Luigi Sturzo was an important Italian intellectual who contributed actively to Italian politics. He was born in Caltagirone on 26 November 1871 and took his vows in the monastery of Acireale in 1883.
Five years later Sturzo returned to Caltagirone.
In 1894 he moved to Rome where he graduated in Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
The following years involved strong interest in politics and activities to protect the vulnerable; he founded the Catholic movement, criticised local authorities and in 1905 was elected mayor of Caltagirone and remained in office until 1915.
After the First World War, in 1919 he founded the Italian Popular Party, which then became the Democrazia Cristiana (Christian Democrats) in 1945. He declared his opposition to the fascist regime which led him to be expatriated until 1946.
The second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi, appointed him senator for life. Don Luigi Sturzo died in Rome on 23 July 1959.
