•CiVkle f - f i i M a o l / o 
I - ^ a p K s H " . . . 

A £ 1 . 3 1 7 0 . • 

FR. MANLIO CIUFOLETTI, P.S.S.C.B. 

JOHN BAPTIST 
SCALABRINI 

BISHOP OF PIACENZA 

APOSTLE OF THE ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS 

Published on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the 
Congregation of St. Charles Borromeo: 

1887—November 25—1937. 



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I 11 I ¡J i A Ih . H 

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I ".Vr< VAI.'ATI lì í ri M* . ' 

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Notice of favors granted by God through 
the intercession of Ven. Bishop Scalabrini 
should be forwarded to Rev. P. Prevedello, 
Collegio Cristoforo Colombo, Piacenza, Italy. 

Cum permissu Superiorum 

burned 



REV. J O H N MARCHEGIANI 

To You, my beloved Parishioners of Our Lady of Pompei, I 
offer this booklet as a token of paternal affection and gratitude for 
your splendid cooperation during my short pastorate: 1934-1937. 

May the life of the Great Apostle of the Italian Immigrants, 
Bishop Scalabrini, be ever a source of inspiration to You in the 
faithful practice of your duties to God and Country. 

VERY REVEREND JOHN MARCHEGIANI. 

New York, November 24, 1937. 





BISHOP SCALABRINI'S BIRTH AND YOUTH 

The 15th Century Chronicles of the Grisons Canton (Swisse) 
praise the Scalabrinis for military and civic deeds, but it is not 
known when and how one of their branches transplanted itself 
to the other side of the Alps. However, in 1700 we already find 
the Scalabrinis in Fino Morasco, wherein Louis—the father of our 
Bishop—was born on March 23, 1812. He grew up pious and 
honest and was still a young man when he became a merchant. 
On May 6th, 1832, Louis married Columba Trombetta of Ponzate, 
a nearby village. Virtuous was she, fair and of strong character; 
and to her, after God, her illustrious son was ever grateful for 
his sacerdotal vocation. Bishop Scalabrini calls his mother a 
"model of Catholic women"; and to her "venerated and sweet 
memory" ten years after her death he dedicated the "Little Cate-
chism". Columba passed away peacefully on May 4, 1865 at the 
age of 43, having had the consolation of seeing her son a priest 
of God. 

The Bishop always remembered her with the tenderest affection, 
and we know from his Mass register that he often offered the 
Holy Sacrifice for the happy repose of her soul. A letter dated 
May 4, 1901 begins: "Today my heart is filled with sadness, as 
it is the 36th anniversary of my saintly mother's death." As long 
as he lived he ordered every year two solemn anniversary Masses 
for his parents in his native town. 

The marriage of Louis and Columba was blessed with eight 
children, the third being our Bishop. Of his three sisters one be-
came the mother of Monsignor Attilio Bianchi, formerly a private 
chaplain to Pius X and Benedict XV, and now a Camaldulese 
hermit, reputed throughout Italy as a living saint. Two of his 

[ 5 ] 



brothers became quite famous; Angelo in his own country as a 
professor of philosophy and later General Director of Italian 
Schools in foreign countries; Pietro in South America where he 
emigrated while still a young man. In Buenos Aires he held the 
position of a member of the Public Health Board during the yellow 
fever epidemic, and later became Vice-Governor of the Capital City 
of Parana. From there he returned to Buenos Aires to become 
the first director of the superb historical and scientific Museum of 
that city. He was also a professor at the University, during which 
time he discovered the Scalabrinitherium and Paleophosphorus Scala-
brini, two paleozoic fossils, and also wrote a comparative study of 
the North American and Argentine Republics. 

John Baptist Scalabrini was born and baptized in Fino Morasco 
on July 8, 1839. He was confirmed a little more than a year later 
on September 4, 1840. The pastor, Fr. Philip Gatti, took a special 
interest in the boy, who impressed by the examples and teachings 
of this holy priest and of his own parents, grew in age and wisdom 
with God and man. While attending the public grammar school 
he won the regard of teachers and classmates alike, who willingly 
acknowledged his superiority in both conduct and learning. After 
classes he would gather these little friends in his aunt's courtyard 
to teach them what he himself had learned at school, dwelling 
especially on the doctrines of our Holy Faith. 

Upon the completion of the elementary course his parents 
sent him to the high school at Como, the episcopal and provincial 
city, where he also attended the Volta Lyceum. There Professor 
Mazzoletti considered him the "best of his pupils". John was 
only 15 when he wrote a remarkable poem in honor of St. Aloysius 
Gonzaga. Having graduated with honors from the high school 
he resolved to enter the diocesan seminary of St. Abbondio, there-
by fulfilling a desire of long date. For his tuition the trustees of 

[ 6 ] 



his parish church in Fino Morasco assigned to him the revenues 
of an ecclesiastical benefice, which later became his title of ordina-
tion. 

Of his progress during the years at college there still remains 
this official testimonial: "he was ever first in studies and disci-
pline". Promoted to his theological course, he attended it for a 
short time as a day student, having been appointed monitor in 
the Gallio College conducted by the Fathers of Somasca. A few 
months later the cleric finally entered the Seminary. Even his 
companions felt that he was an exceptional person and went to 
him for advice and direction. One wrote to him on the occasion 
of his episcopal consecration: "The Holy Ghost has then descended 
with the fullness of his gifts upon my dear Scalabrini who did 
me so much good! I still remember your loving advice, the novenas 
we made together, and your fraternal explanations of theological 
points while sitting on the stairway of the Seminary." After a 
brilliant school career, the young cleric was ordained by Bishop 
Marzorati on May 30, 1863. 

PRIEST, PROFESSOR AND RECTOR 

Great was the joy of his family and fellow citizens when the 
newly-ordained priest offered his first Mass in the Parish Church 
on Pentecost Sunday. He remained in Fino but a short time, 
since in November of that same year, the Bishop appointed him 
director of discipline and teacher of History and Greek in the 
Seminary of St. Abbondio. During his first months there, the 
Province of Como was stricken by the cholera, and Fr. Scalabrini 
immediately offered his services for the religious and medical 
needs of the sick. His work was so splendid and obtained such 
far reaching effects that the Secretary of State rewarded him with 

I I ] 



a medal "as a token of admiration and gratitude." Shortly after, 
àt the early age of 28, he succeeded Rev. Bolzani as rector of the 
Seminary, also keeping for a certain time the office of procurator. 
Father Scalabrini found the Seminary in serious financial difficul-
ties, but by his sound administration, conditions were soon greatly 
improved. He was also appointed examiner of the clergy and 
vicar general of the diocese. Notwithstanding so many and im-
portant duties, he reserved for himself the teaching of religion, 
showing thereby his particular love for this kind of work. 

THE PASTOR 

Upon the death of Fr. Cavadini, the Priory of St. Bartholomew 
in the city of Como was left vacant and the Bishop appointed Fr. 
Scalabrini to that important and difficult parish of more than 
10,000 souls. Leaving the work he loved so well at the Seminary, 
the new Pastor took possession of his office on the 3rd Sunday 
of July, 1870. With him St. Bartholomew's became a center of 
Catholic Action in its various forms, and an example to the whole 
diocese. He took great interest in the working people, so numer-
ous in his parish, and showed fatherly love for their children, 
gaining through them the hearts of the parents. As a result, a 
benevolent society imbued with a Christian spirit was established, 
soon followed by a kindergarten for children and an Oratory for 
young men. The zealous pastor also laid the foundation of the 
St. Vincent De Paul Society for the spiritual and material assistance 
of the poor in their homes. 

The direct contact with the daily life of the working class 
excited in his tender soul a practical interest in social problems 
for which he had always felt a great attraction. His personal 

[ 8 ] 





views on these matters he then formulated in these short but clear 
and deep principles: 

"If labor increases capital, why should it not share its 
profits; at least in such a proportion as to guarantee the 
worker an adequate, wholesome and secure living?" 
"If work is a physical law and a moral obligation, why 
should it not also become a legal right?" 
"If education is a duty, why is the working man not given 
sufficient time for learning, by restricting his working hours 
and establishing a proper age limit?" 
"If hygiene is a social need, why are certain trades, which 
tend to poison and shorten men's lives, permitted to operate 
without proper precautions?" 
"If personal safety and providence are conquests of modern 
civilization, why is not the working man insured against 
possible misfortune, and old age provided for in a decent 
manner?" 

During his episcopate in the See of Piacenza he was asked at 
various times to arbitrate strikes, then violent and very frequent. 
Guided by these sound principles he almost always succeeded in 
reconciling both employer and employee, protecting the rights of 
each. 

To teach Catechism was for Fr. John a duty and a joy, and he 
succeeded in giving Sunday School classes new life. "It was a 
truly consoling spectacle to see the crowds of children coming out 
from church, especially on Sundays", stated his countryman and 
friend, Bishop Miotti of Parma. 

As an orator he immediately became very popular, being simple, 
logical and direct. His fluent words, fine diction, robust and 
pleasing voice, his imposing figure and natural and suggestive 

[ 1 0 } 



gestures were a great asset to him. We shall refer later to this 
important role of his pastoral office and mention now only 
his lectures in Como Cathedral during the year 1872. Their sub-
ject was the Vatican Council which had been closed two years 
previously because of Italy's political turmoils. The success of 
these sermons was so great that Fr. Scalabrini's colleagues requested 
him to have them printed. They were published in 1873 "to 
clear ideas about essential truths of the Catholic Faith, daily dis-
figured and adulterated by a brazen and brakeless journalism, by 
the perfidy of some apostates, by the incredible lightness of mind 
of certain Catholics, weak and without strong convictions, and 
even more by the audacity of those unfortunate Christians who 
call themselves "old Catholics' and stir everywhere a terrible and 
frantic war." (Preface) 

Bishop Bonomelli, a competent judge, wrote to the author: 
"the book recommends itself for the actuality of its subject, the 
clearness of its form and the logic of its arguments. Write often 
such able works and you will be rendering an invaluable service 
to your Church and your Diocesan fellows." The success of this 
volume brought the young priest to the notice of Pope Pius IX. 
For his ability and services, coupled with his extraordinary piety, 
the Prior of St. Bartholomew was nominated Bishop at the unusual-
ly early age of 36, on January 28, 1876. About six months pre-
viously, his curate, Fr. P. Caminada, declares to have heard, while 
praying, an internal voice saying clearly: "Your pastor will be 
Bishop of Piacenza". (Gregori p. 45) The Consistorial Acts 
having recorded the ecclesiastical career of Fr. Scalabrini, continue: 
"A man of imposing demeanor, of prudence, learning, exemplary 
life and business experience, he is worthy to be promoted to the 
Bishopric of Piacenza." 

[ 11 ] 



THE BISHOP 

In 1875 the episcopal See of Piacenza lost its illustrious incum-
bent, Monsignor Ranza of blessed memory. Fr. Scalabrini was 
consecrated as his successor by Cardinal Franchi in the Church 
of the Propaganda (Rome) on January 30, 1876. The same day 
the Bishop addressed a touching letter to his flock, with the hope 
and prayer that "the Supreme Shepherd of the fold, Christ Jesus, 
looking with loving eye upon the purity of faith and fervor of 
piety of the clergy and people of his new diocese, might be a 
constant and efficacious support to the great weakness of their 
unworthy pastor". Monsignor Scalabrini took possession of the 
diocese by proxy, and ten days later, February 13, made his solemn 
entry into the city of Piacenza amidst the ovations of the people. 

These few excerpts from his writings show clearly what he 
thought of the episcopal office; by such sentiments his entire pas-
toral life was inspired and directed. "When we think that the 
Bishop is God's man and the dispenser of the mysteries of Christ; 
that each and every one of the faithful must find on his lips the 
science of salvation; that merely seeing him should be sufficient 
to know how to serve God; that he ought to be a living law to 
bring religion to all souls; that he should continually deny himself 
to teach others true Christianity; that he must be humble and kind 
of heart, firm without arrogance, and condescending without weak-
ness; amidst the greatness of his dignity poor and vile in his own 
eyes; that he has to be patient, active, just, diffident of his per-
sonal judgement and willing to prefer that of others, when con-
venient; that he must protect himself from flattery, the fatal 
poison for persons in authority, and be disposed to listen to sincere 
advice; that he should be observant in order to discover true merit 
and reward it; that he ought to carry the cross of contradiction and 

[ 12 ] 



dedicate himself to his ministry as a martyr — when we think of 
all this there is enough indeed to lose courage . . . and exclaim: 
a great misfortune has befallen us! However let us be brave; the 
important thing is not to be half a bishop, but a full fledged one, 
loving Jesus Christ with a boundless love." 

Since it is our task to follow Monsignor Scalabrini but briefly 
through the 29 years of his episcopate, we could not pay a greater 
tribute to his memory as a model bishop than by observing him 
in the exercise of his pastoral duties and activities. In virtue of 
his appointment and office, the first and paramount relations of 
an Ordinary are with the Successor of St. Peter; but since Bishop 
Scalabrini's personal connections with the Pope were so many 
and various, we shall leave them for a separate chapter, and study 
him first of all in his relations to his priests, seminarians, religious 
communities and devoted flock. 

BISHOP SCALABRINI AND HIS CLERGY 

A Prelate meets his priests as a body and gives them general 
rules and instructions for their own religious welfare and that of 
the faithful on the following occasions: spiritual retreats, diocesan 
conferences and the synods. 

