Saint Domenico Lentini was born on 20 November 1770 in Lauria. He was an Italian Roman Catholic priest.
In 1785 he felt a call to become a priest and he commenced his ecclesial studies alongside Giuseppe Ielpo who entered just a few months prior to him. Giuseppe would later become Lentini’s confessor.
Lentini was ordained as a priest in 1794 and served as a life-long parish priest in his hometown of Potenza where he dedicated himself to promoting Eucharistic devotion and to working alongside the poor of his area. But he also fostered a deep dedication to education and evangelization and often taught parishioners catechism and literature while also making himself available to hear the confessions of penitents.
He turned his home into a school where he taught theological studies and catechism to parishioners as well as other subjects such as literature. He taught such subjects to people with no need for compensation. Lentini often subjected himself to penitential practices and he sometimes deprived himself of nourishment in the spirit of living in total and constant penance with the corporal mortification of the flesh and sleeping of the floor.
In February 1828 he was before the Eucharist when he suffered a sudden and severe pain that forced him to his bed.He died on 25 February 1828 in his home in the evening around 8:30pm with a reputation for saintliness. He died with a crucifix in hand and a lighted candle at his side
