Scalabrini is also known for having founded a diocesan newspaper, for having taken care of the poor and the elderly, for having been a promoter of Eucharistic adoration and a protector of correct liturgical song.
VATICAN CITY – A renowned Italian priest and bishop dedicated to evangelization and the teaching of catechism will be declared a saint of the Catholic Church on October 9.
During Saturday’s consistory, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the dicastery for the causes of saints, announced that the pope had set October 9 as the date for Scalabrini’s canonization along with Blessed Artemide Zatti.
Pope Francis had previously approved the canonization of Blessed Giovanni Battista Scalabrini in a diploma promulgated on May 21, 2022, with a dispensation from the requirement for a second miracle.
Originally from the Italian region of Lombardy, Scalabrini (1839-1905) was ordained a priest in 1863 and appointed bishop of Piacenza in 1876.
As bishop, he founded the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo (also known as the Scalabrinians). He also created the “Association Saint Raphaël”, which was also dedicated to the pastoral care of migrants leaving Italy at the turn of the 20th century.
He was convinced of the need for institutions to support the journey of migrants in all its stages, taking care not to suddenly break cultural ties with the homeland, maintaining the mother tongue as a bond of unity with other compatriots.
According to a report by ACI Prensa, the CNA’s Spanish-speaking partner agency, he also believes that migration can lead to an imbalance between countries of origin and destination.
Scalabrini is also known for having founded a diocesan newspaper, for having taken care of the poor and the elderly, for having been a promoter of Eucharistic adoration and a protector of correct liturgical song.
In 1901, he visited his missionaries in the United States and was received at the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt.
Pope Pius IX once described Scalabrini as “the apostle of the catechism“.
Addressing members of the Congregation founded by Scalabrini in October 2018, Pope Francis called on religious to journey with migrants, according to the charism of their founder, paying attention to the “dignity of the human person, especially where she is the most hurt and threatened”.
