Luigi Scrosoppi

The work of Luigi Scrosoppi is entirely focused on the relief of orphans and abandoned young girls in Friuli. From 1829, he was appointed director of the "Casa delle Derelitte" in Udine, a shelter for abandoned girls founded by Father Gaetano Salomoni. Faced with the growing number of children to feed, he did not hesitate, with his brother Carlo, to beg in the streets to support them. Several women committed to the poor joined this mission under the spiritual direction of the two brothers; from this core was born, around 1845, the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence, which Luigi placed under the patronage of Saint Gaetano of Thiene. Dedicated to the education of young girls, the teaching of basic schooling and needlework, the congregation received the definitive approval of Pope Pius IX on September 22, 1871. In 1846, Luigi entered the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri in Udine, of which he became provost in November 1856. He also opened a refuge for young girls and a home for deaf-mutes. During the anticlerical troubles of the Italian unification, he managed to protect his charitable institutions, which continued to grow.

The holiness of Luigi Scrosoppi was nourished by a tireless charity and a radical trust in Divine Providence, which gives its name to his congregation. A disciple of the spirituality of Saint Philip Neri, he combined the apostolate of charity with great inner joy and simple humility, becoming all things to all people in the service of the most destitute. He attributed the birth and growth of his institute entirely to God, and not to his own merits, affirming that "the Providence of God, which prepares minds and hearts to undertake His works, was the sole foundation of this Institute." This self-surrender to Providence was verified in his persistence in helping orphans despite destitution, going so far as to beg to feed them. His reputation as a holy priest, apostle of charity, and father of the abandoned was established during his lifetime and grew after his death, supporting the introduction of his cause for beatification.

The cause of Luigi Scrosoppi succeeded thanks to the recognition of healings deemed inexplicable. Pope John Paul II proclaimed him blessed on October 4, 1981. For the canonization, the Church accepted a second miracle: the healing of Peter Changu Shitima, a Zambian residing in South Africa, who was suffering from a terminal form of AIDS, which occurred in 1996 after the invocation of the blessed. On the basis of this miracle, John Paul II canonized Luigi Scrosoppi on June 10, 2001, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, during a celebration that raised several other figures to the honors of the altars, including Agostino Roscelli, Bernard of Corleone, Teresa Eustochio Verzeri, and Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès. His liturgical feast is set for April 3, the anniversary of his death; in Udine, his memory is also celebrated on October 5. The healing of an AIDS patient accepted for his canonization is the origin of his particular patronage over people living with HIV/AIDS.

The legacy of Saint Luigi Scrosoppi is perpetuated first through the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Gaetano of Thiene, which continues his work of education and charity. He is invoked as the patron saint of people living with HIV/AIDS, in memory of the miraculous healing recognized for his canonization. In 2010, an initiative from Austria, supported by the Bishop of Gurk and the Archbishop of Udine in connection with Roman authorities, led to his designation as the patron saint of footballers: his life was presented as a model of the values developed by sport, such as loyalty, perseverance, application, and determination. His remains are kept in Udine, of which he remains a prominent spiritual figure. The Archdiocese of Udine maintains his memory through regular celebrations, and his example of service to the poor and abandoned young girls continues to inspire the devotion of the faithful well beyond Friuli.