Gregor Cäsarius Buhl

Although Brother Gregorio Cesario aspired to leave for mission lands, his congregation's superiors decided otherwise and directed him toward a ministry of teaching and formation in Italy. During the First World War, due to his German nationality, he was sent on October 16, 1917, to the "La Salle" college in Benevento. There, he performed various modest and devoted duties: teacher in the preparatory class (first grade), substitute, and person in charge of the cloakroom. After the end of hostilities, he stayed briefly in Rome, then in Rivalta, where he pronounced his perpetual vows on August 10, 1921. In December 1921, he was sent to Martina Franca to teach catechism to children, while still hoping for a departure to the Middle East. On September 20, 1922, he joined the Saint-Joseph college in Rome as a teacher. His true vocation as a formator emerged on August 3, 1923, when he was appointed assistant to the director (sub-director) of the novitiate of Albano Laziale, a position he held for six years. After a stay at the second novitiate of Lembecq-lez-Hal in Belgium (from August 16, 1929, to May 13, 1930), he returned to Albano Laziale. In 1935, he was assigned to the novitiate of Torre del Greco, near Naples. He would spend nearly forty years there, dedicating himself entirely to the spiritual and human formation of young Italian novices.

Brother Gregorio Cesario distinguished himself by an absolute fidelity to the rule of his Institute, a profound piety, and an ardent charity toward the young people entrusted to him. He integrated himself fully into Italian culture, developing a great love for this country, its people, and its saints. His daily life, humble and hidden, was entirely turned toward the pursuit of holiness through the faithful fulfillment of his duties as an educator and formator. His confreres and the novices kept the memory of him as a man of exemplary gentleness, whose face frequently lit up with a benevolent smile.

After his death in the odor of sanctity on December 11, 1973, in Torre del Greco, the cause for the beatification of Brother Gregorio Cesario Bühl was introduced by the Congregation of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. On December 15, 1981, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints granted the nihil obstat. On December 11, 1982, the diocesan informative process was officially opened by Cardinal Corrado Ursi at the Archdiocese of Naples. On November 12, 1986, the diocesan process was closed. On June 24, 1988, the decree of validity for the informative process was issued. In 1989, the Positio was published. On April 6, 1995, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby declaring him venerable.

The spirituality of the Venerable Gregor Cäsarius Buhl is deeply Eucharistic and Marian. His interior life found its source in silent prayer, devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and a joyful obedience to the designs of Providence, accepting to renounce his distant missionary dream to become a "missionary of education" at the heart of the Italian novitiates. His legacy remains alive within the Lasallian family, which sees in him an accomplished model of a formator, combining gentleness, religious rigor, and paternal love for future brothers.