Caimi, Bernardino, Blessed

CAIMI, BERNARDINO, beato. - Born in Milan in the second half of the 15th century. Having entered the Order of Observant Friars Minor at a very young age, he was guardian in various convents of Lombardy. From March 1477 to April of the following year he was sent as provisional guardian of the Holy Sepulchre on Mount Zion. Having returned to Italy, he conceived and carried out the plan of building a sanctuary that would reproduce the image of the Holy Places, and in which the various chapels would represent the life and passion of Jesus. For this purpose he chose the mount of Varallo, and in April 1493 he took solemn possession of the new convent. Provincial vicar of Milan, he held assignments in Spain (1483), in Calabria (1484), in Croatia and in Bosnia (1495). A valiant preacher (many of his sermons are still preserved in manuscript), he devoted himself to helping the poor and the forsaken, and for this purpose he was in contact with the most important figures of his time, as is shown by the numerous letters preserved in the State Archive of Milan and partly published by E. Motta. The date of his death is uncertain; we know, however, that he was still alive in 1507. The cause for the confirmation of his cult is in progress.

Renata Orazi Ausenda