St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo (1786-1842)
April 30
Joseph was the eldest of twelve children. Born in Piedmont, he was ordained for the diocese of Turin in 1811. Frail health and difficulty in school were obstacles he had to overcome to reach ordination. During Joseph’s lifetime Italy was torn by civil war while the poor and the sick suffered in neglect. Inspired by reading the life of St. Vincent de Paul and moved by the human suffering all around him, Joseph rented some rooms to nurse the sick of his parish and recruited young women of the area to staff it.
In 1832 at Voldocco Joseph founded
the House of Providence, which served many different groups (the sick, the
elderly, students, the mentally ill, the blind). All of this was financed by
contributions. Popularly called “the University of Charity,” this testimonial
to God’s goodness was serving 8000 people by the time of Joseph’s beatification
in 1917.
To carry on his work, Joseph organized two religious communities, the Brothers of St. Vincent de Paul and the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul. Joseph, who had joined the Secular Franciscans as a young man, was canonized in 1934.
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