Massimo Rinaldi

It was during this period that he discovered the work of the Missionaries of Saint Charles (the Scalabrinians), founded by Giovanni Battista Scalabrini for the spiritual and material assistance of Italian emigrants in America. Convinced that he had found his true vocation, he left the curia of Montefiascone without warning his uncle (whom he informed only by letter) and, after a one-month stay in Piacenza, he embarked from Genoa on November 5, 1900, for Brazil.

Arriving on December 20, 1900, in Encantado, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, he began an indefatigable apostolate among the Italian settlers. He traveled on foot or on horseback through remote regions (Nova Bassano, Anta Gorda, Itapuca, Burro Feio), transforming modest huts into chapels. In 1904, during a visit by the founder Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, he was appointed provincial superior.

In 1910, he was recalled to Italy to participate in the General Chapter of the congregation. He was unanimously elected procurator and general treasurer, a position he would hold in Rome until 1924. During this period, he also assumed the duties of vicar general, directed the periodical L'Emigrato Italiano, and oversaw the construction of the Scalabrinian generalate in Rome, on Via Calandrelli.

On August 2, 1924, Pope Pius XI appointed him Bishop of Rieti. Massimo Rinaldi initially refused this office out of humility, but the Pope ordered him to accept. He was consecrated bishop on March 19, 1925, in the Cathedral of Rieti by Cardinal Raffaele Merry del Val.

As bishop, he led a pastoral ministry of exceptional closeness, traveling through his diocese on foot or by mule, sometimes sleeping with shepherds. He was also involved on a social and civil level: he was one of the architects of the creation of the civil province of Rieti and promoted local industrialization (notably the establishment of the Supertessile factory). In 1933, he founded the Saint Anthony Agricultural Colony in Campomoro, entrusted to the Piccole Discepole di Gesù, to welcome orphans and the poor. He also had the papal palace of Rieti and the Abbey of San Salvatore Maggiore restored.

Already during his lifetime, Massimo Rinaldi enjoyed a solid reputation for holiness among all social classes. After his death on May 31, 1941, in Rome, this reputation continued to grow. On May 31, 1966, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his death, his remains, found to be incorrupt, were transferred from the family tomb to the Cathedral of Rieti, where they were placed in the Chapel of San Rocco.

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Massimo Rinaldi was officially opened in the Diocese of Rieti on January 25, 1991, following the granting of the nihil obstat by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on August 29, 1990. The diocesan inquiry was closed on October 17, 1997, and validated by Rome on November 20, 1998. The Positio was published in 2002.

On December 19, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable. The cause is currently awaiting the recognition of a miracle to pave the way for his beatification.

The spirituality of Massimo Rinaldi is deeply marked by his identity as a Scalabrinian missionary and by the Franciscan influence of his native land. His pastoral action is based on concrete charity towards the poorest, the emigrants, and the marginalized. His episcopal coat of arms, bearing the Scalabrinian motto Humilitas under a star guiding a ship, as well as a sword (symbol of action) and a cross (symbol of sacrifice), perfectly summarizes his life: a total gift of self, lived in humility and service. He is considered the "second moral, spiritual, and operational founder" of the Scalabrinian Family.