Saint Luigi Guanella |
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Priest | |
Born |
Fraciscio, Campodolcino, Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia |
19 December 1842
Died | 24 October 1915 Como, Kingdom of Italy |
(aged 72)
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | 25 October 1964, Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope Paul VI |
Canonized | 23 October 2011, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI |
Major shrine | Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Como |
Feast | 24 October |
Attributes | Cassock |
Patronage |
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Saint Luigi Guanella (19 December 1842 – 24 October 1915) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest Fr. Guanella was ordained a priest on May 26, 1866 in Como, and was assigned to a small parish in Savogno. and is the founder of several religious institutes: the Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence (1890) and the Servants of Charity (24 March 1908) alongside his friends David Albertario and Giuseppe Toniolo. Guanella also founded the Pious Union of Saint Joseph (1914) with his supporter and first member Pope Pius X. These religious communities focused on the relief of the poor throughout the world. The Servants of Charity motto reads "In Omnibus Charitas" ("In all things Love") which became the cornerstone for Guanella's own life.
His older sister was the Servant of God Caterina Guanella (25 March 1841 - 13 June 1891).
Guanella received beatification on 25 October 1964 from Pope Paul VI and was canonized as saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 23 October 2011 in a celebration that Pope Benedict XVI celebrated in Saint Peter's Square.
The informative process for the sanctification cause commenced in Como on 1 February 1923 and had been tasked in compiling available evidence and documentation that could establish both a biographical profile and reasons that would attest to the late priest's saintliness; the process closed on 21 May 1929. Theologians compiled all of his writings and were assigned to ascertain whether or not his texts were in line with the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church; the team approved them all in a decree of 12 July 1932.
The formal introduction of the cause came on 15 March 1939 - during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII - in which the honorific title of Servant of God was granted to Guanella as the first official stage in the process.