Our Church has always been filled with numerous examples of holiness, not only in the Roman-Latin ritual family, but as well as in other Rites of the Catholic Church. Recently, there has been a sparked interest in the saints of the Eastern Rites, and it is fitting today to remember St. Rafqa, who is a Maronite nun, and is second in fame to another Maronite, St. Charbel in Lebanon. Our ministry is blessed to have relics of the clothing “ex indumentis” of both Sts. Rafqa and Charbel. "O Christ, I unite my sufferings to yours, my pains with your pains, as I look at your head crowned with thorns." St Rafqa Al-Rayes Rafqa was born in Lebanon on 29 June 1832, on the feast of Saint Peter and Paul. She was named Boutrossieh (the feminine name of Peter). Her mother died when she was 7 years old, and her father struggled financially. He sent Boutrossieh away to work as a servant for 4 years in Damascus. When she returned home she found her father had remarried. At 14, her stepmother and her aunty were arranging for her to marry, but she did not want to marry. She wished to become a nun and went straight to the Convent of Our Lady of Liberation at Bikfaya. Her father and stepmother tried to persuade her to come back home, but she refused and asked the mistress of novices to excuse her from seeing them and she agreed. They returned home and never saw her again. On 9 February 1855, on the feast of Saint Maroun, Boutrossieh commenced her novitiate (the period of training and preparing someone for the religious institute) at the convent in Ghazir. She took her temporary vows on 19 March 1862. She was assigned to be in charge of the kitchen service in the Jesuit school in Ghazir, where she spent seven years. In 1860, some Jesuit priests invited Boutrossieh and another nun to assist them in their mission in Deir El Kamar. It was a time of civil unrest. One day while walking the streets, she noticed a little Maronite boy being chased by soldiers, wanting to kill him. Boutrossieh hid him under her religious robe. Civil unrest made it dangerous to remain and forced Boutrossieh back to Ghazir. She established a school at the request of Antoun Issa, he wanted her to come to his town to educate the girls. This school grew to have up to 60 girls, and Boutrossieh stayed there for 7 years, fulfilling this mission. After the Marian Order where Boutrossieh belonged was dissolved, she entered the convent of Saint Simon in Ayto. In 1872 she took her perpetual vows of obedience, chastity and poverty and took the name Rafqa after her mother. She was an example to her fellow sisters, always in prayer and silent in hard work. The sisters worked manual labour, harvesting vegetables and grain, they also cultivated silkworms and sewed vestments for the churches. After 14 years at this convent Rafqa felt that she was called to bigger sacrifices. She asked to be closer to God and to share in Jesus’ passion. God answered her prayers immediately. That night she felt a terrible headache which quickly spread to her eyes. She suffered this way silently for 12 years, and it caused her to lose her sight. Her superior sent her to be examined by many doctors, all which concluded they could not do anything to help her. An American physician was consulted and he decided that surgery was necessary for Rafqa. Rafqa refused aesthetic, and offered up the pain. During the surgery the doctor accidently pulled her whole eye out. Rafqa didn’t complain, instead she continued to pray, repeating “I join my sufferings to yours, my Jesus.” Rafqa even thanked the doctor after his mistake. The pain was in her left eye, and surgery did not help, gradually she became blind and her eyes continued to haemorrhage. She did not let this suffering isolate her from the other sisters. Rafqa continued to work, spinning wool and cotton and knitting stockings for the other sisters and participating in prayer. One day Rafqa commented to the Mother Superior of great pain in her waist. Her body was weakening and she was eventually bedridden, although she was still able to use her hands and she thanked God for this as she used her hands to work. Rafqa died on 23 March 1914, and was buried in the convent’s cemetery under the oak trees. She was canonized on 10 June 2001 by Pope John Paul II. We remember a remarkable woman, who lived a humble life. Although she suffered, she never complained and continued to give thanks for the opportunity to share in Christ’s passion. We ask for the intercession of Saint Rafqa for all those who are suffering, may the Lord comfort them. Like St Rafqa may we be able to join our suffering with Jesus’ suffering on the cross. (Taken from the “Living Maronite” website) Prayer to St. RafqaWe ask you, Saint Rafqa, to spread joy in our world and comfort those who are suffering. Teach us to pray with faith in Jesus Christ. Medicine was unable to cure you, so you healed the sick by enduring sorrow and sharing in the Mystery of Redemption of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
We ask you to intercede for our intentions (state them) and for all the sick, to fill our hearts with joy and love and to guide us to follow in your example. May we glorify with you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. This ministry is blessed to receive today the sacred relics of St. Teresa Eustochio Verzeri, virgin and foundress of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Bergamo. The relic consists of a small piece of her clothing “ex indumentis”. Teresa Verzeri was born in Bergamo (Italy) on July 31, 1801,the first of the seven children of Antonio Verzeri and the countess Elena Pedrocca-Grumelli. Her brother, Girolamo, became Bishop of Brescia. Her mother, doubtful of whether she should give herself to matrimony or embrace the monastic life, had listened to the prophetic word of her aunt, Madre Antonia Grumelli, a Franciscan Poor Clare Nun: "God has destined you for this state to become the mother of holy children." At a very tender age Teresa learned from her mother, a prominent woman, to know and ardently love God. She was led in her spiritual journey by the Canon Giuseppe Benaglio, the Vicar General of the Diocese of Bergamo, who already accompanied the family. Teresa completed her initial studies at home. Through grace, she travelled a road of detachment, of purity of intention, of simplicity and straightforwardness that brought her to seek "God alone." Interiorly Teresa lived the special mystic experience of the "absence of God," anticipating something of the religious life of today: the weight of human solitude before a restless sense of the distance of God. Nevertheless, in unshakeable faith, Teresa never lost her confidence and abandonment to the living God, provident and merciful Father, to whom she devoted herself in obedience. Her lonely cry, like that of Jesus, became the entrusting of her whole self through love. With the intention of pleasing God and doing only his will,her religious vocation matured at home and in the Benedictine Monastery of St. Grata. After a long and tormenting search, she left the Monastery to found the Congregation of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus together with the Canon Giuseppe Benaglio on February 8, 1831, in Bergamo. Teresa Verzeri lived during the first half of the 1800s, a time of great transformation in the history of Italy and the society of Bergamo, marked with political changes, revolutions, and persecutions that did not spare the Church, which was also wounded by Janenism and by the crisis of values, resulting from the French Revolution. At a time when the devotion to the Sacred Heart found resistance, she gave to the first Daughters of the Sacred Heart this testament that characterises the spiritual patrimony of their religious family: "To you and to your Institute Jesus Christ has given the precious gift of his Heart, for from no one else can you learn holiness, he being the inexhaustible source of true holiness" (Libro dei Doveri, vol. III,p. 484). Teresa saw very clearly the pressing needs of her times. Wherever charity called, she seized the situation, even the most dangerous and serious, with absolute availability, and with her first companions she dedicated herself to diverse apostolic services: "education of middle class troubled girls; homes for orphans who were at risk, abandoned and even led astray; public schools, christian doctrine, retreats, holiday recreations and assistance to the infirm" (Libro dei Doveri, vol. III, p. 368). In 1836 Canon Benaglio died and Teresa, supported by the obedience that guaranteed that the Congregation was willed by God, dedicated herself totally to its approbation, strengthening and expansion. In this she was affronted by many obstacles placed in the way by civil authorities, and also by ecclesiastics who put her virtue to the hard test. Teresa showed herself heroic in abandonment to the will of God that sustained her. After a life of intense giving, Teresa Verzeri died in Brescia on March 3,1852. She left to the Congregation, already approved by the Church and by the government, a vast documentation - above all in the Constitutions, the Book of Duties and in more than 3,500 letters - from which it is possible to draw all the richness of her spiritual and human experience. The precious spiritual patrimony transmitted to the Congregation finds its center in the Heart of Jesus from whom the Daughters of the Sacred Heart inherit the spirit of magnanimous charity that compels one to be "all to all " in an intimate relation with the Father and in loving solicitude for one's neighbor. The relics of Teresa Verzeri are venerated in the chapel of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Bergamo. She was beatified in 1946 by Ven. Pius XII, and was canonised in 2001 by Pope St. John Paul II. Prayer composed by St. Teresa to the Sacred Heart(Loosely translated and adapted by this Ministry)
