Saint. Saint Gabriel of Sorrowful Virgin, (Francesco Possenti) is one of the world's most popular saints. His sanctuary, which nestles at the base of the Gran Sasso, is visited every year by close to two million pilgrims. The son of Sante Possenti and Agnese Frisciotti. After his mother died in 1842, his family trasferred to Spoleto (Perugia), where he lived till he was 18 years hold. While everything apparead to be going well Francesco was unsettled since he had promised to become a priest on numerous occasions but had done nothing about it. On August 22nd 1856, during the procession of the Holy Icon of Spoleto, Our Lady spoke to his heart and invited him for the last time: "You are not made for the world; what are you doing in the world? Hurry, become a religious". On September 10th 1856 he entered the Passionist Noviciate at Morrovalle (Macerata), Marche, taking the religious name of Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin. The last two and a half years of his life spent in the small monastery of Isola del Gran Sasso, (Teramo), Abruzzo. It was here that he died from tuberculosis on the 27th February 1862 at the rising of the sun. His life was a simple one, with no notable achievements other than that of a wholehearted commitment in his every day religious life and in his commitment to Jesus Crucified and to Our Lady. His spiritual director described the secret of his sanctity in this way: "What that young man did he did with love". His fame began in 1892 when his mortal remains were exhumed and the first of the verified miracles were performed. He was declared Blessed in 1908 by Pope Pius X and proclaimed a Saint by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. In 1926 he was declared one of the patrons of catholic youth in Italy and then Pope John XXIII declared him patron of the Abruzzo region in 1959.