CAIMI, BERNARDINO, blessed. — Born in Milano in the second half of the fifteenth century. Having entered the Order of Friars Minor of the Observance at a very young age, he was guardian in various convents of Lombardy. From March 1477 until April of the following year he was sent as provisional guardian of the Holy Sepulchre on Mount Sion. Having returned to Italy, he conceived and carried out the plan of building a sanctuary that would reproduce the image of the Holy Places, in which the various chapels would represent the life and passion of Jesus. For this purpose he chose Mount Varallo, and in April 1493 he took possession of the new convent with great solemnity. Provincial vicar of Milano, he received assignments in Spain (1483), Calabria (1484), Croatia, and Bosnia (1495). An able preacher (many of his sermons are still preserved in manuscript), he devoted himself to assisting the poor and destitute, and for this purpose was in contact with the most important persons of his time, as is shown by the numerous letters preserved in the State Archives of Milano 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