Bernardo Maria di Gesù, born as Cesare Silvestrelli, was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Passionists. He entered the novitiate for a brief period under a different religious name though ill health forced him to leave but did not hinder him from still training and living alongside the Passionists. He re-entered the order after his ordination and went on to hold several positions of leadership within his own order; he was even likened to Saint Paul of the Cross while Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius X held him in high esteem.