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Olinto Giuseppe Marella was born on June 14, 1882, on the island of Pellestrina, Venice, Italy, one of three children to Luigi Marella and Carolina de’Bei. His father died when Olinto was 10, and his brother Ugo died in 1902.
Olinto’s uncle, Archbishop Giuseppe Marella, made sure he had a solid education growing up.
When he was old enough, Olinto studied in Rome for the priesthood. One of his classmates, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, would one day become Pope John XXIII, father of the Second Vatican Council and a lifelong friend.
Olinto was ordained on December 17, 1904, and assigned to teach in seminaries in the Diocese of Chioggia. There, in addition to theology, he taught philosophy and humanities.
Unfortunately, however, in 1909 the Church suspended his pastoral work when he invited an excommunicated priest, Romolo Murri, into his home. Father Olinto accepted the suspension with humility and obedience. Fortunately, in 1925 Cardinal Giovanni Nasalli Rocca di Corneliano “rehabilitated” him.
In his priesthood, Father Olinto worked with the poor and homeless in Bologna and raised funds for shelters and chapels. He was especially fond of Pope Leo XXIII’s Rerum Novarum, a milestone document champion the nobility of work and workers and workers’ rights to be treated with dignity and respect. This document was one of the most important documents that would lead to many more social justice proclamations by the Church.
But what Father Olinto was most famous for was being a genuine streetcorner preacher. He loved to sit on a stool on the sidewalk of a city street and preach to anyone who came to listen to him. Many of the priests did not like streetcorner preaching by a Catholic priest, for they found it to be “too evangelical.” Father Olinto, however, did not let the naysayers dampen his missionary spirit. After all, he had the support of Pope St. John XXIII who considered Father Olinto be a “dear friend.”
In addition to knowing Saint John XXIII, Father Olinto also knew Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, Blessed Maria Bolognesi, and the brother of St. Gianna, Venerable Alberto Beretta.
Father Olinto died on September 6, 1969, at the age of 87 in San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, Italy and beatified on October 4, 2020, in Bologna. Blessed Olinto’s feast day is September 6.
