Igino Giordani
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Igino Giordani (Hyginus Giordani; 24 September 1894 – 18 April 1980) was an Italian politician, writer and journalist, born at Tivoli. He was also a significant figure in the Catholic/ecumenical
Focolare Movement The Focolare Movement is an international organization that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood. Founded in Trent, northern Italy, in 1943 by Chiara Lubich as a Catholic movement, it remains largely Roman Catholic but has st ...
.


Biography


Early life

Igino was the first of six children of Mariano and Ursula Antonelli. In 1900 he began
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
, on completion of which he apprenticed as a
stone mason In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...
, in the footsteps of his father. A man for whom he'd done some work, paid for him to attend the Diocesan
Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
at Tivoli. He did his
baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to: * ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification * Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree * English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...
and attended the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Rome."Servo di Dio Igino Giordani", Santi e Beati, June 16, 2017
/ref> During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Giordani was a
second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
, on the Isonzo River in the 111th Infantry Regiment and in 1916 was severely injured and rushed to the
hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
, where he completed his degrees in literature and philosophy. Upon gaining his
Bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...
in letters degree, he started to teach and at the same time began the first collaborations and contributions to reviews, magazines and newspapers. On 2 February 1920 he married Mya Salvati at Tivoli and moved to
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. They had four children: Mario, Sergio, Brando and Bonizza (Ganjawala Aragno). In the autumn, he met
Luigi Sturzo Luigi Sturzo (; 26 November 1871 – 8 August 1959) was an Italian Catholic priest and prominent politician. He was known in his lifetime as a "clerical socialist" and is considered one of the fathers of the Christian democratic platform. He wa ...
and joined the Italian People's Party."Igino Giordani", ''New City'' - Philippine edition, October 20, 2018
/ref> In October he wrote his first political articles for ''Il Populo Nuovo '', its weekly newspaper. Giordani became editor in 1924. After a specialized course in
Bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...
and
Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
Studies in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, where he became a
Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
of the
Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
in 1928,I. Giordani, Erinnerungen, München u.a. 1991, 46; Zaida Ferreira Rocha, Kleine Geschichte des Europäischen Rates der Dominikanischen Laiengemeinschaften, Johannes Weise, Hg., Jeder ist ein Wort Gottes für die Anderen, Leipzig 2009, 18-33, 20; Agenzia Fides 4/6/2004 - Righe 29; Parole 412 he was hired as a
Librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
at the
Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
. He was the editor of one of the first organic manuals of cataloguing of its printed works and handwritten manuscripts. He also directed the journal ''Fides''. In that same year, he took special care of
Alcide De Gasperi Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 to 1953. De Gasp ...
who had been recently released from prison and to remove the harassment by the police. Igino Giordani recalled his intervention with
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
: On 2 June 1946, he was elected to the constituent Assembly of Italy for the
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, and in August succeeded Guido Gonella in the management of the magazine ''Il Populo '' (1946-1947). In November of the same year he was elected to the City Council (or Commune) of Rome.


Focolare

On 17 September 1948, at
Montecitorio The Palazzo Montecitorio () is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament. History The palace's name derives from the slight hill on which it is built, which was claimed to be the ''Mons ...
he met
Chiara Lubich Chiara Lubich (born Silvia Lubich; January 22, 1920, Trento – March 14, 2008, Rocca di Papa), was an Italian teacher and author who founded the Focolare Movement, which aims to bring unity among people and promote universal family. She was a c ...
and thereafter shared the ideals of the
Focolare Movement The Focolare Movement is an international organization that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood. Founded in Trent, northern Italy, in 1943 by Chiara Lubich as a Catholic movement, it remains largely Roman Catholic but has st ...
, which she founded in 1943. Igino Giordani was the first married layman to take the promises of
consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
to
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
in the Focolare Movement. He greatly appealed to the founder Chiara Lubich with all of his experience in the political and Christian sphere, with his familiarity with the realities of married life, being a family man, as well as an educator. She says that she "saw in him all of humanity"; she regarded him as 'a seed for all the lay vocations’ within the Focolare Movement, beginning with him the ‘Gen’ (a young people movement, the "new generation"), but "saw" in his figure even the priests, religious and young seminaries and novices who were to join the Movement. She saw in him "this very humanity summed up and renewed by the ideal of unity'; He was 'Foco', the ‘Fire' of the movement for she considered him invested with a real charism for the movement. For all this, shortly after the death of Igino, Chiara declared him 'co-founder' of the movement along with the priest Pasquale Foresi and the German Bishop, Klaus Hemmerle. He was one of the authors of the first
bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
on
conscientious objectors A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
, in 1949. Then, in 1953 he resigned from politics, and was an employee of the ''
Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' (, 'The Roman Observer') is the daily newspaper of Vatican City State which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not a ...
'' and ''Il Populo''. He was engaged in intense cultural activity during this period. Through his books and his various activities as a journalist, he anticipated in the years before the Second Vatican Council some topics on the spirituality of the family and the role of the laity in the Church. For this reason, he is often remembered as a precursor of the Conciliar renewal. He continued as an important worker in the Focolare Movement: * In 1959 was appointed editor of the ''Città Nuova.' * In 1961 he was placed at the head of ''‘Centro Uno’'', an ecumenical movement. * In 1965 he was appointed President of the International Institute ''Mystici corporis'' in Loppiano. After the death of this wife, and with the consent of his children, he lived the last seven years of his life in a "Focolare" community at
Rocca di Papa Rocca di Papa (Roman Castles Romanesco: ) is a small town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani about southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is close to the other communes of Velletri ...
. His work and his ideals are perpetuated by many associations that are named in his honor. His cause for canonization is currently being promoted and his cause was completed in its Diocesan phase on 27 September 2009.


