Bl. Gerard Sasso

Gerard founded the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, the order later known as the Knights of Malta. Before the Crusades, Italians already ran a hospital for pilgrims in Jerusalem, and Gerard ran it. The Catholic Encyclopedia says his birthplace and family name have never been established. With gifts from grateful crusaders he gave the hospital land and income, and in 1113 Pope Paschal II addressed him as its founder and head. He died around 1120. His epitaph called him "servant of the poor, kind to strangers". The cited source gives only these basic facts.

The title Blessed for Gerard comes from long-standing veneration in the Order of Malta, which he founded. We have not found a papal decree confirming his cult.

Beatification allows public veneration, usually in a particular region or religious family. Canonization extends it to the whole Church.