St. Richard Pampuri, O.H. (1897-1930)

Born in Pavia, Italy, Erminio Fillipo Pampuri was raised by his aunt after his parents’ early death. As a young man he was interested in religious life, but feared that his poor health would prevent his entrance. He entered medical school at Pavia. When World War I broke out, he served in the medical corps as a sergeant. After he returned to medical school. In 1927, after six years of medical practice, he joined the Brothers of St. John of God, a hospitaller order. After completing his novitiate, he took charge of a clinic run by the brothers. In 1930, at age 33, he died of pneumonia. He was canonized in 1989. Pope John Paul II described him as “a doctor who knew how to transform his own profession into a mission of charity; and a religious brother who reproduced within himself, the charism of a true son of St. John of God.”