Jerome Emiliani, a nobleman of Venice, born in 1486, after an adventurous youth, decided in 1531 to abandon everything, though remaining a layman, dedicated himself to a very particular mission: sharing his life with the poor and constituting communities with orphans.
His spiritual experience matured in the context of the catholic reformation through the movement of Divine Love (Divino Amore), and with the great personalities of the catholic reformation like Gaetano da Thiene (Founder of the Teatine Fathers), cardinal Gian Pietro Carafa (later, Pope Paul IV)
As a member of the Divine Love movement, Jerome became an able organizer of the works of charity in Venice (The Hospital of the Incurables of Venice, the barn of the orphans at San Rocco). His fame in this camp took him to all the cities of Lombard and the republic of Venice where almost all the bishops were inviting him to organize the works of charity in their dioceses.
In the fellowship of Jerome was a great crowd of collaborators, among them, a good number decided to share his life-style to the fullest. This is how the Company of the Servants of the Poor, now called Somascan Fathers came into being.
Jerome died at Somasca (Lecco) on February 8, 1537 from the pest with which he was infected by the many sick people he was taking care of, and the abandoned corpses he was collecting from the valley of St. Martin and burring…it was a very terrible epidemic! This was his supreme act of love, capable of giving life as Christ Jesus commanded.