Saint John Baptist Scalabrini – Biography
Biographical notes
- Born and baptized the same day in Fino Mornasco (Como) on July 8, 1839.
- Ordained priest on May 30, 1863; professor and rector of the St. Abbondio diocesan seminary.
- In 1870 he named pastor of St. Bartholomew parish in Como.
- Ordained bishop in Rome on January 30, 1876.
- Entry into the diocese of Piacenza on February 13, 1876.
- Canonized as Saint on October 9, 2022.
Bishop of Piacenza
- He did five pastoral visits to the 365 parishes of the diocese.
- He celebrated three Synods: 1879, 1893, and 1899.
- He founded the School of Christian Doctrine; Pope Pius IX called him Apostle of the Catechism. Founded the catechetical review il Catechista Cattolico; held the first National Catechetical Congress in 1889.
Father to the migrants
- On November 28, 1887 he founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles.
- In 1889 established the St. Raphael Lay Association for Assistance to Migrants.
- On October 25, 1895 he founded the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles.
- Visited his missionaries and their missions in the Americas: in 1901 in the US and in 1904 in Brazil.
- Died in Piacenza on June 1, 1905 (Solemnity of the Ascension).
November 9, 2022 will mark the 25th anniversary of the beatification of John Baptist Scalabrini. We still remember with joy the day when the Church recognized him as an exemplary witness of the Christian life. We remember the words with which John Paul II honoured him: “Deeply in love with God and extraordinarily devoted to the Eucharist, he was able to transfer the contemplation of God and his mystery into an intense apostolic and missionary endeavour, making himself all things to all people in order to proclaim the Gospel. This ardent passion of his for the Kingdom of God made him zealous in catechesis, pastoral activities and charitable work, especially towards those most in need.”
We take this occasion to intensify our prayers and initiatives so that Blessed John Baptist Scalabrini may be proclaimed a saint: a proclamation to give glory to God and to make his testimony as a missionary bishop shine with greater prominence, a voice for the voiceless, help for those in need, inspiration for those who are inclined to give their lives to Christ alongside migrants, refugees and seafarers.
Above all, it is an invitation to follow in his footsteps: “May I sanctify myself and sanctify all the souls entrusted to me.” This necessitates a commitment to making him known, to talk about him, to tell of his passion for migrants so that others may feel the same passion and intervene, at all levels, in the Church and in society, in favour of these uprooted and scattered brothers and sisters. It is an appeal to ask his intercession for the mission that the Church has entrusted to our institutes, for the growth in faith of those with whom we share the Word, for the promotion of hospitality towards those who are far from their land and family.
Let us embrace this opportunity to live a “Scalabrinian year” that will begin on Sunday, November 7, 2021, and will end on Wednesday, November 9, 2022. The theme for the Scalabrinian year is: Making the world everyone’s homeland, a theme that fits in with the recent teaching of Pope Francis. May the Holy Spirit, who guided Blesses Scalabrini along the many paths explored by his immensely charitable heart, guide us so that we may grow tirelessly in charity.
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Missionaries of St. Charles - Scalabrinians
The Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles – Scalabrinians – is an international community of religious serving migrants and refugees of different cultures, religions, and ethnicities in 32 countries and on five continents. The Congregation was founded on November 28, 1887, by Blessed John Baptist Scalabrini (1839-1905), bishop of Piacenza (Italy). It was the period of massive emigration from Italy and Europe toward the Americas. It was a far-reaching phenomenon whose importance Bishop Scalabrini was able to grasp in both its social and religious dimensions.
Our province is located in five countries (USA, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador ). The provincial office is in Oak Park, Illinois located just outside Chicago. Our membership comes from 13 countries.
Our missionary focus for the last twenty-five years has been to minister to migrants and to be in mission with people on the move along with a special priority for the poorest migrants. What has become very obvious is that as we have taken more missionary risks and made an effort to clarify our Charism we have been blessed with more and more vocations. The blessing is doubled by the fact that we are currently receiving the vocations that match our present needs.
For more information, please visit scalabriniani.org and scalabrinians.org.
The World is my Homeland John Baptist Scalabrini
Published by Porto Alegre, June 1, 2013