Sacred Heart of Jesus,you know what is best for me. May everything in my being be according to Your holy will. Give me what you desire, At this moment; Grant what You see is fit for me. Sacred Heart of Jesus, In You, I am your child. I place myself fully at your disposition. Surround me with your strength. Sacred Heart of Jesus, draw me to You. May your love fill my heart. I want to live for you, for the mission that you have embraced, According to the desires of Your Heart. Sacred Heart of Jesus, teach me to live according to that which You desired for me. I want nothing more than to be like You. I want to do your will, To love everyone with Your love with those whom you love, without distinction. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I hide my heart in Yours and I will live in you and for you, for the good of humanity, to do what You desire. Amen. Today, we remember a holy woman who lived holiness in two dimensions, that is in marriage and in religious life. The story of St. Benedetta is very inspiring and challenging, especially for those in marriage and religious life. Our ministry is blessed to have a relic of her clothes “ex indumentis”. “When God wants something, He does not fail to find the appropriate means.” -Saint Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello Saint Benedetta Cambiagio Frasinello was born on 2 October 1791 in Langasco (Genoa) Italy; she died on 21 March 1858 in Ronco Scrivia in Liguria. She was wife, religious and foundress. She let the Holy Spirit guide her through married life to the work of education and religious consecration. She founded a school for the formation of young women and also a religious congregation, and did both with the generous collaboration of her husband. This is unique in the annals of Christian sanctity. Benedetta was a pioneer in her determination to give a high quality education to young women, for the formation of families for a "new Christian society" and for promoting the right of women to a complete education. Call to marriage, then to religious life From her parents Benedetta received a Christian formation that rooted in her the life of faith. Her family settled in Pavia when she was a girl. When she was 20 years old, Benedetta had a mystical experience that gave her a profound desire for a life of prayer and penance, and of consecration to God. However, in obedience to the wishes of her parents, in 1816, she married Giovanni Frassinello and lived married life for two years. In 1818, moved by the example of his saintly wife, Giovanni agreed that the two should live chastely, "as brother and sister" and take care of Benedetta's younger sister, Maria, who was dying from intestinal cancer. They began to live a supernatural parenthood quite unique in the history of the Church. Congregation founded by wife, who is supported by her husband Following Maria's death in 1825, Giovanni entered the Somaschi Fathers founded by St Jerome Emiliani, and Benedetta devoted herself completely to God in the Ursuline Congregation of Capriolo. A year later she was forced to leave because of ill health, and returned to Pavia where she was miraculously cured by St Jerome Emiliani. Once she regained her health, with the Bishop's approval, she dedicated herself to the education of young girls. Benedetta needed help in handling such a responsibility, but her own father refused to help her. Bishop Tosi of Pavia asked Giovanni to leave the Somaschi novitiate and help Benedettain her apostolic work. Together they made a vow of perfect chastity in the hands of the bishop, and then began their common work to promote the human and Christian formation of poor and abandoned girls of the city. Their educational work was of great benefit to Pavia. Benedetta became the first woman to be involved in this kind of work. The Austrian government recognized her as a "Promoter of Public Education". She was helped by young women volunteers to whom she gave a rule of life that later received ecclesiastical approval. Along with instruction, she joined formation in catechesis and in useful skills like cooking and sewing, aiming to transform her students into "models of Christian life" and so assure the formation of families. Benedictine Sisters of Providence Benedetta's work was considered pioneering for those days and was opposed by a few persons in power and by the misunderstanding of clerics. In 1838 she turned over the institution to the Bishop of Pavia. Together with Giovanni and five companions, she moved to Ronco Scrivia in the Genoa region. There they opened a school for girls that was a refinement on what they had done in Pavia. Eventually, Benedetta founded the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Providence. In her rule she stressed the education of young girls. She instilled the spirit of unlimited confidence and abandonment to Providence and of love of God through poverty and charity. The Congregation grew quickly since it performed a needed service. Benedetta was able to guide the development of the Congregation until her death. On 21 March 1858 she died in Ronco Scrivia. Her example is that of supernatural maternity plus courage and fidelity in discerning and living God's will. Today the Benedictine Nuns of Providence are present in Italy, Spain, Burundi, Ivory Coast, Peru and Brazil. They are at the service of young people, the poor, the sick and the elderly. The foundress also opened a house of the order in Voghera. Forty years after the death of Benedetta, the bishop separated this house from the rest of the Order. The name was changed to the Benedictines of Divine Providence who honour the memory of the Foundress. She was beatified by John Paul II on 10 May 1987, and was canonized on 19 May 2002 by the same Pope. (Official biography taken from the Vatican website) Prayer of St. John Paul II to St. BenedettaThroughout your life, O sweet Santa Benedetta,
you have endeavored to faithfully fulfill the will of God, by always looking at the crucified Christ, who is the example of perfect obedience to Heavenly Father. At the demanding school of the Cross, both in conjugal union and in religious life, you witnessed to the "Loving Providence of God", who provides for the needs of his children. Help us to be inspired by your spirituality and your example, to walk generously in the path you have traced and to be able to witness to the younger generations the beauty of a life entirely spent for the Lord and for our brothers. (Based from the discourse of St. John Paul II, 20 May 2002) As the Church begins her Lenten journey through the celebration of Ash Wednesday, we are gladdened by the new arrival of an "ex ossibus" relic of a Discalced Carmelite who embodies love for the Crucified Jesus, as well as an deep imitation and love for the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints: Blessed Giuseppina of Jesus Crucified. "There is only one thing necessary in life: to know God, our supreme Good, in order to be able to love Him with all one's heart. This knowledge of God makes our spirit disappear like a drop of water in the ocean or like a spark in a fire. There is only one thing necessary in life: to know God, our supreme Good, in order to be able to love Him with all one's heart. This knowledge of God makes our spirit disappear like a drop of water in the ocean or like a spark in a fire." (From the writings of the Blessed) Contemplate this infinite God, one in essence but three in Persons. Try to see in the Trinity the unique principle, the wisdom existing in infinite love, and in the Trinity see the activity of tiny creatures that live in God and love Him. Giuseppina Catanea (Sr Maria Giuseppina of Jesus Crucified) was born on 18 February 1894 in Naples, Italy, into a noble family, the Marquises Grimaldi. Called "Pinella" by her family, as a young child she showed great affection for the poor and most needy, giving money to them. She helped to care for two lonely old women. Pinella's mother and grandmother set a good Christian example for her. She was especially devoted to Our Lord in the Eucharist and to Mary, praying the Rosary often. At an early age, Pinella was convinced that Jesus was calling her to Carmel. Having completed commercial studies, and overcoming the opposition of her mother and family members, on 10 March 1918 Giuseppina entered the Carmelite Community at St Maria ai Ponti Rossi. As a young religious, she learned to love Christ through suffering, offering herself as a victim for the good of priests. She accepted great physical pain as God's will for her. Giuseppina was afflicted with tuberculosis of the spine, which completely paralysed her. She owes her miraculous cure to the intercession of St Francis Xavier, whose relic was brought to her cell and who appeared to her in a dream. Although she would have been glad to live in solitude, when the news of her miraculous recovery became known outside the Community, priests, seminarians and persons of every social class came to Ponti Rossi to receive counsel and consolation from her. In 1932, the Holy See officially recognized the house at Ponti Rossi as a convent of the Discalced Carmelites with the name, "the Carmel of Sts Teresa and Joseph at Ponti Rossi". Pope Pius XI approved the house as a Carmel of the Second Order, with Papal enclosure, placing it under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Naples. Giuseppina received the Carmelite habit and took the name Sr Maria Giuseppina of Jesus Crucified. On 6 August 1932, she made her Solemn Profession according to the Carmelite Rule. On the day she took the habit, she said that she wished to offer herself to the Crucified Jesus so that she could be crucified with Him. She suffered silently but joyfully and abandoned herself to the will of God, who favoured her with mystical experiences. In 1934, Cardinal Alessio Ascalesi, the Archbishop of Naples, appointed Sr Maria Giuseppina the Sub-prioress of the Carmel, while in 1945 she became the Vicar. That same year, on 29 September, the first General Chapter of the Ponti Rossi Carmel elected Sr Maria Giuseppina the Prioress, an office that she held until her death. Already in 1943 she had begun to suffer various physical maladies, including the progressive loss of her sight. She considered her illnesses to be "a magnificent gift" that allowed her to be better conformed to the Crucified Christ. With a cheerful spirit, she offered her body as a sacrifice for souls. She died in Naples on 14 March 1948. In obedience to her spiritual director, Sr Maria Giuseppina of Jesus Crucified wrote her Autobiography (1894-1932) and her Diary (1925-45), as well as many letters and exhortations for her Sisters. The beatification ceremony took place on 1 June (2008) in the Cathedral of Naples, Italy, at which the Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, presided. The Cardinal Archbishop read a message from Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, C.M.F., Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, for the event. Prayer composed by Bl. GiuseppinaO will of God, infinite love, take away my will in the flame of your love! I want to unite myself to you, my God who are my all. I want only to do whatever pleases you. I want my life to be a continuous adoration, a continuous hymn of love for you, O God who are One and Three.