Works

The bibliographic entry written by Thomas Sally and published in ''Giordani segno dei tempi nuovi'', Rome, 1994, pp. 175–192, contains 104 titles including essays and translations in addition to a listing of minor essays published as pamphlets or serials and the originals are preserved in the Archives of the Igino Giordani Center at
Rocca di Papa Rocca di Papa (Roman Castles Romanesco: ) is a small town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani about southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is close to the other communes of Velletri ...
. We list here some of the most important titles: *''Rivolta cattolica'',
Torino 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 ...
, Gobetti, 1925 (later editions of 1945, 1962, 1997); *''Le due città: religione e politica nella vicenda delle liberta umane'', Rome, Città Nuova Editrice, 1961; *''Segno di contraddizione'',
Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
, Morcelliana, 1933, (successive editions 1934, 1941, 1944, 1964); *''La repubblica dei marmocchi'', Rome, Casa Ed. Pro Familia, 1940, (successive editions 1940, 1963, 2003); *''La rivoluzione cristiana'', Rome, Città nuova, 1969; *''Famiglia comunità d'amore'', Rome, Città nuova, 1969, (successive editions 1991, 1994); *''Pensiero sociale della Chiesa oggi'', Rome, Città nuova, 1974; *''Diario di fuoco'', Rome, Città nuova, 1980 (successive editions 1985, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2001); *''Memorie di un cristiano ingenuo'', Rome, Città nuova, 1981 (successive editions 1984, 1994); *''Il laico chiesa: la vocazione dei laici. Pagine scelte'', edited by Tommaso Sorgi, Rome, Città nuova, 1987, (successive editions 1988);


Legacy

A street in Rome, as well as one in Tivoli, Via Igino Giordani, is named for him.
Sorocaba Sorocaba () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Sorocaba is the eighth-largest city in the state of São Paulo. Outside the Greater São Paulo region, it ranks behind only Campinas, São José dos Campos and Ribeirão Preto. It ...
, Brazil has a Rua Igino Giordani.


See also

*
Focolare Movement The Focolare Movement is an international organization that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood. Founded in Trent, northern Italy, in 1943 by Chiara Lubich as a Catholic movement, it remains largely Roman Catholic but has st ...
*
Chiara Lubich Chiara Lubich (born Silvia Lubich; January 22, 1920, Trento – March 14, 2008, Rocca di Papa), was an Italian teacher and author who founded the Focolare Movement, which aims to bring unity among people and promote universal family. She was a c ...
*
List of peace activists This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work ...


Notes


Bibliography

*Tommaso Sorgi, ''Giordani segno di tempi nuovi'', Rome, Città nuova, 1994, with a rich and comprehensive bibliography in the Appendix; *Tommaso Sorgi, ''Un'anima di fuoco: profilo di Igino Giordani, 1894-1980'', 2nd ed., Rome, Città Nuova, 2003;


External links


Igino Giordani

Centro Studi Politici e Sociali "F. M. Malfatti"
* website = http://legislature.camera.it/chiosco.asp?cp=1&position=Assemblea%20Costituente , \I%20Costituenti&content = altre_sezioni/assemblea_costituente/composition/constituents/framedeputato.asp?MP = 1d8540 {{DEFAULTSORT:Giordani, Igino 1894 births 1980 deaths People from Tivoli, Lazio Italian Servants of God Italian People's Party (1919) politicians Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Members of the Constituent Assembly of Italy Deputies of Legislature I of Italy Italian male journalists Italian military personnel of World War I Italian human rights activists 20th-century Italian journalists 20th-century Italian male writers