Oscar Gattiani

After his ordination, Father Guglielmo was sent by his superiors as a teacher in the Capuchin seminaries of Faenza, Lugo, and Ravenna. During the Second World War, he resided in Cesena, where he taught young friars in high school while tirelessly dedicating himself to helping the wounded, the sick, and those displaced by the bombings. In 1946, he was appointed novice master at the Cesena friary, a duty he would fulfill with great faithfulness for nearly nineteen years, until 1964. During this period, he strove to transmit to future Capuchins a love for radical poverty and evangelical simplicity according to the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi. He was also the confessor for the Capuchin Poor Clare monastery in Cesena, as well as for many priests and laypeople. Desiring to live an even more radical poverty, he was encouraged in this path by Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), whom he met several times in San Giovanni Rotondo. In 1969, his superiors authorized him to settle in Lagrimone (province of Parma), where the Capuchin Poor Clares of Ferrara had just founded a new monastery. He served there as chaplain and obtained permission to live in complete destitution, lodging in a simple wooden hut located in the community's garden. It was there that he conceived, with the help of Father Natale Montalti, the project of the "Casa del Padre" (House of the Father) and a secular fraternity dedicated to universal love. In 1976, he temporarily retired to a hermitage in Querceto (diocese of Parma). In April 1980, he undertook a six-month pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He led a life of solitude and penance in the Judean desert and stayed with Father Giuseppe Dossetti's community in Jericho. Although he wished to remain there, obedience called him back to Italy in October 1980. His superiors then assigned him to the Sanctuary of the Most Holy Crucifix (Santissimo Crocifisso) in Faenza. He spent the last nineteen years of his life there, dedicating himself day and night to welcoming the faithful, spiritual direction, confessions, and prolonged Eucharistic adoration.

Father Guglielmo Gattiani enjoyed an immense reputation for holiness during his lifetime. Sometimes nicknamed the "Padre Pio of Romagna," he was sought out by thousands of the faithful for his spiritual counsel, his prayers, and his compassion toward the afflicted. It is reported that Padre Pio himself, upon receiving pilgrims from Romagna, would tell them: "Why do you come to me? You have Father Guglielmo, go to him." Afflicted by serious heart problems at the end of his life, he passed away peacefully at dawn on December 15, 1999, in Faenza. His funeral attracted a considerable crowd. Initially buried in Faenza, his body was solemnly transferred on December 15, 2013, to the portico of the Capuchin church in Cesena, in order to respond to popular devotion.

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Father Guglielmo Gattiani was officially opened at the diocesan level on November 4, 2006, in Cesena. The diocesan inquiry into his life, virtues, and reputation for holiness was solemnly closed on December 10, 2011. After the examination of the Positio by the Congress of Theologians and subsequently by the Ordinary Session of Cardinals and Bishops, Pope Francis authorized, on May 23, 2024, the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues. From that moment, Father Guglielmo Gattiani was officially declared Venerable by the Catholic Church.

The spirituality of the Venerable Guglielmo Gattiani is deeply rooted in evangelical radicalism and the Franciscan charism of absolute poverty. His spiritual motto, taken from Saint Francis, was "My God and my All" (Mio Dio e mio tutto). For him, poverty was not an end in itself, but the necessary gateway to unite intimately with God and to make oneself totally available to the love of neighbor. His life of prayer was highly contemplative, marked by long hours of nocturnal adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. He also nurtured a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, to whom he dedicated several apologetic and hagiographic writings. His legacy remains alive through the spiritual fraternity he inspired and the memory of his heroic charity toward the sick and the sinners he confessed tirelessly.