MURIALDO, LEONARDO, Servant of God. — Founder of the Pious Turin Society of S. Giuseppe (Giuseppini), b. in Turin on 26 October 1828, d. there on 30 May 1900. Educated first in Savona, under the Scolopi, in 1845 he entered the Seminary of Turin for ecclesiastical studies, which he completed with a degree in theology. Attached to the clergy of the church of S. Maria di Piazza, he was ordained a priest on 21 September 1851; he immediately devoted himself to the apostolate among poor youth, gathered in the Oratory of the Guardian Angels, opened in 1840 by G. Cocchi, and in that of S. Luigi, founded by S. G. Bosco, to whom he offered himself as a fellow worker in the care and instruction of the boys. In 1866 he was appointed rector of the Opera degli Artigianelli, begun by the same d. G. Cocchi to receive poor and abandoned young people and, through Christian education, provide them with instruction in some art or trade that would secure their future.
M. devoted himself to it with complete enthusiasm: he sought alms to support the work; he led the young people to frequent reception of the Sacraments, forming them in strength of character and keeping them from wrongful paths. Many of his disciples became religious, and approximately 80 became secular priests. To increase the merits of his companions, who had joined him through the bond of religious vows, he founded the Pious Society of S. Giuseppe, inaugurated on 19 March 1873. The new Institute received archiepiscopal approval on 14 February 1875, the decree of praise in 1890, and apostolic confirmation on 1 August 1904. M. was elected its superior general. As the number of religious increased, many other houses were added in Italy and abroad to those already founded and flourishing, designated by various titles indicating their particular and immediate purpose: oratories, patronages, colleges, orphanages, apostolic schools, agricultural schools, family homes. M. also wished to devote himself to visiting the sick and prisoners; to arousing and reviving charitable institutions; above all, he made an effective contribution to associations of Catholic Action and committees directed toward the good of the people. In particular, he was the soul of the Association «La buona stampa», established to promote, print, and disseminate leaflets and pamphlets defending religion against errors, especially those of Jansenism.