"a lay person who inspires lay people." Congregation of Regular Clerics Two priests, Alessandro Besuzio and Agostino Bariso, then joined him in his labors of charity, and in 1532 Gerolamo founded a religious society, the Congregation of Regular Clerics. The motherhouse was at Somasca, a secluded northern Italian hamlet in the comune of Vercurago between Milan and Bergamo, after which the members became known as Somaschi. In the rule of this congregation, Gerolamo stated the principal work of the community was the care of orphans, poor and sick, and demanded that dwellings, food and clothing would bear the mark of religious poverty. Devoted to the guardian angels, Emiliani entrusted the congregation to the protection of the Virgin, the Holy Spirit and the Archangel Raphael. The congregation was approved in 1540 by Pope Paul III with the official name "Clerici Regulares S. Majoli Papiae Congregationis Somaschae", and spread throughout Italy. During an epidemic, Jerome was assisting the sick when he contracted the plague. He died in Somasca, 8 February 1537. Veneration He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1747, and canonized by Pope Clement XIII on 16 July 1767. The Office and Mass in his honor were approved eight years later. He was thus not included in the 1570 Tridentine Calendar. When inserted in the Roman Calendar in 1769, he was assigned the date of 20 July. In 1969, Pope Paul VI moved his feast to the day of his death, 8 February. The St. Gerolamo Emiliani Sanctuary is located in Somasca, Vercurago where a seventeenth century silver shrine contains his remains. Patronage In 1928, Pope Pius XI named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children. See also Martinitt, Milan orphanage founded by Emiliani Saint Gerolamo Emiliani, patron saint archive References External links Somascan Fathers Founder Statue in St Peter's Basilica 1481 births 1537 deaths Italian Roman Catholic saints People from Venice 16th-century Christian saints Venerated Catholics Canonizations by Pope Clement XIII Beatifications by Pope Benedict XIV