Angelo Ramazzotti

In 1836, Angelo Ramazzotti founded an oratory and an orphanage in Saronno. Inspired by the wish of Pope Pius IX conveyed by Msgr. Luquet, he founded there on July 30, 1850, the "Lombard Seminary for Foreign Missions," which would merge in 1926 to become the PIME. Appointed Bishop of Pavia in 1850, he distinguished himself by his charity during a cholera epidemic and a flood. In 1858, he became Patriarch of Venice, while continuing to actively support the missions, notably by facilitating the sending of Canossian nuns to Hong Kong and Sisters of Charity to Bengal.

Leading a life of great austerity and entirely devoted to the poor, Angelo Ramazzotti declined the dignity of cardinal proposed by Pope Pius IX due to his declining health and financial destitution, having given all his fortune to the needy. He passed away on September 24, 1861, in Crespano del Grappa. In 1958, during the transfer of his remains to Milan, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli (the future John XXIII) publicly testified to his holiness.

The cause for the beatification of Angelo Ramazzotti opened in Milan on February 13, 1976, and closed on February 16, 1978. After the confirmation of the validity of the diocesan inquiry in 1998, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues on December 14, 2015, thus granting him the title of Venerable.

The spirituality of Angelo Ramazzotti rests on an intimate union with Christ through contemplative prayer and the Eucharist. Convinced that every local Church must participate in universal evangelization, he leaves a lasting legacy through the PIME, which has sent thousands of missionaries throughout the world and given many martyrs to the Church.