Giuseppe Moscati

Giuseppe Moscati

The Holy Giuseppe Moscati , even Joseph Moscati (* 25. July 1880 in Benevento at Avellino ; † 12. April 1927 in Naples ) was an Italian physician , scientist and university professor. He was founded in 1975 by Pope Paul VI. Beatified and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1987 . His feast day is November 16.

Life

Giuseppe Moscati was born in 1880 to a noble family. He was the seventh of nine children. As a boy he vowed eternal chastity. After graduating from high school at the Vittorio Emanuele Institute, he began studying medicine at the University of Naples in 1897 , which he finished in 1903 with a doctorate. He began his professional activity at the Incurabili Hospital, in 1908 he became an assistant at the Institute for Physiological Chemistry . In 1911 he was appointed private lecturer in physiological chemistry. He later became director of the Institute for Pathological Anatomy. He turned down a call as professor of physiological chemistry in order to continue working in the hospital. In 1922 he became a private lecturer in general medicine. After a short illness he died in 1927.

Act

Memorial plaque for Moscati in Naples

Giuseppe Moscati distinguished himself early on through his humanitarian work. When Vesuvius erupted in 1906, he provided immediate help to those affected, including the evacuation of the hospital in Torre del Greco. He was also with the sick day and night during the cholera epidemic in Naples in 1911. During the First World War he treated about 3000 soldiers. He also took care of the soldiers' mental health and wrote diaries and poems for them, for example.

Giuseppe Moscati was known to take special care of the poor and the dying. Often he did not take a fee or only worked for a low wage and also made considerable donations for medication for sick people in need. Although Moscati turned down the appointment as professor in Naples, he was always active as a teacher; an area in which, according to the unanimous testimony of his students, he was particularly gifted.

Moscati tomb, Gesù Nuovo church, Naples

The two miracles recognized by the Catholic Church (necessary for beatification) are healing a patient from Addison's disease and healing a patient from cerebrospinal meningitis . A recognized miracle in the context of canonization is the healing of a patient with acute leukemia after Moscati's death; the mother of the patient had appeared to Moscati in a dream and she then asked him in prayer for assistance.

The importance of Moscati is made clear by an excerpt from the speech of the then Pope John Paul II on canonization: “The man whom we as saints of the universal Church will invoke from today seems to us to be an actual realization of the ideal of the Christian layman. Joseph Moscati, chief physician, excellent researcher, university professor of human physiology and physical chemistry, experienced his varied tasks with the diligence and seriousness that are necessary for the practice of these difficult secular professions. From this point of view, Moscati is not only to be admired as a model, but also to be imitated, especially by the medical staff. He is a role model even for people who do not approve of his belief. "

Quotes

“The sick are figures of Jesus Christ; Immortal, divine souls who, according to the Gospel, are to be loved like oneself. ”
“ One must not treat pain as a twitch or muscle contraction, but as the cry of a soul to which another brother with the fire of love, of mercy , hurry. "

literature

• Ekkart Sauser :  Moscati, Josef. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 20, Bautz, Nordhausen 2002, ISBN 3-88309-091-3 , Sp. 1053-1054.

Web links

Commons : Giuseppe Moscati  - collection of images, videos and audio files

This article is based in part on the corresponding article in the English language Wikipedia.