Marcantonio Durando

Last updated

Marcantonio Durando

Priest
Born(1801-05-22)22 May 1801
Mondovì, Cuneo, Kingdom of Sardinia
Died10 December 1880(1880-12-10) (aged 79)
Turin, Kingdom of Italy
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Beatified 20 October 2002, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Feast 10 December
Attributes Priest's cassock
Patronage
  • Nazarene Sisters
  • Missionaries

Marcantonio (Mark Anthony) Durando (22 May 1801 - 10 December 1880) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Congregation of the Mission in an effort to follow the teachings of Vincent de Paul - an ardent focus of his life and pastoral career. [1] [2] Durano was also the founder of the Daughters of the Passion of Jesus the Nazorean (1865) - or Nazarene Sisters - and founded that order with the assistance of Luigia Borgiotti (1802-1873). [3] [4]

Contents

Durando was made a Servant of God on 23 March 1941 under Pope Pius XII once the beatification process started and Pope John Paul II both declared him as Venerable on 1 July 2000 and beatified him on 20 October 2002.

Life

Marcantonio Durando was born in 1801 in Mondovì as one of ten children to Angela Vinaj (d. 1822); two siblings died as infants. [2] [4] The home overlooked the main square and near the Mondovì Cathedral. He was baptized in 1801. Durando's mother was religious and instilled faith in her children while his father possessed liberal ideas and was of agnostic tendencies. [1] [3]

Durando had as brothers Giacomo (4 February 1807 - 21 August 1894) - the foreign affairs minister of the 1862 Rattazzi Government - and Giovanni (23 June 1804 - 27 May 1869) - a papal soldier and general who refused the orders of Pope Pius IX in 1848 and moved his soldiers past the Po River to defect. [1] [3] His brothers were therefore involved in the Risorgimento. [3]

In 1841 he commenced his studies for the priesthood in Mondovì. In 1816 he desired to join the missions in China. [1] Durando made his perpetual vows as a member of the Congregation of the Mission in 1818 after completing his philosophical studies and having had received the tonsure and the minor orders. After his time in the novitiate he was sent to resume his theological studies in Sarzana. [4] The Vincentian superior who oversaw his novitiate reported to the superior of his theological studies: "Brother Durando is someone of the highest quality in every way, and is clearly sent by God for the current needs of the congregation ... He is calm, he is sympathetic, is respectful and humble; so I hope you will be very pleased with him". [4]

His studies were suspended in 1822 due to the ill health he faced and the death of his mother. Durando was ordained to the priesthood on 12 June 1824. [3] His superiors refused to send him to the missions despite his requests.

He remained in Casale Monferrato until 1829 when he relocated to Turin. He remained in Turin until his death and was made superior of the Turin branch of the congregation in 1831. [3] In 1837 he was appointed as the Major Superior of the Vincentians in the north and held that post until his death. This forced him to reduce his workload due to the greater work he had to undertake. [3] Nevertheless, he continued to organize priests for the missions and preached spiritual retreats that attracted numerous people. He re-established the Ladies of Charity in 1835 for the noblewomen of Turin. [3] Durando supported the new work of the Propagation of the Faith - created in France in 1822 that Pauline-Marie Jaricot founded - and in 1855 instituted the Brignole-Sale school for those wanting to join the foreign missions in which he oversaw the formation of priests who applied for missions. [1]

Luigi Fransoni - the Archbishop of Turin - entrusted him with the spiritual direction of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and contributed to the writing of the rules for the Sisters of Saint Ann. [1] He also became a spiritual guide for the Poor Clares. [5] [6] Tancredi Falletti and his wife Juliette Colbert were the founders and heads of those two orders branched for the two genders. [6]

Durando tried in his mission as a priest to oppose the rigors of Jansenism that plagued the times. [1] He saw the usefulness in introducing the Vincentian Sisters from France to the Italian peninsula and so petitioned King Carlo Alberto to welcome them; the king did so in 1833 and the sisters assumed charge of hospitals with an emphasis on those with soldiers in places such as Genoa and Turin. [1] [5] The first two religious came on 16 May 1833 with more arriving in August. [4] In 1855 he sent the sisters to the frontlines during the Crimean War to help the wounded. [3] Around this time the bishop Giustino de Jacobis invited Durando to serve with him in Ethiopia but the latter refused for his obligations tied him to Turin. [4] [6]

On 21 November 1865 he founded an order for women - the Nazarene Sisters - alongside Luigia Borgiotti who became one of the new order's first postulants. [1] [2]

He also spread the message of the Miraculous Medal of Catherine Labouré and to that effect established the Children of Mary in 1856. [1] [4] This caused an increase in vocations so much so that Carlo Alberto in 1837 granted them the convent of S. Salvario in Turin to use for their work.

