Leonardo Murialdo

Leonardo Murialdo (26 October 1828 – 30 March 1900) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the co-founder of the Congregation of Saint Joseph - also known as the Murialdines (which he founded alongside Eugenio Reffo). Murialdo's call to the priesthood did not manifest until late in his education in Savona; he pursued his ecclesial studies and was ordained as such in 1851 before dedicating himself to social work alongside the poor and with adolescent men. This put him into contact with other priests of the era such as Giovanni Bosco and Giuseppe Cafasso who held Murialdo in great esteem. His zeal for social concern saw his frequent calls for an end to worker exploitation and the granting of further rights to workers in factories.

Murialdo died in the odor of holiness in 1900 and had a reputation for deep personal holiness. This became more prevalent in northern Italian cities where Murialdo and his religious order worked. The cause for his canonization opened under Pope Benedict XV in 1921 with Pope John XXIII later confirming his heroic virtue and naming Murialdo as Venerable in 1961. Pope Paul VI beatified Murialdo in late 1963 and later canonized him just under a decade later in 1970.

Life

Education

Leonardo Murialdo was born on 26 October 1828 in Turin as the seventh of nine children to the upper middle-class Leonardo Franchino Murialdo (1776 or 1777-15.06.1833) and Teresa Rho (c. 1795-9.07.1849). His father - a stockbroker - died in 1833 during his childhood. His nickname as a child was "Nadino". Before him six sisters were born and after him, his brother and sister; his siblings were (in order):

Elder -

* Olimpia
* Aurelia
* Dionisia
* Emilia
* Clementine (died in her childhood)
* Domitillia

Younger -

*Ernesto
* Delfina (1830-???)
Murialdo received his baptism on 27 October in the San Dalmazzo parish church.

In 1836 both he and his brother Ernesto were sent to the Piarist boarding school (Scolopian College) in Savona which he attended until 1843; the pair arrived via coach on 27 October in the evening after having departed Turin on 25 October. His initial education there lasted until 1838 while he began his high school education there from 1838 until 1843. He studied the humanities and grammar and two of his educators were the priests Atanasio Canata and Giovanni Solari. But he felt a deep personal crisis from 1842 to 1843 due to his fellow pupils' poor behaviour and tendencies. He and his brother returned to Turin in September 1843 where he made his first Confession to the abbot Pullini. On 3 November 1843 he returned to Savona to begin a philosophical course but also chose ancient historical sciences to avoid bad companions that had forced his earlier departure from the school. In spring 1844 he listened to the Capuchin friar Vincenzo Oliva give a Lenten sermon about Hell which had a profound impact on Murialdo to the point where he decided to consecrate himself to God. He decided he wanted to become a Capuchin in the spirit of detachment though the canon Lorenzo Renaldi - a close friend - dissuaded Murialdo and suggested he just become a diocesan priest instead.

Murialdo's confessor during his time in Savona was Marcantonio Durando; Durando would be the one leading him in a spiritual retreat in preparation for his ordination. He completed his philosophical course (which he commenced in 1843) on 6 November 1845 and was then vested in the cassock for the first time after the abbot Pullini blessed the cassock in the Santa Chiara church once Murialdo began his ecclesial studies. Murialdo later wrote that "he never had a thought" about becoming a priest. Upon his return to Turin he began his ecclesial studies in 1845 at the college (as an external cleric student) there.

He never believed he would become a priest and it was believed that his brother Ernesto would do so. In his childhood he wanted to pursue a career in the armed forces while in Savona entertaining notions of learning civil law. During his philosophical course he set himself on becoming an engineer. He began a theological course in Turin from 1845 to 1850 as an external clerical student and his two tutors during this time were the theologians Augusto Berta and Pietro Baricco. His academic course ended on 8 May 1850 and he received excellent results.

Priesthood

He received his ordination to the priesthood on 20 September 1851 in the Church of the Visitation from Monsignor Giovanni Domenico Ceretti; the latter also made Murialdo a subdeacon (21 September 1850) and a deacon (5 April 1851). He celebrated his first Mass at San Dalmazzo church with abbot Maximo Pullini and canon Lorenzo Renaldi co-celebrating alongside him. Murialdo's first focus after his ordination was to work in the poor Vanchiglia neighbourhood close to the Oratorio dell'Angelo Custode which his cousin Roberto Murialdo managed. It was one of the first oratories in Turin to minister to poor and abandoned children on the fringes of living. From 1857 until 1865 he was - at the request of John Bosco, the director for the Oratorio di San Luigi. Murialdo conferred and collaborated with Don Bosco as well as Joseph Cafasso.

On 28 September 1865 he left Turin and went to the Saint-Sulpice church in Paris to further his theological studies in moral matters and to further himself in canon law. It was during this time that he attended a conference of the Vincentians and later visited London. In Paris he wanted to become a Sulpician but the superior Henri Icard dissuaded him from this. Murialdo returned to Turin in October 1866 and was put in charge of the Artigianelli Boarding School where adolescent men were educated and taught a trade. In 1870 he became the director of the Oratorio di San Martino. In 1871 he organized the Union of Catholic Workers on behalf of the women and other people who worked in factories. In 1871 he also was among the promoters of the popular Catholic libraries. In 1858 he met Pope Pius IX in a private audience after Bosco wanted Murialdo to go with him to meet the pontiff.

In 1873 he established the Congregation of Saint Joseph in honor of Saint Joseph as a model for laborers and did this with Eugenio Reffo as his collaborator in this venture. He conferred with Father Icard and the theologian William Blengio to discuss hie dream while also conferring with the Bishop of Alba Eugenio Roberto Galletti and the Archbishop of Turin

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