Egidio Laurent

Desirous of fully dedicating his life to God, Jean-Baptiste requested to be admitted as a lay brother (frère convers) within the Congregation of the Canons Regular of the Lateran, established at the priory of Saint-Gilles in Verrès. He was welcomed there as an aspirant on January 3, 1912. However, his religious journey was interrupted by the First World War. On July 10, 1916, he was mobilized and incorporated into the 4th Alpine Regiment (Aosta Battalion). Sent to the front in the combat zone of Mount Pasubio, he was assigned to surveillance and fortification tasks. In this hell of trench warfare, he endured with heroic patience the cold, hunger, illness, and constant dangers. He became a true spiritual and moral support for his fellow soldiers, sharing his rations, helping them with earthworks, praying with them, and comforting them with gentleness. Demobilized on December 28, 1918, he returned immediately to the provostry of Saint-Gilles. In 1920, he received the habit of a lay brother and began his novitiate under the name Brother Egidio (Frà Egidio). He pronounced his first religious vows on June 24, 1921, and committed himself through his solemn profession on June 2, 1927. Within the community, he humbly dedicated himself to domestic tasks and the service of his brother priests.

The life of Brother Egidio is marked by a constant search for humility and charity. Although he possessed a naturally emotional, sensitive, and quick-tempered temperament, he strove tirelessly to master himself through prayer and asceticism, succeeding in manifesting a gentleness and inner balance that struck his contemporaries. He devoted himself entirely to the poor and needy who appeared at the door of the Saint-Gilles convent. He willingly shared his own food with them, convinced that he was serving Christ through the most destitute. His daily life was a silent offering. During the Second World War, while Europe was once again plunged into conflict, he spiritually offered his life to God to obtain the end of hostilities and peace. Stricken with severe pneumonia, he died holily on December 30, 1941, in Verrès, at the age of 57. His body rests in the collegiate church of Saint-Gilles in Verrès, where he is the object of fervent popular devotion.

The reputation for holiness of Brother Egidio (fama sanctitatis et signorum) spread rapidly after his death, both in the Aosta Valley and beyond its borders. The diocesan informative process for his beatification was opened on January 26, 1950, in the Diocese of Aosta and concluded in 1955. The decree on his writings was published on May 29, 1958. The cause was officially introduced in Rome on March 30, 1967. The apostolic process was opened in 1969 and closed in 1970. On May 14, 1991, Pope John Paul II authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thus conferring upon him the title of Venerable. His cause is currently promoted by the Provostship of Saint-Gilles of Verrès.

The spirituality of Brother Egidio Laurent rests on two major pillars: the love of the Holy Eucharist and the humble service of one's neighbor. Divine worship and silent prayer were the source of his daily strength. He lived the vocation of a lay brother fully, finding his sanctification in the simplest and most hidden tasks of community life. Today, his memory remains very much alive in Verrès. A street in the municipality bears his name (via Giovanni Egidio Laurent). Furthermore, the parish oratory of Verrès, dedicated to youth and education, has been named in his honor "Oratorio Frère Gilles," thus perpetuating his legacy of charity and benevolent welcome among the new generations.