Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini

The Quattrocchis in 1905

Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi (12 January 1880 – 9 November 1951) and Maria Corsini-Beltrame Quattrocchi (24 June 1884 – 26 August 1965) were two married Roman Catholic Italian laypeople who became the first couple to be beatified together in 2001. According to Pope John Paul II, they lived an ordinary life in an extraordinary way.

Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi

Luigi was born in Catania in 1880 to Carlo and Francesca Beltrame Vita. The second surname was added when Luigi was raised (and then adopted) by Stefania and Luigi Quattrocchi, while maintaining a close relationship with his birth parents. He attended school at Ancona and then moved to Rome, where he lived until his death in the area of Esquiline: In Rome he graduated in 1902 with a thesis on Criminal Law.

Maria Corsini

Maria Luisa Corsini was born in Florence on in 1884; since her father was a friend of the Quattrocchi family, she met Luigi. The two married on 25 November 1905 in the Cappella Corsini in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Rome). She wrote several books about education and also served as a Voluntary Nurse in the Italian Red Cross during World War II.

Organizations

The couple were among the organizers of many Catholic organizations:

• ASCI (Associazione Scouts Cattolici Italiani), the Italian Catholic scout association;
• Azione Cattolica, the biggest lay organization of Catholics in Italy;
• UNITALSI, an organization which carries infirm people on pilgrimages to Lourdes and other sanctuaries.

Both were members of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance.

Death and burial

Luigi died in 1951 in Rome and Maria died in 1965 in Florence. Both were buried in the crypt of the Santuario della Madonna del Divino Amore in Rome.

Children

Maria and her children.

The two had four children:

• Filippo (October 15, 1906 - February 20, 2003), priest, known as Don Tarcisio or Don Tar.
• Stefania (March 9, 1908 - March 1, 1993), nun, known as suor Cecilia.
• Cesare (November 27, 1909 - December 31, 2008), priest, known as father Paolino.
• Enrichetta (April 6, 1914 - June 16, 2012).

Don Tarcisio and Father Paolino joined ASCI as children and later they became scout chaplains, after their ordinations. When ASCI joined with the girl guides and became AGESCI (Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani) both joined the new association, until their deaths.

Beatification

The tomb of the Quattrocchi's.

The beatification process commenced on 18 October 1994 which would allow for the two to hold the title of Servant of God. A local process was held from 25 November 1994 to 4 December 1996 in order to collect documentation and testimonies. The process was validated on 20 June 1997 with the Positio submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 1999.

Pope John Paul II approved their lives of heroic virtue and proclaimed them to be Venerable on 7 July 2001. In that same decree, he also recognized a miracle that had been attributed to their intercession. He beatified them both on 21 October 2001.

A second miracle needed for their canonization was investigated from 11 March 2014 to 17 December 2014. If approved, the two can be canonized as saints.

External links

• Homily of the Pope on their beatification
• (Italian) Article about Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi from a scout magazine of AGESCI.
• (Italian) father Paolino Beltrame Quattrocchi, one of their sons
• Saints SQPN
• Saints SQPN
• Hagiography Circle
• Hagiography Circle