Vincenzo Grossi

In Vicobellignano, Father Vincenzo Grossi deployed a pastoral apostolate of remarkable intensity. Faced with the Methodist Protestant presence and the moral dangers threatening rural youth, he organized a festive oratory and developed regular catechesis on Sundays and feast days, preaching in accessible Italian based on Holy Scripture. His approach toward the Protestants combined doctrinal firmness with sincere charity: he himself declared that he wanted "the Methodists to understand that he loves them too." It was in this context that he conceived the project of a congregation of women entirely devoted to the education of young girls in rural parishes. In 1885, he established the first community of the Daughters of the Oratory (Figlie dell'Oratorio) in Pizzighettone, drawing inspiration from the spirituality of Saint Philip Neri and his Oratory. The religious sisters, without a distinctive habit, lived integrated into the parish ministry, "in contact with the flock, dressed as laywomen." Father Vincenzo wrote the Rules of the Institute, which he submitted to Bishop Bonomelli in December 1900. Diocesan approval was granted on June 20, 1901; pontifical approval followed on April 29, 1926. Although he was the de facto founder, he refused this title, stating with humility that "the founder is the Lord." The Institute, patronized by Saint Philip Neri, gradually spread to several Italian dioceses. His remains were translated in 1947 to the motherhouse of the Daughters of the Oratory in Lodi.

The holiness of Father Vincenzo Grossi was not expressed through extraordinary events, but in what his contemporaries called "fidelity to the everyday." The testimony of Father Amilcare Bombeccari well summarizes this discreet charism: his holiness resided in the constancy of ordinary service rather than in visible wonders. A country priest for forty-three years, he lived in voluntary poverty and total detachment, dedicating his resources to his most destitute parishioners. His Eucharistic devotion was central: according to the tradition of the Institute he founded, he wrote the Rules on his knees before the tabernacle, an expression of a contemplation that fueled his action. His spirituality followed in the wake of Saint Philip Neri, whose joy, simplicity, and service he adopted as ideals of religious life. He asked the Daughters of the Oratory to be "joyful, simple, humble, animated by the love of God." Attentive to the fragilities of youth, he showed concrete mercy, excluding no one from his pastoral solicitude, including the Protestants of his parish. The reputation for holiness that surrounded him during his lifetime led to the opening of the informative process in Lodi as early as 1947. On May 6, 1969, he was declared Venerable by the Holy See, an official recognition of the heroic nature of his virtues. Pope Francis emphasized during the canonization that Grossi was "a zealous parish priest, always attentive to the needs of his people, especially to the fragilities of the young."

The beatification process for Vincenzo Grossi was opened in the diocese of Lodi in 1947, thirty years after his death. The cause moved to the Roman phase on April 2, 1954, and the declaration of venerability occurred on May 6, 1969, recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues. For the beatification, the Holy See recognized two miracles: a healing that occurred on December 25, 1945, and another on July 4, 1949. Pope Paul VI solemnly beatified him on November 1, 1975, in Rome, during the feast of All Saints. For the canonization, a third miracle was investigated: the healing of a child from the Berettini family of Pizzighettone, who suffered from congenital erythropoietic anemia, which occurred in 1990. The decree recognizing this miracle was promulgated on May 5, 2015. On October 18, 2015, Pope Francis solemnly canonized Vincenzo Grossi in Saint Peter's Square, in the presence of delegations from the dioceses of Lodi and Cremona, the Daughters of the Oratory, and numerous faithful. He was proclaimed a saint during the same celebration as three other blesseds: the spouses Louis and Zélie Martin (parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus) and the Spanish religious sister María de la Purísima (María Isabel) Salvat Romero. Pope Francis invited the faithful to ensure that "the example of Saint Vincenzo Grossi supports the commitment to the Christian education of new generations." His liturgical feast is celebrated on November 7.

The spiritual posterity of Saint Vincenzo Grossi is inseparable from the Institute of the Daughters of the Oratory which he founded, whose motherhouse is established in Lodi, where his remains have rested since their translation in 1947. The congregation, whose charism is based on the spirituality of Saint Philip Neri, continues to exercise an educational apostolate among the youth. The definitive pontifical approval of the Institute, obtained on April 29, 1926—nine years after the founder's death—testifies to the solidity of the work he had built. The memory of Don Vincenzo is particularly alive in the dioceses of Cremona and Lodi, his lands of apostolate. Pizzighettone, his birthplace, also honors his memory. On the occasion of the canonization, Pope Francis presented Grossi as a model for priests and for all those who engage in the Christian education of youth, highlighting the relevance of his testimony for the Church today. His example—that of a simple and humble rural priest, without external brilliance, but of absolute fidelity to his vocation—constitutes an encouragement for the pastors of ordinary parishes. The Catholic Church celebrates his feast day on November 7, the anniversary of his death, and he is invoked as the patron of the Christian education of youth in circles linked to the Institute he founded.