Antonio Seghezzi

Father Antonio began his ministry as a curate in Almenno San Bartolomeo (1929-1932), where he refounded the Catholic Action circle for youth. In 1932, he became a professor of literature at the minor seminary of Bergamo. In 1935, he was sent as a military chaplain to Eritrea during the Ethiopian War. Upon his return in 1937, Bishop Adriano Bernareggi appointed him diocesan assistant for the Men's Catholic Action (GIAC). From 1940, he resided at the Patronato San Vincenzo. After the armistice of September 8, 1943, he became actively involved in supporting escaped Allied prisoners and young draft evaders or resistance fighters in the Valle Seriana. Wanted by the German police, he chose to surrender on November 4, 1943, to avoid reprisals against the population.

Incarcerated in Bergamo and then in Verona, Father Antonio was deported to Germany on December 31, 1943. He passed through the prisons of Munich (Stadelheim) and Kaisheim, then performed forced labor in a munitions factory in Löpsingen. Afflicted with severe pulmonary tuberculosis, he suffered a hemorrhage on June 20, 1944, and spent ten months in the Kaisheim infirmary. Transferred to the Dachau concentration camp on April 23, 1945, he experienced the liberation of the camp on April 29 but passed away on May 21, 1945, at the age of 38 in a military hospital. His burial site was discovered in 1952 in Dachau; his remains were repatriated to Premolo, where they have rested since 2006 in the crypt of the church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo e Martire.

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Father Antonio Seghezzi was introduced in the Diocese of Bergamo by Bishop Giulio Oggioni. The diocesan inquiry took place from May 4, 1991, to November 11, 1995, and its legal validity was decreed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on November 16, 1996. A supplementary inquiry was conducted in 2006. On December 21, 2020, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable.

The spirituality of Father Antonio Seghezzi is based on ecclesial obedience, interior life, and the total gift of self. During his captivity, he heroically lived the virtue of hope, supporting his fellow prisoners. His legacy remains alive in Bergamo and Premolo, where he is honored as a model educator. In 2016, a stumbling stone (pietra d'inciampo) was placed in front of his birthplace in Premolo, and he is honored as a "Righteous" in the Garden of the Righteous of Premolo for his rescue efforts during the Second World War.