Bishop Scalabrini had been enthroned only a few months 
when he called his clergy to a retreat on August 15th. In a letter, 
written in classic Latin, he points out the necessity and beauty of 
the interior life, and the help it derives from spiritual exercises; 
henceforth—he ordered—the secular priests will attend a retreat 
at least every three years; a new pastor before taking possession of 
a parish; the junior clergy yearly for the space of six years. When 
we consider the time and place in which these regulations were 

[ 1 3 ] 



made, we are bound to admit that Bishop Scalabrini was ahead of 
his -time even in these matters. 

As in the case of spiritual retreats, the conferences for the 
solution of theological questions and moral cases had also been 
suspended for many years in the diocese of Piacenza. The new 
bishop restored them with another Latin circular issued December 
7, 1876. City pastors, curates and confessors were obliged to 
assist at these meetings six times a year at the episcopal residence; 
country priests four times in their respective deaneries. Every priest 
was expected to submit a written solution of the cases, two of 
them being drawn by lot to read and discuss their paper. 

A Synod is a solemn gathering of the diocesan clergy by order 
and under the presidency of the Prelate. Its purpose is to discuss 
and promulgate laws and rules affecting the faithful of the entire 
jurisdiction. The first Synod of Piacenza had been convened by 
Bishop Everardo in 903; and the last one was held in 1723. 
Since then many and urgent religious problems and needs had 
arisen: to discuss them the 29th diocesan Synod was opened with 
great solemnity by Monsignor Scalabrini on September 1, 1879. 

Some special features of this Synod were rules and directions 
pertaining to the administration of the ecclésiastical patrimony, 
which was greatly reduced and transformed on account of the new 
political and religious conditions of the country. A second Synod 
was convened on May 1, 1893 at the closing of which the Bishop 
remarked how his priests by their presence and brotherly spirit 
"had given an example to the people, confuted the enemies, 
brought joy to the Church, honor to the Redeemer and glory to 
God the Father". 

At the opening of our Century, special festivities were held 
throughout the world to honor and propitiate the Divine Saviour. 
Bishop Scalabrini thought the most fitting and fruitful celebration 

£ 14 ] 





would be to promote a more fervent and widespread devotion to 
the Blessed Eucharist. To this effect the third diocesan Synod was 
inaugurated August 12, 1899. Its acts are considered a splendid 
dogmatic and liturgical treatise on the Most Holy Sacrament, and 
even today they form the Eucharistic code of the diocese. 

Now let us consider the personal relations of our Prelate with 
his priests. Close and lasting are the connections of a priest with 
his bishop; from him he receives through ordination his sacerdotal 
powers and responsibilties; under his jurisdiction and supervision 
he exercises them; to him he has sworn obedience and allegiance. 

To these canonical bonds are added those of mutual esteem 
and affection, which make governing less difficult and irksome for 
the bishop, and discipline easier for the priest. Such conditions 
prevailed between Monsignor Scalabrini and his clergy who vener-
ated him as a saint, loved him as a father, and followed him as a 
leader. To his intimation-jp"I go out to fish", they always an-
swered as did the Apostles to Jesus: "We shall go with you". 

We have already quoted some of his words stating that one 
of the duties of a bishop is to observe the merits of his clergy 
and to reward them accordingly. Only on the strength of this 
principle did he promote his priests, heeding no human or per-
sonal consideration or influence, but ever seeking God's greatest 
glory and the welfare of souls. 

Cardinal Nasalli Rocca, Bishop Scalabrini's spiritual son, tells 
of a secret record which Monsignor kept, wherein he noted the 
qualities and defects of his priests. In return for his fairness, he 
expected from them a discipline guided by supernatural motives. 
To a pastor reluctant in the performance of his orders he wrote: 
"For what reason did you commit so grave an error? If you have 
anything to say for yourself, say it at once. Do you not see how 
in the meantime the offense against God grows greater, faith is 

[ 1 6 ] 



dying out and souls are in danger? The thought of having to pre-
sent yourself before God's tribunal does not suggest anything to 
you? And have you already forgotten the promises made to me? 
Ah, my son, delay no longer and do not allow religion to be be-
trayed; submit generously to the sacrifice I imposed on you in 
the name of God. Do not concern yourself about a point of 
honor and your own miserable interests, but look up to Jesus and 
consider nothing else". 

He gave remarkable proof of loving prudence on the occa-
sion of the Rosminian Question. About two hundred of his 
priests had studied and were following more or" less Rosmini's 
philosophy, which was then being hotly discussed in Rome. In 
1887 the Sacred Inquisition condemned forty propositions extracted 
mostly from the Philosopher's posthumous works. Monsignor 
Scalabrini then wrote to Bishop Bonomelli: "Foreseeing a con-
demnation, my policy during these last years has been to gain their 
hearts and having left to them that honest freedom permitted 
by the Church, "to dispose them to submit whenever the Pope saw 
fit to give a decision on this matter". The success of his policy 
was most consoling, since all of his priests accepted the decision 
of Rome. He also obtained the same results from priests of several 
neighboring dioceses. 

Although he exacted obedience and promptness from his priests, 
yet he considered and appreciated their personal qualities and 
initiative: "Perhaps we bishops have restricted the individual 
liberties of the clergy too much and our discipline, reduced as in 
pills, has lost that austere grandeur it had before, and consequently 
its prestige on the soul. Perhaps we expect perfection of them 
and desire them saints, but not all are qualified for heroism", 
(letter to Bonomelli) 

Spirituality impressed Bishop Scalabrini as the primary aspect 

i Ei 



of a true priestly life and he regarded learning and natural qualities 
as far less important. When sometimes he could not sleep because 
of worries or sickness, his mind found consolation with the thought 
of two or three parishes which were the best in the diocese, al-
though their pious pastors were not as learned as most of the others. 
One of his deepest inner senses was the ability to distinguish 
sanctity from its appearances and disguises. 

To a priest recognized for his cleverness and average moral 
qualities, who was, however, too slow while saying Mass and ir-
regular in his weekly confession, he wrote: "Overscrupulous people 
often lose themselves in trifling things and neglect the important 
ones with incredible facility. I am saying this for the love I pro-
fess for you, and because I would like to see you a pastor perfect 
in every way. You can and should be such". 

That Bishop Scalabrini knew the correct way to deal with his 
priests is proved again by the fact that the clergy of Piacenza 
were noted for their learning and holiness, so that five or six of 
them were elevated to the rank of bishop in the space of a few 
years. He could rightfully render to his priests this eloquent 
testimonial in a solemn document issued on October 3, 1881: 
"We protest against the Osservatore Cattolico accusing our clergy 
of being Jansenists. On the contrary, We bless God for having 
placed Us at the head of a chosen army of Priests, whose docility, 
zeal, spirit of sacrifice and attachment to Us and the Apostolic See 
We have often praised." 

BISHOP SCALABRINI AND THE SEMINARY 

It has been said that the seminary is the right eye of a bishop. 
This was particularly true in regard to Bishop Scalabrini, whose 
good fortune it was to have been professor and rector in St. 

[ 1 8 ] 



Abbondio Seminary. He knew therefore even by experience how 
important and difficult is the training of young men for the 
priesthood. The new bishop found three seminaries—one in the 
town of Bedonia in the Appenines, and two in Piacenza: the Epis-
copal and the Alberoniano College, which was magnificently built 
and richly endowed by the famous Cardinal Alberoni ( + 1752) 
ex-Prime Minister of Spain. This last seminary is under the direc-
tion of the Vincentian Fathers, and the secular clergy are in charge 
of the other two. 

Shortly after his arrival, our Prelate visited the two seminaries 
of the city, 'and as a result of his diligent observations he issued a 
beautiful letter in Latin to the "venerable and dearest Brothers in 
Christ, the Teachers and Moderators of the Ecclesiastical Students" 
wherein he gave the following important directions: 

1. The philosophical and theological studies shall be imbued 
with the doctrine and spirit of St. Thomas Aquinas; the 
moral theology will follow the teachings of St. Alphonsus 
De Liguori. 

2. Four new chairs will be instituted immediately in biblical 
exegesis, canon law, church history, and sacred liturgy. 

3. The office of spiritual director will be created. 

Bishop Scalabrini found in the city a group of clerics who 
frequented the classes at the Seminary but lived with their own 
families. He assembled them each morning in his chapel for Mass 
and meditation and watched diligently over their discipline. Having 
been for a short time a non-resident cleric himself, he knew well 
the dangers and trials to which their vocation was exposed in 
their homes and among their acquaintances. Some years later he 
wisely ordered that all students for the priesthood must reside in 
the seminary, and in 1892 organized the St. Opilio Society for 

[ 1 9 ] 



poor clerics. He also established purses for deserving seminarians 
and personally defrayed the yearly tuition in whole or in part for 
others. 

Bishop Scalabrini erected the Seminary Chapel in Piacenza in 
honor of St. Opilio, a martyred deacon of the diocese, and en-
riched the Seminary of Bedonia with a complete laboratory for 
physics and chemistry and with the latest metereological instru-
ments. The Prelate's continual and generous care for the Semin-
aries gained for him the deep affection and gratitude of both 
faculty and students and brought forth precious and lasting fruits 
for the glory of God and the welfare of the Church. 

Bishop Scalabrini was instrumental also in the reopening and 
financing of the Lombard Seminary in Rome, where on November 
4, 1877 he celebrated the inaugural Mass, and delivered a splendid 
address in Latin in the Church of San Carlo al Corso. From this 
Seminary many a learned and pious priest came out, including our 
Holy Father Pius XI. 

BISHOP SCALABRINI AND HIS FLOCK 

The Bishops are divinely appointed to feed the sheep and lambs 
of the fold—the pastors and the faithful. True it is that the Shep-
herd ordinarily rules the flock through the ministry of his priests, 
but on some solemn occasions he comes in direct contact with them: 
such as in administering Confirmation, during his episcopal visi-
tations, in his preaching and pastoral letters. 

We will now consider Bishop Scalabrini in these personal rela-
tions with his beloved flock. 

One of his first acts of government was an important notifi-
cation (July 16, 1876) on the discipline of Confirmation. To the 
general canonical rules he added these following, which were later 

[ 2 0 ] 



SCALABRINI'S COLLEGE—BASSANO DEL GRAPPA ( ITALY) 

incorporated in the Acts of the First Synod: l . 'For some Sundays 
before the day of Confirmation, the pastor will explain to the faith-
ful the holiness, importance, rite and effects of the Sacrament. He 
will also deal with the moral qualities requested for the sponsors, 
and the spiritual relationship they contract with their God-children. 
2. The prescribed age of Confirmation shall be seven years; but 
when a younger child is seriously ill he may be confirmed "in 
order that he might enjoy a greater glory in heaven and be more 
perfect at the final resurrection". 

Emulating our Saviour his faithful servant loved the little 
ones with paternal affection and solicitude. They were attracted 

[ 2 1 ] 



to him by his joyful smile, sweet words, innocent eyes and simple 
manner. He and they understood one another and they opened 
to him their innocent hearts with the confidence and reverence of 
children towards their father. 

The Bishop was most anxious that they should receive the 
proper religious training from their early years, when impressions 
are deeper and more lasting. Moreover he thought that a child 
who becomes a perfect christian and soldier of Christ through 
Confirmation should know as much as possible about the Faith, in 
order to appreciate it and practice and defend it later in life. 

As a result of his experience in catechetical instruction while 
still pastor in Como, he published in 1875 a "Little Catechism for 
Kindergarten Children" which was acknowledged to be a master-
piece of religious pedagogy and a model for similar works. Only 
two months aftes he had come to Piacenza, the Bishop issued 
(April, 1876) a letter on Christian Doctrine, ordering in every 
parish the establishment of separate classes for boys, girls and adults. 
To help the priests in this important work he prescribed the or-
ganization of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, and com-
manded the pastors to train directors, teachers and assistants for 
Sunday School classes. He requested that the priests should preach 
the Catechism of Perseverance every Sunday evening thus giving 
a complete course of religious instruction within three years. Above 
all, he reminded them to be simple and practical, avoiding useless 
discussions and obsolete subjects. 

To secure the observance of these regulations, the Bishop re-
vived the Diocesan Commission, established in 1568 by his illus-
trious predessor, Blessed Burali. 

The results were very satisfactory, and the Bishop thanked 
God and the instructors in a beautiful letter (November 3, 1877) 
followed by a Brief of Pius IX bestowing special indulgences upon 

[ 2 2 ] 



the teachers and children of the diocese. He would often call the 
instructors together for a spiritual retreat and delivered to them 
eloquent and useful lectures. 

Of Bishop Scalabrini's interests and efforts for the cause of 
Christian Doctrine throughout Italy, we shall write later when 
considering him as a national figure. 

To meet personally all his spiritual children, to know them, to 
enter into their hearts and open to them his own, was Bishop 
Scalabrini's greatest desire and sincerest happiness. In order to 
satisfy this longing and at the same time to fulfill one of his most 
important duties, he began the visitation of his jurisdiction within 
the first year of his episcopate. 

The Diocese of Piacenza numbers in its vast territory about 350 
parishes, half of which are situated in the mountains. In those 
times the approach to such places was even more difficult than it 
is today, due to lack of roads and means of transportation. Some 
of the parishes could be reached only after tedious hours of un-
comfortable riding on horseback. Because of these conditions the 
Diocese had not been visited completely for some three hundred 
years. 

