Innocenzo Leonelli

Innocenzo Leonelli (il Venerabile) (1592 – April 1625), called 'The Hermit of Maddalena',[1] was a soldier whose fierce religiosity led him to vow to fight only enemies of the Catholic faith. He was the son of a "wealthy and semi-noble family".[2] His father, Giulio Leonelli, was a well respected lawyer and one time Governor of Turin.[3] His brothers were Mutatesia Leonelli, who was appointed as Treasurer of the Pontifical Chambers by Pope Urban VIII,[4] and the Discalced Carmelite missionary Ignatius of Jesus.[2]

He first fought in Lombardy[4] and later, in 1617 he served his faith by fighting Protestants[lower-roman 1] in Bohemia and Hungary.[lower-roman 2][5] In 1620[4] or 1622,[5] after returning from his campaigns, he gave his wealth to the poor and renounced his name; seeking peace, he cloistered himself in the hermitage of Santa Maria Maddalena in Brescia, taking the name of Tiburzio Lazzari.[2] He spent his time with the sick and destitute, providing them with conversation and consolation,[5] and would leave the hermitage only to go begging for alms.[3]

The life of a hermit sapped his health and he fell gravely ill. The wealthy of Brescia offered him succor in their palaces but he refused them. Rather, he asked to be taken to a hospital to die among the same people he had previously ministered to. Following his death in April 1625,[5] the faithful considered him so holy the Bishop of Brescia had to protect his body from those wanting it for relics.[2] The Bishop later convened a trial to examine his life and works,[6] and thereafter Leonelli was referred to as il Venerabile.[5]

Two years after his death, the regents of the hospital re-buried him in a tomb of fine marble. The tomb was relocated in 1733 as part of the restoration and improvements made to the temple of Santa Lucia at that time.[7]