Gaetano Catanoso

Gaetano Catanoso

Memorial plaque in Pentedattilo

Gaetano Catanoso (born February 14, 1879 in Chorio, a district of San Lorenzo near Reggio Calabria , Italy ; † April 4, 1963 in Reggio Calabria, Italy) was an Italian priest and founder of the order . He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church .

Gaetano Catanoso was born on February 14, 1879 to a wealthy family in Chorio, a small Italian village outside Reggio Calabria, the third of eight children.

At the age of ten he came to the Archbishop's seminary in Reggio Calabria, which he had to leave for a while due to illness. At the age of 23, he was ordained a priest on September 20, 1902 by Cardinal Gennaro Portanova, Archbishop of Reggio Calabria. He remained as prefect of studies at the seminary until March 1904, before taking over his first parish in the remote mountain village of Pentedattilo, where he served as a priest from 1921. Padre Catanoso very passionately imitated the life of Christ in his service to the poor: he hiked or rode a donkey to the surrounding mountain villages and brought the gospel and hope to abandoned and isolated people in desperate life situations. Catanoso cultivated a deep devotion to the Holy Face Jesus. In 1919 he founded a Brotherhood of the Holy Face in his parish with the approval of the Arch Brotherhood of the Holy Face of Tours , France . He wrote: “The Holy Face is my life. HE is my strength! "

In 1921 he was called to Santa Maria de la Candelaria near Reggio as pastor. He revived Marian and Eucharistic devotions and improved catechesis for the religious education of the faithful and made sure that the liturgical feasts were observed. He organized cooperation among the neighboring priests, who offered popular missions with sermons and confessions in the other parishes.

In 1930, Padre Gaetano was appointed cathedral capitular at the Cathedral of Reggio Calabria.

In 1934 he founded the Congregation of the Veronica Sisters of the Holy Face to support him in his work among the poor. The sisters were mostly young women from poor families who were inspired by Padre Gaetano's humility, devotion and mission. Together they founded elementary schools in small towns such as San Lorenzo, Roccaforte and Chorio for the education of children and homes for the elderly to care for the elderly and the sick. Their goal was to fight ignorance and the mafia through education and the word of God.

Padre Catanoso also founded the poor clergy to promote priestly vocations .

Padre Gaetano was a soul guide for several religious institutions, confessor in prison, hospital and in the seminary. In addition to all of these services, he was also a spiritual mentor and advisor to his own extended family in Chorio and Reggio.

Although Padre Gaetano worked in small towns in southern Italy, he cultivated friendships with other priests in Italy, including Luigi Orione and Annibale Maria Di Francia, who were themselves raised to the honor of the altars. They helped each other with their social works and gave each other advice.

In the last years of his life he could still see his great wish come true: a shrine in honor of the Holy Face, which was built next to the motherhouse of the Veronica Sisters in Reggio.

Padre Gaetano Catanoso died on April 4, 1963 in Reggio Calabria.

The Catanoso family has supported his mission and his Veronica sisters for generations. Padre Gaetano's mission has also spread to the Philippines and Tanzania.

Adoration

His canonization process, which began in 1979, was remarkably quick: it lasted only 26 years. On May 4, 1997 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II . On October 23, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI spoke . holy him after a second healing miracle could be traced back to his intercession. His feast day in the liturgy is September 20th, the anniversary of his ordination. His grave is in the Santuario del Volto Santo in Reggio Calabria.

Web links

• Lexicon of saints
• Vatican.va
• San Gaetano Catanoso
• Homepage of the Veronika Sisters (ital.)