Pope Leo XIV declares six Servants of God venerable, including two missionary bishops

Pope Leo XIV authorized the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to promulgate six decrees recognizing heroic virtues on Saturday, October 24, during an audience with the dicastery's prefect, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro. The six Servants of God now carry the title of Venerable: the missionary bishops Friedrich Kaiser Depel and Oreste Marengo, the Argentine consecrated laywoman Margarita Bavosi, the diocesan priests Domenico Pogliani and Alessandro Vitetti, and the Capuchin friar Daniele of San Giovanni Rotondo. The recognition is not a beatification. For that step, the Church must as a rule confirm a miracle attributed to the intercession of each of them.

Missionaries in the Andes and India

Friedrich Kaiser Depel was born on May 24, 1903, in Dülmen, Germany, and entered the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1919. Ordained a priest on August 10, 1932, he was sent to Peru in 1939, where he served as spiritual director and professor at the seminary in Huánuco before being named the first prelate of the Prelature of Caravelí in 1957. After the 1960 earthquake, he worked to secure water supplies and to rebuild the cathedral. A year later, in 1961, he founded the Pious Union of the Missionaries of Jesus the Word and Victim (MJVV) to reach the most isolated communities in the Andes. A specialist in biblical theology, he was recognized as "the initiator of the Bible in Peru." He died in Lima on September 26, 1993.

Oreste Marengo was born on August 29, 1906, in Diano d'Alba, Italy. At 13 he moved to Turin for Salesian formation, and in 1923 he left for northeastern India, where he combined his studies with work in the villages. Ordained a priest on April 2, 1932, in Shillong, he came to master more than 20 local languages, which allowed him to preach the Gospel without cultural or linguistic barriers. In 1951 he was named the first bishop of the Diocese of Dibrugarh. He later took charge of the Diocese of Tezpur and served as apostolic administrator of Tura, where the number of mission centers grew from seven to 13. He helped those fleeing Pakistan during the conflict with India. He died on July 30, 1998, among a people who had made him their own.

A consecrated laywoman and priests of charity

Margarita Bavosi was born on September 19, 1941, in Buenos Aires into a well-off family of Italian emigrants. She earned a degree in history and found her vocation in the Focolare Movement under the guidance of its founder, Chiara Lubich. Her cheerful, spontaneous temperament earned her the nickname "Luminosa." In 1966 she took charge of the movement in Paraná, Argentina. In 1970 Lubich entrusted her with shared responsibility for Spain, which she held for 14 years, and later for Uruguay. In 1981, after Lubich called for a more intense pursuit of holiness, Bavosi deepened her adherence to the will of God. That same year the first symptoms of atypical pulmonary fibrosis appeared. She died on March 7, 1985, in Albano Laziale, at the age of 43. Her life was described as "a holiness of the everyday," in which speaking before thousands of people and sweeping a room were all the same to her.

Domenico Pogliani was born in Milan on December 18, 1838, and was ordained a priest on May 26, 1861. After serving in several parishes, he was sent to Cesano Boscone, where he started a nursery school, an oratory for girls and a care center that was sheltering about 400 people by the start of World War I. His motto was "Above all, charity." On June 1, 1896, he founded the Holy Family hospice for people regarded as incurable at the time, an institution that continues its work today. He died on July 25, 1921, in Arizzano.

Alessandro Vitetti was born on October 12, 1915, in Cirò, in the province of Crotone, and was ordained a priest on June 16, 1940. He spent most of his priestly life in the Diocese of Cariati, where he held several posts: canon of the cathedral, seminary formator, spiritual director, chancellor of the diocesan curia and head of the women's branch of Catholic Action. During World War II he was known for his care of those in greatest need. He went with his bishop to Rome during the Second Vatican Council, and in his final years he suffered from severe diabetes. He died in Cariati on February 24, 1995.

A Capuchin friar in the spirit of Padre Pio

Daniele of San Giovanni Rotondo, born Michele Natale, was born on March 11, 1919, in San Giovanni Rotondo into a family of farmers and shepherds. He grew up poor and spent part of his childhood tending flocks. He met Padre Pio at an early age, and at 14 he entered the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, choosing to remain a lay brother rather than be ordained a priest. His life was marked by illness, hospital stays and intense prayer. After Padre Pio's death in 1968, he devoted himself in particular to the prayer groups founded in his spirit. A phrase attributed to Padre Pio sums up the bond between the two men: "Where you are, I will be too; where you go, I will go too." He died on July 6, 1994, in San Giovanni Rotondo. In 2015 his remains were moved to the conventual church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, where the faithful can venerate them.