DANIELE da SAMARATE. – Capuchin missionary, in the world Felice Rossini, born on 11 June 1876, he entered among the Lombard Capuchins in 1891 and departed for the mission of Alto Brasil in 1898. He distinguished himself particularly in the administration of the colony of S. Antonio do Prata. While caring for the sick, he contracted leprosy. After unsuccessful attempts at a cure in Italy, he wished to return to the mission, in order to enter the leprosarium of Tocunduba (Pará) in 1914, devoting himself to the spiritual assistance of the patients. This heroic charity, in which he persevered until his death (19 May 1924), earned him the title of «apostle of lepers».
BIBL.: Annali Francescani, 55 (1924), pp. 161-80, 441-83; Ezechia da Iseo, P. D. da S., 2ª ed., Milano 1938.
Ilarino da Milano