Even if I were a seraphim of love, would I be worthy of the Lord? If I had consumed myself with sacrifices and penances for God and my life had been a holocaust, what would I have done for you, my God and my all? I desire to love God with the same ardour as His divine Spirit, with fervent unction of his love, to the point of living only for Him and becoming one with Him; one will, one desire and one spirit. Amen. On this day, the Church remembers the great Polish bishop St. Zygmunt Felinski, who always served his flock and stood for his faith in imitation of the Good Shepherd. Our ministry is blessed to have a relic of his body "ex corpore" encased in an ordinary medal. “Blessed are those who, will be found in their hour of trial with Mary under the cross” (St. Zygmunt, 1874) St Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski was born on 1 November 1822 to Gerard Felinski and Eva Wendorff, in Wojutyn, Volinia (present-day Ukraine), then Russian territory. He was the third of six children, of whom four survived. Felinski was raised with faith and trust in Divine Providence, love for the Church and for Polish culture. His father died when he was 11 and in 1838 the Russians exiled his mother to Siberia for "involvement in patriotic activity" that is, working for farmers' rights. Felinski studied mathematics at the University of Moscow (1840-44) and in 1847 went to the Sorbonne University and the Collège de France in Paris to study French literature. He was in touch with all the important Polish emigrants and took part in the unsuccessful Revolt of Poznan. In 1851 he returned to Poland. He entered the diocesan seminary at Zytomierz and studied at the Catholic Academy of St Petersburg. He was ordained a priest on 8 September 1855 and assigned to the Dominican Fathers' Parish of St Catherine of Siena in St Petersburg until 1857, when the Bishop appointed him spiritual director of the Ecclesiastical Academy and professor of philosophy. In 1856 he founded a charitable organization for the poor, and in 1857, the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary. On 6 January 1862, Pope Pius ix appointed Fr Felinski Archbishop of Warsaw and he was consecrated on 26 January 1862 in St Petersburg. He arrived in Warsaw on 9 February 1862. The Russians had brutally suppressed the Polish uprising in this city in 1861. On 13 February 1862, the new Archbishop reconsecrated the Cathedral of Warsaw, which had been desecrated by the Russian troops. Three days later he opened all the churches with the solemn celebration of the "Forty Hours" Devotion. Zygmunt Felinski was Archbishop of Warsaw in the turbulent period from 9 February 1862 to 14 June 1863. Unfortunately, he met with distrust on the part of some, even clergy, since the Russian Government had led people to believe that he was collaborating secretly with the Government. The Archbishop always showed clearly he was at the service of the Church alone and strove to eliminate government interference in the internal affairs of the Church. In reforming the diocese he regularly visited all the parishes and charitable organizations on order to address their needs better. He reformed the syllabus of the Ecclesiastical Academy of Warsaw and of the diocesan seminaries, giving a new impetus to the spiritual and intellectual development of the clergy. He took steps to obtain the release of priests in prison and he encouraged them to proclaim the Gospel publicly, to catechize their parishioners, to open parish schools and to educate a new generation that would be devout and honest. He also cared for the poor and opened an orphanage in Warsaw that he entrusted to the Sisters of the Family of Mary. Archbishop Felinski strove to prevent the nation from making rash moves and, as a protest against the Russians' bloody repression of the "January Uprising" in 1863, resigned from the Council of State and wrote to the Emperor Alexander ii, urging him to put an end to the violence. He likewise protested against the hanging of Fr Agrypin Konarski, a Capuchin and chaplain of the "rebels". His courageous actions soon led to his exile to Siberia. On 14 June 1863, he was deported to Jaroslavl, where he spent the next 20 years, deprived by the Tsar of all contact with Warsaw. Yet he managed to organize works of mercy for his fellow prisoners, especially the priests, and somehow succeeded in collecting enough funds to build a Catholic church. The people were impressed by his spirituality and nicknamed him the "holy Polish Bishop". Archbishop Felinski was released on 15 March 1883 and Leo XIII transferred him from the See of Warsaw to the titular See of Tarsus. For the last 12 years of his life he lived in semi-exile, serving as parish priest in south-eastern Galizia at Dzwiniaczka, among farmers of Polish and Ukrainian origin. As chaplain of the public chapel of the local manor, he undertook an intense pastoral work. He set up the first school and a kindergarten in the village at his own expense. He also built a church and convent for his Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, and found the time to prepare for publication the works he had written in exile. He died in Kraków on 17 September 1895 and was buried there on 20 September; the following month his mortal remains were translated to Dzwiniaczka, and in 1920, to Warsaw. Here, on 14 April 1921, they were solemnly interred in the crypt of St John's Cathedral where they are venerated today. John Paul II beatified him in Kraków, Poland, on 18 August 2002. Benedict XVI canonized him on 11 October 2009. (Official biography taken from the Vatican website) Prayer to St. ZygmuntToday, the Church remembers one of the great promoters of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of being a victim soul (one who offers their life as a reparation for their own sins and of others) especially for the clergy, Blessed Mary (Marie) of Jesus Deluil-Martiny. Our ministry is blessed to have a relic of her bones- "ex ossibus", which we reverently care for in our Custody. Marie Deluil-Martiny was born in Marseilles, France, on May 28, 1841, and was baptized the same day. The eldest of five children, she inherited from her father, a deeply Christian lawyer, the courage that allowed her to overcome the difficulties of life. From her mother she received an ardent faith combined with a great gentleness of heart. Nevertheless she had a proud and domineering temperament. When the time came for her first Communion, to ensure her proper preparation her parents sent her as a boarder to the Visitation Convent in Marseilles. One day during recreation, Marie all of a sudden stopped her playing and, taking a friend aside, said, «Imagine, Angelique, at this very moment the Blood of Jesus is flowing at the Altar for the world!» And for several moments she remained absorbed by this thought that had flashed across her mind. Marie made her first Communion on December 22, 1853, and received the sacrament of Confirmation on January 29, 1854 at the hands of Saint Eugene de Mazenod, the bishop of Marseilles. Around the age of 15, while still at school, she gathered together a group of students called the «Oblates of Mary,» that she thought of as a little religious order, complete with rule, novitiate, and profession. The group was discovered by the Superiors and dissolved. At the end of her studies, Marie made a retreat that was decisive for her vocation. «Jesus Christ is the only One to love,» she wrote in her journal. «At my death, I would like to have loved no one but Him. ... To live properly in the world, I must abhor sin and flee its occasions, hate the world and what is of the world ... Come and follow me, Jesus said. O God, how beautiful these words are! ... It is mine if I want it!» It was around this time that she had the grace of meeting the Curé d'Ars, Saint John-Marie Vianney, and of speaking to him about her vocation. She felt very clearly that Jesus was calling her to be entirely His, and so refused several proposals of marriage. The first Saturday of September, 1867, Marie was in prayer in a church when Jesus spoke to her: «I am not known, I am not loved... I wish to make souls for Myself who understand Me... I am a torrent that wants to overflow and whose waters can no longer be held back!... I wish to make Myself cups so as to fill them with the waters of My love... I am thirsty for hearts who appreciate Me and who enable Me to fulfill the goal for which I am here! I am insulted, I am desecrated. Before the end of time, I want to be compensated for all the insults I have received... I want to distribute all the graces that have been refused...!» Marie was deeply saddened by the world's refusal of Jesus. She wrote, «The world no longer wants Him. Today, some blush at Him, while