Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster

On June 26, 1929, Pope Pius XI appointed him Archbishop of Milan. Created a cardinal on July 15 of the same year, he was consecrated bishop by the Sovereign Pontiff himself on July 21, 1929, in the Sistine Chapel. By virtue of the recently signed Lateran Pacts, he was the very first Italian bishop to swear an oath of allegiance to the State before King Victor Emmanuel III. For twenty-five years, Cardinal Schuster proved to be an indefatigable pastor for the Ambrosian Church. He conducted five pastoral visits, convened five diocesan synods, and actively encouraged catechesis as well as Catholic Action. He was also the promoter of the construction of the major seminary of Venegono Inferiore, conceived as a true abbey of study and prayer. A great scholar, passionate about Christian archaeology, monastic history, and liturgy, he published numerous scientific works, including the famous Liber Sacramentorum. During the Second World War, his role was crucial. Although he was initially benevolent toward the Fascist regime, he detached himself from it radically starting in 1938, firmly condemning Mussolini's anti-Semitic racial laws. Under the German occupation, he actively supported networks for the relief of Jews and refugees. In April 1945, he attempted a peace mediation at the archbishop's palace between Benito Mussolini and the Italian partisans, urging the dictator to surrender, but the latter refused. After the war, he dedicated himself to the spiritual, moral, and material reconstruction of his diocese.

Exhausted by a quarter-century of a consuming pastoral ministry, Cardinal Schuster retired to the seminary of Venegono Inferiore to rest. It was there that he passed away on August 30, 1954, at the age of 74. Before dying, he left his seminarians a memorable spiritual testament on the importance of holiness. His funeral was celebrated in the Cathedral of Milan by Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Patriarch of Venice, and his remains were interred in the Duomo. The diocesan process for his beatification was opened on August 30, 1957, by his successor, Msgr. Giovanni Battista Montini. On January 28, 1985, during the opening of his tomb for canonical recognition, his body was discovered perfectly intact. It was then placed in a glass urn under the altar of the Virgo Potens in the Cathedral of Milan. Pope John Paul II declared him venerable on March 26, 1994, recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues.

The path toward beatification officially opens with the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession. On July 11, 1995, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree confirming a scientifically inexplicable healing. Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster was solemnly beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 12, 1996, in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, in the presence of a large crowd of Milanese pilgrims.

Nicknamed the "cardinal of prayer," Schuster remained deeply a monk under the cardinal's purple. His spirituality, nourished by the Rule of Saint Benedict and the daily meditation of the Scriptures, translated into a life of extreme personal austerity combined with boundless pastoral charity. He took Saint Charles Borromeo as his pastoral model, striving to sanctify his people through the beauty of the liturgy and fidelity to the sacraments. He leaves a lasting legacy in Milan, notably through the founding of the Institute of Ambrosian Chant and Sacred Music, as well as the Ambrosianeum and Didascaleion cultural centers. His incorrupt body, exposed to the veneration of the faithful in the Duomo of Milan, continues to attract many pilgrims.