Bishop Scalabrini opened his first canonical visitation with 
great solemnity in 1876, on December 8. It lasted four years, 
but during that time every parish, no matter how small, poor and 
inaccessible, was thoroughly and conscientiously visited. Two 
years later he started his second visitation which was completed 
only in 1887. 

Our Prelate visited his diocese again in 1890, 1895 and 1902, 
and he had already announced the sixth visitation when death 
called him to his eternal reward. 

Wherever he went he was received as an angel of God. "In 
every parish through which he passed, as soon as the joyful tolling 

[ 2 3 ] 



of the bells announced his arrival, the people assembled to meet 
and greet him, and accompanied him for miles. In-the more im-
portant centers they welcomed him with parades led by a brass 
band, marching in long lines to the church where he would then 
deliver an eloquent sermon. The effect on the people was such 
that they would stand for hours hoping to be able to kiss his ring 
and receive the pastoral blessing". (Gregori) His benediction was 
often accompanied with special favors: a protestant convert, Mr. 
Du Thiery, in a letter to the Bishop testifies: "Your blessing has 
worked within me in so miraculous a way that not even an un-
believer could fail to recognize in it the action of Divine Grace". 

Doctor Gregori, his diligent biographer, confesses that Scala-
brini's words to him, (then nine years old)||-when you are a 
young man you shall be a priest,—"where the first germs of his 
sacredotal vocation". 

Monsignor Cornaggia-Medici also witnesses to the Prelate's 
power of seeing into the heart: "I will never forget our first meet-
ing and the vivid eye he cast into my soul and brought to his lips 
words that, persuaded me he had read my conscience". 

"His eyes looked into your very soul", wrote the seminarian 
Pietro Piacenza, who later became an excellent priest and one of 
the greatest liturgists of his time. 

Upon reaching a parish for visitation the Bishop would enter 
the church for the solemn opening, then preach at different ser-
vices, hear confessions, examine children in their Catechism, ad-
minister Confirmation, accompany parishioners to the cemetery, visit 
the sick, the orphans, the prisoners, the old people and the poor in 
their homes or charitable institutions, and grace religious communi-
ties with his presence and words. The inspection of the parish books 
and church vestments was very thorough, nothing escaping his 
scrutiny. 

[ 2 4 ] 



As a rule he remained in each place long enough to give every-
one the opportunity of seeing him privately; and. a good many took 
advantage of it, for his holiness and prudence were generally 
known and his paternal ways inspired confidence and hope. Fot 
everyone he had words of consolation, praise and encouragement. 

The sweet memory and spiritual fruits of his visit lasted foi 
many years, and the expectation of his return was so great that the 
faithful would prepare for it many months in advance. 

When during his fourth visit, feeling tired and sick, he told 
the people that perhaps this was his last journey there, "the pool 
mountaineers shed a flood of tears. These are God's compensa-
tions to keep our spirits high amidst the evidence of ingratitude 
which accompanies the life of a poor bishop", (letter) 

What Monsignor Gregori writes of Scalabrini's first visitation 
also applies to those that followed: "The results were truly extra-
ordinary; obstinate sinners turned to God, scandals disappeared, 
illegitimate unions were legalized, long-standing hatreds died away; 
. . . everywhere there was a blossoming of religious piety, a re-
awakening of. Christian life. When he found sacred edifices 
in poor condition, he pointed it out to the people and they im-
mediately repaired them or built anew". 

Bishop Scalabrini enjoyed meeting his priests and people, es-
pecially those in the rural districts, finding his pastoral visits a 
source of edification and consolation. One day, while speaking 
to his friend Monsignor Cornaggia-Medici he expressed these senti-
ments in the following words: "How happy I am when on my 
pastoral journeys I find myself in the small, humble rectories of 
some poor pastors who truly work for souls, and are so fearful of 
their own salvation! It could stay with them forever! Believe me 
in visiting parishes one often finds poor old ladies so filled with 
the presence of God that to hear them talk is a real joy. How 

[ 2 5 ] 



different are some wise men of this world! And saying this, tears 
came to his eyes and his beautiful face took on a purplish tinge." 

Bishop Scalabrini was a precursor of our Catholic Action, which 
he introduced and promoted in every corner of his Diocese. Its 
program was explained, defended and directed by a well informed 
daily paper—"The Friend of the People"; and parochial com-
mittees and benevolent societies were organized and kept active 
in most parishes. 

Our illustrious Bishop was endowed with the gift of eloquence. 
His homilies and sermons were timely, original and convincing. 
Having chosen a subject he treated it from every angle with novelty 
and learning, displaying at times poetical and emotional qualities. 
The sincerity and earnestness of his faith and zeal rang through 
every word he uttered and found their way to the hearts of the 
people. As soon as he arrived in Piacenza he began to say Mass 
on Sundays either in the Cathedral or in some other parish church, 
at which he always explained the Gospel. People would flock 
from every part of the city to hear the Bishop's sermons and the 
churches were always filled to capacity. He preaqfred very fre-
quently and on a diversity of subjects—no audience or circumstance 
being too small or humble for his inspiring words. Some of his 
best prepared talks were in classical Latin. The sermon delivered 
in the Cathedral of Clermont Ferrand on the occasion of the 
eighth centenary of the Crusades "was an agreeable and unexpected 
surprise-for its eloquence and the superior way in which the dis-
tinguished Prelate used the French language". (Le Monde) 

When and where he could not reach the people by his living 
word, he addressed to them pastoral letters that were read in the 
churches by priests. The very subjects with which he dealt indi-
cate their importance and timeliness: 

[ 2 6 ] 



1876: "Christian Doctrine"—"The Catholic Catechism" 
1877: On the stability of the Church—"To the Teachers of 

Catechism". 
1878: On Jesus Christ. 
1879: On the influence of the Church over Civil Society. 

—On the Jubilee.—On the Immaculate Conception. 
1880: On the education of the deaf and dumb.-—On the in-

fluence of Religion over the family.—On Marriage.— 
For the recognition of the relics of Sts. Antoninus and 

-Victor. 
1881: On Religion and the Individual. 
1882: On religious indifference.—Introducing the encyclical 

"Etsi Nos".—Prohibition of the paper "II Penitente". 
1883: On the Rosary.—On Christian Life. 
1884: On Faith and its essential notes. 
1885: On the reasonableness of Faith. 
1886: On the Jubilee. 
1887: "Catholics in name and Catholics in deed". 
1888: On the Church. 
1)889: On Christian education.—On the Association of St. 

Opilio. 
1892: On the Catholic Priesthood.—"To the Missioners for 

the Italian Immigrants". 
1894: On the Christian Family. 
1895: On Christian Penitence. 
1896: "Union with the Church and Obedience to Her Pastors". 
1897: On the Word of God. 
1898: "Christian Rights and the Rights of Man". (Issued 

as a collective letter of the Bishops of Emilia) 
1899: "Faith, Vigilance and Prayer". 
1900: "Peter's Pence". (Issued as a joint letter) 

[ 2 7 ] 



1902: On the Blessed Eucharist. 
1903-1904: On the Sanctification of the Lord's Day. 
1905: On Prayer. 

These admirable documents of Bishop Scalabrini's zeal, piety 
and learning were attentively read all over Italy. Some went 
through several editions and were also translated into foreign 
languages. 

At this point a few words should be said about the Bishop's 
intellectual qualities and culture. He was endowed by Providence 
with a keen intellect, strong memory and an exceptional power of 
assimilation. These gifts he used conscientiously. As a student 
he had acquired a profound knowledge of ecclesiastical subjects 
and a remarkable understanding of, and taste for, Greek and Latin 
which he never neglected. Not only did he master his own native 
language, but he learned to write and speak fluently French and 
Portuguese. He also understood English, German and the dialect 
of the Indians of Tibagy (Brazil) which he apprehended in such 
a short time as to seem almost miraculous. 

The Prelate met these aborigines while visiting the Italian 
Missions in Brazil. One day while preaching in the Church he 
noticed that an Indian was staring at him with a curious eye. 
After the service he sent for the man and asked him whether his 
tribe lived nearby or at some distance. 

"Near", replied the native. 
"How near?" 
"Twenty hours on horse." 
Bishop Scalabrini then asked the Indian to go to his chief 

and tell him that he would be happy to meet him and was waiting 
for him. 

Two days later he returned. 

[ 2 8 ] 



"Your chief, has he not come?" 
"My chief says he will see the Bishop in the forest." 
"Very well" he answered, "we will go." 
The priests and people warned him not to trust so treacherous 

and savage a tribe but he was not a man to be terrified where the 
glory of God and the welfare of souls were concerned. 

Escorted by a small group of natives he traveled deep into the 
woods, dressed in his episcopal robes. The long journey ended 
in a clearing where some four hundred Indians were gathered 
with their chieftain splendily garbed. 

He immediately alighted from his horse and bowing to the 
Bishop lamented the fact that for two centuries the Church had 
abandoned them. The Prelate replied with greetings from the 
High Priest of Rome and promised that as soon as he returned he 
would speak to the Pope on their behalf. 

Leaving there one of his own missionaries, he later interceded 
for them with Pius X, and as a result several Italian friars were 
soon sent to direct these poor people in their search for God. 

Bishop Scalabrini displayed an accomplished knowledge of 
theological, biblical and historical science in his book on the Vati-
can Council and the pastoral letters; his interest in patristic litera-
ture determined him to translate from the original Greek into 
Italian St. Cyril's "Catechesis"; his understanding of social and 
economic problems inspired him to write the booklet "The Clergy 
and the Social Question" (1) and his conferences on immigration; 
his pedagogical training prompted him to compose Catechism texts 
and dictate educational letters and addresses on the correct system 
of teaching Christian Doctrine; his political skill directed him 

( l ) It is said that his advice and collaboration were requested by Pope 
Leo XI I I in the composition of the famous encyclical "Return Novarum" on 
capital arid labor. 

[ 2 9 ] 



safely through the intricacies of the Roman Question; his artistic 
and liturgical education assisted him in building and restoring 
churches and in the promotion of the higher forms of worship. 
In order to spread knowledge of ecclesiastical matters and offer an 
open field of activity and discussion to the clergy he encouraged 
the professors of the Alberoni College to publish the "Divus 
Thomas"; and even in difficult times he remained its constant 
friend, supporter and defender. This review, of international 
character, is still extant and ranks among the best European maga-
zines for theological and philosophical studies. To Bishop Scala-
brini is also due the foundation of the "Catechista Cattolico", 
a periodical specializing in matters of catechetical pedagogy. Both 
these periodicals were praised and blessed by Leo XIII. 

As a final touch to this sketchy portrait of our Prelate's intellec-
tual features, we will add that he was a persuasive, interesting and 
pleasing conversationalist; often even witty, especially when using 
his native charming dialect. Monsignor Bonomelli wrote that 
Scalabrini "in every conversation and discussion upheld the honor 
of the episcopate and the Church, and also imposed respect on 
those least inclined to his views". 

He numbered among his friends and admirers such learned 
men as Cardinals Capecelatro, Alimonda, Agliardi, Ferrari, Svampa, 
Riboldi, Bausa, Schiaffino, Bertolini, Gibbons, Perraud and Mercier; 
Bishops Bonomelli and Ireland; Fathers Stoppani, Cornoldi, Lepidi, 
Tosti, Ricci, Genocchi, Premoli, Arosio, Fornari, Amelli and Tan-
querey; Professors Kraus, Toniolo, Cantu, Von Hugel, Fogazzaro, 
De Gubernatis, Crispolti, Schiapparelli . . . and many others. His 
most influential political friends were Pelloux, Gianturco, Zanar-
delli, Prinftti, Boselli, Carcano, Luzzati and Visconti-Venosa. 

[ 3 0 ] 



BISHOP SCALABRINI BUILDER AND LITURGIST 

When the people entered the Cathedral for their Bishop's 
jubilee they could hardly recognize it, so many changes had taken 
place! This great work of restoration of the Mother Church of 
the Diocese offers us the opportunity for studying Bishop Scala-
brini as a man of exquisite artistic taste, versed in art, and a prac-
tical builder. While pastor in Como, he had planned to enlarge 
and beautify his church of St. Bartholomew; but having been sent 
to Piacenza before starting the work, he could only contribute 
toward it some years later. 

His first enterprise of importance as Bishop was the erection 
of the Seminary Chapel in commemoration of Pope Leo's Golden 
Jubilee (1887). This imposing Gothic edifice was inaugurated 
in 1889 and it will testify through the ages to the faith, generosity 
and artistic accomplishment of its builder. 

On the occasion of the Episcopal Jubilee of the same Pope 
(1893) Bishop Scalabrini and his Diocese contributed a large sum 
towards the construction of St. Joachim's in Rome. He also 
erected a beautiful statue of Pius IX, by Dupré, in the large court-
yard of his residence. However the Prelate's most important 
and lasting work in the field of art was the restoration of the 
Cathedral. Erected by Bishop Aldo at the beginning of the 12th 
Century, it is one of the monumental churches of Northern Italy; 
but Bishop Scalabrini found it in a deplorable condition. In a 
public letter dated February 9, 1894 he writes: "Time has left 
in our temple the impression of its destructive work. In some 
parts it appears disconnected, corroded and crumbling to the extent 
of being a permanent danger to those who enter it or pa»s nearby; 
in some other parts it was never finished. Moreover the bad 
taste of the past centuries has wrought in its structure and orna-

[ 3 1 ] 



mentation such changes as to deprive it of that eurythmy of the 
parts, that majesty and simplicity, that solemn and mystic atmos-
phere elevating the spirit and inviting to meditation, for which 
the monuments of Lombard art, and ours in particular, are justly 
celebrated". 

