Giovanni Battista de' Rossi

Giovanni Battista de' Rossi was born on 22 February 1698 in Voltaggio, in the Republic of Genoa, and grew up in a devout Catholic household of modest means. As a boy he showed both piety and a capacity for study. In his early teens he was sent to Rome to live with a cousin who was a canon of the basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin and who undertook to support his education. In Rome he attended the Collegio Romano and later continued his ecclesiastical studies in preparation for the priesthood. Throughout these years he suffered from epilepsy, a condition that periodically interrupted his work and that caused hesitation about his fitness for ordination; he nevertheless persevered in his vocation.

He was ordained a priest on 8 March 1721. From the outset of his ministry he devoted himself to the poor, the sick, and the socially marginalized of Rome. He spent long hours in hospitals, notably at the hospital of the Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini and among the destitute associated with Santa Galla, and he sought out beggars, homeless people, and prostitutes in order to offer them the sacraments and material help. He became a well-known catechist and a patient, sought-after confessor, often remaining in the confessional for extended periods. In due course he received a canonry at Santa Maria in Cosmedin; the modest income attached to that office he used largely for the relief of the poor rather than for his own comfort.

De' Rossi lived with marked personal austerity and was known for refusing higher ecclesiastical dignities. He preached parish missions in the countryside around Rome and was especially attentive to the dying and to those who had grown distant from the practice of the faith. His epilepsy continued to afflict him, and in later life his health declined. He died in Rome on 23 May 1764 and was buried in the church of the Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini.

A reputation for holiness already surrounded him in life and grew after his death. His cause of canonization advanced in the nineteenth century: Pope Pius IX beatified him on 13 May 1860, and Pope Leo XIII canonized him on 8 December 1881. His liturgical memorial is kept on 23 May. His relics remain in the church of the Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini in Rome, where they have continued to be an object of veneration.