Saint Crispin of Viterbo

Crispino da Viterbo (13 November 1668 – 19 May 1750) - born Pietro Fioretti - was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious from Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. Fioretti was an ardent devotee of the Mother of God and was consecrated to her protection in 1674 and he even made a small altar dedicated to her when he served in the kitchens at the house in Orvieto. He served in various roles for the order in various cities around Rome where he became a well-known figure with various nobles and prelates - even Pope Clement XI visiting him and seeking him out for advice and support. Fioretti likewise was known as a sort of wonderworker who worked miracles during his lifetime. He was also known for his warm sense of humor and his simple method for living. The calls for him to be named as a saint began as soon as he had died and the formal cause to investigate his holiness opened on 16 September 1761 under Pope Clement XIII while he was named as Venerable in 1796 under Pope Pius VII. Pope Pius VII beatified him in 1806 while Pope John Paul II canonized him as a saint on 20 June 1982 - the first canonization in the latter's pontificate. Pietro Fioretti was born on 13 November 1668 in Bottarone in Viterbo to Ubaldo Fioretti (a craftsman) and Marzia Antoni; his baptism was celebrated on 15 November in the church of San Giovanni Battista. His mother had been widowed with a daughter before she married Ubaldo. His father died sometime before Fioretti turned five. In 1674 his mother took him to a Marian shrine that was not too far from their home where his mother consecrated him to the Mother of God to place him under her spiritual protection. It was from that point that he referred to the Blessed Mother as his "other mother". His mother had told him to "honor her as a good son would do". He was known for his piousness and for his great knowledge of the saints; the townsfolk often referred to him as "il santarello" ("the little saint").