Bruno Lanteri

The work of Bruno Lanteri is primarily centered on the formation of the clergy, spiritual direction, and the dissemination of the "good press" to counter the ideas of the French Revolution and Jansenist rigorism. He was actively involved in the "Amicizia Cristiana" (Christian Friendship), a secret association of laypeople and priests founded by Father von Diessbach in Turin. This association was dedicated to the distribution of Catholic books and mutual spiritual support. After Diessbach's death in 1798, Lanteri became its main leader. Under the Napoleonic regime, when Pope Pius VII was imprisoned by Napoleon Bonaparte in Savona between 1809 and 1812, Bruno Lanteri organized a secret network to support the Sovereign Pontiff and enable him to communicate with the outside world. Discovered by the imperial police, he was sentenced to exile and placed under house arrest from 1811 to 1814 at his country house, "La Grangia" in Bardassano. After the fall of Napoleon, he returned to Turin in 1814. In 1817, he transformed the Christian Friendship into a public and lay association, the "Amicizia Cattolica" (Catholic Friendship). In 1815-1816, a group of priests from Carignano, led by Father Giovanni Battista Reynaudi, founded an association called the "Oblates of the Most Holy Mary" and asked the theologian Lanteri to take charge of this project. Despite promising beginnings, the opposition of the Archbishop of Turin, Mgr. Columbano Chiaverotti, forced the group to dissolve in 1820. Undeterred, Bruno Lanteri took the initiative himself to refound the congregation in 1825. He obtained the warm support of his friend Mgr. Pierre-Joseph Rey, Bishop of Pinerolo. Thus was born the congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary (OMV). The congregation was officially approved by Pope Leo XII on September 1, 1826, by the apostolic brief Etsi Dei Filius. The institute's goal is to form an educated, zealous clergy faithful to the Holy See, to preach popular missions and spiritual retreats according to the Ignatian method, and to disseminate sound reading material.

Bruno Lanteri spent the final years of his life consolidating his young congregation in Pinerolo. Despite his increasingly failing health, he continued to offer sought-after spiritual direction and to watch over his confreres. He passed away holily on August 5, 1830, in Pinerolo, surrounded by his companions, after reminding them of the commandment of fraternal charity. His reputation for holiness, already immense during his lifetime, spread rapidly after his death. A century after his passing, on August 5, 1930, the informative process for his cause of beatification was officially introduced. His spiritual writings were examined and approved by the theologians of the Sacred Congregation of Rites on several occasions (in 1937, 1940, and 1945). The cause for beatification was officially opened in Rome on May 4, 1952, under the pontificate of Pius XII, conferring upon him the title of Servant of God.

The process regarding the heroic nature of his virtues progressed until the promulgation of the official decree: On November 23, 1965, Pope Paul VI promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Bruno Lanteri, solemnly bestowing upon him the title of Venerable. Current status: Venerable. For his beatification to be pronounced, the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints is required.

The spirituality of Bruno Lanteri is deeply marked by two pillars: divine mercy and Marian devotion, lived out in absolute fidelity to the Church and the Pope. Having himself experienced the liberating power of God's mercy in the face of the Jansenist rigorism of his time, he became an apostle of gentleness and hope. He is famous for his spiritual motto: "Nunc coepi" ("Now I begin"). He taught that one must never be discouraged: "If I were to fall a thousand times a day, a thousand times a day I would begin again with renewed confidence." His love for the Virgin Mary was filial and absolute. Having lost his earthly mother at a very young age, he considered Mary his only true mother. At the end of his life, he said: "I have known no other mother than the Virgin Mary, and I have received nothing from her but caresses." The legacy of Bruno Lanteri continues today through the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, present in several countries around the world (Italy, France, Austria, United States, Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria, Philippines). They continue to work in spiritual formation, the animation of shrines (such as the Shrine of Saint Rita in Nice and Paris), the preaching of retreats, and the dissemination of the Catholic press.