Fausto Gei

At the end of 1946, while finishing his first year of university studies, the first symptoms of a mysterious illness appeared (diplopia, walking difficulties). In the spring of 1947, the diagnosis was made: he was suffering from multiple sclerosis (sclerosi a placche), a disease then incurable and with an inexorable progression. Despite his efforts to continue his curriculum, the progression of the illness forced him to abandon his medical studies permanently after having been able to validate only three exams.

In 1949, Fausto undertook his first pilgrimage to Lourdes in the hope of obtaining a miracle. Physical healing did not come, but he experienced a profound interior conversion there. On the return train, his sister Maria Laura was surprised that he had not asked the Virgin for his own healing. Fausto then replied to her: "I saw people who were suffering more than I was and I prayed for them. Now, lend me your arms and your legs... your arms to write what I will dictate to you and your legs to carry my writings to the sick. I did not succeed in helping them as a doctor, I must help them as a sick person."

From then on, his room became a place of apostolate, listening, and spiritual accompaniment. In 1955, he joined the Centre for Volunteers of Suffering (Centro Volontari della Sofferenza - CVS), founded by Blessed Luigi Novarese. In 1959, the Bishop of Brescia, Msgr. Giacinto Tredici, appointed him diocesan head of the CVS.

In 1960, desiring to commit himself more radically, he began his novitiate with the Silent Workers of the Cross (Silenziosi Operai della Croce), an association of consecrated persons also founded by Luigi Novarese. On December 8, 1962, he made his first annual vows of the evangelical counsels as a member living in his own family, vows that he would renew each year until his death.

Fausto developed an intense "apostolate of the pen." No longer able to write himself from 1956 due to the paralysis of his hands, he dictated to his sisters (Franca and Maria Laura) and to volunteer friends circular letters (he would write 15 between 1960 and 1964), articles for the diocesan weekly La Voce del Popolo, and several spiritual works: Sofferenza serena (1962), Con Gesù in preghiera (1965), and Un pensiero al giorno (1965). He also maintained a regular correspondence with more than 1,500 people, ranging from the sick to prisoners, as well as cloistered nuns and the Sovereign Pontiffs.

Fausto's illness progressed inexorably, first depriving him of the use of his legs, then his hands, and finally his speech. To communicate, he used an alphabet board on which his loved ones read his thoughts letter by letter. Despite this physical ordeal of more than twenty years, those around him testified to his inner peace, his serenity, and his radiant joy.

His state of health worsened abruptly due to pulmonary edema. Sensing his end approaching, his sister Maria Laura asked him: "Fausto, do you still accept the will of God?", to which he replied in a whisper: "Always and entirely!" (Sempre e tutta!).

Fausto Gei passed away holily on March 28, 1968 (some local sources mention March 27) in Brescia, at the age of 41. His spiritual director, Msgr. Carlo Manziana, who had become Bishop of Crema, was present at his bedside to assist him in his final moments.

The reputation for holiness of this Brescian layman spread rapidly. His tomb became a place of prayer, and the Silent Workers of the Cross worked for the translation of his remains to the church of Santa Maria della Carità in Brescia, where he loved to pray. The cause for beatification and canonization was officially opened at the diocesan level, making him a "Servant of God".

The process regarding the heroic nature of his virtues is examined by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican.

On February 21, 2026, during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery, Pope Leo XIV authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Fausto Gei. By this solemn act, the Catholic Church officially declared him Venerable.

For Fausto Gei to be proclaimed Blessed, a miracle obtained through his intercession must now be formally recognized by the Vatican authorities.

The spirituality of Fausto Gei is based on the voluntary offering of suffering in union with the crucified Christ for the salvation of the world. He rejects the attitude of the "convict of suffering" who rebels and despairs, to embrace that of the "volunteer" who collaborates in the work of Redemption.

He summarizes his vision in this famous formula: "Every illness, even the briefest, can be transformed into a golden candelabra that burns before an invisible altar. It depends on how we know how to accept suffering."

For him, Christian suffering is not a dark resignation, but a luminous reality: "Knowing how to suffer and knowing how to smile: this is not an absurdity, but the harmonious reality of Christian suffering."

His legacy remains alive through the action of the Center for Volunteers of Suffering and the Silent Workers of the Cross, particularly in the diocese of Brescia, where his testimony continues to inspire the sick to become active subjects of evangelization and co-redemption within the Church.