St. John Baptist de Rossi

St. John Baptist de Rossi (22 February 1698 – 23 May 1764) was born at Voltaggio in the Republic of Genoa and sent as a boy to Rome, where he studied at the Roman College and was ordained a priest. Though frail in health and afflicted with epilepsy, he gave himself wholly to the most neglected of the city — the poor, the sick in hospitals, prisoners, and especially the herdsmen, laborers, and homeless women who crowded Rome's markets and streets.

He overcame an early reluctance to hear confessions and became one of the most sought-after confessors in Rome, spending long hours in the confessional and drawing countless souls back to God through his gentleness and patience. He founded a hospice for destitute women and preached tirelessly to those whom others overlooked. Revered as a saint in his own lifetime, he was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1881.