Gennaro Maria Sarnelli | |
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Born | Naples | 12 September 1702
Died | 30 June 1744 Naples | (aged 41)
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | 12 May 1996, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
Feast | 30 June |
Attributes |
Gennaro Maria Sarnelli (12 September 1702 – 30 June 1744) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member from the Redemptorists. Sarnelli was one of Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori's earliest companions and a prolific writer on a range of religious topics. He wanted to become a Jesuit though was dissuaded from this before working in the Hospital of the Incurables where he call to the priesthood blossomed. His apostolic zeal knew no limits: he preached missions and aided his friend Liguori in his work; he tended to the sick and helped to get girls out of prostitution despite the threats levelled against him.[1]
Sarnelli's fame for holiness was a well-known fact during his life. His beatification cause opened in 1861 in Naples; formal introduction came in 1874 and he was named as Venerable on 2 December 1906. Pope John Paul II beatified him in mid-1996.[2]