BL. ILDEFONSO SCHUSTER, BISHOP - 30 AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 30th of August

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. ILDEFONSO SCHUSTER, BISHOP 

Alfredo Ludovico Schuster was born in on January 18,1880 in Rome to Johann Schuster (a Bavarian tailor and double widower) and Maria Anna Tutzer. He was baptised on January 20. 

HE JOINED THE ORDER OF ST BENEDICT

Bl. Ildefonso completed his high school studies at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in November 1891. On November 13, 1898 he joined the Order of St Benedict at their novitiate at St Paul Outside the Walls when he took the name Ildefonso. He later professed his monastic vows on November 13, 1900. 

After completing his studies, Bl. Ildefonso received his ordination as a priest on March 19, 1904 at the patriarchal Lateran Basilica in Rome from Cardinal Pietro Respighi. He returned to the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls.

HE BECAME NOVICE MASTER IN 1908

He became the novice master in 1908 and prior in 1916 before he was elected as the abbot for St Paul Outside the Walls on April 6,1918. He also received the abbatial blessing from Cardinal Basilio Pompili on 14 April there. He served as the Procurator General for the Cassinese Congregation from 1914 to 1929 and also served as the President of the Pontifical Oriental Institute from 1919 to 1922. 

HE VISITED THE SEMINARIES

He visited the seminaries of the northern Lombard region as well as those in the southern regions of Campania and Calabria from 1924 to 1928. In 1926 he preached the spiritual exercises to Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (the future Pope John XXIII) at St Paul Outside the Walls. While abbot he was made a consulter to the Congregation for Rites and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

HIS TENURE AS ARCHBISHOP

Bl. Ildefonso was named Archbishop of Milan in June 1929 to succeed Eugenio Tosi. Pope Pius XI elevated him to the cardinalate in 1929. Bl. Ildefonso ordained 1265 priests and consecrated 22 bishops during his tenure as archbishop. He emphasised the importance of catechetics and promoted the Catholic Action movement for the faithful. He also believed that the goal of all Christians was holiness.

HIS FUNERAL

Bl. Ildefonso participated in the papal conclave in 1939 which elected Pope Pius XII on the eve of World War II. Bl. Ildefonso died on August 30, 1954 of a heart ailment. Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (the future Pope John XXIII) celebrated his funeral. He was buried on September 2, 1954 in the metropolitan cathedral next to his two immediate predecessors. His tomb was opened on January 28, 1985 and his remains were found to be intact. Bl. Ildefonso was beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 12, 1996. 

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