This vast project was completed after ten years of labor and at 
tremendous cost; the Bishop personally contributing more than 
$20,000. As a result, the exterior and interior of the imposing 
Cathedral appeared as harmonious, majestic and inspiring as the 
architects had originally planned. 

Bishop Scalabrini also helped with money, encouragement and 
direction, to restore the churches of St. Savino and Holy Sepulchre 
in Piacenza and to the building or embellishment of almost 200 
country churches. That of the Holy Sepulchre, probably designed 
by Bramante, was reopened for worship after 93 years of abandon-
ment, and made into a parish church. The 31 parishes of Piacenza 
(at that time a city of 33,000 souls) were wisely reduced to 14 in 
1891. 

The Bishop's knowledge of and love for sacred liturgy was 
exceptional indeed. No memorable event of his diocese or of the 
Universal Church did he let pass unnoticed; the centenaries of 
Blessed Gregory X (a son of Piacenza) and Blessed Burali; the 
recognition of the relics of Antoninus and Victor, Patron Saints of 
the Diocese; the eighth centenary of the Crusades, first proclaimed 
by Urbanus II at the Council of Piacenza in 1095 ; the third cen-
tenary of the death of St. Aloysius Gonzaga; the coronation of 
various statues of our Lady; the Jubilees of Popes Pius IX and 
Leo XII I ; the ordination of Bishops and priests; the commemora-
tion of America's discovery; the consecration of churches and 
cemeteries — these and other important events Bishop Scalabrini 
splendily solemnized with his priests and people. 

[ 3 2 ] 



BISHOP SCALABRINI VISITING HIS DIOCESE 

He had a deep veneration for relics of the Saints, particularly 
those of his own Diocese; and one of his greatest desires was to 
excite the faithful to this form of devotion. His piety being as 
enlightened as it was sincere, he appointed in 1878 a committee 
for the identification of the relics of Sts. Antoninus and Victor, 
and ordered a beautiful urn of gilded bronze in which they were 

[ 3 3 ] 



to be deposited. The mortal remains of St. Savinus, a friend of 
St. Ambrose, were also assembled by Bishop Scalabrini and placed 
in a rich case. 

At an earlier date he had published a catalogue of 158 first 
class relics venerated in the Diocese with historical notes on their 
origin and authenticity. The Bishop's devotion for relics was so 
well known to his friends that when he celebrated the episcopal 
jubilee, Cardinals Agliardi and Riboldi presented him with relics 
of St. Faustus and St. Fulco Scotti. Such holy gifts were custom-
ary. among the ancient Bishops, and following their example, 
our Prelate offered particles of the coagulated blood of the martyr 
Antoninus to the Pope and also to the Prelates attending the cele-
brations in honor of this Saint. 

The Church of Piiacenza has given many blessed ones to 
heaven, whose feasts are celebrated by the clergy with special 
Offices. Some of their biographical data being historically doubt-
ful or incorrect, Bishop Scalabrini had them revised and amended, 
with the cooperation of specialists in these matters. This impor-
tant and difficult task satisfactorily accomplished, the Prelate pub-
lished a new edition of the proper Offices and Masses of the 
Diocese. (1884) 

Singing is another important element of the liturgy, inspiring 
as it does the religious spirit of the people. In those days church 
music was very seldom of a religious nature, at times being almost 
operatic and always too long and full of repetitions. To correct 
these abuses, and to help the organists and choir masters in the 
work of restoring the Gregorian chant and liturgical music the 
Bishop established the St. Cecilia Commission, and gave helpful 
instructions to aid them in his edict of May 7, 1885. 

He took special pains to see that the church vestments were 
decorous, clean and cared for properly. He supplied the poorer 

[ 3 4 ] 



churches with copes, chasubles, chalices and other articles, and in 
his pastoral visitations he always praised those priests who had 
beautiful vestments and sacred vessels. In his personal notes we 
find remarks such as the following: "This pastor has a great 
quantity of church goods, which are his personal property, and I 
shall try to persuade him to bequeath them to the parish, which 
needs them very badly". 

All this shows once more what deep devotion he felt for the 
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the most sublime act of the 
liturgy. For its pious celebration the Bishop prepared himself with 
long and fervent prayers; and his thanksgiving lasted more than 
half an hour. As a matter of fact, his daily prayers, occupations 
and sufferings were all intended as a preparation for Mass. 

To see the Bishop at the Altar was a joy to the eye and an 
inspiration to -the soul; so reverent, solemn and devoted was his 
demeanor. Monsignor Cornaggia writes: "I have assisted at his 
Mass at different times and well remember that at the Consecration 
his face became transfigured and his eyes brilliant as two suns". 
His tender love for the Mass, his sublime esteem of the priestly 
character and the grace of vocation were manifested also by his 
desire that a chalice, with paten, host, wine and water be placed 
in his coffin. 

He adhered to the rubrics with the strictest attention, without 
being, however, mechanical in their observance or affected in his 
mannerisms. At every retreat the Bishop went over the rubrics 
with his priests, asking them to watch him at the Altar and notice 
his involuntary infractions and negligences. In order to promote 
a deeper devotion for the Blessed Eucharist he established the 
Forty Hours Devotion whereby the Holy Host was exposed day 
and night throughout the year in successive churches of the 
Diocese. 

[ 35 ] 



His love for the House of God is attested to by the 200 
churches, and the many altars he consecrated, and the bells he 
blessed. He also held the cemeteries in great reverence, and often 
visited them privately or with the people on his apostolic visits. 
He took a personal interest in their maintenance and in the preser-
vation of their sacred character, which in those days of triumphant 
sectarianism was often disregarded. Various cemeteries, enlarged 
or newly opened, he blessed with due solemnity. 

THE MAN OF CHARITY 

By virtue of his exalted office a Bishop should be father to 'the 
orphans, supporter of the poor and comforter of the afflicted. 
Bishop Scalabrini was all that to a heroic degree. From his saintly 
mother he had inherited a heart full of tenderness and compassion; 
in this fertile soil he planted the golden flower of Christian 
charity. He was gifted with a power almost miraculous to console 
and relieve spiritual poverty and sufferings. 

In the confessional and in private interviews, through letters 
and personal visits, he was the consoling angel of hundreds of 
souls afflicted by sin and sorrow, tormented by worries, doubts 
and scruples. He made his peoples' sufferings his own, and with 
St. Paul, whom he so greatly admired, could sincerely say: "Who 
is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not 
on fire?" (2 Cor. XI, 29) 

We shall mention some prominent persons who experienced 
the benefit of his advice, help and consolation under the most 
trying circumstances. On the tragic occasion of King Humbert's 
assassination the Dowager Queen replied to his message of con-
dolence: "Thanks to your Excellency for the consoling, holy words; 
thanks to the clergy for their fervent prayers and thanks to the 
people who know how to weep and love. Margherita R." 

[ 3 6 ] 



When Monsignor Bonomelli found himself in a painful situa-
tion on account of the anonymous publication of his booklet on 
the Roman Question, it was his friend of Piacenza who encouraged 
him to submit to the Holy See. As a consequence, the people of 
Cremona assembled in the Cathedral for the Easter Pontifical Mass, 
heard with deep emotion their illustrious and beloved Bishop ac-
knowledging humbly and sorrowfully his authorship of the con-
demned book and declaring his sincerest submission to Rome. 

Bishop Scalabrini warmly defended before the Pope, several 
clergymen who had been accused of being unorthodox, including 
Fathers Stoppani, Maggioni, Taglioretti, Rossi, Lanzoni, Moglia 
and Archbishop Calabiana of Milan. It was a great consolation 
for these men to know that a sympathetic heart protected them 
where, to use the expression of a weirknown Cardinal, "truth ever 
comes out, but seldom goes in". (Cornaggia) 

We will not dwell upon his daily alms to the poor, who never 
knocked in vain at the Bishop's door, but mention should be made 
of one instance of secret assistance tendered to noble persons fallen 
in distress. At one time he needed 20,000 lire (then $4,000) to 
save a family from irreparable ruin. Through the sale of some 
precious stones from his pectoral cross he realized 8600 lire; where 
could he find the balance? His Royal Highness of Bourbon, (1) 
ex-duke of Parma and Piacenza, was one of his good friends; to 

(X) This friendship goes back to 1877. When the Duke's daughter 
Maria Louise married King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, Bishop Scalabrini sent 
a message of congratulations, with a beautiful gift. Wh^n the Queen died 
the Duke answered to a consoling letter from the Prelate: "Under her 
golden crown she wore one of thorns. Her sentiments so profoundly pious 
helped her to bear it, and I hope the Lord found her ready for the reward 
reserved for those who have suffered much here below. After the impious 
and sacrilegious Confirmation of her son Boris .she did have but tears, 
sufferings and sorrows coupled with a most unhappy life". (February 1899) 

[ 3 7 ] 



him he then appealed, and the generous prince immediately sent 
him the necessary 12,000 lire. 

For similar private donations he kept a secret register, from 
which it appears that in difficult times he had as many as 229 poor 
families on his list. 

We now pfoceed to record the most conspicuous of his public 
charities. When in 1879 a famine desolated the Diocese, the good 
Shepherd promptly opened a public dining hall in the episcopal 
residence and called the Sisters of St. Ann to prepare food for 
the hundreds who came for succor. Trom December to March 
1880 more than 4000 people were fed daily by him, with some 
financial assistance from a few rich families. To provide sufficient 
means to sustain these charities he sold his coach and horses and 
a most precious gold chalice given to him by Pope Pius IX. 
Monsignor Gregori beautifully comments: "It was the dearest 
of his souvenirs and therefore it must have been very painful for 
him to part with it; but it did not matter. Jesus has said: What-
soever ye shall do for these my least ones, I shall consider it done 
to myself. Could the Pope's gift be used to better purpose than 
to help Christ's poor brethren?" 

The echo of the Bishop's generosity reached the National Par-
liament where a socialist representative exclaimed: "If all priests 
were like him I would become a cleric myself!" 

In 1884 a cholera reached Piacenza. At its first appearance 
Scalabrini offered himself and his resources, but, as though through 
a special grace merited by his prayers and charitable spirit, the 
epidemic never. reached the same proportions here as in other 
Provinces. 

The years 1)882 and 1883 were calamitous for Italy; inundations 
destroyed the harvest in Lombardy and Veneto, and an earthquake 
reduced Casamicciola to a pile of ruins. The Bishop ordered that 

[ 3 8 ] 



collections be taken up in every parish, and, to make his personal 
contribution a generous one he sold a pectoral cross, another gift 
from Pius IX. 

Again in 1887 when an earthquake brought misery and desola-
tion to Liguria, the Bishop and the people of Piacenza offered 
liberal assistance. He also remembered the victims of these dis-
asters and ordered solemn prayers for the happy repose of their 
souls and for the consolation of the survivors; explaining at the 
same time to his flock, the meaning and purpose of misfortune in 
the loving plans of Providence. When the "Victor Emmanuel 
Hospice" for old people was opened, he endowed a bed therein 
and established a fund for the maintenance of a permanent chap 
lain. 

Bishop Scalabrini contributed generously to the Missions and 
other worthy causes, although his Diocesan revenues were rather 
meagre. When one considers the tremendous amount of money 
disbursed by him for building and charitable purposes one can-
not help thinking that God assisted him in some special way. For 
instance when in need of 25,000 lire to defray the costs of the 
voyage of his first missionaries to America, a letter with that sum 
reached him at the last possible moment from an unknown and 
unsolicited benefactor. 

He deprived himself of even the barest necessities of life, and 
to his administrator, who warned him that he would die on the 
straw, His Excellency replied: "There should be little wonder if a 
Bishop dies on the straw when Our Lord chose to be born on it". 

Among the unfortunate members of his flock Bishop Scalabrini 
felt a special solicitude towards the deaf and dumb, the mondarisi 
(rice gleaners) and the immigrants. 

While still a cleric he became interested in the education of deaf 
and dumb children through his Professor Canon Balestra, the 

[ 3 9 ] 



apostle of the phonetic system in teaching these afflicted people. 
After his ordination to the Priesthood, he often visited the poor 
girls educated by the Canossiane Sisters in Como, and became their 
teacher and spiritual director. As Bishop, his heart still went out 
to them, and in 1880 he issued a pastoral letter to draw the sym-
pathy and interest of his people towards the deaf and dumb chil-
dren of the diocese. The following year an institute for girls was 
opened, towards the maintenance of which he generously con-
tributed as long as he lived. It soon flourished and after the 
founder's death it was named in his honor. For the inmates of 
this asylum whom God would call to a life of perfection, Bishop 
Sqalabrini founded a congregation of nuns dedicated to the adora-
tion of the Eucharistic Sacrament. Our Prelate also encouraged 
and helped Monsignor Torta to open in Piacenza an institution 
for dumb and deaf boys, which is now one of the largest and best 
known in Italy. a 

The venerable Fr. Guanella, founder of the Servants of Provi-
dence, told this writer how he derived inspiration and encourage-
ment in his work for the feeble-minded from the words and 
example of his friend and compatriot Bishop Scalabrini. 

