Giacomo Alberione

Blessed Giacomo Alberione

Giacomo Alberione (Jakob Alberione) (born April 4, 1884 in San Lorenzo di Fossano near Cuneo , Italy ; † November 26, 1971 in Rome ) was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church and founder of the order . He was beatified in 2003 ; his ecclesiastical feast day is November 26th.

history

Giacomo Alberione was born the fifth son of a farming family. From 1890 to 1891 he attended elementary school in Cherasco , during which time his decision to become a priest had already grown. In 1896 he was taught in the Catholic seminary of Bra and was from 1899 to 1900 at the episcopal grammar school . During this time he was from books and magazines excited so that he neglected his school duties and relegated to be had. He experienced first hand how much the printed word could influence people. From October 1900 the candidate for the priesthood was finally in the seminary of the diocese of Alba . On New Year's Eve 1901 he received a visionary interpretation that he should preach the Gospel with new means of communication , this task conveyed in him the urge to stand up for people in the coming century . After his ordination on June 29, 1907, the feast of the martyrdom of St. Paul of Tarsus , he initially worked in the parish of Narzole and in 1908 took over the activity of spiritual of the pupils and students in the seminary of Alba. St. Paul's life and ministry would later influence his life and work.

Media and religious orders

Statue of the Apostle Paul of Tarsus in the Church of St. Aposteln ( Cologne )

The encyclical " Tametsi futura prospicientibus " was published on November 1, 1900 by Pope Leo XIII. (1878-1903) published. In it the Pope declared "that the clergy must use all available means to familiarize mankind with the word of God". In modern parlance, this meant for Alberione that the clergy should use both the written and the spoken word as a medium . The young candidate for the priesthood was enthusiastic about this opportunity and from now on endeavored to follow this instruction. From 1913 he published the weekly diocese newspaper "Gazetta d'Alba".

The first establishment of a religious community in the modern Pauline spirit took place on August 20, 1914 with the Society of St. Paul . In the resulting Pauline family , he founded another five religious and secular institutes between 1915 and 1960 . All the Institutes of Consecrated Life believe in the power of media in spreading the Gospel, as does Giacomo Alberione. The Blessed Alberione is discussed in our time as the " patron saint of the Internet ". As a participant in the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) he was involved in the creation of the Council decree “ Inter mirifica ” on the means of social communication and the instruments of evangelism (December 14, 1963).

(See also: Main article Society of St. Apostle Paul )

General Superior

The first general chapter of the Society of St. Paul elected Father Alberione as Superior General on April 4, 1957 . On August 5, 1969, he was appointed Honorary General Superior at the Second General Chapter, followed by Father Luigi Damaso Zanoni in the office of General Superior .

Death and beatification

On November 25, 1971, Father Alberione died in the Generalate of the Society of St. Paul in Rome, he was buried in Santa Maria Regina degli Apostoli alla Montagnola . In 1981 the beatification process began. The Decree on the Venerable Servant of God was published on June 25, 1996. On April 27, 2003, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II (1978-2005).

Web links

• Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
• orden-online.de (accessed March 3, 2013)
• Address by John Paul II to the pilgrims who came for the beatification on April 28, 2003
• Biography: Fr James Alberione (1884–1971) (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gazetta d'Alba: http://www.gazzettadalba.it/chi-siamo/ Chi siamo , accessed on February 5, 2018.
2. ↑ Internet patron: Don Bosco leads Giacomo Alberione
3. ↑ Patron saint for the Internet