Joseph Pignatelli

Joseph Pignatelli (born December 27, 1737 in Saragossa , Spain , † November 15, 1811 in Naples , Italy ) was a Spanish Jesuit and priest. He is a saint of the Catholic Church.

Joseph became a member of the Jesuit order at the age of 16 . After studying theology and philosophy in Saragossa, he was ordained a priest in 1762. When the Spanish government expelled all Jesuits from the country in 1767, he joined the other 400 members of the order who were deported on a boat trip from Spain into exile to Corsica and Italy. From the official dissolution of the Jesuit order in 1773 by Pope Clement XIV, he worked as a diocesan priest in Bologna. In 1793, Jesuits from Russia, where the religious province still existed, again founded a community in Colorno, where Joseph could renew his vows. In 1799 he became a novice master in Colorno. In 1803 Joseph was appointed Provincial of Italy. With this he could again contribute with all his might to the restoration of the order. Thanks to his work, the religious community was active again in Sicily from 1807. He died three years before the order was fully admitted.

Joseph was born by Pope Pius XI. Beatified in 1933 and in 1954 by Pope Pius XII. canonized.

Web links

• Lexicon of saints , accessed on July 31, 2012.