From Piacenza and the neighboring diocese boys and girls 
between the ages of 15 and 18 left every season for the plains of 
Piedmont and Lombardy to sift and glean riie. Their moral, 
religious, economic and hygienic conditions were most pitiful. 
Abandoned to themselves at such a critical and susceptible period 
of their lives, far from home and friends, in the midst of unscrup-
ulous adults, living promiscuously and poorly, they soon became 
the easy victims of fever, misery and immorality. These conditions 
preyed on the Bishop's mind and made him very sad. In order 
to stop such exploitation of tender bodies and innocent souls and 
to assist them in their needs, in accord with other Bishops he es-

[ 4 0 ] 



tablished in 1903 a charitable and legal association with head-
quarters in Piacenza and branches in thirteen dioceses. The out-
come of this movement was most gratifying and this association 
has continued to do splendid work even to the present day. 

Our Prelate's activities in regard to the immigrants are related 
in a later chapter. 

THE DARK HOURS OF SORROW 

The glory of the Transfiguration was soon eclipsed by the 
ignominy of the Cross; the "Crucify Him" of Good Friday echoed 
the "Hosanna" of Palm Sunday. Bishop Scalabrini's only purpose 
in life was to follow Christ; and as a token of his particular love 
Our Saviour gave him to drink of the bitter chalice of treason and 
ingratitude. 

In the middle of the XlXth Century the activities of Protestant 
sects in Italy became intense and aggressive. Their foreign leaders 
were convinced that in order to attain some results they would 
need the assistance of native ministers. One of them, Mr. Buggelli, 
reached Piacenza in 1885 and opened a small church. The beloved 
Bishop immediately warned his people against these "misleading 
prophets, teachers of falsehood, heretics and seducers", and as a 
result the small and ever-changing congregation died away some 
years later. 

The sword that pierced the Prelate's heart to the core was the 
rebellion of a Sicilian priest, Paul Miraglia. Having been invited by 
the Pastor of St. Savino in Piacenza to preach during the month of 
May, 1895, he soon became extremely popular. Loquacious as he was, 
bold and colorful, with his thundering voice and stirring gestures, 
Fr. Miraglia succeeded in winning over a group of hysterical men 
and women. Upon the remarks of some priests that his doctrine 

[ 4 1 ] 



was unsound, is manner of preaching not ecclesiastical and his 
behaviour unpriestly, he became furious and brought up the argu-
ment in the pulpit, accusing his colleagues of ignorance and jealousy. 
Charitably advised to stop these diatribes, he soon became worse 
than ever and proceeded to attack the Bishop himself, who finally 
forbade him to preach. 

To vent his rage this unfortunate priest then founded a small 
weekly magazine entitled "Gerolamo Savanarcfta". Bishop Scalabrini 
begged him to leave the city, but supported by some fanatics, he 
publicly resisted and opened the Chapel of St. Paul denominating 
it "Italo-International". To the Prelate's masterly pastoral letter 
"Union with the Church and Obedience to Her Legitimate Pastors", 
the apostate dared to reply with the poisonous libel "Union with 
the Church and Resistance to Her Illegitimate Pastors". 

In order to counteract the false statements of the "Gerolamo 
Savonarola" the Diocesan daily "La Voce Cattolica" began a series 
of scholarly yet popular articles. 

Defying everyone, Miraglia summoned an archbishop of the 
Old Catholic Church from the United States with the intention of 
having himself consecrated. As an expression of grief and a 
protest against such sacrilege, Bishop Scalabrini ordered the bells 
of all churches to toll mournfully on three consecutive days, and 
that prayers of reparation be offered throughout the Diocese. 

On June 13, 1900 the Holy Roman Inquisition pronounced on 
Miraglia the sentence of excommunication and upon the Bishop's 
appeal to the Civil Authorities, the police forbade him to go 
around dressed as a prelate. Later on, after proof that he had 
had immoral relations with a young woman of his congregation, 
he was exiled from Italy. The wicked man went to London and 
from there he sailed to the United States where he tried to prosely-
tize the immigrants. When stricken with paralysis in Chicago he 

[ 42 ] 



PROVINCIAL HOUSE OF THE ZELATRICI OF THE SACRED HEART, 
NEW HAVEN, CONN. 

retracted his errors, but upon recuperating he recanted. Some time 
later Miraglia died suddenly, and God alone knows if he had the 
time and grace to repent. 

This lamentable episode shortened Bishop Scalabrini's life and 
its bitter memory darkened his days to the end. 

Miraglia and his followers were secretly supported by the 
Masonic Lodge. Our Bishop was never mistaken in his judgment 
of Italian Freemasonry and upon different occasions he openlv 
condemned it as an enemy of religion, morals and country. Ht 

[ 4 3 ] 



did so with special vehemence in promulgating Leo XIII's encyc-
lical letter "Human Genus" (1884) which treats of this subject 
The Freemasons of Piacenza reacted vigorously and through theii 
organ "II Piccolo" accused the Bishop of being ambitious, proud 
and incapable. However, the true reason for the long and disloyal 
opposition of the Freemasons to Bishop Scalabrini is revealed in a 
secret letter transcribing an official memorandum of the sect, and 
mailed to the Prelate by a repentant member: "The most powerful 
enemy of our society in Northern Italy is Bishop Scalabrini. With 
his generosity, attractive ways and learning, he has imposed him 
self on everybody, and all follow him blindly. Three of oui 
brethren died with the profanation of ecclesiastical rites; and we 
were impudently prevented from honoring them as our own. The 
Lodge of Piacenza, once so flourishing, might be, considered as 
ruined on account of his deceptions. It is necssary to oppose the 
work of this formidable enemy by every means in our power and 
to destroy him, in the masonic signification of the word". Threat-
ening letters received by the Bishop may explain the meaning of 
this expression. 

BISHOP SCALABRINI'S EPISCOPAL JUBILEE 

Considering how the Prelate laboured for his flock during his 
long administration, one cannot be surprised to see how greatly 
esteemed he was and universally admired and loved. The people 
of Piacenza were indeed proud and jealous of their Shepherd! On 
many occasions they manifested their loyalty and affection for him; 
as upon his leaving for and returning from America, during his 
sickness and especially at the celebration of his Episcopal Jubilee 
in 1901. All classes of people, including those opposed to, 01 
indifferent to religion, united heart and soul to honor Bishop 

[ 4 4 ] 



Scalabrini upon this auspicious occasion. The municipal, provincial, 
military, scholastic and religious authorities led the way and the 
whole people followed with unsurpassed enthusiasm. 

While his own and his native Diocese of Como were most 
prominent and active in these memorable celebrations, yet the event 
transcended their limits to become national, and, in some respects, 
international. The Holy Father addressed an eloquent Brief to the 
Bishop, renewing the expression of his paternal love, congratulating 
him on his many successes and invoking upon him the blessing of 
God. Her Majesty, Queen Margherita placed herself at the head 
of a Ladies National Committee to present the Bishop with a most 
artistic chasuble in silk and gold, adorned with 565 precious stones, 
some of which were very rare for their size and beauty. Their 
Eminences, the Cardinals Ledoscowski, Capecelatro, Agliardi, 
Riboldi, Ferrari, Svampa and Perraud sent valuable gifts and mes-
sages of congratulations. Similar greetings were extended by 
almost all of the Bishops of Italy and many were the good wishes 
received from foreign prelates. Archbishop Corrigan of New York 
presented the Jubilarían with a set of precious cruets. 

His most beloved children in the United States and Brazil, 
the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo, offered a silver crozier 
and a large antipendium for the Altar in gilded bronze reproducing 
Da Vinci's Last Supper. The Cathedral Chapter donated a large 
Monstrance of chiseled silver adorned with jewels; Mgr. Cornaggia 
two mitres; the Superior General of the Vincentians a valuable 
painting; the Bishop's relatives a pectoral cross and pastoral ring; 
his secretary, Mgr. Mangot, a large ceiling chandelier; the Mar-
chioness Visconti-Venosta church vestments; the Duchess Sforza-
Fogliani-Pallavicino a cover for faldstool embroidered in silk and 
gold; the Diocese of Piacenza a most precious and artistic chalice 

[ 4 5 ] 



with rare stones given by the same Duchess Sforza, one of them 
a diamond of unusual size and brilliancy. 

Other very important gifts were offered by the Diocese of 
Como, the town of Fino, his old parish of St. Bartholomew, 
various religious orders and associations, admirers and friends. The 
number of gifts numbered about 400, and when exhibited in the 
episcopal residence excited the admiration of all, for their value 
and beauty. Shortly after the celebration, the Bishop distributed 
the great majority of these presents to the poorest parishes and 
religious communities of the Diocese. 

Bishop Scalabrini pontificated at the Jubilee Mass on August 
17, the date having been postponed from January 30 in order to 
make it concurrent with the reopening of the Cathedral after its 
vast work of restoration. Many Bishops were present, among them 
the Cardinals <*f Bologna, Milan and Pavia. Don Perosi's oratorio, 
"Christmas", was rendered three times with the composer himself 
conducting, and a musical and literary seance was later held with 
splendid success. 

Not only upon joyful occasions but even more so during the 
dark hours of sorrow were the hearts of the people with their 
Ghostly Father. When he became the innocent victim of the above 
mentioned long and malicious campaign from the Masonic paper 
"II Piccolo", (1884) the priests and the faithful stood loyally by 
him, and as a token of their love presented their Ordinary with a. 
crozier and pectoral cross of unusual value. In 1896 pushed on 
by the apostate priest Miraglia Bishop Scalabrini reached the sum-
mit of his Calvary; to comfort him in his agony, the clergy and 
laity offered for his crown of thorns a very precious mitre. 

[ 4 6 ] 



BISHOP SCALABRINI AS A NATIONAL FIGURE 

Even while working for his flock our Prelate gave anxious 
thought to the welfare of his beloved country; his mind and heart 
were too great to be satisfied with the interests, important as they 
were, of a single Diocese. 

The three major enterprises which placed Bishop Scalabrini 
in contact with the most influential men of his time, and made 
him known, respected and loved throughout Italy were: his efforts 
for a wider and more systematic teaching of Christian Doctrine, 
his role in the discussion of the Roman Question and his interest 
in the immigration problem. 

He was convinced that the preservation of the faith depended 
primarily on a deeper and more vital knowledge of Christian 
Doctrine on the part of the people. Conditions had been changing 
in the last 75 years, and Faith was no longer accepted as a sacred 
inheritance and family tradition. Criticism, rationalism, anti-
clericalism made rapid headway in all classes, but especially among 
the professional and working people. 

The establishment of the forementioned review "II Catechista 
Cattolico" was prompted by a national need, and its aims were 
general: "To expose the beauty and effects of Christian Doctrine, 
and give rules of catechistic didactics for its teaching; to narrate 
old and modern facts concerning it; to reproduce pontifical and 
episcopal documents dealing with this subject; and, finally, to 
place before the public the most useful works on Catechism and 
religious pedagogy'. 

. This ambitious and complete program was blessed by the Pope, 
who wrote under it: "May the Lord be in your heart and tongue!" 
Pius P. P. IX. 

[ 4 7 ] 



For the inspiration and guidance of Sunday School teachers 
Bishop Scalabrini composed a very interesting booklet (1) and 
wrote a pastoral letter ( 2 ) ; but his greatest desire was the gather-
ing of a National Congress. Having received the approval of the 
Holy Father and almost all the Italian Bishops he opened it in 
Piacenza in 1889. The illustrious historian Cardinal Capecelatro, 
librarian of the Vatican, was chosen as president and many prelates 
and a large number of representative priests attended it, 400 per-
sons in all. The compilation of a national textbook to replace 
the various catechisms then used came up for discussion first, a 
topic which had the warmest approval of the congress, especially 
of Bishop Sarto, the future Pius X. Step by step this resolution 
came to be realized many years later, but Bishop Scalabrini pre-
pared the way not only with the Congress but also through his 
work for the compilation of the Catechism for the Emilian Region 
promulgated in 1900. 

Another point of interest approved at the Congress was a peu-
tion to the Minister of Education for the reestablisflment of courses 
of Christian Doctrine in public schools. Only after the Lateran 
Pact was this request granted, to the greatest satisfaction of Italian 
Catholics and for the best interests of religion and country. Finally, 
Scalabrini himself proposed the institution in every seminary of 
a special chair "destined to prepare the future teachers of the 
sublimest of all sciences and most difficult of all arts"—religion. 

The first National Catechetical Congress received public praise 
and approval from Pope Leo XIII in a Brief dated November 6, 
1889, wherein the Pope called Scalabrini, "a most capable man 
in the matter": Pius IX had already termed him "Apostle of the 
Catechism". The Catholic press of Italy and Europe published 

( 1 ) "II Catechismo Cattolico" (1877) . 
( 2 ) "Istruzione Catechista" (1876) . 

[ 4 8 ] 



ample news of the Congress and its stupendous work, giving the 
highest praise to its organizer and leader. 

We may mention here that the holy Bishop of Piacenza fol-
lowed with sincere admiration the apostolic work of | St. John 
Bosco for the spiritual and temporal welfare of boys and young 
men. These two great men met personally for the first time in 
the Vatican at an audience with Leo XIII. The founder of the 
Salesians already knew him by fame, and as soon as he noticed 
the Prelate, humbly kissed the pastoral ring and asked for his 
blessing: "With all my heart", replied Bishop Scalabrini. "You 
have a great mission to accomplish in the world, my dearest Don 
Bosco, and the Lord who has destined you for it will bless you 
abundantly!" 

