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Juan Marinoni

Juan Marinoni

He was the third and youngest son of Bernardino and Isabel Marinoni, a noble family, originally of Bergamo, but was born at Venice, in 1490. Having embraced an ecclesiastical state, he served among the clergy of St. Pantaleon’s church: and when he was ordained priest, in 1515, became chaplain and afterwards superior of the hospital of incurables, in which charitable employ he was a comforting angel to all who were under his care.

In 1521 he was distinguished with the title of Canon of the church St. Mark, Venice, where his life was the edification of his colleagues and of the whole city. He frequented the hospital of Incurables of Venice, which Saint Cajetan had founded in 1522. Dazzled by his example and out of a desire of serving God in a more perfect disengagement from earthly things, he demanded the habit of the regular clerics, Theatines, and made his profession in 1530, on the 29 of May, taking the name of “John”, being then forty years of age, under the eyes of their founders, St. Cajetan, and Caraffa, ancient bishop of Chieti, who had instituted this order six years before.

St. Cajetan being called from Venice to found the convent of St. Paul at Naples, took Marinoni with him. In that great city, Marinoni never ceased to preach the word of God with admirable simplicity and zeal; and being chosen several times superior, settled and maintained in it the perfect spirit of his order; dedicating himself to prayer, caring for souls, preaching, and training candidates for theatine life.

His great spirituality bore excellent fruits, in close collaboration with the founder s. Cajetan. With the same impetus that he had in his work within the religious community, he carried out a deep apostolate among the most humble. Seeing to the afflictions they suffered at the hands of usurers, in 1539 he inspired the nobles Aurelio Paparo, Gian Domenico di Lega and Leonardo Palma, his spiritual sons, in starting the Monte di Pietà from which the Banco di Napoli later derived.

In April 1540 he was appointed superior of the house of S. Paolo Maggiore and spiritual director of the monastery of the Dominican nuns of Sapienza. With his gentleness and strength he guided and formed the first levers of the new Theatine Order to an intense interior life, apostolic activity, detachment from earthly goods and confident abandonment to God. He was a teacher of saints as s. Andrea Avellino, blessed Paolo Burali cardinal, venerable Giacomo Torno and Salvatore Caracciolo and other distinguished bishops and men of God who held high the Theatine spirituality of which John was a distinguished spiritual guide

St. Andrew Avellino was the first biographer of Blessed Marinoni and says of him: “He was always of a lovable nature, who was loved, revered, honoured and esteemed by all the good and bad seculars. Which I saw with my own eyes, because he often accompanied her to Naples and saw the honour that was made by everyone; who kept him as a saint.”

An excellent preacher, he was followed and listened to by thick and even learned ranks of faithful, including some, who became bishops and participants in the Council of Trent, pointed to him as an example of authentic evangelical preaching. He refused the archiepiscopal seat of Naples that the Pope of Turin Paul IV wanted to entrust to him; in 1558 the construction of the new convent of S. Paolo Maggiore started from the foundations and under the direction of the learned father Gerolamo Ferro ended in 1565, three years after Marinoni’s death.

The advanced age and the diseases had undermined his health, while he intensely continued his work and zeal for the health of his neighbour, in that time of cholera epidemics that devastated the city of Naples. He died a holy death in Naples on 13 December 13, 1562. His remains are venerated in the crypt of the basilica of S. Paolo Maggiore, along with those of Saint Cajetan of Thiene, of Blessed Paolo Burali and other venerable confreres; those of s. Andrew Avellino are instead in the above basilica.

A bull of Clement XIII beatified him on 11 September 1762, who, in 1764, granted to his order an office in his honour to be celebrated on the 13th of December. He is depicted holding the crucifix for his great devotion to the Passion of Christ.