CERTANI, GIOVANNI FILIPPO. - Oratorian ascetical writer, b. at Bologna in 1646 of a noble Florentine family, d. 23 Nov. 1717. A relative of Francesco C., co-founder of the Congregation of the Oratory of Florence, after priestly ordination he entered the same Congregation at Bologna. Devoting himself especially to the redemption of fallen women, he founded the convent of S. Maria Egiziaca; later, at the invitation of Cardinal Tanara, legate of Urbino, he went to Pesaro to re-establish that oratory, then in decline.
His principal works: L'uomo di orazione (Bologna 1686); Le Costituzioni di S. M. Egiziaca (ibid. 1702); Ritiramento spirituale di un giorno per ciascun mese (translated from the French; reprinted several times); Epitalamio dell'anima sposa di Gesù Cristo, cioè pratiche per ben disporsi alla S. Comunione; La maniera di ben predicare (several editions); Riti della Messa privata (posthumous, dedicated to Cardinal Lambertini, Bologna 1737 and 1750).