BISHOP SCALABRINI AND THE ROMAN QUESTION 

Our Prelate's convictions in matters of religious politics ma-
tured and found expression during the fatal years preceding and 
following the unification of Italy, with Rome as her Capital City. 

A movement to expel Austria from Italy had begun even before 
1848 and in its support the clergy were not inconspicuous. Many 
prominent Catholic laymen also took active part and gave their 
services and life for this patriotic enterprise. But once Lombardy 
and Venice had been ridden of the Hapsburgs, what would the 
destiny of the remaining sovereigns be? There were six of them; 
the House of Savoy, ruling over Piedmont, Liguria and Sardinia; 
the Dukes of Parma — Piacenza and Modena; the Grand 
Duke of Tuscany; the Pope reigning over Latium, Umbria, the 
Marche and a great part of Emilia; and the King of Naples and 
Sicily. Under these long standing difficult conditions how could 
Italy's unification be accomplished? By a Confederation of States 

[ 4 9 ] 



presided over by her leading sovereign, the Pope? By the consti-
tution of a Republic or of a Monarchy under the House of Savoy, 
which had openly sponsored the cause of freedom? 

Primarily through the work of secret societies either of these 
last two alternatives soon became the most popular, and with them 
grew the determination to deprive the Pope of his dominions. The 
Holy See, Bishops and Clergy and the largest majority of Catholics 
opposed this usurpation, but unsuccessfully. On September 20, 
1870 the soldiers of Emanuel II entered Rome, having already de-
throned the other sovereigns and incorporated their states within 
the United Kingdom of Italy. (1859-1866) 

Pius IX and his successors protested vigorously, refused to ac-
cept the Law of Guarantees, and enclosed themselves within the 
Vatican as voluntary prisoners. With the fall of the Holy City 
began the famous Roman Question which lasted fifty-nine years. 

In relation to it, our Bishop took a middle course: to the 
Radicals, who pretended there was no Roman Question at all, 
he proved its existence and importance not only in the Catholic 
world but also in national and international affairs; to the Liberals, 
who hailed its solution easy and imminent, he explained how com-
plicated it was, religiously and politically; to the Intransigents, for 
whom the very thought of reconciliation seemed sacrilegious and 
most dangerous, he pointed a way out. These latter were in good 
faith, and supported by most churchmen in high positions at home 
and abroad, especially in Austria, Spain, Bavaria and France. The 
Pope himself seemed inclined towards them. Moreover their-in-
tentions were most noble: —i the good of religion and the free-
dom of the Holy See. In Italy their strongest public organ was 
the "Osservator Romano", a Catholic daily of Milan, edited by 
Fr. Albertario, a clever but aggressive and stubborn man who 
violently attacked his opponents without distinction of person or 

[ 5 0 3 



rank. Even Bishops were not spared from his bitter criticisms, 
Scalabrini himself being a preferred target for his darts. 

In his famous pastoral letter "Catholics in name, and Catholics 
in deed" (1887) our Prelate argued with Don Albertario and his 
partisans: "Cannot a Bishop openly declare his love for his country 
and his desire to see her great, glorious and happy through recon-
ciliation with the Holy See, without being suspected of bargaining 
with the enemy? Cannot a Bishop be allowed to pray to God to 
grant his Vicar on earth the glory of accomplishing the pacification 
of our country, without being reproached for giving advice to the 
Universal Teacher and forcing his hand? Good God! Where are 
we and wither are we going? Let us cry. out with an early 
Father, 'Woe to the Church when the Episcopate is forced to 
silence!'." 

On the same subject Bishop Scalabrini had already written an 
anonymous pamphlet, "Intransigents and Transigents", the occa-
sion having been offered to him by an article by Cardinal Pitra. 
This most learned and retiring French Prelate was induced by the 
Intransigents to express his conviction that there was no possible 
solution to the Roman Question. In view of the man's fame and 
position, Leo XIII was finally obliged to proclaim that this opinion 
was not authoritative in a letter to Cardinal Richard, Archbishop 
of Paris. 

As a consequence of, the Pope's protest against the loss of his 
dominions, Catholics were forbidden to vote or be candidates; they 
could neither elect nor be elected to any political office. 'Mean-
while the religious condition of the country was growing from bad 
to worse. Bishop Scalabrini strongly advocated the possibility and 
urgency of a solution of this conflict, which reached the very 
conscience of man dividing it between two sacred duties: love of 
God and love of Country. 

[ 5 1 ] 



The recognition of three preliminary facts he believed to be 
absolutely necessary as a basis for a loyal, successful discussion of 
the problem: 1. That "claiming the restoration of the temporal 
power in its ancient and integral form was an impossible thing 
and it would serve only to endanger Catholicism in Italy" (Memor-
ial to Leo XIII, 1885) 2. That in any case the Italian Catholics 
were unable to reestablish the Pope's political dominion because 
of the lack of material and moral strength, and "its restoration by 
a foreign nation would be an inauspicious event for the Church" 
(Letter to Leo XIII, 1885) ; 3. That the Holy See should be 
granted "sufficient temporal power to make conditions for the 
Pope tolerable and his independence out of danger" (Memorial). 

Leo XIII was then insisting on the retention of the Eternal 
City: "Rome" to quote his very words, "while still remaining 
somewhat Italian, should not be the Capital City of a Kingdom, but 
of the efitire Catholic World". (Scalabrini's letter to Bonomelli 
relating his audience with the Pope.) Our Prelate thought that 
rather than jeopardize the whole matter, the Città Leonina should 
be accepted as a solution. Independently from his personal views, 
he proclaimed the Pope's right of making his own terms; and 
never indulged in forming those more or less fantastic plans elab-
orated by other apostles of conciliation. As a matter of fact the 
Lateran Pact (February 11, 1929) by which the Roman Question 
was finally settled, left to the Pope only the Vatican City, a terri-
tory even smaller than the Città Leonina. 

Don Albertario's opposition to Scalabrini's program gradually 
led him to personal animosity. He would listen, magnify, distort 
and make public in the "Osservatore" the criticisms of a few dis-
contented persons, who, as in all times and places, were found 
then even in Piacenza. He would also misinterpret some disposi-
tions and statements of the Bishop to create an impression that, 

[ 5 2 ] 



in all probability, they were not in accord with the Pope's per-
sonal views and insinuated that recourse to the Holy See was 
therefore always open. 

Bishop Scalabrini resented the interference of a strange priest 
in the affairs of his Diocese and issued a protest on October 3, 
1881 in which he vindicated the Episcopal rights and privileges 
against the intimations of the "Osservatore". After some years of 
subterfuge and evasion, Don Albertario was obliged by the Pope 
"to condemn and retract" the incriminating articles. That in this 
controversy our Prelate was not moved by personal resentment or 
motives he showed later, when he invited Don Albertario to be his 
guest during the meeting of the Opera dei Congressi at Piacenza, 
where the journalist-priest publicly acknowledged that his only 
justification for being present was Bishop Scalabrini's generosity of 
heart. 

His kindness was also responsible for the peace between Don 
Albertario and Bishop Bonomelli, another victim of his attacks. 
Again in 1898 he offered a helping hand to Fr. Albertario, who 
had been condemned to three years imprisonment in Finalborgo, 
accused of fomenting a revolutionary movement in concert with 
125 other journalists. He begged King Humbert to use his royal 
prerogative on behalf of the unfortunate priest, and obtained for 
him permission to say Holy Mass in prison. Fr. Albertario was 
freed in lj899 and died three years later. 

THE APOSTLE OF THE EMIGRANTS 

Bishop Scalabrini was intensely interested in social problems, 
not confining himself merely to theory but seeking practical solu-
tions. The insurrectional movement mentioned above, wherein 
even Piacenza did not escape bloodshed, brought from his pen a 

[ 5 3 ] 



booklet entitled "Socialism and the Action of the Clergy" in which 
he "refuted Socialism and vindicated the right of the Church to 
extend her activities to social problems." (Civiltà Cattolica). 

Another great national problem at the time was emigration. 
Scalabrini studied it with the mind of a sociologist and the heart 
of an apostle. His interest in the emigrants goes back to his first 
pastoral visit (1876) when he found that 28,000 of his people, 
about one fifth of them, were living in foreign countries. 

A decisive impulse, or an inspiration from God, to organize 
some practical work for the religious and social welfare of the 
emigrants came to him in Milan while present at the departure 
from the station of 400 destitute men, women and children. To 
this effect he prepared and presented to Cardinal Simeoni, Prefect 
of Propaganda, a program which so impressed His Eminence that 
he wrote: "Your letter on the Italian emigrants was most welcome. 
I am myself deeply sorry for the conditions which exist to so great 
a degree. The reports transmitted to this Sacred Congregation by 
the Archbishops of New York and New Orleans, and by the 
Fathers of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, give a very dis-
couraging impression of their spiritual and religious conditions." 

In 1888 he published his alarming book "Italian Emigration to 
America." Having stated that emigration is a natural prenomenon, 
and having explained and illustrated that trying to stop it would 
be unjust and provocative of serious consequences, he proceeded to 
enumerate its moral and economic causes among which principally 
were: needs increased out of proportion to resources, natural desire 
for betterment, agricultural crises, levies beyond the means of the 
taxpayers, craving for wealth, and intolerance of one's present con-
ditions. Since emigration should not and could not be stopped, it 
is a civic, patriotic and humanitarian duty to counsel and warn the 
emigrants concerning the dangers they will encounter in the new 

[ 5 4 ] 



land. In Italy nothing of the kind had as yet been accomplished; 
on the contrary, the emigrants were left in the hands of private 
and public exploiters and abandoned to themselves during the long, 
miserable voyage and after arriving on foreign soil. 

Feeling it was time for serious work, he proposed the following 
remedies: 1. to keep the emigrants out of the clutches of un-
scrupulous agents; 2. to open official information bureaus at the 
sailing and landing points; 3. to help them during and after the 
voyage in cases of sickness and other misfortune; 4. to secure for 
them religious assistance on board ship and in their new country. 
This last point he stressed with particular emphasis, "for," he wrote, 
"without the ministry of their priests, the Italians in foreign lands 
will soon become prey to religious indifference or fall into the 
hands of the Protestants." As a pratical conclusion Bishop Sca-
labrini founded the St. Raphael's Society for Italian emigrants. 
To organize it he visited the largest cities giving lectures and form-
ing committees with most gratifying results. For this work the 
National Exposition at Palermo conferred upon the Bishop a gold 
medal. 

Leo XIII had already addressed a letter on November 13, 1887, 
to the American Bishops, announcing the "foundation by John 
Baptist, Bishop of Piacenza, of an Apostolic College for priests who 
would prepare themselves for the spiritual care of Italian Emi-
grants." One year later the Cabinet's semi-official paper "La Ri-
forma", was still greatly worried by the whole affair. "The 
Government," it wrote, "cannot be indifferent to this situation, for 
while the present conflict exists bteween the Vatican and Italy, 
we may reasonably doubt that the Pope's emissaries will work in 
accordance with our national interests. Moreover, it is not desirable 
that the Italians present themselves in foreign countries as a re-
ligious and clerical element." 

The priests who answered the call of His Holiness and Bishop 

1 1 1 



Scalabrini were organized into a society known as the Congregation 
of St. Charles Borromeo. They took simple vows for a period of 
five years. The Congregation was approved in principle by Leo 
XIII in a Brief dated November 25, 1887 and definitely recognized 
by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda on October 
3, 1908. 

The first band of seven priests and three lay brothers left Italy 
on July 12, 1888: two Fathers and one brother were destined for 
New York, where they established St. Joachim's Mission; two 
Fathers and one brother were assigned to Santa Felicitade, Brazil; 
three Fathers and one brother to the State of Espirito Santo, also 
in Brazil. 

Other groups followed, but the priests were too few for the 
need and requirements of the American Bishops. Monsignor Sca-
labrini therefore opened in Piacenza (1892) a seminary for young 
men who wished to dedicate themselves to this new form of apos-
tolate. Meanwhile it was thought better to make the religious vows 
perpetual; later on, the Holy See replaced them with an oath of 
life long perseverance in the Society. 

In 1925 the Missionaries were placed by the Pope under the 
immediate direction of the Sacred Congregation of the Consis-
tory. This important decision was taken by Pope Pius XI in ac-
cord with Bishop Scalabrini's intentions, who in a memorandum to 
Cardinal Merry Del Val in 1905 advocated the establishment of an 
Apostolic Commission 'Pro Emigratis Catholicis' under the direct 
supervision of the Holy See, "whose authority is accepted without 
discussion by the Catholic Clergy and being by its very nature 
universal embraces all nationalities." This opportune proposal 
was seriously considered at Rome and as a result Pius X founded 
in 1912 a special office within the Congregation of the Consistory 
"for the spiritual care" of the Emigrants of Latin Rite. (Motu Pro-
prio "De Catholicorum in exteras regiones emigratione"). In virtue 

[ 5 6 ] 



of his position the Cardinal Secretary of the Concistorial is the 
supreme director of this office, the present incumbent being His 
Eminence C. R. Rossi who also acts as superior general of the Con-
gregation of St. Charles Borromeo. 

Reverting to the original intention of the founder, religious 
vows were again introduced into the. Society in 1934 and this time 
made perpetual and given a permanent form. The rules revised 
accordingly, were promulgated on September 8, 1936. 

