That of Saint John the Baptist Piamarta was an exceptionally fruitful apostolate. Born in Brescia in 1841from a family of modest means, was ordained priest in 1865.
His first pastoral experiences were in Carzago Riviera and Bedizzole. He was then transferred to Bresciain the parish of Sant’Alessandro and, again, in Peacock Mella. Piamarta acted as an interpreter of the urgencies of his time: in particular it was the start of industrial society that traced the perimeter of his action.
To help the kids who came to the city from the countryside and valleys to look for work, he created the Artigianelli Institute, so as to offer them professional preparation combined with Christian educational support. In 1884 he founded the Querini typography (later Editrice Queriniana). With Father Giovanni Bonsignori, he gave birth to the Agricultural Colony of Remedello. He died on April 25, 1913.
Beatified in 1997, he was canonized in 2012. The «Pious Society of the Holy Family», later approved as «Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth» he has taken up its legacy, also bearing witness to it in Brazil, Chile, Angola and Mozambique. The bare of Saint John the Baptist Piamarta are preserved in the church of San Filippo Neriannexed to the Artigianelli Institute of Brescia.
We also celebrate: Saint Marcellinus, Pope; the blessed Alda (Aldobrandesca) from Siena;
the blessed Dominic and Gregory, Dominicans.
