St. John Leonardi

Their story

John Leonardi was born in 1541 near Lucca, in Tuscany, Italy. As a young man he trained and worked as a pharmacist's assistant. But he felt called to the priesthood, studied theology and was ordained in 1572. He devoted himself to serving the sick in hospitals and prisoners in the jails, and he became known for teaching the faith to young people. The Council of Trent had recently called for renewal in the Church, and John answered with energy. He gathered a group of young laymen to help him teach catechism, and in 1574 he founded a community of priests, later called the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God, devoted to preaching and renewing Christian life. He met fierce opposition in his hometown and was even barred from returning to Lucca for years, but he trusted God and kept working. In Rome John became a friend of St. Philip Neri, who encouraged him. He had a great desire to spread the Gospel to the whole world, and he helped found a college to train priests for the missions, which later became part of the Church's central missionary institution in Rome. He died on October 9, 1609, after catching the plague while caring for the sick. He was canonized in 1938 and is a patron of pharmacists.