The Saint Gabriel Possenti Society is an organization promoting the public recognition of St. Gabriel Possenti

Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was an Italian Passionist clerical student. Born to a professional family, he gave up hopes of a secular career to enter the Passionist Congregation...

, including his designation by The Vatican

Vatican City

Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...

 as the Patron Saint

Patron saint

A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

 of Handgunners

Pistol

When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

.

St. Gabriel Possenti was a Catholic

Roman Catholicism in Italy

The Italian Catholic Church is part of the global Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, curia in Rome, and the Conference of Italian Bishops. In addition to Italy, two other sovereign nations are included in Italian-based dioceses, San Marino and Vatican City...

 seminarian

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 whose marksmanship and proficiency with handguns allegedly saved the village of Isola, Italy

Isola del Gran Sasso

Isola del Gran Sasso d’Italia is a town and comune in Teramo province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.-External links:*...

 from a band of 20 marauding bandits in 1860. However, the historical accuracy of this has been questioned.

The Society was founded in 1989 by John Snyder, a Catholic

Roman Catholicism in the United States

The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, the Christian Church in full communion with the Pope. With more than 68.5 registered million members, it is the largest single religious denomination in the United States, comprising about 22 percent of the population...

 layman and gun lobbyist

Gun politics

Gun politics addresses safety issues and ideologies related to firearms through criminal and noncriminal use. Gun politics deals with rules, regulations, and restrictions on the use, ownership, and distribution of firearms.-National sovereignty:...

, to broaden public support for self-defense

Self-defense

Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...

through gun ownership and to promote the "historical, philosophical and theological bases for the doctrine of legitimate self-defense."