Saint Ignatius of Santhià

Ignatius of Santhià (5 June 1686 – 22 September 1770), born Lorenzo Maurizio Belvisotti, was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. Belvisotti made it his mission to help penitents in the sacrament of Reconciliation and also devoted himself to the care of the ill. He gained a strong reputation for the humble and austere nature of his life in addition to the application of the Franciscan charism in his life which served as a model for thousands. He was canonized in 2002 after three miracles had been attributed to him and as recognition for his long life of service and heroic virtue. Lorenzo Maurizio Belvisotti was born in Vercelli on 5 June 1686 as the fourth of six children to Pietro Paolo Belvisotti and Maria Elisabetta Balocco. His education came from a local priest - Bartolomeo Quallio - who inspired him to discern a potential call to religious life. His education came at the age of seven after the death of his father. He travelled to Vercelli from his village for theological and philosophical studies in 1706. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1710 and remained as a parish priest until 1716. He was offered a position of power in Vercelli but he declined it and instead became a novice in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He made his religious profession on 24 May 1717 and assumed the name of "Ignatius of Santhià" - this earned the ire of his parents who did not understand his decision to join the order. He assumed his name in honor of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. He was assigned to a convent in Saluzzo in 1717 and served as a sacristan there. He was also a novice master at Chieri for a time and a sacristan in Turin in 1723. He also served as the novice master at Mondovi from 1731 to 1744 but an ailment in one of his eyes caused him to retire from the position for two years. Between 1743 and 1746 war broke out in Piedmont.