Pope Leo XIV announced on September 18, at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the beginning of the diocesan phase of the beatification cause of Don Luigi Di Liegro, a priest of the Diocese of Rome and the first director of Caritas Rome. He did so while opening the Diocesan Assembly, before the representatives of the diocese of which he is bishop, and explained that he had approved “with joy” the decision to take the necessary steps to open the investigation into the life, virtues, and reputation of holiness of this priest, who died on October 12, 1997.
Among the Pope’s words was a reference to Di Liegro’s method, which, according to Leo XIV, never built anything without first wanting to “see.” The Pontiff also quoted a phrase from the priest: “Discernment is this question: Lord, where are you?” The speech was part of the pastoral path the Pope is proposing to Rome for the new term, which InfoVaticana covered in a report on September 19.
The Vicariate’s edict invites the faithful to submit testimonies
The Vicariate of Rome published on September 23 the edict, dated the 22nd and signed by Cardinal Vicar Baldo Reina, inviting the faithful to send to the Diocesan Tribunal any information from which favorable or unfavorable elements regarding the priest’s reputation of holiness may be deduced. The text also requests the submission of any of his writings. Communications should be addressed to the Tribunal of the Vicariate, in St. John Lateran Square.
The edict describes Di Liegro as “a priest in love with God and passionate about the Gospel, who meditated deeply.” According to the Vicariate, the document remains posted for two months on the doors of the Vicariate of Rome and the curia of Gaeta, the priest’s hometown, and is also disseminated through diocesan media and in L’Osservatore Romano.
From the pastoral office to Caritas Rome
Born in Gaeta on October 16, 1928, and ordained a priest in 1953, Di Liegro directed Caritas Rome from 1979 until his death. La Civiltà Cattolica remembers him above all as the first director of that institution, but emphasizes that his originality dates back to the years when, as head of the pastoral office, he helped give a “conciliar face” to the Pope’s diocese: a Church that ceased to be “dirimpettaia della città,” that is, “facing the city,” in order to become incarnate in its experiences and its wounds.
His remains were transferred from the Verano Cemetery to the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles on October 1, 2025. Following the announcement, Bishop Guerino Di Tora, who collaborated with him and succeeded him at Caritas Rome, expressed his “great joy” at the opening of the cause.
With the publication of the edict, the collection of testimonies and documents begins, which will be examined by the Diocesan Tribunal, the first step of a process that, if concluded favorably in the diocesan phase, will continue before the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.