Pierangelo Capuzzimati
“My illness is a gift from the Lord. We can live in peace. He can do anything.” Can you believe that these were the words of a teenager going through the intense pain of leukemia? Yet believe it. Pierangelo Capuizzati, God’s servant, endured both the illness and the accompanying severe suffering, relying solely on the treasure of faith.
Born on June 28, 1990, in Taranto, Italy, Pierangelo’s parents were neither particularly devout nor excessively zealous in spiritual matters. Yet, from a young age, Pierangelo’s life was different. Teachers and classmates described him as a calm and gentle child. He was five years old when his younger sister Sara was born, and the bond between them was deep. Not only in academics but also in reading, Pierangelo excelled; his thirst for knowledge amazed everyone.
During otherwise ordinary days, his family’s fate dramatically changed when he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004. Even amidst treatment breaks, Pierangelo found time to study and read. When he could attend school, his teachers sometimes came home to continue his lessons. In 2005, he underwent surgery. Over the following years, he endured multiple medical treatments. Yet his unwavering faith amazed his parents and transformed their own lives toward belief. Pierangelo saw his illness as a gift from God, which allowed him to understand God’s plans.
After four years of enduring life with illness, on April 30, 2008, Pierangelo passed away, just two months before his eighteenth birthday. His physical remains are interred in the church cemetery of San Giorgio Jonico. Pierangelo even had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI. He firmly believed that there is no salvation outside the Church. He recognized that God is both necessity and provision, and that faith cannot be fabricated by human desire. What made Pierangelo unique was his view that illnesses do not separate one from God but rather bring one closer to Him. He used his illness not only for prayer but also for study and reflection. He turned his time of suffering into an opportunity to contemplate the beauty of creation. When he left this world at eighteen, his lesson was clear: suffering is a gift from God. His words were, “I do not understand everything, but I believe everything.” On April 26, 2018, the Holy See authorized the naming procedures for Pierangelo, and on January 20, 2024, the diocesan naming process was completed.
