Blessed Luigi Variara (15 January 1875 - 1 February 1923) was a Salesian priest and missionary, best known for his work with lepers in Colombia. We celebrate his memorial on January 15th.

Luigi studied at a Salesian oratory in Turin, and as a boy, had met and been deeply impressed by our founder. He joined the Salesian novitiate in 1891 and made his perpetual profession in the presence of Don Bosco's successor, Bl Michael Rua. Luigi became a Salesian missionary in 1894, tending to the members of leper colonies in Colombia. He was ordained priest there in 1898.

Read more about his life