Next Sunday Blessed Louis Guanella will be canonised in Rome. It will be the coronation of a life of sacrifice and service in complete faithfulness to God's plan.
Fr. Louis Guanella, in fact had a great zeal for the salvation of souls and for the needs of the poor. But in his lifetime he had to face the persecutions of the State and the indifference and misunderstanding of his Superiors, who meant to protect him and the Church from further troubles.
But in the end his faith and consistence had been rewarded, and the Lord opened the way for his charism to be manifested to the world.
I wish to rejoice with his Sons and Daughters, the Fathers and Sisters who are quite active in many countries (I met them in Italy and in India). I would be happy if my friends had access to the spiritual wealth of this apostle of charity.
Why should I be so interested? St. Louis Guanella is an alumnus of the Gallio College in Como, where he was able to pursue his studies under the guidance of the Somascan Fathers. At that time he was already a seminarian for the diocese of Como, but was at the Somascan College on a scholarship. Later on he was deeply influenced by St. John Bosco, with whom he spent three years of his life. But he never forgot the beginnings of his priestly vocation, protected and nourished by the Somascan environment and the charism of St. Jerome our Founder.
May the Lord be praised for this masterpiece of His work which is going to be presented to the Church as a model and a pattern.
