Biography
Ignatius of Santhià
About Ignatius of Santhià
Ignatius of Santhià was born Lorenzo Maurizio Belvisotti on June 5, 1686, in northern Italy. He became a diocesan priest before joining the Capuchins. The Vatican biography describes a choice to leave an established position and enter a more demanding common religious life.
As a Capuchin he served in formation and later in confession and spiritual guidance. People sought him at the monastery, where his ministry depended on listening as much as public preaching. Accounts of extraordinary favors are part of the later cause for sainthood and should remain distinct from the documented shape of his service.
He died in Turin on September 21, 1770. The church canonized him in 2002. Though another Capuchin named Ignatius of Laconi lived in the same century, their birthplaces, ministries and dates identify two different people.
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