 |
| Saint Richard Pampuri, Pray for us! |
At the age of three, his mother passed away, and he was taken into the home of his mother's sister in Torrino, a village near Trivolzio. In 1907, his father also passed away in Milan.
He attended two primary schools in nearby villages before continuing his education in Milan, where he attended junior high school. He completed his high school studies as a boarder at Augustine's College in Pavia. After graduating, he enrolled in the Medical Faculty of Pavia University.
Between 1915 and 1920, he served in the World War I fighting zone, first as a sergeant and later undergoing training as an officer in the Medical Corps.
On July 6, 1921, he graduated top of his class in Medicine and Surgery at Pavia University.
After gaining three years of practical experience with his uncle, a doctor, and briefly serving as a temporary assistant in medical practice in Vernate, he was appointed to practice in Morimondo, Milan. In 1922, he passed his internship with high honors at the Milan Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and in 1923, he was registered at Pavia University as a General Practitioner of Medicine and Surgery.
From his youth, he had a desire to become a missionary priest, but his delicate health dissuaded him. He was known for his exemplary Christian virtues, openly professing the Gospel message and practicing charity generously and devoutly.
He was devout in his attendance at the Eucharistic table and spent long periods in profound adoration before the Tabernacle. He had a profound devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed the Rosary often, sometimes more than once a day.
He was an active member of Pavia University's Severino Boezio Club for Catholic Action, as well as the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Third Order of St. Francis.
Since his youth, he was involved in Catholic Action, and upon arriving in Morimondo to practice medicine, he assisted the parish priest and helped establish a musical band and a Catholic Action Youth Club, of which he was the first president. He was also the secretary of the Parish Missionary Aid Society.
He organized regular retreats for the Youth Club, farm laborers, and local workers at the Jesuit Fathers' "Villa del Sacro Cuore" in Triuggio, often covering their expenses. He also invited his colleagues and friends to attend.
In addition to being diligent and competent in his medical practice, he was charitable and concerned for his patients, visiting them day and night, regardless of where they lived, and providing them with medicines, money, food, clothing, and blankets.
When he eventually left his medical practice after six years to become a religious, the loss of the "holy doctor" was keenly felt, even making headlines in the daily press.
Dr. Pampuri joined the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God to pursue a life of evangelical holiness more closely while continuing his medical profession to alleviate the suffering of others. He joined the St. John of God Brothers in Milan on June 22, 1927, and completed his novitiate year in Brescia. He made his religious vows on October 24, 1928.
He was appointed Director of the dental clinic attached to the St. John of God Brothers' Hospital in Brescia, which mostly served working people and the poor. Brother Richard tirelessly served them with remarkable charity, earning admiration from all.
Throughout his life as a religious, Brother Richard continued to exemplify virtue and charity, earning the admiration of his fellow Brothers, patients, doctors, paramedics, nurses, and all who knew him. His sanctity was universally acknowledged.
He suffered a relapse of pleurisy, which he first contracted during his military service, leading to specific bronco-pneumonia. On April 18, 1930, he was transferred from Brescia to Milan, where he passed away in sanctity on May 1 at the age of 33. He left behind a legacy as a doctor who transformed his profession into a mission of charity and as a religious brother who embodied the charism of St. John of God.
After his death, his reputation for sanctity continued to grow, and many faithful received significant graces, including miraculous healings, through his intercession.
He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 4, 1981, after the acceptance of the required miracles. Later, on November 1, 1989, he was solemnly canonized after another miraculous healing through his intercession took place in Alcadozo (Albacete, Spain) on January 5, 1982.
St. Richard Pampuri's body is preserved and venerated in the Parish Church of Trivolzio (Pavia, Italy). His feast day is celebrated on May 1st.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment