Francis Xavier Bianchi

St. Francis Xavier Bianchi, C.R.S.P.
Apostle of Naples
Religious and priest
Born	(1743-12-02)December 2, 1743 Arpino, Lazio, Papal States
Died	January 31, 1815(1815-01-31) (aged 71) Naples, Kingdom of Naples
Venerated in	Roman Catholicism (Barnabite Order and the Archdiocese of Naples)
Beatified	February 22, 1893, Rome, Kingdom of Italy, by Pope Leo XIII
Canonized	October 21, 1951, Rome, Italy, by Pope Pius XII
Major shrine	Church of Santa Maria di Caravaggio, Naples, Italy
Feast	31 January

Francis Xavier Mary Bianchi, C.R.S.P. (Italian: Francesco Saverio Maria Bianchi; /biːˈɑːŋki/) (December 2, 1743 – January 31, 1815), was an Italian Barnabite priest and noted scholar, who also gained a reputation for sanctity during his lifetime from both his commitment to his students and to the poor of Naples. He has been proclaimed a saint by the Catholic Church and declared the Apostle of the city.

Bianchi was born in 1743 in Arpino in the Lazio region, then part of the Papal States, into a loving and pious family. His mother taught him to care for the poor around them, giving him example by setting up a small clinic in the family home where she would nurse up to 16 needy people. He was, nevertheless, far from a standard pious child. He would later confess to how he would occasionally pilfer money from his parents.

What changed Bianchi's life was a slow and steady resolve to conquer his own will. As he grew older, he felt that he might have a religious calling. Despite their own faith, his parents initially opposed that step. As a result, at the age of 15 he was enrolled in a minor seminary in Nola, while at the same time, he began the study of law at the University of Naples Federico II. During this period, he came under the spiritual guidance of Alphonsus de Ligouri, the founder of the Redemptorists. By the time he had completed the seminary in 1762, his parents had relented in their opposition to his following a career in the Church.