Luigi Novarese
An Italian priest and apostle to the sick, Blessed Luigi Novarese founded the Centre for the Volunteers of Suffering to promote the spiritual and active dimension of those who suffer.
Contemporaries
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Guided reading
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Biography
The life of Luigi Novarese, from his birth in Casale Monferrato to his ministry at the Secretariat of State and his death in 1984.
Blessed Luigi Novarese was born on July 29, 1914, in Casale Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria, Italy. He was the youngest of nine children of Giusto Carlo Novarese and Teresa Sassone, a farming family. His father died of pneumonia in 1915, when Luigi was only nine months old, leaving his mother with the heavy task of raising the siblings alone.
At the age of nine, in 1923, following a bad fall, Luigi was diagnosed with tuberculous coxitis (bone tuberculosis of the hip), a disease then considered incurable. His mother sold a large part of the family's assets to fund expensive treatments in various hospitals. In 1930, his condition worsened considerably and doctors gave him a short time to live. Hospitalized at the Santa Corona sanatorium in Pietra Ligure, the young boy, animated by a deep faith transmitted by his mother, wrote to Don Filippo Rinaldi, Rector Major of the Salesians, to request the prayers of the youth of the Valdocco oratory through the intercession of Saint John Bosco and Mary Help of Christians.
On May 17, 1931, at the age of seventeen, Luigi Novarese left the sanatorium completely and inexplicably cured, although one of his legs remained shorter than the other, forcing him to wear orthopedic shoes for the rest of his life. This ordeal of illness and this miraculous healing sealed his vocation. Initially desiring to become a doctor to heal bodies, he chose, after his mother's death in 1935, to heal souls by becoming a priest.
He began his theological studies at the seminary of Casale Monferrato, then continued them in Rome at the Almo Collegio Capranica. He was ordained a priest on December 17, 1938, in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome. In 1942, at the invitation of Msgr. Giovanni Battista Montini (the future Pope Paul VI), he joined the Secretariat of State of the Roman Curia, where he worked until 1970, before joining the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) from 1970 to 1977. He passed away on July 20, 1984, in Rocca Priora, near Rome.
Life and Work
The foundations and work of Luigi Novarese among the sick and disabled.
The work of Luigi Novarese is entirely centered on the pastoral care of the sick and disabled, whom he strove to bring out of isolation and passivity to make them actors in evangelization. His action was realized through the foundation of several institutes and associations:
* **La Lega Sacerdotale Mariana (Marian Priestly League)**: Founded on May 17, 1943, this association aims to help priests who are sick, wounded, or in great material difficulty following the Second World War. * **The Centro Volontari della Sofferenza (CVS - Center for Volunteers of Suffering)**: Founded on May 17, 1947, with the help of his collaborator, Sister Elvira Myriam Psorulla. This movement brings together sick and healthy people to help them rediscover the salvific value of suffering and to become active subjects of the Church's apostolate. * **The Silenziosi Operai della Croce (SODC - Silent Workers of the Cross)**: Founded on November 1, 1950, also with Sister Elvira Myriam Psorulla. It is an international association of the faithful (priests and laypeople, including disabled persons) consecrated to God by vows, living in community or at home, and dedicated to the service of the sick. * **The Fratelli e Sorelle degli Ammalati (Brothers and Sisters of the Sick)**: Founded in 1952 to provide spiritual and material support to suffering people.
To give substance to his project, Luigi Novarese had the "Cuore Immacolato di Maria" house built in 1952 in Re, Piedmont, specially designed to welcome sick and disabled people so that they could follow spiritual exercises there. He also created rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, and vocational training courses to promote the social integration of disabled people, constantly dialoguing with the medical world to emphasize the importance of the spiritual dimension in the therapeutic process.
Path to sainthood
The beatification process of Luigi Novarese and the recognition of his heroic virtues and a miracle.
The cause for the beatification of Luigi Novarese officially opened on December 17, 1989, in Rocca Priora, under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Frascati. On March 27, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI recognized the heroic nature of his virtues and proclaimed him Venerable.
On December 19, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree recognizing a miracle attributed to his intercession. This miracle concerns the sudden and scientifically inexplicable healing of Graziella Paderno (originally from Palestro), which occurred in July 2002. Suffering from severe left scapulohumeral periarthritis with significant calcifications that limited her movements, she felt an intense, enveloping heat on July 15, 2002, as she was preparing to undergo shockwave therapy. Immediate radiological examinations revealed the total and instantaneous disappearance of the calcifications and the pain.
Beatification and canonization
The celebration of the beatification of Luigi Novarese in Rome in 2013.
Luigi Novarese was solemnly beatified on May 11, 2013. The beatification ceremony took place at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, presided over by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, then Vatican Secretary of State, representing Pope Francis. His liturgical memorial is set for July 20, the day of his birth into heaven.
Spirituality and legacy
The Marian spirituality of Luigi Novarese and his legacy regarding the sick, considered as active subjects of the apostolate.
Described as the "apostle of the sick" by Pope John Paul II, Luigi Novarese profoundly renewed the theology and pastoral care of health. His spirituality, strongly marked by a Marian devotion (notably linked to the apparitions of Fatima and Mary Help of Christians), is based on the intimate association of human suffering with the Passion of Christ for the salvation of the world.
For Blessed Luigi Novarese, the sick person must no longer be considered a simple object of pity or passive charity, but as an active subject, an "author of their own apostolate." His legacy continues today throughout the world through the action of the Silent Workers of the Cross and the Volunteers of Suffering, present in many countries. His mortal remains rest in the church of Santa Maria del Suffragio, located on Via Giulia in Rome.
Frequently asked questions about Luigi Novarese
Who was Luigi Novarese?
An Italian priest and apostle to the sick, Blessed Luigi Novarese founded the Centre for the Volunteers of Suffering to promote the spiritual and active dimension of those who suffer.
What is Luigi Novarese the patron saint of?
Patronage of Luigi Novarese: les malades, the sick, les personnes handicapées and people with disabilities.
Which saints were contemporaries of Luigi Novarese?
Contemporaries include: Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, Felipe de Jesús Munárriz and 50 companions, Mariano de Jesús Euse Hoyos and Teresa of Jesus of the Andes.
When did Luigi Novarese die?
Luigi Novarese died around 1984.
Who are the relatives of Luigi Novarese?
Relatives of Luigi Novarese: Giusto Carlo Novarese (father) and Teresa Sassone (mother).
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Era / death: 1984
- Beatification in 2013 by Francis