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Venerable
Innocenzo Leonelli
Venerable Innocenzo Leonelli
Born	1592
Died	April 1625 (aged 32–33); Brescia
Other names	Tiburzio Lazzari
Occupation(s)	soldier, hermit
Parents	Giulio Leonelli (father); Virginia Leonelli née Fornari (mother);
Family	Mutatesia Leonelli, Ignatius of Jesus (born Carlo Leonelli), and three sisters

Innocenzo Leonelli (il Venerabile) (1592 – April 1625), also 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 onetime 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^[i] in Bohemia and Hungary.^[ii]^[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]

References

Notes

^ See Counter-Reformation and Thirty Years' War
^ See Bohemian Revolt

Citations

^ Commentari, p. 176.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Lupieri 2003, p. 26.
^ ^a ^b Vernarecci (1903), p. 652.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gargano (1868), p. 134.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Vernarecci (1872), p. 20.
^ Vernarecci (1903), p. 653.
^ Vernarecci (1903), p. 652. ("… mutata solo di luogo nel 1733, ne' restauri e abbellimenti portati in quel l' anno al tempio di Santa Lucia.")

Bibliography

Gargano, Sebastiano (1868). Manuale statistico amministrativo storico ed artistico della provincia di Pesaro e Urbino [Statistical and historical administrative manual of the province of Pesaro and Urbino]. Pesaro: Nobili.
Lupieri, Edmondo F. (1 December 2003). "Friar of Ignatius of Jesus (Carlo Leonelli) and the First Scholarly book on Mandaeaism (1652)". ARAM Periodical. 16. Peeters Publishers: 25–46. doi:10.2143/aram.16.0.504670.
Spreti, Marchese Vittorio (1968). Enciclopedia storico-nobiliare italiana: famiglie nobili e titolate viventi riconosciute dal R. g̊overno d'Italia compresi: città, comunità, mense vescovili, abazie, parrocchie ed enti nobili e titolati riconosciuti [Encyclopedia of Italian noblemen: noble families and living titles recognized by the R.government of Italy including: city, community, bishop's domains, abbeys, parishes and noble bodies and recognized titles]. Forni.
Vernarecci, Augusto (1872). Dizionario biografico degli nomini illustri di Fossombrone [Biographical dictionary of the illustrious names of Fossombrone]. Monacelli.
Vernarecci, Augusto (1903). Fossombrone dai tempi antichissimi ai nostri con illustrazioni e appendice di documenti [Fossombrone from ancient times to ours with illustrations and appendix of documents]. Vol. 2 pt. 2. Forni.
Commentari dell'Ateneo di Brescia. Ateneo di Brescia. 1996.