Saint John Leonardi, Priest

John Leonardi was born about 1541 at Diecimo near Lucca and trained and worked as a pharmacist before studying for the priesthood; he was ordained in 1572. In Lucca he gathered young laymen to teach the catechism, and in 1574 founded a community of priests, later the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God. His work met strong opposition in Lucca, and for years he could not return there. In Rome he was a friend of Philip Neri and helped prepare the college that became the Urban College for training missionary priests. He also carried out reforms in religious communities on the pope's behalf. He died in Rome on 9 October 1609, of an illness caught while caring for the sick, and was canonized in 1938.