Br. Miguel (Michelangelo Serafini da Cingoli)

Father Egidio Picucci in his biography of Br. Miguel da Cingoli (Fr. Michelangelo Serafini, Magnificent Gift of God; 2020) wrote that “The saints show us that there is a life to be lost in order to find it, that one must not love oneself in order to love, let the shell of the self be cracked in order to open oneself to a flowery and fruitful existence. To narrate the life of a man like Br. Michelangelo da Cingoli, who lived the Gospel to the fullest, to the point of being acclaimed a saint by the voice of the people of Aracaju, is to contemplate the slow process of transformation from seed to fruit, the dynamism that through the vicissitudes of existence and the inner ferment of the soul leads a life from sterile withdrawal to fruitful self-giving. Dying is not easy; to do so takes all the courage to live.”

On November 26, 2024, in the presence of the Archbishop of Aracaju, Dom Josafá Menezes, and with a large gathering of the faithful, the opening session of the diocesan inquiry for the beatification and canonization of Br. Michelangelo da Cingoli (Cesare Serafini) took place at the Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus. He was known simply as Brother Miguel by everyone, and he had died not long before, on January 9, 2013.

Br. Miguel was born on October 30, 1908, in the small Italian hamlet of Villa Torre, municipality of Cingoli, province of Macerata. He was baptized on the same day he was born with the name Cesare. On October 13, 1916, he entered the Capuchin Seminary of Corinaldo of the Province of Marche. On September 17, 1925, he began his novitiate in Camerino and made his first profession on October 4, 1926. On November 1, 1929, he made solemn profession in Civitanova while on July 29, 1934, he received the sacrament of Holy Orders in Ascoli Piceno.

On October 28, 1935, Br. Miguel arrived in Rio de Janeiro and then reached the State of Bahia, where he engaged in evangelization. From Esplanada he would then move on to Jaguaquara and Vitória da Conquista.

In June 1961, Br. Miguel arrived in Aracaju where he remained until the end of his life, continuing his ministry of evangelization and building new churches. His day was characterized by celebrating Mass at six o'clock in the morning, followed by his works of charity and visiting the poor, the sick and those in need of consolation and help. His walking around the city, always on foot, became an icon itself of his person.

In the afternoons and into the evenings, he would remain in the Capuchin church, ready to hear confessions. Monsignor Carvalho, later director of the archdiocesan college of Aracaju, had chosen him as his confessor, comparing him to the Curé d'Ars.

His frugality was legendary as well as his mortifications, always balanced and never ostentatious, making him today a true model of dedication to Jesus Christ and service to the Gospel.

On January 9, 2013 at the age of 104, died the “Saint of Aracaju” as the common folks referred to him – those same common folks who had seen, loved and recognized him as a man of God.