GIOVANNI of LODI, blessed. — Camaldolese, born in Lodi around 1040, died in Gubbio on 7 September 1105. He embraced the eremitical life at Fontavellana in 1064 under the guidance of St. Peter Damian, of whom he became a companion in frequent journeys after his priestly ordination, which took place in 1065. He was the first biographer of the Saint and inherited his ascetic spirit.
After the death of St. Peter Damian, he returned to Fontavellana, where he was elected prior, a position he held until his elevation to the episcopate of Gubbio, to which Pope Paschal II appointed him in 1104. But, already an octogenarian, he lived only one more year. He is renowned for his austerity of life, and in the Benedictine Martyrology he is venerated as a blessed.