The actual members of the Congregation number more than five 
hundred, including students and novices. They have five houses 
in Italy and in the United States they conduct parishes in the fol-
lowing diocese: Eastern Provinces—New York (3 missions), Syra-
cuse (2) , Buffalo (2) in New York State; Hartford, Conn. (2) ; 
Providence, R. I. ( 5 ) ; Boston, Mass. ( 5 ) ; Western Province— 
Chicago, 111. ( 8 ) ; Milwaukee, Wis. (1) ; Cincinnati, Ohio (1) ; 
Kansas City, Mo. (1) . Other parishes were founded or administ-
ered for some time by the Scalabrini Fathers in the cities of New 
Orleans, Meriden, Pittsburgh, New York, Joliet, Newark, Colum-
bus, Monongah, Detroit, St. Louis, Providence, Bridgeport, Iron 
Mountain, Tontitown, Norwich, Oswego, Cortland, Fairmont, Wint-
rop in the United States, Hamilton and Winnipeg in Canada. 

The Missionaries of St. Charles organized (1891) and main-
tained to a great extent for thirty years the St. Raphael Society for 
the assistance of Italians at the Port of New York: during the first 
year of its functioning it aided more than 20,000 persons. It also 
kept a labor bureau at the Barge Office in Ellis Island and an 
hospice for temporary residence of the immigrants entrusted to the 
Society by the Federal Commission. In Boston, the St. Raphael 
Society was organized in 1901. 

An office for the assistance of the emigrants sailing from 
Genoa was established in 1892, followed by similar others in Naples 

[ 5 7 ] 



and Palermo. The third Superior General of the Congregation of 
St. Charles, the most Rev. P. Chenuil, was also for some time 
director of the chaplains on board of the Italian ships. 

The Scalabrini Fathers are generally known in Brazil as Car-
listas and they administer parishes and missions in the Dioceses of 
San Paulo (5) Campinas (1) and Curytiba (3) forming the re-
ligious Province of St. Paul, and in the Dioceses of Porto Alegre 
(15) and Santa Maria (1) forming the Province of St. Peter. 
To these immense parishes are connected distant chapels attended 
by the Fathers from the central residence. 

In Brazil the Society of St. Charles Borromeo was obliged to 
place 17 promising parishes under the direction of the local clergy as 
it was impossible to spare a sufficient number of priests for their 
administration. About one million Italians in both Americas are 
under the spiritual care of the Scalabrini Fathers. For the proper 
training of the future Italo-American missionaries they have lately 
opened an Apostolic school in Chicago and another in Guaporé, 
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. They have recently extended their ac-
tivities to France and proposals are now under consideration to 
entrust them with the religious assistance of the Itajian emigrants all 
over the world. 

Bishop Scalabrini had felt the missionary vocation from his 
earliest seminary years and after his ordination he had applied to 
the Superior General of the Missioners of St. Calogero in Milan 
to be received into the Society. But his own Bishop, Monsignor 
Marzorati, forbade him to leave the Diocese: "Your Indies," he 
told the young priest, "are in Italy." However as "his heart was 
always attached to St. Calogero" he was ever willing "to allow his 
priests and seminarians to become missionaries", (letter to Mgr. 
Marinoni). 

The establishment of the Congregation of St. Charles did not 

[ 5 8 ] 



satisfy Bishop Scalabrini's apostolic zeal; he wanted to be a mis-
sionary himself, even though but for a short time. He therefore 
visited his spiritual children in the United States where he remain-
ed for three months. During his stay he was the object of much 
attention, not only from his own priests and countrymen but also 
from the American Bishops and Catholics. He visited almost all 
the great Eastern and Western cities and preached 350 times in less 
than 100 days. In one day' alone he confirmed 750 candidates in 
New York City. He also blessed churches, heard confessions, 
visited charitable institutions, ordained priests and preached a mem-
orable retreat to the Italian Clergy of New York and neighboring 
States. The Prelate was received by President Theodore Roosevelt 
at the White House and became a warm friend of Cardinal Gib-
bons, Archbishops Ireland and Corrigan and many American 
Prelates. 

After his return to Piacenza, Bishop Scalabrini sent to the 
States, and later to Brazil, groups of nuns trained and directed by 
him. They are known as "Zelatrici Sisters of the Sacred Heart" 
and were founded in 1894 in Piacenza by Mother Clelia Merloni. 

But after a few years of a struggling existence they were about 
to be dissolved when Bishop Scalabrini took charge of the Institu-
tion and gave it a new life. For this reason the Missionaries Zela-
trici rightly call him their second Founder. They now number more 
than 1500 nuns divided in four provinces (2 in Italy, 1 in the 
United States, 1 in South America) each with a flourishing no-
vitiate. They are in charge of the following institutions: 

In Italy: 17 General Hospitals, 3 Convalescing Homes for nuns; 
3 Children's Hospitals; 3 Homes for tubercolotic children; 4 Sana-
toriums; 7 Homes for old folks; 6 Academies and Teachers Col-
leges; 26 Elementary Schools; 40 Kindergartens; 47 Professional 
Schools for girls; 5 Orphanages; 1 Maternity Home. Moreover the 
Sisters are in charge of the kitchen and wardrobe in 3 Seminaries. 

[ 5 9 ] 



In the Aegean Achipelago: 1 Hospital; 2 Teachers Colleges; 
3 Elementary Schools; 2 Art Schools for Girls. 

In South America (Brazil and Argentina): 15 Hospitals; 1 
Convalescing Home for Nuns; 3 Old folks home; 5 colleges; 2 
Boarding Schools; 7 Grammar Schools; 1 Kindergarten; 1 Art 
School for girls. 

In the United States: 1 Hospital; 1 Sanatorium for Children; 
3 Orphanages; 8 Parochial Schools; 5 Kindergarten; 1 Private 
School; 5 Residences for missionary and parish work. 

The Mother House of the Missionaries Zelatrici is in Rome and 
the present Mother General is Rev. Sister Hildegarde. 

Bishop Scalabrini had previously instituted (1895) another 
congregation of nuns called the "Handmaids of the Orphans and 
Derelicts in Foreign Countries"; their first residence being in San 
Paulo, Brazil. They are now known as the Missionary Sisters of 
St. Charles Borromeo and conduct orphanages, hospitals, schools 
and academies in Brazil. Recently they have opened a novitiate in 
Piacenza. 

It was also our zealous Prelate who urged the Venerable Mother 
Cabrini to send to America her Missionary Sisters of the Sacred 
Heart, the first group of which was assigned to St. Joachim's in 
New York City. 

The Scalabrini Missionaries were instrumental in bringing to 
this Country the Sisters of Providence, founded by Don Guanella, 
whose first residence was in their Church of the Addolorata in 
Chicago. 

In 1904 our Bishop sailed for Brazil to visit his Missionaries and 
the Italian Colonies and was everywhere greeted with deep love 
and sincere joy. He remained there six months, spent in the most 
strenuous work. Traveling into the interior through forests and by 
water was a hazardous undertaking and extremely tedious, and 

[ 6 0 ] 



exhausting for one of his years. He often made long journeys on 
horseback and was sometimes carried in a chair. In the State of Rio 
Grande alone, he confirmed more than 15,000 people within five 
weeks. Before returning to Italy he visited his brother Piejtro in 
Buenos Aires, and upon arrival in Piacenza received a most en-
thusiastic welcome. 

The Prelate's diary contains some very useful and edifying in-
formations concerning these voyages to the Americas and it will 
remain a revelation of the sublime character of this pilgrim of love 
for church and country. 

BISHOP SCALABRINI AND THE POPES 

Devotion for the Vicar of Christ on earth was perhaps the most 
characteristic mark of the saintly Bishop of Piacenza. It was in-
spired and Sustained by his faith and the position he held in the 
church. To be convinced one needs only to read the eloquent 
letters by which His Excellency promulgated pontifical documents 
to his people and his fervent proclamations of the various jubilees. 

Of certain Rosminians he wrote: "I am afraid that by not 
listening to the Pope as a private teacher they will proceed to 
ignore him as the universal doctor saying: after all it is only a 
matter of philosophy! They are walking upon a slippery road, 
on which it is often very dificult to stop when their own passions 
and their enemies push them on." 

On another occasion he wrote to his people: "If we are truly 
Christians and Catholics we must will as the Pope wills; and do 
so most sincerely, always gladly, without distinctions or reservations 
of any kind. We are to follow, not to precede the Pope. He is 
the sole authoritative judge of what times and circumstances re-
quire, as well as of the character of Catholic Action, if it must be 
really useful and fruitful". 

[ 6 1 ] 



Bidding farewell to Cardinal Capecelatro at the closing of the 
Catechistic Congress he addressed him with these touching words: 
"Before long Your Eminence will again be at the feet of our most 
beloved Holy Father. Please convey to him our filial homage and 
the grateful sentiments of our hearts. Tell him how it shall ever 
be our pride to think with him in everything, to judge as he does, 
to work, to suffer and to fight with him and for him. Tell him 
that we should deem ourselves most fortunate in giving our blood 
and life for his cause, which is God's own." 

Bishop Scalabrini's devotion to the Pope was not servile nor 
prompted by personal interest, but filial and unselfish. With the 
freedom of St. Bernard to Eugene III he openly expressed his mind 
to Leo XIII, even when he knew that his ideas were not in accord-
ance with the entourage or perhaps with the Pope himself. Because 
he was holy, learned and sincere, the Pontiffs consulted him on 
different important questions of doctrinal and political character, 
and of their affectionate esteem for him they often gave public 
testimonials in Briefs and Letters and with personal gifts. 

When the Prelate conducted a large pilgrimage to Rome for the 
Pope's Episcopal Jubilee, Pius IX presented him with a beautiful 
pectoral cross and golden chain, reminding him that a "Bishop's 
cross is precious but it is also heavy". One year later, to approve 
his behaviour on the occasion of the Memorial Service for King 
Victor Emmanuel, the same Pontiff sent him, on the very day be-
fore his death, a chalice and paten of solid gold adorned with 
eighteen jewels. 

Bishop Scalabrini directed another pilgrimage to the Eternal 
City upon the. occasion of Pope Leo's golden priestly jubilee. At 
that time he presented to the Holy Father a generous offering and 
valuable gifts: from the Cathedral Chapter a silver chalice of rare 
beauty; from the Diocese a large silver Monstrance; from the 

I 62 ] 



Catholic Ladies a silk cope richly embroidered; and from the 
Bedonia Seminary an altar cloth trimmed with lace which had been 
used by Marie Louise to adorn the crib of her own and Napoleon's 
unhappy son, the Duke of Reichstadt. 

Appreciating' the Pope's poetical bent and classic culture, on 
one occasion Bishop Scalabrini accompanied several gifts to him 
with a poem. In return, the Holy Father sent him his photograph 
with these verses in Latin: "Your love offers me beautiful presents 
and accompanies them with the gracious homage of poetical 
rimes, so that crowned by a garland of flowers they may be even 
more acceptable. The piety of his children deeply touched the 
Father's heart, which burns with the flame of mutual affection. 
With this love I embrace you, wishing you the favors the Omni-
potent bestows on pious souls." Leo XIII. 

The Bishop on receipt of these verses, translated them into 
Greek and returned the version to the Pope. 

For the occasion of His Excellency's lecture on emigration in 
Rome, Pope Leo gave him a beautifully sculptured chalice of gold 
and silver, and at another time the same Pontiff presented him with 
an old Monstrance, a gift from an Austrian Archduke, which the 
Bishop left to the Mother American Church of his Missionary 
Society, St. Joachim's, in New York City. 

Of his first audience with Pius X, the Bishop wrote in a pri-
vate letter the following impression: "The night before last, I was 
received by the Holy Father who talked with me for an hour and 
a half. I was thoroughly satisfied, he is still Cardinal Sarto; the 
same agreeableness and simplicity. One feels at peace in his pres-
ence. Among other things I touched on the wrongs of the present 
situation, speaking very frankly; from his answers I have again 
convinced myself that Pius X wants to be a spiritual Pope; he will 
be interested in politics only inasmuch as they are necessary to 

[ 6 3 ] 



safeguard the rights of the Holy See and will not create any em-
barassment to the Government. If only our' statesmen were more 
intelligent and better disposed!" 

Bishop Scalabrini met the future Benedict X V in 1887 when 
Mgr. Giacomo Delia Chiesa was 33 years of age, and playing on 
his family name and small stature, called him "a small future great 
man of the Church". He also predicted Cardinal Sarto's elevation 
to the chair of St. Peter. 

Benedict X V in the apostolic letter addressed to Fr. Vincentini, 
on June 30, 1915, praises "after ten years of continued admira-
tion, the Bishop's highest virtues, especially their queen, Charity, 
which inflamed him so ardently as to make narrow for him the 
boundaries of a large diocese and impel his heart to seek a new 
flock among the Italian emigrants". 

Similar were the sentiments of Pope Pius IX who called him 
"most worthy among all priests", also of Pope Leo who saluted 
him as "the glory of the Italian Episcopate", and of Pius X who 
admired him as "one of the greatest Bishops of Christendom". 

As a tangible proof of his esteem and confidence in our Pre-
late Leo XIII thought of appointing him Apostolic Delegate to 
the United States, Nuncio to Paris and Archbishop of Ravenna. 
Each of these advancements would, eventually, have led him to the 
Cardinalate; but he humbly shunned them all, to remain faithful 
to his mystic spouse, the Church of Piacenza. "To change my 
Diocese at the age of 62 when there are so many things here in 
my hands, while my excellent clergy and dear people are cordially 
arranging for the celebration of my Jubilee, is not possible. To live 
and sanctify myself and to die in Piacenza, is the purpose I renew 
each year at my spiritual retreat, and God ever accepts such prom-
ises!" (letter to Cardinal Rompolla) 

We find the following among his particular resolutions: 

[ 6 4 ] 



"promptly to dismiss any ambitious desire of changing place; to 
rejoice sincerely at the promotion of others . . . Here I must live 
and die. To sanctify myself as Bishop of Piacenza is all I want; 
the rest is as though it did not exist for me". 

