Blessed Giovanni Tavalli
Also known as
- Giovanni Tavelli
- Giovanni of Tossignano
Profile
While studying civil law in Bologna, Italy, Giovanni quit to join the Order of the Gesuati; in 1426, he was chosen prior of the Gesuati house in Ferrara, Italy. Chosen bishop of Ferrara on 28 October 1431. Giovanni at first refused the see, but Pope Eugene IV wrote to him about the matter, and the new bishop changed him mind. Ordained a priest and then consecrated bishop in a single continuous service on 27 December 1431; he served the remained 12 and a half years of his life.
Father Giovanni was an active bishop, travelling to all points of his diocese six times. He wrote and translated works on the ascetic life and the Bible. He attended the Council of Basel, and the Council of Ferrara-Florence. With the Marquises d’Este, in 1443 he founded the Arcispedale di Sant’Anna to provide for plague patients. Legend says that his prayers miraculously saved the city of Ferrara from the flooding of the river Po.
Born
- latter 1386 in Tossignano, Bologna, Italy
- 24 July 1446 in Ferrara, Italy of natural causes
- re-interred in the crypt of the church of San Girolamo in Ferrara in 1713
- relics enshrined in an urn and placed under the high altar of the church on 23 July 1719
- the urn was re-interred under the altar of the Crucifix in the church in 1947
- a bone from his right hand was donated to and enshrined in the archpriestal church of San Michele Arcangelo in Tossignano, Italy in August 1846
- by Pope Clement VIII (cultus confirmation)
- by Pope Benedict XIV on 20 July 1748 (cultus confirmation)
- 23 January 2020 by Pope Francis (decree of heroic virtues following a re-examination of his Cause using the new methods and standards)
MLA Citation
- “Blessed Giovanni Tavalli“. CatholicSaints.Info. 5 June 2020. Web. 15 July 2020. <>