Hildebrand Gregori

Hildebrand Gregori, O.S.B. Silv., (8 May 1894 – 12 November 1985), was an Italian Benedictine monk, who served as the Abbot General of the Sylvestrine congregation of the Order. He was instrumental in the care of the many orphans left in the City of Rome after the destruction of World War II. The cause for his beatification has been accepted by the Holy See, due to which he is honored as Venerable.

Life He was born Alfredo Gregori in Poggio Cinolfo, part of the town of Carsoli in the Province of L'Aquila. At age twelve, Gregori joined the Sylvestrines, a branch of the Benedictines. He began his novitiate in 1909 taking the name of Ildebrando (Hildebrand). He was ordained a priest in 1922.

In 1939 he was elected Abbot General of the congregation, and as such was based at the monastery of Santo Stefano del Cacco in Rome, General Motherhouse of the Order. It was at Rome that he met Mother Maria Pierina De Micheli and developed a devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.

On 27 September 2000, the 50th anniversary of the religious congregation he had founded, Gregori was honored by an official letter from Pope John Paul II to Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini.

Gregori died at his monastery in November 1985.