**LEONARDO da PORTO MAURIZIO, Saint.**
---
**I. Life.** — Paolo Girolamo Casanueva, later L. da P. M., was born in Porto Maurizio (Imperia) on 20 December 1676 and died in Rome on 26 November 1751. Orphaned by his mother at the age of two, he had several half-siblings from his father’s second marriage, two of whom followed him into the Franciscan life. Around 1690, he studied privately in Rome for two years, then for another five at the Roman College (under the Jesuits, who left a strong mark on his spiritual formation), and in 1697 he entered the Friars Minor at San Bonaventura on the Palatine.
After completing his novitiate at Ponticelli in Sabina and his theological studies in Rome, he was ordained priest in 1702 and taught philosophy. Falling ill, he spent some time in Naples and then five years in the convent of his native town (1704–1709). Having recovered after a vow made to the Virgin, in 1709 he went to Florence, where he was among the first religious called by Grand Duke Cosimo III to found the Franciscan retreat of Monte alle Croci. He remained there until 1730, several times serving as guardian. From 1730 until his death he lived in Rome, at San Bonaventura on the Palatine, where he died a few hours after returning from a preaching mission in Tuscany, having been visited personally by Pope Benedict XIV, who held him in great affection. His remains are preserved in this church. He was beatified on 19 June 1796 and canonized on 29 June 1867. Pius XI proclaimed him patron of indigenous missionaries in 1923. His feast is celebrated on 26 November.
---
**II. Apostolic Activity.** — His missions to the people assumed special importance and took on a distinctive character. At least 339 such missions are known, preached especially in Tuscany, Lazio, Romagna, Corsica, and Liguria. Notable among them are those he gave in Rome at the behest of Benedict XIV in 1749–50 in preparation for and during the Holy Year, when the great influx of the faithful obliged him to preach in Piazza Navona. He also preached Lenten sermons and spiritual exercises repeatedly for the people and for religious.
He was also a great promoter of the pious practice of the Way of the Cross, which until then had been confined to French places, and through successive apostolic privileges he obtained, it was extended to its present form. A list preserved by him enumerates 576 Ways of the Cross erected from 1731 onward, though it is certainly incomplete. The most memorable was the one he erected in the Colosseum on 27 December 1750. He also established the method of preaching at each station. To make the fruit of his missions more lasting, he founded various confraternities, including the Congregation of the Little Crown and the Company of the Lovers of Jesus and Mary.
---
**III. Writings.**
— Among his oratorical works, particular mention should be made of the Lenten cycle, the Sermons of the Missions (which partly coincide with the Lenten cycle), the Spiritual Exercises for the People, the Short Talks on the Most Holy Sacrament, four complete series of short talks for meditation on the individual stations of the Way of the Cross, and six *Journeys* (i.e., six complete Ways of the Cross) published only in 1911. The influence of Fr. Paolo Segneri is notable in his works.
Among his spiritual writings, especially noteworthy are the *Manuale sacro* (Rome 1734), for nuns; *The Way to Paradise*; *The Sacred Way Made Plain and Illuminated* (ibid. 1731), an exposition on the Way of the Cross and a method for practicing it well; and *The Hidden Treasure* (ibid. 1737), on the Holy Mass. His correspondence has not yet been systematically collected, though various small collections of letters exist.
---
**IV. Spirit of St. L.** — At first, St. L. appeared as a rigid and austere ascetic. Yet in his letters and affectionate pages one finds that “gentleness of spirit” already noted by Fr. Giuseppe da Roma when he published eighty-six of his letters. With the most characteristic traits of Franciscan spirituality (love of poverty, devotion to the humanity of Christ, contemplation, etc.), his spirit of faith, apostolic zeal, austerity toward himself, and devotion to retreat and solitude stand out, despite his intense and active apostolic life. The principal source for understanding his spirit is the little work of his *Propositi*. Even during his lifetime he was called the Apostle of Italy.
---
**
BML: complete bibliography on the Saint up to 1948 in H. Schmidt, *Bibl. di s. L. da P. M.*, in *Arch. Franc. Hist.*, 40 (1947), pp. 208–75.
**Editions:**
Collected complete works of the Blessed L. da P. M., 13 vols., Rome 1853–54;
Complete works of St. L. da P. M., 5 vols., Venice 1863–69;
Unpublished sermons and letters, Florence 1911;
Unpublished works and letters, Arezzo 1925;
Sermons of the missions with added necrologies, letters, and unpublished documents, ibid. 1920.
**Biographies and Studies:**
Rallacé da Roma, *Vita del servo di Dio P. L. da P. M.*, Rome 1754;
Salvatore da Ormea, *Vita di s. L. da P. M.*, ibid. 1867;
G. Cantini, *S. L. da P. M. e la sua predicazione*, ibid. 1936;
B. Bogatti, *La direzione spirituale di s. L. da P. M.*, in *Studi francescani*, 44 (1948), pp. 93–111; ibid., 47 (1951), miscellany on all aspects of the Saint’s life and activity.
Alberto Ghinato, *L. nel Folklore*.
There exists a *Nuova composizione in ottava rima* containing the life, death, miracles, documents, and recollections of the Blessed Fr. L. da P., apostolic missionary of the Reformed Friars of the Retreat of St. Bonaventura in Rome, composed by F. B., Lucchese (Lucca 1823). It consists of fifty stanzas notable for their fluency and narrative power.
BML: G. Giannini, *La poesia popolare a stampa nel sec. XIX*, I, Udine 1938, pp. 295–96.