Monument to Cardinal Dusmet

Piazza San Francesco d'Assisi. (Open Map)
(75)

Description

Giuseppe Benedetto Dusmet (15 August 1818 - 4 April 1894), born Giuseppe Dusmet, was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. He took the name of "Benedetto" upon his entry into the Order of Saint Benedict.
He was beatified on 25 September 1988 by Pope John Paul II and his cause for canonization still continues.

Dusmet was born in Palermo in 1818 to nobility. He was born to Luigi Dusmet and Maria dei Dragonetti. Dusmet was educated at the abbey of San Martino delle Scales from the age of five and would later teach philosophy and theology at Benedictine houses. He entered the Order of Saint Benedict and chose the name "Benedetto" as his middle name after professing his formal vows on 13 August 1840.

He was appointed Archbishop of Catania by Pope Pius IX in 1867 and was later elevated to the cardinalate in 1889 by Pope Leo XIII.

Dusmet died on 4 April 1894 at the age of 75 at approximately 10:30pm and was buried in the chapel of the Confraternity dei Bianci. His relics were later translated to the Catania Cathedral in May 1904.

In the first step towards sainthood, Pope Pius XI proclaimed him to be a Servant of God with the commencement of his cause of canonization on 7 January 1931. On 15 July 1965, Pope Paul VI signed a decree that recognized his heroic virtues, thereby naming him Venerable. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 25 September 1988.
One final miracle is needed for his canonization.