Today, March 16, is the commemoration of Blessed John de Sordis.
John was born in Cremona, Italy in 1125. His parents Evangelista and Berta were from the nobility. His father died early, and so his mother married nobleman Adam Cacciafronte. Adam was a very loving stepfather and treated him like his own son, giving him the best education possible.
When he turned 16, John became a monk in the Benedictine Abbey of San Lorenzo in Cremona. The young monk quickly gained the admiration of many for his extraordinary virtues. During his monastic life, he became prior and abbot.
He witnessed the persecution of Christians during the reign of Emperor Federico Barbarossa, who supported the antipope Vittore IV. John condemned this and sided with the real pope, Alexander III.
He became bishop of Mantua in 1174. Other accounts claim he was an apostolic administrator. Upon his resignation from office, he embraced the life of a hermit.
In 1183, John was murdered by a feudal lord who embezzled church funds and whom John rebuked. He was beatified in 1824 by Pope Leo XII.