Giovanni Battista de' Rossi (priest)
Giovanni Battista de' Rossi (22 February 1698 – 23 May 1764) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest. He served as the canon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin after his cousin, who was a priest serving there, died. He was a popular confessor despite his initial fears that his epileptic seizures could manifest in the Confessional. Rossi opened a hospice for homeless women not long after his ordination, and he became known for his work with prisoners and ill people, to whom he dedicated his entire ecclesial mission.
Rossi's canonization was celebrated on 8 December 1881. It had begun decades before but was suspended due to tensions in Europe that meant work could not be pursued regarding the cause; it was later revitalized and he was beatified in 1860.
Patron saint of Voltaggio
In the Martyrology
- May 23 Saint Giovanni Battista de’ Rossi, priest