In 1857 he wrote to his brother Giacomo during the period of anti-clerical sentiment and greater conflict: "With all my heart I want peace between the government and the church, and that there should be an end to this uneasiness in which we find ourselves all the time, and an end, in short, to this attacking of the church and its institutions and its rules, and, in short, that we be allowed to live and breathe". [4] Durando wrote a long letter again to his brother in 1870 to explain his puzzlement at the hostile situation that also saw the loss of the Papal States. [6]

Durando died on 10 December 1880. [5] Giovanni Rinaldi - the superior of the Casa della Pace branch in Chieri - said of Durando's death: "we have lost another St. Vincent". [4]

Beatification

The beatification process opened in Turin after Cardinal Giuseppe Gamba inaugurated the informative process in 1928. Maurilio Fossati closed the process in 1930 which received validation from the Congregation of Rites in 1951. Fossati's spiritual writings were approved by theologians on 14 November 1934 and 27 November 1937. [7] Fossati also inaugurated the beginning of an apostolic process that started in 1940 and concluded not long after. The formal introduction to the cause came on 23 March 1941 under Pope Pius XII, granting Durando the title of Servant of God. [7]

The official Positio then was submitted to Rome at which point theologians voiced a favorable response to the dossier on 12 January 1971 while a historical commission met and approved the cause on 21 September 1978. The members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints voiced their approval as well on 27 March 1979 though met for a second time to discuss the cause further on 20 June 2000. Durano became titled as Venerable - on 1 July 2000 - after Pope John Paul II confirmed the fact that the late priest had in fact lived a life of heroic virtue.

The process for a miracle opened in Turin in 1936 and concluded not long after in which all interrogatories and medical documentation was collected. The C.C.S. validated this process decades later on 13 January 1995 while a medical board approved the healing to be a miracle on 19 February 2001. Theologians followed this verdict on 12 October 2001 while the members of the C.C.S. did so as well on 20 November 2001. The pope approved the miracle on 20 December 2001.

John Paul II beatified Durando on 20 October 2002. The miracle in question involved the cure of Mrs. Stella Ingiani who grew ill and later was comatose after the 28 November 1932 birth of her daughter in her home. Durando's order begged for their founder's intercession and Ingiani awoke from her coma to a rapid cure.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anton Martin Slomšek</span> Slovene bishop and poet

Blessed Anton Martin Slomšek was a Slovene Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Lavant from 1846 until his death. He served also as an author and poet as well as a staunch advocate of the nation's culture. He served in various parishes as a simple priest prior to his becoming a bishop in which his patriotic activism increased to a higher degree since he advocated writing and the need for education. He penned textbooks for schools including those that he himself opened and he was a vocal supporter of ecumenism and led efforts to achieve greater dialogue with other faiths with an emphasis on the Eastern Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pier Giorgio Frassati</span> Italian Dominican tertiary, social activist and Blessed

Pier Giorgio Frassati was an Italian Catholic activist and a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. He was dedicated to social justice issues and joined several charitable organizations, including Catholic Action and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, to better aid the poor and less fortunate living in his hometown of Turin; he put his own pious beliefs into practice to cater to their needs and was best known for his devotion and amiable character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filippo Smaldone</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Filippo Smaldone was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Hearts. Smaldone is best known for his extensive work with the deaf during his lifetime. Smaldone was a gifted preacher known for his commitment to proper catechesis and to the care of orphans and the mute, which earned him civic recognition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michele Rua</span>

Michele Rua was an Italian Catholic priest and professed member of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Rua was a student under Don Bosco and was also the latter's first collaborator in the order's founding as well as one of his closest friends. He served as the first Rector Major of the Salesians following Bosco's death in 1888. He was responsible for the expansion of the Salesians and the order had grown to a significant degree around the world at the time he died. Rua served as a noted spiritual director and leader for the Salesians known for his austerities and rigid adherence to the rule. It was for this reason that he was nicknamed "the living rule".

Paolo Manna was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a member from the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions as well as the founder of the Pontifical Missionary Union. Manna worked in the missions in Burma and even served as the Superior General for PIME. Manna did much in his life to promote the missions and the evangelic and apostolic zeal that accompanied it and he established newspapers and movements to help promote this charismatic apostolate. He also held several leadership positions in PIME and used that standing in order to further engage with prospective missionaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Calabria</span>

Giovanni Calabria was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who dedicated his life to the plight of the poor and the ill. He established two congregations, the Poor Servants of Divine Providence and the Poor Sisters Servants of Divine Providence. to take better care of poor people in various Italian cities and later abroad while underpinning the need to promote the message of the gospel to the poor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filippo Rinaldi</span>

Filippo Rinaldi was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member from the Salesians of Don Bosco; he served as the third Rector Major for the order from 1922 until his death in 1931. He founded the Secular Institute of Don Bosco Volunteers. Rinaldi was close friends since his childhood to Giovanni Bosco and Paolo Albera and it was Bosco who guided Rinaldi who was torn in his adolescence between the farming life and the religious life. The order held him in high esteem from the outset and noted the potential within him as well as seeing the charism of Bosco encompassed in Rinaldi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardo Murialdo</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Leonardo Murialdo was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the co-founder of the Congregation of Saint Joseph - also known as the Murialdines. Murialdo's call to the priesthood did not manifest until late in his education in Savona; he pursued his ecclesial studies and was ordained as such in 1851 before dedicating himself to social work alongside the poor and with adolescent men. This put him into contact with other priests of the era such as Giovanni Bosco and Giuseppe Cafasso who held Murialdo in great esteem. His zeal for social concern saw his frequent calls for an end to worker exploitation and the granting of further rights to workers in factories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caterina Dominici</span> Italian Roman Catholic nun

