Innocenzo Leonelli

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]