others hate Him and scorn Him. They try to chase Him from hearts and from society. To these dishonors, scorn, and satanic profanities, let us answer loud and clear: He must reign!» On December 8, 1867, Marie made, with the permission of Father Calage, the vow of virginity. In September 1868, in front of a statue of the Virgin of La Salette in tears, she received this inspiration: «The Blessed Virgin wants victims who, in union with her pierced Heart and with Jesus sacrificed, interpose themselves between the crimes of men and the Justice of God...» The following month, she made this beautiful prayer: «O Jesus, receive me from the hands of the Most Blessed Virgin and offer me with You, sacrifice me with You... I offer myself for this sacrifice as much as You wish and my weakness allows... I will consider all the crosses, all the sufferings that Your Providence sends me as proofs that You have accepted my humble offering.» At the start of 1869, Marie put into writing a complete summary of her future work: «Just as Mary on Calvary, united to the Eternal Priest, offered her Divine Son, and then renewed this offering through the hands of Saint John, the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus, united with all the priests in the world, will offer the Eucharistic Jesus sacrificed on every altar. They will especially offer the Blood and Water that came forth from the divine wound of the Sacred Heart. They will be the adorers of the Eucharist solemnly exposed in the chapels of their convents, and will dedicate themselves to surrounding Him with the most profound signs of respect and love. This will be their life, their reason for being...» It took time for God's plans for Marie to unfold fully. Finally, the moment came for them to be realized. But the political situation made a foundation in France impossible. Therefore, with the help of a Belgian prelate, Monsignor Van den Berghe, she founded the Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus in Berchem-lez-Anvers, Belgium, on June 20, 1873. Taking the name Mother Marie of Jesus, she took the veil and a white habit on which were embroidered two red hearts surrounded by thorns. In the spirit of Our Lord's message to Saint Margaret Mary, the goals of the new institute were the following: to make reparation for the sins committed against the Heart of Jesus, to offer Him a continual thanksgiving for all the graces He continues to lavish on the world, and to offer to the Most Holy Trinity the precious Blood of Jesus Christ so that His reign might come in the world. The best way to realize these aims would be the cloistered life, centered on the divine office and adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Every day, the nuns of the new institute would recite the seven last words of Jesus on the Cross, words of Redemption and a source of holiness for souls. To compensate for man's ingratitude for divine graces, they would recite the Magnificat several times a day. Wanting to open the doors of religious life to those whose health could not endure the austerities of older orders, Mother Marie of Jesus placed less emphasis on bodily penances than on interior mortification and renunciation through obedience. She preferred the mortifications that appear on their own: «The sufferings caused by heat or cold,» she wrote, «are good windfalls for a mortified soul. To say nothing on these occasions is a precious mortification, because no one sees or notices it; everything is for Jesus alone.» Our Lady had told her: «For the future institute, the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the celestial offering of the Divine Victim sacrificed on the Altar, will compensate most excellently for the corporal mortifications that some constitutions can no longer bear.» The constitutions of the new institute were approved in 1876 and, on August 22, 1878, the foundress and the first four Religious made their perpetual vows. Mother Marie of Jesus still had a desire to plant the institute in her native land. In June 1879, a foundation was established at «La Servianne,» the property she had inherited from her parents, close to Marseilles. From then on, Mother Marie of Jesus' life was divided between the administration of her convents and a voluminous correspondence. Her natural kindness was enriched with a mother's tenderness; her solicitude watched over every detail of her Daughters' lives. If one of them was sick, she would spend entire nights by her bedside, caring for her with her own hands, suggesting pious thoughts to her. She wrote to one of her Daughters: «Isn't it ridiculous for us to spend our time thinking about ourselves, admiring ourselves, or complaining, getting upset over our little troubles which seem so big to us, limiting ourselves by groaning over our misfortunes, when the great plans of God and the salvation of souls are calling us, when we have a God to love and serve, and souls to help and save? We are like a man who, in the middle of a terrible fire that is burning down his house, and that is going to kill his mother, his father, his children, instead of hurrying to put it out, is in a corner wailing that his clothes got soiled from carrying buckets of water, and is busy picking off, with lamentations, each bit of ash that got on his clothes. Oh! That is what we do when, in the midst of this unhappy world that is trying to burn down the Church and that insults Jesus Christ Our Lord, we spend our time complaining about our ills or our own trials, etc. We shrink in on ourselves when we could expand in embracing God, and become saints by serving His cause through our renunciations and sacrifices. A good flap of the wings and, with the aid of grace, let us rise up, let us leave the earth—above all, leave ourselves—and no longer see anything but Jesus!» In November 1883, Mother Marie of Jesus hired an assistant gardener, twenty-one year old Louis Chave, to pull him out of poverty. But soon, he showed himself to be lazy, rude, and demanding, and moreover, was involved with the anarchists. On February 27, 1884, Ash Wednesday, he waited in ambush on the grounds of La Servianne, in a spot the Religious passed during their recreation. He sprang out and, as the Superior spoke a kind word to him, grabbed her head and shot her twice at point-blank range with a revolver. Wounded in the carotid artery, Mother Marie of Jesus collapsed, murmuring, «I forgive him... for the Institute!» She died shortly thereafter. Buried in the family vault, then transferred to Berchem in 1899, her body was exhumed on March 4, 1989 for her beatification. It was found intact and flexible. Today, the Congregation of the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus has convents in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and a foundation in Croatia. After the foundress' death, the influence of her community led to the establishment of «the Association of Victim Souls,» which has had thousands of members, including Saints Pius X and Maximilian Kolbe, and Blesseds Charles de Foucauld, Columba Marmion, Edouard Poppe and Marie-Joseph Cassant. During the beatification of Marie Deluil-Martiny, on October 22, 1989, Pope John Paul II summarized her spiritual journey in these words: «At a very early age, she was moved by the world's offenses against Jesus' love and Society's all too frequent refusal of God. At the same time, she discovered the greatness of the gift Jesus gave the Father to save mankind, the abundance of love that radiates from His Heart, the fruitfulness of the blood and water that flow from His open side. She was convinced that she must participate in the redemptive suffering of the Crucified in a spirit of reparation for the sins of the world.» (Biography copied with permission from the Abbey of St. Joseph de Clairval, France) Prayer of Blessed Mary of Jesus"Allow me, my sweet Master,
