Franciscan promoter of the Blessed Sacrament, the devotion of the Sacred Heart and the Stations of the Cross, Leonard Casanova (1676-1751) was born in Port Maurice (Porto Maurizio), Italy, and joined the Franciscans of the Strict Observance in 1697. Ordained in 1703, he began preaching all over the Tuscany region of Italy. By 1736 he was attracting huge crowds in Rome and elsewhere, and he erected almost six hundred Stations of the Cross throughout the lands. In 1744, Leonard was sent by Pope Benedict XIV to preach on Corsica. Returning to Rome 7 years later at the summons from the pope, Leonard died at his friary, St. Bonaventure in Rome, on November 26, 1751. He was canonized in 1867 and named patron of parish missions.

Patron of Parish Missions

Promoter of the Stations of the Cross