Giovanni Antonio Farina

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Giovanni Antonio Farina (January 11, 1803 – March 4, 1888) was an Italian Catholic bishop known as the "Bishop of the Poor" for his care of the needy and his work in education. Born in Gambellara, Veneto, he was ordained a priest in 1827 and spent many years teaching at the Vicenza seminary. He started the first school for poor girls in Vicenza in 1831 and, in 1836, founded the Institute of the Sisters Teachers of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Hearts, to educate girls and help the sick and elderly.

Farina became Bishop of Treviso in 1850, was consecrated as a bishop in 1851, and installed that year. In 1858 he ordained Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, the future Pope Pius X. In 1860 he was appointed Bishop of Vicenza, serving there until his death in 1888, and he took part in the First Vatican Council, supporting the definition of papal infallibility.

His cause for sainthood began in 1990. He was declared Venerable in 2001, beatified in 2001 by Pope John Paul II, and canonized in 2014 by Pope Francis. His feast day is March 4. He is the patron saint of his religious order, of Gambellara, and of the dioceses where he served.