to give myself to you and your adorable heart by your own hands. Receive and accept thus this gift of mine, the total and unconditional surrender that your Grace makes me offer You with all of myself: my heart, my soul, my mind, my will, my freedom, my thoughts my affections ... everything that interests me, belongs to me or is dear to me, for the present and the future, for time and eternity. Make me and all that you want. Use me, render me useless to a corner, console me, pardon me, I have nothing else to see, nothing to desire or prefer, but You. Here I am thrown today like a small drop of water in the ocean of love of the Sufferings of your Heart, O Jesus, to be rolled and carried by Your sacred waves according to the order of Your will, forever . In exchange for the acts of humility that I offer you, give me the grace to never take my offering back: to love you without reservation and without ceasing and to perfectly fulfill your holy will. " Just today, we are blessed to receive a precious relic of St. Jeanne-Emille (Marie) de Villeneuve, virgin and foundress of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Castres. The relic is a piece of her clothing which was found in her tomb (ex indumentis sepulchralibus). Binta was a teenage African Muslim girl living in Guinea. One day in 1994, she swallowed some caustic soda. Rushed to Barcelona, Spain, she was saved by an operation, and then sent to stay in a home run by the «Blue Sisters». But soon, doctors discovered that she had an enormous ulcer, peritonitis, and hemorrhaging of the stomach. In spite of another long operation, the prognosis was clear: «There is nothing more we can do.» The death certificate was even prepared. The Blue Sisters began a novena to their foundress, Emilie de Villeneuve, and placed a picture and relic of Emilie in the girl's hand. Suddenly, Binta opened her eyes and, without any possible medical explanation, quickly recovered. After twenty-three days of unconsciousness, she got up by herself and returned to the Sisters' residence, completely healed. This miracle made possible the beatification on July 5, 2009 of Emilie de Villeneuve in Castres, in the south of France. Emilie de Villeneuve was born in Toulouse, France, on March 9, 1811, into one of the oldest aristocratic families of the region. Two other girls, Léontine and Octavie, had preceded her. Every summer, the family went to their chateau in Hauterive, near Castres, and, after the birth of a son, Ludovic, in 1815, the family moved there. Madame de Villeneuve educated and raised her children herself in spite of her poor health, which had been ruined at an early age by the hardships of the Revolution. Her husband was completely occupied in the cultivation of their land, which he strode every inch of, directing the farm work. Discipline was strict at the chateau: no fires in the bedrooms, silence at table, and in the salon, the children were relegated to the far end of the room and forbidden to make noise. On the other hand, outdoors they were given complete freedom. The mother's authority, firm yet flexible, relied principally on trust, since she had taught the Christian principles of good and righteous conduct. Having reached the age of twenty-three, Emilie confided to Coralie: «I will not marry... but what torments me is a vocation to which I feel an irresistible attraction, but Father Leblanc does not yet want to give his decision on it... I feel the desire to devote myself to the poor in the admirable community of the Daughters of Charity.» When, finally, Father Leblanc did approve her plan, her joy was immense. But Monsieur de Villeneuve, along with his family, asked her to wait four years. Father Leblanc advised his spiritual directee to accept this delay. So she continued with her activities and assisted her parish priest so well that her friends called her «the Assistant Priest». One day, a letter arrived from a Monsieur de Barre, a fervent Christian who prayed in churches for long periods at a time and spent the rest of his time alleviating the sufferings of the poor. He had received an inspiration during Mass—Emilie should establish a house in Castres run by nuns, to raise children whose parents were unable to care for them themselves. After several months of discernment and prayer, Father Leblanc concluded that the work was the will of God. Monsieur de Villeneuve, reassured by the thought that his daughter would not be too far away from him, gave his consent, and the Archbishop of Albi likewise approved. She named the Society she founded the «Congregation of the Immaculate Conception»; the Sisters' habit would be blue. Along with two companions, she went to the Visitation convent in Toulouse for a month of novitiate. On December 8, 1836, the three sisters took the habit and temporary religious vows, and moved into their house in Castres, in the presence of the archbishop. Emilie took the name «Sister Marie». The first Rules defined the purpose of the new Congregation—the education of abandoned children, service to the poor and prisoners, and teaching and providing vocational training to young women. On March 19, 1837, a sewing room was opened for thirty students, but soon the city's seamstresses complained of unfair competition. The populace, which had been very favorable toward the Sisters when they first settled into their house, turned bitterly against Sister Marie, with malicious remarks, and even slander. Even the clergy allowed themselves to be swayed, but Father Leblanc urged the Sisters to forge ahead. During the year 1840, serious difficulties emerged in the community—some bad examples led others to become slack in observation of the Rules. Rather than being harsh with anyone, Mother Marie de Villeneuve prayed. The still-imperfect organization did not allow the religious formation she gave to bear all its fruits. She decided to separate the novices from the professed religious, and began drafting the Constitutions that would ultimately be approved by the Archbishop of Albi at the end of 1841. The Superior General was to be elected for three years, but the Sisters obtained the archbishop's permission to appoint their foundress Superior for life. Mother Marie's behavior with them was full of delicacy and discreet vigilance. She very quickly spotted their doubts, their problems, and their sorrows, and immediately found the right word to restore them to peace. She took the greatest care to observe the community rule in the least detail, and wanted to be able, from time to time, to sweep her cell or do the dishes. In April 1841, Mother acquired a piece of land on which to have the Congregation's motherhouse built. But the flame of divine love that burned in her heart urged her to faraway missions. «The desire to make Jesus Christ loved and to serve Him in His members will not be limited to the borders of France. The Congregation still has the goal to devote itself to the beautiful work of foreign missions, particularly to the Blacks, and to the most scorned and abandoned in general. Wherever the voice of the poor or the orphan calls, there they will go without hesitation.» Mother de Villeneuve's spiritual life was straightforward—she sought above all to do the will of God. «When we speak, act, or write for the good of a soul, on any important affair,» she said to her daughters, «we should not so much plead for the good of this soul or the success of this affair, but rather for the will of God to be done, not wanting what we propose but rather His intentions, which are often different from ours.» She placed great importance on prayer: we must become used «to conversing with Jesus in the midst of our occupations, praying from the heart as we come and go in the house.» As for herself, she appreciated the moments when she was alone with God. But her spiritual life often passed through the dryness of pure faith, an experience she spoke of when she wrote to one of her daughters: «Do not worry about your interior state which, according to what you are telling me, is somewhat dark. God is everywhere, even in the darkness, and perhaps it is even better that way.» She advised another: «You must always suspect a bit of illusion, and prefer to be led by a bare and unappetizing faith... Distrust these lofty desires for perfection—be content with desiring to do the will of God... I am afraid of the way of consolations for you and the others, and I prefer faith alone, the darkness, and finally the crosses.» Two months after returning to Castres, Mother de Villeneuve threw her daughters into turmoil by resigning as Superior General. The reasons she gave can be summed up as follows: her ardent thirst to practice obedience even in the smallest things; the advantage to the Congregation, which one day or another would be deprived of her leadership; the fear that her daughters obeyed her more out of confidence and fond affection than out of faith and pure love of God. Above all, Mother Marie did not consider herself at all necessary or even desirable, as Superior. Not without pain, the General Chapter of September 1853 assented to her decision. Nevertheless, wanting to be of aid to the new Superior, the foundress was appointed Assistant General and Novice Mistress, responsibilities that she would bear discreetly and effectively. This example of humility and detachment was most certainly an unparalleled source of fruitfulness for her Congregation. Around the middle of 1854, cholera spread through the south of France and reached the city of Castres. An epidemic of «military fever» (a contagious febrile disease) broke out at the same time. Mother de Villeneuve set in motion a veritable crusade of prayers and created an atmosphere of confidence. Cholera did not make its way into the Sisters' convent, but the foundress fell victim to military fever and, on September 7, was forced to take to her bed. At the beginning of October, her condition worsened and the chaplain gave her Extreme Unction. Shortly thereafter, she passed away as the sisters said the prayers for the agonizing. Today there are more than six hundred members of the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception of Castres, spread across 123 communities in Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia. She was eventually canonized by Pope Francis on May 17, 2015 at Rome. (Biography is taken with permission from the Spiritual Letters of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Clairval, France.) Prayer to St. JeanneOur Father,