Pius X had already decided to appoint Bishop Scalabrini Pat-
riarch of Venice and Cardinal after his return from Brazil; but 
death intervened and changed these earthly honors for heavenly 
glory. 

Our present Holy Father knew the great Prelate of Piacenza 
and held him in the highest esteem, in proof thereof protecting 
with fatherly love his noblest work, the Congregation of St. Charles 
Borromeo. 

Only last June in a Brief addressed to Cardinal Rossi His Holi-
ness wrote: "Moreover since the same Missionary Society, already 
so well deserving of the Church, was by our own authority en-
trusted to the Sacred Consistorial Congregation in the Holy Year 
1925 it has marvellously developed: it increased the number of 
its priests, novices and lay brothers; it built new residences; it 
multiplied its works of charity and christian education". 

THE BISHOP'S SICKNESS AND DEATH 

Bishop Scalabrini was rather careless of his health, and his 
relatives and friends always complained that he was tiring himself 
to death and shortening his life by overwork and mortification. 
In previous years he had been ill several times, once even danger-
ously so. The voyage to South America aggravated a hydrocele 
from which he had been suffering for some time, but which he 
had kept secret because of his innate modesty. 

On May 21, 1905 after the blessing of a new cemetery he felt 
grieviously sick and his condition soon became alarming. Seven 

[ 65 ] 



days later to please his relatives and friends he submitted to a 
serious operation which was performed at the Episcopal residence; 
after it he seemed relieved to a great extent; but on May 31st 
his condition became desperate. He then asked for the Viaticum, 
and ordered that It be carried in solemn form at the tolling of 
the bells and with draperies over all the windows of the palace. 
Having put on the rochet and the pectoral cross he waited in ec-
static adoration for the arrival of the procession. 

Before receiving the sacred Host the Bishop renewed his con-
fession and softly said: "I am about to appear before Christ the 
Judge; I forgive and bless all". After Communion the Vicar 
General anointed him while he was repeating the sacred words of 
the Rite, concluding: "Pray for me . . . Goodbye!" At that mo-
ment there arrived by wire a special blessing from the Pope: 
"Thank him", he said, "thank him from me as a loving son". 

In every church special prayers were offered for his recovery, 
but Christ ascending into heaven took his faithful servant along 
to make his triumph even more glorious. It was Ascension Day, 
June 1, 1905. 

Death came to the Bishop as a long expected consolation since 
he had prepared for it all his life and especially during his last 
years, when every morning he would meditate on this all-important 
subject. His body was exposed to the veneration of the public 
for four days, and not only the people of Piacenza but also large 
representations from every corner of the Diocese came to see their 
beloved Father and Bishop for the last time on earth. 

The funeral took place on June 6th and it was an apotheosis; 
seven Bishops and 700 priests were present, with the religious and 
civil authorities leading the people. On that day 1500 Masses were 
offered for his soul in Piacenza alone. Pope Pius X, the Queen 
Mother and many Bishops and friends expressed to the relatives 

[ 6 6 ] 



and the Cathedral Chapter their deepest sorrow and sympathy, 
and the newspapers all over Italy and even in other countries 
published splendid eulogies of the illustrious and beloved departed. 

His Missionaries and the Italians of North and South America 
held solemn obsequies for their Father and benefactor. Shortly 
after his departure from this world, the Bishops of Emilia 
assembled in Congress expressed in a testimonial letter to the 
Pope their "sorrow beyond expression because the passing 
of an excellent and dearest brother, had deprived them of the 
valuable and often experienced support of his authority and pru-
dence." 

Pius X replied: "If a Brother not less important for wisdom 
than goodness has been taken away from you, this loss to you has 
likewise been most bitter and sorrowful to Our soul. May the 
Lord receive in His glory the vigilant and zealous shepherd to 
intercede in Heaven for yourself and your Dioceses." 

The same saintly Pope paid tribute to Bishop Scalabrini's 
character and his life in a letter given under his own hand and 
dated October 18, 1913: "I sincerely take part in the commemora-
tion the good citizens of Como are making of the exemplary Pas-
tor, who procured the Christian education of his people, particu-
larly through the teaching of Catechism; of the learned, gentle and 
strong Bishop, who even in critical circumstances stood bravely 
for the truth, never abandoning it for fear or personal advantages, 
and made it loved; of the valiant Apostle, who in order to pre-
serve the faith of our emigrants to America established a Society 
of zealous priests animated by his own spirit. -H- And I hope and 
pray that the memory of the Pastor, Bishop and Apostle, Bishop 
Scalabrini, be ever held in benediction and his example followed 
by those who seek to emulate him." 

On June 1, 1908 an imposing monument to the Bishop's mem-

i [ 67 ] 



ory was erected in the Cathedral of Piacenza and others in the 
Parish Church of Fino Morasco (1910), at St. Charles al Corso 
in Rome (1912), and in the Church of St. Bartholomew in Como 
(1913). In 1916 the City Fathers of Piacenza named one of the 
widest streets after him and a memorial tablet was placed in the 
front of the Episcopal Palace. 

The most enduring monument to the memory of Bishop Scala-
brini is the splendid Apostolic College erected in Bassano Veneto 
(1930-1934) for the preparation of his future missionaries. It 
is reserved for High. School and College students, while the clerics 
live; in the Christopher Columbus Institute in Piacenza, which re-
mains the mother house of the Congregation. The novices are 
trained in another house in Crespano Veneto. The residence of 
the Superior General is in Rome, where also reside the students 
destined to attend the Roman Universities. 

On April 18, 1909 the Prelate's venerated remains were re-
moved from the cemetery and placed beneath his monument, a vast 
crowd of people and fifteen Bishops being present at the ceremony. 
Among them was the future Benedict X V who in 1915 wrote to 
Fr. Vincentini, Superior General of the Congregation of St. Charles: 
"At the close of the tenth year after the departure of Bishop 
Scalabrini, We, who as Archbishop of Bologna took part in the 
transferring of his mortal remains to the Cathedral of Piacenza 
and witnessed how deep and universal was the affection and regret 
for the incomparable Prelate, from every class of citizen, We 
heartily unite the testimonial of our fond remembrance to the 
grateful thoughts of his children and admirers". 

The people's devotion to the memory of Bishop Scalabrini grows 
stronger with time, a certain proof of real greatness; and his 
tomb is a constant object of love and veneration. Among the prom-
inent persons1 who visited it were, to mention but a few, the Queen 

[ 6 8 ] 



Mother Margherita, Cardinals De Lai, Nasalli-Rocca, Perosi and 
Rossi, and Bishops Harkins of Providence, R. I., Camargo Barros 
of San Paolo and Homer de Mello of Para. And some months 
ago Bishop Menzani announced the opening of the diocesan process 
to ascertain the heroic virtues of his predecessor in the See of 
Piacenza. 

BISHOP SCALABRINI'S INTERIOR LIFE 

To give, as it were, the finishing touch to this portrait of the 
spiritual life of Bishop Scalabrini, we are now to enter the sanc-
tuary of his private life which he kept jealously hidden even from 
his most intimate family circle. 

A person so occupied with many and various duties in and 
outside of a large diocese and earnestly concerned with great prob-
lems and responsibilities gives the impression of being an over-
active" and emphatically social type. However, exterior activities 
were not a direct and joyful task for him; he submitted to them as 
a painful necessity: "My heart is overwhelmed and I long for a 
cell in the desert in order not to see so much wickedness", he 
wrote to Bishop Bonomelli. And to another Prelate: "I feel every 
day more vividly that the inner life is necessary to carry the burden 
of a Bishop's exterior life without falling under it, for on it alone 
may one find consolation, strength, spiritual nourishment, light, 
sustaining peace, the manna absconditum". 

Our beloved Prelate was a man of faith. "The government of 
a Diocese, he wrote, is a holy thing; it comes from the supernatural 
and goes back to it". In a private letter to Leo XIII, sent during 
the spiritual retreat preceding his Episcopal Jubilee, His Excellency 
said with his usual candor and humility: "Looking back to what I 
have accomplished in the midst of terrible difficulties, I have reason 

[ 6 9 ] 



to rejoice in the Lord. But if I penetrate into my secret soul, I 
find only causes for grief for not having done more good or not 
having done it well. Of this I may assure you, Most Holy Father, 
that I have never had another purpose but God's glory and the 
salvation of the souls entrusted to my care. Even the few remain-
ing years the Lord may grant me I shall entirely consecrate to the 
good of the Church, the defense of your sacred rights and to the 
establishing of the closest union of my beloved flock with your 
August Person." 

As a public testimonial of his episcopal program our Bishop 
placed in his coat of arms Jacob's mystic ladder with angels 
ascending to God and descending from Him, the principle and 
consummation of all blessings. It was also a reference to his own 
surname of Scalabrini, and the motto completes beautifully its sym-
bolism: "Video Dominum innixum scalae" — "I see the Lord 
leaning upon the ladder". 

His friend Monsignor Cornaggia-Medici writes: "The super-
natural was the essence of his life. It glowed through his eyes, 
deportment and words, in fact through his entire person. To be 
near him was sufficient to feel this and to comprehend that he 
was acting as though continually guided from on High. It is 
my firm conviction that he read in God what he was to do . . . 
The security with which he dealt with the Pope and acted in deli-
cate and decisive affairs; the very upholding of principles con-
stantly and peacefully realized in his individual, episcopal and so-
cial life, notwithstanding opposition and sorrow (which at times— 
the expression is his own—cut off his breath) all that could not 
be explained without some sort of revelation." 

Oppressed by work, anxieties and sorrow, he found tranquility 
and consolation at the foot of the Crucifix! "The Bishop wears 
the cross with no image of our dear Jesus on it, why? Because 

[ 7 0 ] 



we ought to love the Cross even without the consolation of His 
presence; love it for itself . . . It is the tree of life; abandon it not 
and you shall be happy in life, death and eternity. Oh my Lord 
Jesus! have mercy on me a poor sinner." (Diary) 

Our Prelate was enamoured of Lady Poverty. His bedroom was 
extremely poor, and even the reception halls of the Episcopal Palace 
he had furnised with elegant plainness. He wore neat, decorous 
vestments but not of the best quality. He wrote in his diary: 
"A great exterior simplicity be the image of my interior dignity, 
for the spirit of true poverty springs as a delicate flower from 
humility." "Proud poverty", he warned a nun, "is hateful before 
God and man". 

The venerable Bishop practised heroic mortifications and wore 
a painful hair cloth and iron chain around his waist, although the 
routine of his life was in itself a great penance. Five o'clock was 
his regular rising hour; then he spent three hours in the Chapel 
praying, reciting the Little Hours, meditating (usually for one 
hour) and saying Mass. At eight he entered his private library 
to transact the most urgent business; at ten he took a cup of milk 
and coffee with a morsel of bread, then he received the officials 
of the Curia, and from eleven to two in the afternoon he held 
public audiences, his doors being cordially opened to everyone. 
He then visited the Blessed Sacrament, said Vespers and Compline 
and made a long spiritual reading; sometimes he took a short walk 
and before dinner he would say Matins and Lauds. 

He kept in his breviary a sheet of paper to mark down God's 
inspirations and those sudden revelations of the spiritual meaning 
of the Psalms which flash through the mind and heart of a priest 
who recites the office as devoutly as he did. "How many blessings 
I will merit for myself and the Diocese by saying the Breviary like 
a Saint!" (Dairy) After lauds he took a frugal dinner with the 

[ 7 1 ] 



episcopal household followed by the recitation of thé Rosary in 
common. Once left alone he entered again the Chapel wherein 
he remained until eleven o'clock when he went to bed. 

Our Prelate confessed every Friday "in memory of Our Saviour's 
Passion and death and under the invocation of St. Francis De 
Sales". (Dairy) After the example of St. Charles he had appointed 
his secretary — the same for 28 years — as a censor to advise him 
freely on his faults and shortcomings. Monthly he made a spiritual 
retreat. 

Mental prayer he considered so important for a Bishop and 
a priest that he used to say that if he had been Pope he would 
shorten the breviary and oblige the clergy to daily meditation. 

His dearest devotions were to the Holy Eucharist and Our 
Blessed Lady to whom he daily consecrated his life, using a Latin 
formula written by himself: "Holy Mary ever Virgin, Mother of 
God, I, John Baptist, elect Thee for my Mistress, Patroness and 
Advocate, and I firmly purpose never to abandon Thee. I be-
seech Thee, therefore, to receive me as Thy perpetual servant, to 
assist me in every action, and particularly at the hour of my death. 
John Baptist, a poor sinner, Bishop. 

No better conclusion could we give to this brief life of Bishop 
Scalabrini than by quoting on this Golden Jubilee of the Congre-
gation of St. Charles Borromeo the words of the devout Queen 
Mother of Italy, on the occasion of his holy death: "As a worthy 
memory to the Illustrious Prelate, may the noble charitable insti-
tutions of which he was the generous founder live eternally!" 

[ 7 2 ] 





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