Santamaria, Grimoaldo of the Purification, Bl.
SANTAMARIA, GRIMOALDO OF THE PURIFICATION, BL.
Baptized Ferdinando, Passionist seminarian; b. Pontecorvo, Frosinone, Italy, May 4, 1883; d. Santa Maria di Corniano Abbey near Cecceano, Frosinone, Italy, November 18, 1902. Ferdinando, the eldest of five, demonstrated his attraction to spiritual matters from an early age. At eight, he was serving regularly at Mass; the following year he joined in the religious exercises of the Congregation of the Immaculata; at twelve, he was catechizing his peers. He joined the Passionists at Pugliano, March 5, 1899, after attending retreats directed by the fathers. In 1900, he was professed with the name Grimoaldo, patron of his hometown, and began his seminary studies at Santa Maria di Corniano near Cecceano. The youth, known for his joy, died of acute meningitis before ordination. On July 2, 1994, a miracle attributed to Grimoaldo's intercession was approved, leading the way to his beatification by John Paul II, January 29, 1995.
Feast: November 18.
Bibliography: passionist missionaries, Curved Bridge to Calvary (Union City, N.J. 1996). Acta Apostolicae Sedis, no. 5 (1995): 249. L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, no. 6 (1995):3.
[k. i. rabenstein]