Caterina Dominici was an Italian Roman Catholic nun who took the name of Maria Enrichetta after she became a nun of the Sisters of Saint Anne. During the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak she cared for and ministered to countless people. She then went on to serve for over three decades as the Superior General of her congregation. She was also a friend and adviser to John Bosco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luigi Biraghi</span>

Luigi Biraghi was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who served in his home of Milan. Biraghi later went on to establish his own religious congregation known as the Sisters of Saint Marcellina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federico Albert</span>

Federico Albert was an Italian Roman Catholic priest. He established the Vincentian Sisters of Mary Immaculate, also known as the Albertines - and he established this order in order to work with the poor of Turin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuseppe Allamano</span>

Giuseppe Allamano was an Italian Roman Catholic priest. He established the Consolata Missionaries (I.M.C.) congregation for males and another for females, known as the Consolata Missionary Sisters. Allamano also served as the rector of the Santuario della Consolata and transformed the shrine into a source of spiritual renewal for the faithful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña</span> Spanish Roman Catholic Nun

María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña was a Spanish Roman Catholic nun and the founder of the Sisters of the Catechetical Institute. Her religious activism came about from her earliest experiences in Almería where she tended to the poor including a leper though she later moved to Madrid and Puerto Rico where she continued her care for the poor and the sick. Her return to her native land saw her continue her work and her commitment to establishing religious and secular movements for others all directed towards active participation and care for poor people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuditta Vannini</span>

Giuditta Vannini – also known as Giuseppina – was an Italian Roman Catholic nun who became a Camillian. Together with Luigi Tezza she established the religious congregation known as the Daughters of Saint Camillus. She and her two siblings were orphaned as children and were placed in different homes; she was raised and educated in Rome under nuns where her vocation to the religious life was strengthened. Vannini later tried joining a religious order but was forced to leave during her novitiate period after suffering from ill health. She and Tezza met in 1891 and founded a religious congregation of which Vannini served as Superior General until her death while Tezza was exiled to Peru around 1900.

Clemente Marchisio was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who served as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Turin. Marchisio served as an assistant priest before travelling across Italian cities as word of his mission and holiness spread. In the spirit of evangelical and devotional zeal he established the Daughters of Saint Joseph of Rivalba to suit the religious needs of females. The order had an emphasis on the Eucharist and on Saint Joseph himself.

Luigi Boccardo was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the brother of Giovanni Maria Boccardo. Luigi established the Sisters of Jesus the King as a contemplative branch to his latter brother's Poor Daughters of Saint Cajetan.

Giovanni Maria Boccardo was an Italian Roman Catholic priest, brother of Luigi Boccardo, and the founder of the Poor Daughters of Saint Cajetan. Boccardo tended to victims of a cholera epidemic in 1884 and was forced to resign all positions in his parish in 1911 due to illness that confined him to his bed. He was the elder brother of Blessed Luigi Boccardo.

Giuseppe Baldo was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the founder of both the Little Daughters of Saint Joseph (1894) and the Sisters of Charity of Saint Mary (1882). Baldo served as a simple parish priest in the Diocese of Verona and tended to the old and the poor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis-Antoine-Rose Ormières Lacase</span>

Louis-Antoine-Rose Ormières Lacase was a French Roman Catholic priest from the Diocese of Carcassonne and the founder of the Sisters of the Guardian Angel - an order dedicated to the care of children and the educational needs of the poor.

Adolfo Barberis was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Sisters of Christian Servanthood. Barberis served as the assistant to the Archbishop of Turin from 1906 until the cardinal's death in 1923 at which point he worked for sometime as a professor. He did this while managing the functions of the religious congregation he established which he had dedicated to the education and care of domestic women. The consequences of World War I were enough to convince him to found an order to help women though he often faced difficulties in dealing with Cardinal Maurilio Fossati in the beginning of the latter's tenure as Archbishop of Turin. These disagreements came due to Fossati's limited knowledge of Barberis' work and the slander levelled against him sometime before that. This slander came in 1923 after his cardinal benefactor died as some fellow priests suggested he garnered too much power in his position.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Marcantonio Durando". Holy See. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Blessed Marco Antonio Durando". Saints SQPN. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Bl. Marcantonio Durando". Catholic Online. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "A Short Life of Blessed Marcantonio Durando (1801-1880)". De Paul University. 2003. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Marco Antonio Durando". Famvin. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Blessed Marcantonio Durando". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  7. 1 2 Index ac status causarum beatificationis servorum dei et canonizationis beatorum (in Latin). Typis polyglottis vaticanis. January 1953. p. 141.