Guglielmo Massaia
Catholic cardinal (1809-1889)
The Vatican record
- 1 December 2016 — Heroic virtue declared — title Venerable (decree list, 2016)
Who they were
Lorenzo Massaia became a Capuchin at sixteen, taking the name Guglielmo, taught theology and was confessor to the future King Victor Emmanuel. He refused bishoprics, wishing to go to the missions.
In 1846 he was made first Vicar Apostolic for the Galla peoples of Abyssinia, where he ordained native priests and worked for many years amid great opposition. Later made a cardinal, he died at Cremona on 6 August 1889.
The miracles
The Catholic Encyclopedia does not describe his cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Capuchin missionary bishop of Ethiopia.
The cause
Guglielmo Massaia has been declared Venerable; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: Capuchins of Italy: Venerable Guglielmo Massaia.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Guglielmo Massaia
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q1394740 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Guglielmo Massaia (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.