Giovanni da Penna
Giovanni da Penna (1193 - 3 April 1271) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Order of Friars Minor. He became a Franciscan in 1213 after hearing Fra Filippo - one of the disciples of Francis of Assisi - preach. He spent over two decades in France where he oversaw the establishment of Franciscan houses before returning to the Italian peninsula where he served his life in quiet cloistered retirement.
His beatification received the papal approval of Pope Pius VII on 20 December 1806 after the latter decreed that there existed an enduring and popular local 'cultus' - or devotion to the late priest - through the centuries.
In the Martyrology
- April 3 Saint Giovanni, bishop of Naples
- April 3 Blessed Giovanni da Penna San Giovanni, Franciscan priest