From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
30 April =E2=80=93 St Joseph Benedict Cottolengo
Also known as
Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo
Italian Vincent de Paul
Workman of Divine Providence
Memorial
30 April
29 April=C2 on some calendars
Priest, Founder, Confessor, Apostle of Charity.
=C2 Born as Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo on 3 May 1786 at Bra, Cuneo,
Piedmont region, Italy and died on 30 April 1842 of typhus at Chieri,
Turin, Italy. He was buried in the Mary altar in the main chapel in
Valdocco, Italy. St Joseph was Canonised on 19 March 1934 by Pope Pius
XI.
=E2=80=9CSt Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, who lived 40 years before Murialdo = the
Founder of the work which he himself called the =E2=80=9CLittle House of
Divine Providence=E2=80=9D and which today is also called =E2=80=9CCottolen= go=E2=80=9D
embodied this same spirit of charity.
Joseph Benedict Cottolengo was born in Bra, a small town in the
Province of Cuneo, on 3 May 1786. The eldest of 12, six of whom died
in infancy, he showed great sensitivity to the poor from childhood. He
embraced the way of the priesthood, setting an example to two of his
brothers. The years of his youth coincided with the Napoleonic period
and the consequent hardships in both the religious and social
contexts. Cottolengo became a good priest much sought after by
penitents and, in the Turin of that time, a preacher of spiritual
exercises and conferences for university students who always met with noteworthy success. At the age of 32, he was appointed canon of the
Santissima Trinit=C3 , a congregation of priests whose task was to
officiate in the Corpus Domini Church and to ensure the decorum of the
city's religious ceremonies but he felt uneasy in this situation. G=
od
was preparing him for a special mission and, precisely with an
unexpected and decisive encounter, made him realise what was to be his
future destiny in the exercise of the ministry.
The Lord always sets signs on our path to guide us according to his
will to our own true good. This also happened to Cottolengo,
dramatically, on Sunday morning, 2 Sept. 1827. The coach from
Milan arrived in Turin, more crowded than ever. Crammed into it was a
whole French family. The mother, with five children, was at an
advanced stage of pregnancy and had a high temperature. After
traipsing to various hospitals, this family found lodgings in a public dormitory but the woman's situation was serious and some people wen=
t
in search of a priest. By a mysterious design they came across
Cottolengo and it was precisely he who, heavy hearted, accompanied
this young mother to her death, amid the distress of the entire
family. Having carried out this painful task, with deep anguish he
went to the Blessed Sacrament and knelt in prayer: =E2=80=9CMy God, why? Wh=
y
did you want me to be a witness? What do you want of me? Something
must be done!=E2=80=9D. He got to his feet and had all the bells rung and t=
he
candles lit and, gathering in the church those who were curious, told
them: =E2=80=9CThe grace has been granted! The grace has been granted!=E2= =80=9D. From
that time Cottolengo was transformed: all his skills, especially his
financial and organisational ability, were used to give life to
projects in support of the neediest.
In his undertaking he was able to involve dozens and dozens of
collaborators and volunteers. Moving towards the outskirts of Turin to
expand his work, he created a sort of village, in which he assigned a meaningful name to every building he managed to build: =E2=80=9CHouse of Faith=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CHouse of Hope=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9CHouse of Charity= =E2=80=9D. He adopted a
=E2=80=9Cfamilystyle=E2=80=9D, establishing true and proper communities of = people with
volunteers, men and women religious and lay people, who joined forces
in order to face and overcome the difficulties that arose. Everyone in
that Little House of Divine Providence had a precise task:=C2 work,
prayer, service, teaching or administration. The healthy and the sick
shared the same daily burden. With time religious life could be
specifically planned in accordance with particular needs and
requirements.
Cottolengo even thought of setting up his own seminary to provide
specific formation for the priests of his Work. He was always ready to
follow and serve Divine Providence and never questioned it. He would
say: =E2=80=9CI am a good for nothing and I don't even know what to=
make of
myself. But Divine Providence certainly knows what it wants. It is
only up to me to support it. Let us go ahead in Domino=E2=80=9D. To his poo=
r
and the neediest, he would always call himself =E2=80=9Cthe labourer of Div= ine
Providence=E2=80=9D.
He also chose to found beside the small citadels five monasteries of contemplative sisters and one of hermits and considered them among his
most important achievements. They were a sort of =E2=80=9Cheart=E2=80=9D wh= ich was to
beat for the entire Work. He died on 30 April 1842, with these words
on his lips:=C2 =E2=80=9CMisericordia, Domine, Misericordia, Domine. Goo=
d and
Holy Providence=E2=80=A6 Blessed Virgin, it is now up to you=E2=80=9D. The = whole of
his life, as a newspaper of the time said, was =E2=80=9Can intense day of love=E2=80=9D.=E2=80=9D=E2=80=A6.Pope Benedict XVI General Audience, Saint = Peter's Square,
Wednesday, 28 April 2010.
Today Cottolengo Fathers, Sisters and Brothers still work together in activities focused on communicating God's love for the poorest. The=
y
are spread out all over the world: Ecuador, India, Italy, Kenya,
Switzerland, Tanzania and the United States. Don Cottolengo contracted
typhoid while assisting his patients and died in Chieri, Piedmont on
30 April 1842. Cottolengo was beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1917
and was Canonised by Pope Pius XI in 1934.
Joseph Benedict Cottolengo was enlisted among the saints of charity by
Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical Deus caritas est. The parish of
Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo is located in Grosseto, Italy. There
is a Via San Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo in Pisa.
https://anastpaul.com/2017/04/30/
=E2=80=9CThe poor are Jesus
they are not just an image of Him.=E2=80=9D
St Joseph Benedict Cottolengo (1786-1842)
=E2=80=9CIf you do this one thing
you will become a saint.
If you don't do it,
you never will.
The one thing is this:
Let Jesus interrupt your life.=E2=80=9D
--Father Mike Schmitz
He who gives heed to the word will prosper and happy is he who trusts
in the LORD...Proverbs 16:20
REFLECTION =E2=80=93 =E2=80=9CI am a good for nothing and I don't e=
ven know what to
make of myself. But Divine Providence certainly knows what it wants.
It is only up to me to support it. Let us go ahead in Domino=E2=80=9C=E2=80= =A6.St
Joseph Benedict Cottolengo
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