Angelo Calvi

Although his priestly ministry lasted only two and a half years, Father Benigno distinguished himself through pastoral activity of great intensity. In July 1935, he was first sent to Bologna as a temporary chaplain for the Discalced Carmelites. In October of the same year, he returned to Piacenza to take his final exams and obtain the faculty to hear confessions. In December 1935, he was assigned to Turin, where he took charge of the Carmelite Third Order and the women's Catholic Action. In June 1936, he was appointed vice-master of novices at the convent of Concesa (Trezzo sull'Adda). Due to the illness of the pastor of the local parish of Santa Maria Assunta, he also assumed the duties of assistant pastor. In this role, he displayed boundless charity toward the poor, the sick, the disabled, and families in difficulty. He was particularly loved for his gentleness, his constant availability, and his unalterable smile. At that time, the Carmelite province of Lombardy was going through a dramatic financial crisis following a major bank fraud, threatening its eight convents and ten monasteries with closure and sale. Faced with this threat of suppression of his religious family, Father Benigno secretly offered his life to God for the salvation of his province.

At the beginning of 1937, Father Benigno began to suffer from violent abdominal pains and extreme fatigue. Despite the suffering, he refused to slow down his pastoral service and continued to climb the hill leading to the parish of Concesa daily to fulfill his duties. The doctors, misjudging the severity of his condition, initially diagnosed a simple colitis. It was, in reality, an acute peritonitis or an intestinal tumor.

Hospitalized and operated on late, he endured his sufferings with heroic patience, striving to reassure his loved ones through letters and an ever-smiling face. He passed away holily on October 25, 1937, at the convent of Concesa, at the age of 28. His last words were: "Com'è bello morire carmelitano!" ("How beautiful it is to die a Carmelite!").

Only a month after his death, the financial crisis that threatened the Carmelite province of Lombardy found an unexpected and favorable resolution, which his confreres immediately perceived as God's acceptance of the offering of his life.

The reputation for holiness of Father Benigno spread rapidly after his death, particularly in the Adda and Martesana region. The diocesan process for his beatification was officially opened by the Archdiocese of Milan in 1991, following the receipt of the nihil obstat decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on June 22, 1991. The diocesan inquiry was validated by a Roman decree on May 13, 1994, and the Positio was published in 1995. On December 20, 2003, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable.

The spirituality of the Venerable Benigno di Santa Teresa is deeply rooted in the "little way" of trust and spiritual abandonment of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, his patron saint. His life bears witness to the iucunditas carmelitana (Carmelite joy), an evangelical and serene joy that he maintained even in the heart of illness and trials. His spiritual legacy rests on an intense love for the Eucharist, nocturnal adoration, and the total gift of self for the sanctification of priests and the support of the Church. He remains today a model of simple holiness, lived in the daily routine of humble tasks and direct pastoral service to the most destitute.