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STEFANO BELLESINI, RELIGIOUS - 2 FEBRUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY

Saints celebrated on the 2nd of February

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STEFANO BELLESINI, RELIGIOUS

In 1840, Stefano (Stephanus) Bellesini, of the Augustinian Order, died in the odour of sanctity in Gennazzano (Tyrol). He was initially conventual in the Saint Maurus monastery in Trent. In this city he was born on November 25, 1774. His father was a notary; his pious mother directed his upbringing. In 1790 he entered the Order and immediately came to Bologna, where he remained until 1797. Soon afterwards he became a priest. He now redoubled his zeal for the salvation of souls, which increased in proportion as he himself strived for holiness. 

In 1809 his monastery was closed; he and three other priests were allowed to stay for the time being. When this privilege was withdrawn, he set up a school for the poor, which almost exceeded his strength, especially since he gave out large amounts of alms, and deceitful beggars often abused his kindness. At this time he used to say his prayers mostly during the night. 

When the country became Bavarian in 1812, Stefano was put in charge of the school system in Tyrol. All of his orders were approved and also endorsed by the later Austrian government. 

Still, he did not like life in the world; he was homesick for his Order and the religious life. In 1814 he secretly left and travelled from Trento to Rome via Ferrara. From then onwards devoted all the time that was left to him for monastery activities (he was novice master for 9 years, partly in Rome, partly in Pieve), to the exercises of mortification, contemplation and prayer. 

In 1826 he moved to the monastery of Gennazzano, where he also managed the parish administration for nine years. He did it with an extraordinary and tireless devotion to duty until his death. His canonisation has begun. The numerous miracles that occurred at his grave supported the initiation of the proceedings. (Guerin)

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 5, Augsburg, 1882, p. 381)

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org





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