God of Life, protector of the poor, we know that Saint Emille de Villeneuve walks with us. We are certain that she accompanies us, in our struggle for life, in our joys and sufferings. We ask you, through her intercession (state your favor here). We trust in her help; give us her hope and her courage. Amen. Today, we remember the memorial of St. Geltrude Comensoli, foundress of the Sacramentine Sisters of Bergamo. Their congregation is recognized in the Church for their charism of Eucharistic Adoration and of forming the young. We have an "ex corpore" relic (from the body) of the Saint, which was obtained immediately after her Canonization. GELTRUDE COMENSOLI was born in Bienno in Val Camonica, Brescia, on January 18, 1847, the fifth of ten children. On the same day of her birth, her parents, Carlo and Anna Maria Milesi, took her to the parish Church to be baptized and she was given the name of Caterina. During her childhood, Caterina experienced the joys of innocence and light-heartedness typical of that age. However, the Lord instilled within her the necessity of being intimately united to Him: she was often drawn by a strong desire to pray and meditate deeply. To those who asked her what she was doing she would answer: “I am thinking”. At the age of seven, unable to resist any longer the pressing invitation of Jesus, one day, in the very early morning, she wrapped herself in her mother’s black shawl and went to the nearby Saint Mary’s Church. Standing at the balustrade, she secretely made her First Communion. Caterina experienced a “heavenly” feeling and swore eternal love to Jesus. The child became more serious, meditative and more absorbed in the thought of Jesus present in the Eucharist who, she realized, was often left alone for many days. While still young, she became an Apostle of the Eucharist: she would have liked to take Jesus present in the Holy Sacrament onto the top of a high mountain so that everyone could see and adore Him. She chose some among the girls she knew to establish the Guard of Honour. Her ideal was Jesus. The motto: “Jesus, loving You and making others love You”, became the programme of her life. Attracted by a more perfect life, she left her family in 1862 and joined the convent of the Sisters of Charity, founded by St. Bartolomea Capitanio in Lovere, Brescia. Everyone had the highest hopes for her but the wonderful and mysterious ways of Providence were different. The Postulant became seriously ill and was dismissed from the Institute. After her recovery, she left her village due to the financial situation of her family and, surely not by chance, entered into domestic service, first with Rev. G. B. Rota, parish priest of Chiari, who a few years later was to become the Bishop of Lodi, and afterwards with the Countess Fé-Vitali. These meetings and experiences were to be very important to Caterina. During the Christmas season of 1876 she reaffirmed her dedication to Jesus and wrote a very demanding way of conducting her life, to which she remained faithful. On the Feast of Corpus Christi of 1878, with the permission of her confessor, she made the vow of chastity, which she had made on the morning of her secret Comunion, perpetual. Without neglecting her duties as a domestic servant, Caterina decided to educate the children of San Gervasio, Bergamo, guiding them towards an honest life of christian and social virtues. By means of assiduous prayer, mortification, an intense interior life and the practice of the deeds of charity, Caterina prepared herself to accept the will of the Lord. Freed from family responsibilities after her parents’ death, the young woman sought a way to achieve her Eucharistic ideal. She opened her heart to the Bishop of Bergamo Mgr Speranza, who was, at that time, in Bienno as a guest of the Fé-Vitali’s. He encouraged and assured her that her plans were the will of God. In 1880, while in Rome with the Fé-Vitali’s, she succeeded in speaking with Pope Leo XIII about her plans to establish a religious institute devoted to the adoration of the Eucharist. The Pope changed them by inviting her to include the education of young female factory workers as well. Supported by the new Bishop of Bergamo, Mgr Guindani, and by her “Father and Superior”, Rev. F. Spinelli, on December 15, 1882, Caterina, together with two of her friends began the Congregation of the Sacramentine Sisters of Bergamo with the first adoration hour of the Blessed Sacrament. On December 15, 1884 she took the name of Sister Geltrude of the Blessed Sacrament. The new Congregation revealed itself to be God’s work. In fact, like all God’s work, it endured many adversities which sorely tried the “tender little plant”. However, this plant had already spread its deep roots into the rich soil of prayer, mortification and humility. It mattered little that Sister Geltrude and her Sisters, advised by the Bishop of Bergamo, Mgr Camillo Guindani, successor to Mgr Speranza, had to abandon their first “nest” in order to take refuge in Lodi. Mgr Rota, Bishop of Lodi, welcomed them and generously gave them a house in Lavagna di Comazzo, which temporarily became the Mother House of the Institute. When innumerable difficulties had been overcome, Mgr Rota, with the Decree of September 8, 1891, gave canonical recognition to the Institute. On March 28, 1892, Mother Geltrude returned to Bergamo, the birthplace of the Congregation. There she gave it decisive and strong direction. God’s work was fulfilled! The Foundress had guaranteed by then the continuation of the perpetual and public adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and had instilled her precious ideas into her Sisters. Hers was a spirit of prayer, sacrifice, mortification, obedience, humility and charity mainly towards the poor. Therefore, she could approach her godly Bridegroom. On February 18, 1903, at midday, Mother Geltrude, bowing her head towards the Church of Adoration, began her eternal adoration. The news of her death quickly spread. Those who had known her, especially the poor and the humble, who were her favourite people, declared her a saint. On August 9, 1926, her venerable remains were taken from the cemetery of Bergamo to the Mother House of the Institute which she had established. There she lies in a special chapel next to the Church of Adoration. By request of numerous people, on February 18, 1928, the Ordinary Process on the reputation of Mother Geltrude’s sanctity, her virtuous life as well as miracles, granted by God through Mother Geltrude’s intercession, began. It ended in 1939. In the same year, Pius XII authorized the preliminary investigation of the Apostolic Process in the Cause of Mother Geltrude.On April 26, 1961, the General Congregation of the then Congregation of Sacred Rites was held in the presence of Pope John XXIII. His Holiness promulgated the Decree on the heroic virtuous life experienced by Mother Geltrude Comensoli, who was then given the title of “Venerable”.On October 1, 1989, Pope John Paul II declared her a Blessed. On April 26, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI entered her on the register of Saints. (Biography copied from the Vatican website.) Prayer to St. GeltrudeO God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
