Gennaro Sarnelli

Blessed Gennaro Maria Sarnelli C.Ss.R.
Painting unveiled at the beatification.
Priest
Born	(1702-09-12)12 September 1702 Naples, Kingdom of Naples
Died	30 June 1744(1744-06-30) (aged 41) Naples, Kingdom of Naples
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	12 May 1996, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Feast	30 June
Attributes	Priest's attire Crucifix
Patronage	Writers Italian missionaries

Blessed Gennaro Maria Sarnelli (12 September 1702 – 30 June 1744) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member from the Redemptorists. Sarnelli was one of Saint Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori's earliest companions and was also a prolific writer during his life; he wrote on a range of religious topics which still survive. He wanted to become a Jesuit though was dissuaded from this before working in the Hospital of the Incurables where he call to the priesthood blossomed. His apostolic zeal knew no limits: he preached missions and aided his friend Liguori in his work; he tended to the sick and helped to get girls out of prostitution despite the threats levelled against him.

Sarnelli's fame for holiness was a well-known fact during his life and his beatification cause did not open until 1861 in Naples; formal introduction came in 1874 and he was named as Venerable on 2 December 1906. Pope John Paul II beatified him in mid-1996.

Gennaro Maria Sarnelli was born in Naples on 12 September 1702 as the fourth of eight children (two females and six males) to Angelo Sarnelli (the Baron of Ciorani) and Caterina Scoppa in the Zapata Palace in the Piazza Trieste e Trento. One brother was Domenico and another was the priest Andrea who was next to him in age. His great-uncle was Girolamo Sarnelli and his uncle was the Bishop of Muro Lucano Andrea Sarnelli (d. 15-09-1707).

From his childhood he was noted for being modest as well as for his self-denial and his great diligence in his studies. He was obedient to his parents though when he perceived he was disobedient he begged their pardon and would either kiss their hand or throw himself at their feet. He often visited the church of Saint Francis Xavier as a child. In 1716 he desired to become a Jesuit but his father objected due to his age and directed him to learn law instead; the beatification of Saint John Francis Regis was also an influence in his decision. He did this (learning jurisprudence and earning his doctorate in civil and canon law in 1722) and became quite successful in this field as a profession and was enrolled in the Congregation of the Knights of the Legal and Medical Professions that the Pious Workers of Saint Nicholas of Toledo directed. One of the rules of this association - which he observed - was visiting the sick in the Hospital of the Incurables. It was while tending to the ill in the hospital that his call to become a priest blossomed to the point he could not ignore such a call.