The Venerable Servant of God Lodovico Coccapani was born on 23 June 1849 in Calcinaia (Pisa, Italy). After the premature death of his parents, he and his sisters moved to Pisa.
He then received the post of second-grade male primary school teacher, which he left due to voluntary resignation in 1869, when crucifixes were removed from classrooms. In 1872, he was appointed teacher at the Technical School to teach calligraphy and computation. After leaving teaching for good, from 1878 to 1882, he was chamber tax collector at the Pisa Chamber of Commerce.
Once this work was also finished, he devoted himself to works of charity and the apostolate, living off the income of his brother, priest Lionello, and the income from some family possessions.
In 1894, he joined the Conference of St Vincent de Paul and, in 1895, that of St Euphrasia, of which he was President from 1907 until his death.
His life was dedicated to social and charitable initiatives. He supported the work of the missions founded by the Catholic newspaper ‘Per il Bene’ (For the Good); he collaborated in catechesis in the parish of Sant’Andrea; he contributed to the civil-religious assistance committee for war orphans; he lent a hand to the work for the protection of young girls, founded by the consort of Blessed Giuseppe Toniolo, Maria Schiratti Toniolo; he dedicated himself to the work for the redemption of prisoners, which earned him the bronze medal of merit for social redemption from King Victor Emmanuel III.
On 8 December 1907, he joined the Franciscan Third Order in the church of Saint Francis in Pisa and made his profession a year later.
From 1916 to 1917, he was a member and treasurer of the Popular Union of Catholics. In 1918, he received the title of Knight of the Pontifical Order of Saint Gregory the Great civil class.
In 1931, he was elected president of the Deputation of St Ubaldesca, the patron saint of Calcinaia.
Suffering from a severe form of bronchopneumonia, he died in Calcinaia (Italy) on 14 November 1931.
He was a prudent, affable and jovial man. He had a deep relationship with God, nourished by prayer and translated into significant works of charity. He devoted himself with zeal especially to the sick and prisoners. He was able to empathise with the suffering people. Humility and hiddenness were his characteristic traits. A properly Franciscan spirituality drove him towards total spoliation for the sake of his neighbour.
His ecclesial experience, which was expressed in his focus on evangelisation, sacramental life and catechesis, was realised by him in the work of popular missions, catechetical formation and the transmission of the joy of prayer. Animated by a simple and prophetic charity, he manifested his affectionate care for the poor, prisoners and war orphans, as well as in the search for means and structures to meet the material and spiritual needs of families and young people.
Feast date – 14 November
Sources: https://www.causesanti.va/it/venerabili/lodovico-coccapani.html