Bologna – The Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna, Italy, hosted this afternoon of September 27, 2026, the beatification mass of Dehonian Martino Capelli, Salesian Elia Comini, and diocesan priest Ubaldo Marchioni, three priests martyred in 1944 in the context of the Monte Sole massacres, near the city of Bologna.
The participants
Presided over on behalf of the Holy Father by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the celebration brought together an estimated 2,500 faithful, including 150 concelebrants, among whom were Cardinal Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Archbishop Antonio Sozzo, Apostolic Nuncio Emeritus, several bishops, as well as the Superior General of the Dehonians, Fr. Carlos Luis Suárez, and the Rector Major of the Salesian Society, Don Fabio Attard.
It was with great emotion and remarkable fervor that representatives of the Archdiocese of Bologna and the two religious families concerned experienced the rite of beatification, which took place at the very beginning of the mass.
Rite of beatification
The rite of beatification took place in an atmosphere of prayer. After the local archbishop, Cardinal Zuppi, presented the request for beatification to the Holy Father’s delegate, the various postulators delivered a biographical reading presenting the three priest martyrs of Monte Sole. Following this, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro read the apostolic letter authorizing the beatification. The portraits of the three new blessed were unveiled to applause, prior to the procession of the relics: a bible and a pen for Father Marchioni, the personal diary of Don Comini, and a written statement by Father Capelli sealing the total gift of his life to the Lord.
A homily focused on the testimony of the good shepherd
In his homily, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro used the image of the good shepherd to illustrate the steadfast commitment of the three blessed to their faithful:
Fathers Ubaldo, Elia, and Martino understood that the voice of the Good Shepherd called them not away from danger, but to the side of their people (…) That is why they stayed. They freely gave up their own safety to share to the end the fate of the brothers entrusted to them.
In doing so, the three martyred priests bore powerful witness to what a good shepherd is. And in this, specified the Cardinal, “the beauty of their holiness is manifested.”
A spiritual heritage for the Church
Don Ubaldo Marchioni, a diocesan priest, Don Elia Comini, a Salesian, and Father Martino Capelli, a Dehonian religious, were killed in 1944 in the Monte Sole region during the massacres committed during World War II. Their beatification recognizes their martyrdom and inscribes their witness into the memory of the Church.
It was in this spirit that after the mass, during the thanksgiving, the Superior General, Father Carlos Luis Suárez, expressed his joy in seeing this beatification as an encouragement for all of us:
We want to see in this celebration an encouragement to continue in fidelity to our charism, to continue growing in service to the Church, and to the men and women who also need support. I think this is not just a destination, but a starting point to keep moving forward.
The Dehonian program for this beatification continues this September 28 with a pilgrimage to Monte Sole. This hill is the site where, in 1944, the three priests and more than 770 people tragically lost their lives.
