Zeno Saltini

Zeno Saltini was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Nomadelfia movement. He also had set up a war orphans refuge at the old Fossoli di Carpi concentration camp in the Emilia-Romagna region but this was closed in 1952 after ecclesial authorities ordered his departure and the camp's closure. The movement moved to Grosseto after a countess donated land to them to use and Saltini's communal group flourished and grew in numbers despite the Church's severe reservations regarding Saltini's work. This friction led in 1953 to him leaving the priesthood though he was later restored in 1962. Future outlooks on Nomadelfia mellowed over time and even earned papal support from Pope John Paul II towards the end of Saltini's life.