entirely to God, Riccardo renounced his promising artistic career and entered the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) as a lay brother at the convent of San Francesco del Deserto in Venice. His parish priest, Msgr. Morando, wrote to the superiors at the time: "The Order is receiving not only an artist, but a saint." He took the religious name Brother Claudio (Fra Claudio) and pronounced his temporary vows on December 8, 1936. Brother Claudio was then sent to the convent of San Francesco in Vittorio Veneto. While continuing to sculpt, he dedicated himself to the humblest tasks of the community (dishwashing, cooking, caring for the sick). In 1935, he designed and created a faithful replica of the Grotto of Massabielle of Lourdes in Chiampo (Vicenza). There, he himself sculpted the statue of the Immaculate Conception in Carrara marble. Faced with the difficulties encountered during construction, he prophesied: "This grotto will become a place of prayer and many people will come here."

Brother Claudio's religious life is characterized by deep humility, boundless charity toward the poor, and an intense life of prayer. He frequently spent entire nights in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, drawing inspiration for his sculptures from the Eucharist. He also traveled through his native village as a questor (beggar) to provide for the needs of the most destitute and to comfort the sick. In 1947, his health deteriorated rapidly. Hospitalized in Padua, doctors diagnosed him with an incurable brain tumor. Brother Claudio accepted this trial with heroic patience, offering his sufferings in union with the Passion of Christ. After receiving the Anointing of the Sick, he passed away peacefully at the civil hospital of Padua on August 15, 1947, the day of the Solemnity of the Assumption, in accordance with what he himself had predicted years earlier.

The cause for the beatification of Brother Claudio Granzotto was opened in December 1959 in the diocese of Vittorio Veneto by Bishop Albino Luciani (the future Pope John Paul I). On September 7, 1989, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, conferring upon him the title of Venerable. On July 6, 1993, Pope John Paul II approved the miracle required for his beatification: the sudden, total, and lasting healing of a child from Verona suffering from peridacryocystitis (a serious inflammation of the tissues surrounding the lacrimal sac). Another significant testimony is that of Bruno Pozza, who was healed in 1950 of a tumor in his left eye through the intercession of the Servant of God. Brother Claudio Granzotto was solemnly beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 20, 1994, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. During the celebration, the Holy Father presented him as a model for religious in the gift of self, for artists in the search for divine Beauty, and for the sick in the acceptance of suffering.

The spirituality of Claudio Granzotto is deeply Franciscan and Marian. For him, art was not an end in itself, but a means to raise souls toward God. He affirmed: "It is more important to me to be a good religious than a good artist." Today, his remains rest at the foot of the Lourdes Grotto that he built in Chiampo. This place has become an important Marian sanctuary that attracts nearly a million pilgrims each year. His spiritual promise continues to accompany the faithful: "From heaven, I will help and console everyone."