among the favorites of your love you chose Saint Geltrude Comensoli and, in her daily immolation of humility and charity, for the glory of your reign of love, you made her the apostle of the divine Eucharist, guide of the youth, comfort of the suffering: grant us, by her intercession, the grace that we humbly and confidently ask. (Mention the favor here.) Through the most sweet Heart of Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Mother, and your Saints, listen, o most amiable Trinity, to our prayer. Amen. (Loose translation of the Italian original) Today, we remember the memorial of Blessed Joseph Allamano. Our ministry has relics of him in the form of a piece of his burial cassock, as well as several pieces of his coffin. His story is a reminder that sanctity always runs in the family, and that our families must be places where holiness and virtue are fostered. Joseph Allamano, the fourth of five children, was born on January 21, 1851, at Castelnuovo d’Asti (now Castelnuovo Don Bosco), in Italy, the hometown of St. Joseph Cafasso and St. John Bosco. His father died when he was not yet three years old, and his mother, Maria Anna Cafasso (the sister of the Saint), was the major influence on his life. Joseph Allamano followed in the footsteps of his uncle, St. Joseph, and devoted himself to the training of clergy. He was a holy man, like his uncle; it was often said that he was “Fr. Cafasso returned to life” and “an almost perfect copy of his great uncle and predecessor”. With Don Bosco. Joseph Allamano finished elementary school in 1862 and that autumn entered the Salesian “Oratorio” at Valdocco, where his regular confessor was Don Bosco himself. After completing four years of intermediate school at the “Oratorio”, he felt called to the diocesan priesthood, and left Valdocco for the diocesan seminary in Torino. Don Bosco perhaps had thought that Allamano would enter his own Congregation, and gently reproved him: “You hurt my feelings — you left without even saying ‘goodbye’.” Allamano responded timidly, “I didn’t have the nerve …” He felt great affection for Don Bosco all his life long, and did not want to displease him. On September 20, 1873, Joseph Allamano was ordained to the priesthood. He wanted very much to be involved in pastoral ministry but, instead, he was assigned to the seminary, first as an assistant (1873-1876) and then as spiritual director (1876-1880). Fr. Allamano had very different plans, so that, when Archbishop Lorenzo Gastaldi gave him this assignment, he objected respectfully, “I had hoped to be an assistant parish priest, and later maybe a parish priest in some little village…” The Archbishop responded kindly, “You wanted to be a parish priest? If this is all that’s bothering you…, I am giving you the most important parish in the diocese: the seminary!” As a formator of candidates for the priesthood, he was distinguished by the firmness of his principles and the gentleness with which he put these principles into action. Everyone recognized his excellence as an educator: he was a genuine “master of clergy formation”. At the same time he continued his own studies, and on July 30, 1876, the Torino Theological Faculty awarded him a doctorate in Theology, and on June 12, 1977, university teaching credentials. He was later appointed as associate member of the Canon and Civil Law Faculty; subsequently he became the chairman in both of these faculties. In October 1880 he was appointed Rector of the Consolata Shrine in Torino and, from that time until his death, all his work took place at that Archdiocese’s Marian Shrine. This new assignment was not an easy one for the 29-year old priest. He later told of his conversation with the Archbishop: “My Lord, I am too young for this job”, he said with filial trust. The Archbishop’s response was both fatherly and encouraging: “You will see that they will like you even so. It is good that you are young: if you make any mistakes, you will have time to correct them.” Fr. Giacomo (James) Camisassa, a priest Fr. Allamano had known and respected when he was the seminary spiritual director, was his first associate at the Shrine. Fr. Allamano invited Fr. Camisassa to the Shrine, and the letter reveals something of Fr. Allamano’s pastoral plans: “You see, my friend, together we can accomplish some good and honour Mary, our Mother and Consolation, with our sacred worship.” Their fraternal and priestly collaboration lasted their entire lives. Each respected the other’s work and shared the same ideals. Their work together is a magnificent witness to and example of two priests’ friendship and pastoral collaboration. Shortly after Fr. Camisassa’s death, Fr. Allamano said, “He was always ready to sacrifice himself to spare me”. “With his death I have lost my two hands”. “We were together as one for 42 years”. “Every evening we spent long hours together in my study…”. “We have promised to tell each other the truth, and we kept this promise.” The Shrine was physically run down and in spiritual decline. Fr. Allamano’s leadership initiated a revival. With Fr. Camisassa’s active assistance, the shrine became the artistic, marble and gold jewel we see today. Fr. Allamano took charge of the shrine’s pastoral, liturgical and social activity; gradually it became a centre of Marian spirituality and Christian renewal in the city and in the region. Fr. Allamano’s special gift for counselling and comfort contributed to this rebirth. People of all classes benefitted from his insight and heart-felt concern. Cardinal Jean-Marie Villot remarked, “Fr. Allamano was an exemplar of what a genuine priest should be; his was a providential mission for a diocese like Torino. It was a mission of counselling, direction, encouragement, admonition, and reviving souls through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He brought the joy and peace of God’s friendship to many, and encouraged people to work in the apostolate.” Fired by his intense apostolic zeal and a vivid understanding of the Church’s mission, Fr. Allamano’s concerns reached out to the whole world. He felt the urgency of Christ’s command to take the Gospel to all peoples. He thought it unnatural that the Church in Torino, that flowered with so many institutions devoted to charity, should not have one solely dedicated to the missions. He sought to remedy this situation, thus helping those who felt the missionary call to carry out their vocation and encouraging this call in other people. Founding a missionary Institute was not a sudden impulse; Fr. Allamano conceived this idea after prolonged spiritual preparation and in the face of considerable obstacles and contradictions. Undoubtedly the work of founding the Institute was one of trial and fatigue for Fr. Allamano, who was already deeply involved in Fr. Cafasso’s cause and the work at the “Convitto” and Shrine, as well as at St. Ignatius’ House. In 1891 he believed the right moment had arrived to found his missionary Institute of priests and brothers, but he was only able to carry out this project when his friend and classmate, Cardinal Agostino Richelmy, became the Archbishop of Torino. In Card. Richelmy Fr. Allamano found someone who supported him and shared his ideals. Delay came to a sudden end through the intervention of Divine Providence. In January 1900, Fr. Allamano was close to death; he had contracted a disease while assisting an old woman in an icy attic. He always believed that his recovery was a miracle of Our Lady Consolata. He never doubted that this was a sign that the Institute was to be founded. The following year, on January 29, 1901, the Institute of the Consolata Missionaries (priests and brothers) was born. The underlying motivation of this foundation was the deep-rooted spirit of Fr. Allamano himself. Fr. L. Sales, his loving disciple and first biographer, claims that the root cause of this missionary endeavour is Fr. Allamano’s sanctity. He himself once said: “Since I could not be a missionary myself, I wanted to make it possible for those with this vocation to follow it.” There were also other circumstantial reasons for starting this work: a desire to continue Cardinal Massaia’s work, and the missionary spirit and urgings of some of the priests living in the “Convitto”. Fr. Allamano himself says as much in a letter to Card. Richelmy on April 6, 1900: “During my many years of training clergy, I must confess that I have often encountered genuine missionary vocations.” The final decision to found an Institute of missionaries was taken only at the explicit command of the Archbishop. Fr. Allamano responded to this command with Peter’s words to Jesus on the occasion of the miraculous catch: “In your name I will cast out the nets”. On May 8, 1902, the first four missionaries left for Kenya: two priests and two brothers. Others followed shortly afterwards. Soon becoming aware of the need for female collaborators, Fr. Allamano obtained from the Superiors of the Cottolengo Institute some Vincentian Sisters to go to Kenya and work alongside the Consolata Missionaries. This collaboration began in 1903 and lasted more than twenty-two years. However, because of difficulties arisen between the newly elected Apostolic Vicar, Bishop Filippo Perlo, and the Cottolengo Superiors, no more Sisters were sent after 1909. Those who were working in Kenya quite gradually returned to Italy. Fr. Allamano suffered because of the difficulties, but was unable to forestall their consequences. He felt forced to intervene to assure the necessary presence of Sisters in the missions. At the urging of Bishop F. Perlo, with the permission of his Archbishop, and on the advice of Card. Girolamo Gotti, prefect of “Propaganda Fide” and especially because of Pope St. Pius X’s support, Fr. Allamano founded the Institute of the Consolata Missionary Sisters on January 29, 1910. He later told the Sisters how their Institute came to be founded. He was asking them to pray for Card. Gotti who was very sick at the time and he said, “It was Card. Gotti who encouraged me to found the Sisters. He told me ‘It is God’s will that there be Sisters.’ And I responded, ‘But there are already so many Sisters’. ‘Yes’, he said, ‘many Sisters, but few missionary ones’.” Fr. Allamano also revealed the Pope’s involvement: “It was Pope Pius X who wanted your foundation; he is the one who gave me the vocation of providing women missionaries”. He would continue with pleasure, and recount his conversation with Pope Pius X, to whom he had spoken about his problems in finding female personnel for the missions. The Pope said, “You yourself must found an Institute of missionary Sisters, as you have founded one for men missionaries.” “But, Your Holiness”, Fr. Allamano respectfully objected, “there are already so many Institute of Sisters”. “Yes”, the Pope responded, “but they are not exclusively missionary”. “But, Holy Father,” Fr. Allamano continued, “I do not feel I have a vocation to found an Institute of Sisters!” “If you do not have it,” the Pope said, “I give it to you”. Logically Fr. Allamano would then tell the Sisters, “You see, it was the Pope, not me, who wanted your foundation. Therefore you must be ‘Papaline’ (faithful to the Pope)”. In later years, other mission fields were entrusted to the men and women Consolata Missionaries, in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, and Mozambique. Today the Consolata Missionaries are working in twenty-four Countries of the continents of Africa, America, Europe and Asia. Through personal contacts, letters, and formation meetings, Fr. Allamano lavished his most loving care on his sons and daughters. Convinced that the missions deserved the best we have to offer, he was more concerned with quality than quantity. He looked for well-prepared evangelizers, “saint in a superlative way”, and willing to give their lives for the missions. He had as a motto: “First saints and then missionaries”. For him this “first” was not a matter of time but of priority. Fr. Allamano died on February 16, 1926, at the Consolata Shrine. Today his remains are preserved in the church of the Mother-House of his Missionaries in Corso Ferrucci, in Torino. Missionaries, friends of the missions, and many pilgrims visit his resting place. Bd. Allamano’s sarcophagus is not just a tomb; it is an altar on which Mass is celebrated. Bd. Allamano’s sons and daughters have placed the remains of his close collaborator and co-founder, Fr. Camisassa, next to his body. Fr. Allamano was beatified on October 7, 1990, by Pope John Paul II. The Pope confirmed the tributes the new Blessed had received during his life and after his death: “The Consolata Saint”, “Provident Father”, “Formator and Teacher of the Clergy”, “A priest for the whole world”. During the homily he delivered at the beatification, the Pope said, “At this moment when his name is added to the list of the Blessed, Joseph Allamano reminds us that, in order to be faithful to our Christian vocation, we must share the gifts we have received from God with brothers and sisters from every race and culture. We must proclaim Christ with courage and coherence to everyone we encounter, and especially to those who do not yet know Him”. Bd. Allamano left a written last will and testament to his missionaries. It included words of encouragement which can certainly be seen as addressed to all people who intend to embrace his missionary spirituality: “I have lived my many years for your sake; I have given my possessions, my health and my life for you; I hope that, after my death, I will be your protector in heaven”. Prayer to Blessed JosephGod our Father,
we thank you for having numbered Joseph Allamano among the Blessed of the Church. He has made your fatherly tenderness shine among us; he has honoured Mary Consolata as a mother full of love and an inspiration of the Mission among the peoples. We request you to give to the church the joy of venerating him among the saints as an exemplary witness of announcing Jesus and His gospel. We humble implore you through his intercession to grant us what our heart requests you with confidence. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Aside from remembering the feasts of St. Claude dela Colombiere (the Spiritual Director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque) and of Blessed Michal Sopocko (the Spiritual Director of St. Faustina), we also remember today the feast of the opening and translation of the relics of St. Anthony, which was led by another Saint and successor of St. Francis, St. Bonaventure. When St. Anthony died on June 13, 1231, his body was buried in the little Franciscan Church of St. Mary in Padua. By 1263, the building of the present great basilica was advanced far enough so that his remains could be placed beneath the high altar. When the coffin was opened on the occasion, it was found that the saint's body had been reduced to ashes except for a few bones, but his tongue was intact and life-like. St. Bonaventure, who was present as minister general of the Friars Minor, took the tongue reverently into his hands and exclaimed, "O blessed tongue, which has always blessed God and caused others to bless Him, now it appears evident how great were your merits before God!" The tongue of St. Anthony was placed in a special reliquary, and can still be seen today in a separate chapel on the epistle side of the basilica. (Today is also called the "Festa del Lingua" of the Saint in Padua.) In 1310, the basilica was almost finished, and the remains of St. Anthony were transferred to a tomb in the middle of the nave. The final transfer of the relics of St. Anthony to their present chapel on the Gospel side of the basilica took place in 1350. It is the latter transfer that is commemorated on February 15. Relics of St. Anthony in the CustodyBy the grace of God, we have 2 relics of St. Anthony currently in our custody. The first relic is from his Franciscan habit (ex indumentis), which is a gift of a prominent relic custodian in the Philippines. The second relic is from the lining of his chasuble (de subsuto casulae), a gift from the Capuchins, which will be then entrusted to the custodian's home parish in the Philippines in a few weeks' time. Prayer in Honor of the Blessed Tongue of St. Anthony of PaduaO Blessed Tongue, which always didst bless the Lord, and cause others to bless Him, now does it appear plainly how highly thou were esteemed by God. O marvelous Saint, whose Blessed Tongue didst always bless the Lord and cause others to bless, praise, thank and pray to Him, I bless, praise and venerate thee, I thank God Who created thy tongue and sanctified it by His grace, and I implore Him, through thy merits, to purify and sanctify my tongue, that by it I may continually praise, bless and thank the Lord, and never offend Him.
Our Father etc. Hail Mary etc. Glory Be to the Father. etc. V. Pray for us, blessed Anthony. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray. O God, may the votive commemoration of blessed Anthony, Your confessor and doctor, be a source of joy to Your Church, that she may always be fortified with spiritual assistance and deserve to enjoy eternal rewards. Through Christ our Lord. Amen |
![]() "All the Saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me. Indeed, the communion of Saints consists not only of the great men and women who went before us and whose names we know. All of us belong to the communion of Saints, we who have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we who draw life from the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, through which he transforms us and makes us like himself. Yes, the Church is alive – this is the wonderful experience of these days. "
(Pope Benedict XVI, Homily on the Mass of Inauguration to the Petrine Ministry, 24 April 2005) NOTE:This ministry does not entertain requests nor for information to obtain the relics which appear in this website. Guide For Relic ClassificationWe strive to provide English translations of the terminology used to label relics. However, there may be a need to consult the original term to avoid confusion.
Please go to this page for a short guide to relic classification. Instagram Feed/BlogArchives
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