Artemide Zatti (1880-1951)

Born in Italy, Aretemide Zatti is revered in his adopted homeland of Argentina . . .

Artemide Zatti

Feast Day: March 15
Beatified: April 14, 2002

Artemide Zatti was born into a Northern Italian farming family. When he was 17, his poverty-stricken family emigrated to Argentina. His family attended a parish run by Salesians priests. He soon felt a call to the order and entered at 19 years old.

The day he was to receive his clerical habit as a brother, he contracted tuberculosis from a priest he had been caring for. He recovered, promising to dedicate his life to caring for the sick. He began working at a pharmacy attached to a hospital for the poor. Zatti made it his profession in 1908, serving as its director for 40 years. He was the driving force behind building a new hospital in 1913. Despite the demands of the sick and the needs of the hospital, Zatti was known for his “Salesian joy,” a sign of his holiness for those around him.

In 1950, he fell off a ladder and was confined to bed. The holy brother who modeled his life on St. John Bosco soon died of cancer of the liver. Zatti lived what St. John Bosco said to the first Salesians leaving for America: “Take special care of the sick, the children, the elderly, the poor, and you will receive God’s blessing and the respect of those around you.”