Giuseppe Toniolo
An Italian Catholic economist and father of the Church's social doctrine, Giuseppe Toniolo worked for human dignity and Christian democracy.
Contemporaries
Figures and markers around the normalized period for this entry.
Guided reading
5 reading sections
Biography
The youth, studies, and family life of Giuseppe Toniolo.
Giuseppe Toniolo was born on March 7, 1845, in Treviso, Italy, into a Venetian bourgeois family. His father, Antonio Toniolo, was an engineer, which led the family to move frequently. His mother's name was Isabella Alessandrini. He completed his secondary education at the Saint Catherine College in Venice, where he met his spiritual guide, Monsignor Luigi Dalla Vecchia. He continued his studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Padua under the guidance of Fedele Lampertico and Angelo Messedaglia, obtaining his degree in jurisprudence on June 21, 1867. In 1868, he became an assistant in Padua, then obtained his habilitation in political economy in 1873. On September 4, 1878, he married Maria Schiratti in Pieve di Soligo, with whom he would have seven children. In 1883, he was appointed professor of political economy at the University of Pisa, a position he held until his death on October 7, 1918.
Life and Work
Giuseppe Toniolo's commitment to the social doctrine of the Church and Christian economics.
As an economist, Giuseppe Toniolo opposed unrestrained capitalism and materialistic socialism, placing Christian ethics at the center of the economy. He founded the Catholic Union for Social Studies in Padua in 1889 and the International Review of Social Sciences in 1893. In 1894, he formulated the first political program of Christian inspiration (the Milan program), laying the foundations for Christian democracy. He initiated the first Social Week of Italian Catholics in Pistoia in 1907 and was involved in Catholic Action. He also encouraged the founding of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and drafted a proposed international law statute for peace during the First World War.
Path to holiness
The beatification process and the recognition of the miracle of Giuseppe Toniolo.
The beatification process for Giuseppe Toniolo opened in 1933 at the initiative of the FUCI and Catholic Action. Pope Paul VI declared him Venerable on June 14, 1971, recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues. The miracle accepted for his beatification is the scientifically inexplicable recovery of a man who had fallen into a deep coma after a serious fall of several meters in June 2006. After his family prayed a novena and received a relic of Giuseppe Toniolo, the patient woke up suddenly and completely without any aftereffects. This miracle was validated by the medical commission on February 28, 2008, and by the theologians on April 29, 2009.
Beatification and canonization
The celebration of the beatification of Giuseppe Toniolo in Rome.
On January 14, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the miracle. The beatification ceremony was celebrated on April 29, 2012, in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, presided over by Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. His liturgical memorial is set for September 4, the anniversary of his marriage, as well as October 7, the day of his death.
Spirituality and legacy
The lay spirituality and intellectual legacy of Giuseppe Toniolo.
The spirituality of Giuseppe Toniolo deeply unites faith and science, contemplation and action. His piety was centered on the Eucharist, the daily rosary, and abandonment to Providence. He lived his vocation as a husband and father as a path to holiness. His legacy endures through the social doctrine of the Church and the Giuseppe Toniolo Institute of Milan, which supports the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.
The supernatural in their life
The miracles of Giuseppe Toniolo
Frequently asked questions about Giuseppe Toniolo
Who was Giuseppe Toniolo?
An Italian Catholic economist and father of the Church's social doctrine, Giuseppe Toniolo worked for human dignity and Christian democracy.
What miracles are attributed to Giuseppe Toniolo?
1 miracle are attributed to this saint, notably: Healing.
Which saints were contemporaries of Giuseppe Toniolo?
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 Giuseppe Toniolo die?
Giuseppe Toniolo died around 1918.
Who are the relatives of Giuseppe Toniolo?
Relatives of Giuseppe Toniolo: Antonio Toniolo (father), Isabella Alessandrini (mother) and Maria Schiratti (wife).
Annexes & related entities
Structured data for exploration: events, miracles, quotes, places, attributes, patronages, and important entities cited in the text.
Key Events
- Era / death: 1918
- Beatification in 2012 by Benedict XVI
Quotes
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We, believers, feel deep in our souls that the one who will definitively save present-day society will not be a diplomat, a scholar, or a hero, but a saint, or rather a society of saints.
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