Carlo Braga (23 May 1889 – 3 January 1971) was a professed

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

of the

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in the late 19th century by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor children du ...

and known as "the Little Don Bosco of China" for his missionary works towards the children in China. He died in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in 1971.

Biography

Don Braga was born in

Tirano Tirano ( lmo, Tiràn, german: Thiran) is a town in Valtellina, located in the province of Sondrio in northern Italy. It has 9,053 inhabitants (2016) and is adjacent to the Switzerland-Italy border. The river Adda flows through the town. Main ...

Sondrio Sondrio (; lmo, Sùndri; rm, Sunder; archaic german: Sünders or ; la, Sundrium) is an Italian city and ''comune'' and Provincial Capital located in the heart of the Valtellina. , Sondrio counts approximately 21,876 inhabitants (2015) and it is ...

, on May 23, 1889. He grew up motherless since childhood and because of this his education was entrusted to the

in Sondrio. When he was seventeen, he entered the Salesians and took religious vows in

Turin, Italy Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

and he completed his studies in philosophy in Valsalice High School, where his instructors were Don Cimatti, the future apostle of Japan, and Don Cojazzi, a well known apostle of young people. With the outbreak of the First World War, he was recruited in the army for three years, at the end of that he applied to be sent on a mission in the Far East. When he reached Shiu Chow, in southern China, the first Salesian Bishop and Martyr, Monsignor Luigi Versiglia, who immediately sensed the good educational qualities of Don Braga, the Bishop entrusted the direction of the "Don Bosco Middle School" to him. Don Braga, at the age of 40, was called to replace the Salesian Provincial, Fr Canazei, who was elected as bishop. The Salesian missions in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

under his leadership brought forth orphanages and schools in

Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

and in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

arose five large and modern schools with a student population of about 10,000 students. He pushes bravely in northern China and implants the Salesian work in the capital Beijing: the work for orphans, for the poor and abandoned boys in those years many wandering the streets or starving. In

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

he realizes the prophetic dream of

Don Bosco John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century. While working ...

who many years before had seen the Salesians settle in the vast capital. The Salesian work of Don Braga, clearly expanding, saw his dreams were interrupted by

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. Each education, charity and evangelization were closed. He then turned his attention to the

and

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

, where here he opened a Salesian school. Meanwhile, in 1955 he was elected Provincial. His zeal and enthusiasm inspires other missionaries. In the Philippines, the Salesian presence spread with extraordinary depth. Deep optimism, human kindness and cheerfulness were the main features of Don Braga. Everywhere he promoted a wonderful family spirit. On 3 January 1971, he died at the age of 81 in Bacolor, Pampanga, Philippines.

Beatification

The cause for his

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

is already in the preliminary stages of the diocesan investigation but has not yet received the decree ''

nihil obstat ''Nihil obstat'' (Latin for "nothing hinders" or "nothing stands in the way") is a declaration of no objection that warrants censoring of a book, e.g., Catholic published books, to an initiative, or an appointment. Publishing The phrase ''ni ...

'' from the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...

. As of January 2019, ha has been declared a

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braga, Carlo 1889 births 1971 deaths Salesians of Don Bosco Italian Servants of God Filipino Servants of God Salesian Servants of God 20th-century venerated Christians People from the Province of Sondrio Roman Catholic missionaries in China