BL. TOMMASO REGGIO, BISHOP - 9 JANUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY

Saints celebrated on the 9th of January

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

BL. TOMMASO REGGIO, BISHOP

Blessed Tommaso Reggio was born in Genoa on January 9, 1818 to Marquis Giovanni Giacomo Reggio and Angela Maria Pareto. He received his ordination to the priesthood on September 18, 1841 after the conclusion of his ecclesial studies from Cardinal Placido Maria Tadini; he celebrated his first Mass in Gavi in Alessandria in the church of San Maurizio. 

VIZE-RECTOR OF SEMINARIANS

On July 15, 1842 he graduated from the Genoa college in theological studies and received his doctorate in those studies in 1843. Reggio was appointed in 1843 as the vice-rector of seminarians in Genoa. 

THE CATHOLIC STANDARD

He helped found The Catholic Standard on July 26, 1849 which was a newspaper but was to later close the paper on March 14, 1874 (with its final issue) after the papal declaration that the faithful could not vote in elections. It also put to rest his hopes - and that of others - for establishing a political organisation based on the teachings of the faith.

HE WAS CONSECRATED BISHOP

He was named as the Bishop of Ventimiglia and as the titular Bishop of Tanis; he received his episcopal consecration in mid-1877. The diocese was so poor to the point that he had to travel on a mule to visit his parishes. He founded the Sisters of St Martha on October 15, 1878 which he determined was to be a congregation devoted to caring for the poor. 

THE SISTERS OF ST MARTHA

Following an earthquake in 1887 in his diocese he worked with the victims in the rubble and he ordered his priests to use all of their resources to help the displaced peoples. He founded orphanages at Ventimiglia and Sanremo for those children who had lost their families in the quake. This great aid he rendered saw the Italian government award him as a Knight of the Cross of SS. Maurizio e Lazzaro in 1887. 

ARCHBISHOP OF GENOA

In 1892 he asked Pope Leo XIII to relieve him of his duties but the pope appointed him instead as the Archbishop of Genoa where he was enthroned on August 10 in a grand celebration. He set up a network for immigrants. 

A NETWORK FOR IMMIGRANTS

Reggio made a pilgrimage on September 13, 1901 to Triora. He could not ascend the mountain due to being struck with a sudden and violent knee pain forcing him to remain in bed. Infection soon settled in and worsened.  

He died in the afternoon on November 22, 1901 at 2:20pm with his last words being: "God, God, God alone is enough for me". His remains were interred in Genoa after the funeral at the cathedral but later relocated in 1951. In 2008 his order had 527 religious in 63 houses in countries such as Argentina and Lebanon. 

(Information from Wikipedia - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommaso_Reggio)