c.pp.s. resources–no. 31 - precious blood spirituality · jeffrey finley, c.pp.s., who...

C.PP.S. Resources–No. 31

2009Missionaries of the Precious Blood

Cincinnati Province

By Beniamino Conti, C.PP.S.

Translated and edited by Jerome Stack, C.PP.S.

Cover design: Jean Giesige

Image of St. Gaspar icon used with permision of Fr. Jeffrey Finley, C.PP.S.

© 2009 by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood,Cincinnati Province, Dayton, Ohio

All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-9820516-1-0

No. 1by Andrew Pollack, C.PP.S.

No. 2

by Winfried Wermter, C.PP.S.No. 3

by Luigi Contegiacomo, C.PP.S.No. 4

Compiled by Barry Fischer, C.PP.S.No. 5No. 6

Prepared by Milton A. Ballor, C.PP.S.No. 7

Compiled by James Kelley, C.PP.S.No. 8

Compiled by Barry Fischer, C.PP.S.No. 9

by Barry Fischer, C.PP.S.No. 10

by John R. Klopke, C.PP.S.No. 11

Compiled by Barry Fischer, C.PP.S.No. 12

by Michele Colagiovanni, C.PP.S.No. 13

by Joseph Nassal, C.PP.S.

No. 14by John Klopke, C.PP.S.

No. 15

No. 16by Robert J. Schreiter, C.PP.S.

No. 17by Erwin Kräutler, C.PP.S.

No. 18by John A. Colacino, C.PP.S.

No. 19No. 20

by Charles J. Robbins, C.PP.S.No. 21

by Charles J. Robbins, C.PP.S.No. 22

by Barry J. Fischer, C.PP.S. and Robert J. Schreiter, C.PP.S.

No. 23Compiled by Barry J. Fischer, C.PP.S.

No. 24Compiled by Barry J. Fischer, C.PP.S.

No. 25No. 26

(Revised edition)by Andrew Pollack, C.PP.S.

No. 27

No. 28

No. 29(

No. 30No. 31

by Beniamino Conti, C.PP.S. and translated byJerome Stack, C.PP.S.

Translator’s Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii

Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxi

Outline of the Life of Saint Gaspar del Bufalo . . . . xxiii

Chapter One:The Blood of Christ and the Young Saint . . . . . . . . . . .1

Chapter Two:Formation in the Precious Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chapter Three: Devoted to a New Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Chapter Four:The New Congregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

Chapter Five: Sisters of the Most Precious Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185

Appendix B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195

Appendix C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203

This book traces the spiritual journey of St. Gasparas he allowed the fire of Christ’s love, expressed so pro-foundly in the mystery of the Precious Blood, to trans-form him into a living fire of love, the preeminent apos-tle of the Blood of Christ.

In his letters St. Gaspar sometimes uses themetaphor of to describe the divine love and in sever-al places he quotes the words of Jesus:

‘I have come to cast fire on the earth’ (Lk12: 49). The fire Jesus has come to cast on the earth is,in Gaspar’s understanding, the fire of his love for us.

Gaspar came to see the spirituality of the Blood ofChrist as being a particularly suitable means fordescribing this burning love of Jesus. The Precious Bloodwas the great symbol that he used to draw people to agreater awareness of that love. Gaspar himself wasaflame with that love throughout his ministry. In thewords of Don Beniamino, St. Gaspar

. . . appeared as a fire of love for the MostPrecious Blood of Jesus, completely intent onkindling a great blaze of that love in the Churchfor the benefit of souls and for the praise, honor,glory, and power of Him who sits on the throneand of the Lamb that was slain (Rv 5: 13). (Cf.page 79 of this volume.)This volume contains the first and larger of the two

parts of Fr. Conti’s original , published in 1970 and

reissued in 1978 and 2002. (The second part, dealing

with Gaspar’s preaching on the Precious Blood, will bepublished as a future volume of this series.) As DonBeniamino notes in his own introduction, in the first sec-tion of the book we follow the development of the devo-tion to the Precious Blood in Gaspar’s life as well as theways in which he sought to spread the devotion in hisapostolic life.

Throughout the book Don Beniamino provides uswith a rich selection of citations from the writings ofGaspar as well as the first-person witness of those whoknew him well, like his protégé John Merlini, his spiri-tual director Biagio Valentini, and his friends SaintsVincenzo Strambi and Vincenzo Pallotti. (Unfortunatelywe have little written witness to the spiritual friendshipbetween Gaspar and his mentor Don FrancescoAlbertini, who introduced the devotion to the PreciousBlood to the young Canon del Bufalo.) All of these andother references are amply documented in the endnotesand provide us with primary sources for understandingGaspar’s spiritual development and apostolic zeal.

Fr. Conti, a member of the Italian Province, has hada lifelong dedication to research on the life of St. Gasparand has been prolific in his publications. Among themany works to his credit, is the editing of the latest edi-tion of the letters of St. Gaspar as well as four volumesof the early regulations of the Congregation and four vol-umes of the miscellaneous spiritual writings of Gaspar.

It would be appropriate to make a few remarks onthe translation. First, where necessary I have insertedEnglish translations of Italian and Latin words andphrases, using the model of the Modern LanguageAssociation and enclosing the English translation with-in single quotes following the foreign language. In trans-lating the quotations from the Scriptures I have gener-ally followed the Douay-Rheims version, since most quo-tations are from the Latin Vulgate and the Douay is atranslation of the Vulgate. I have also supplied chapter

and verse references for the quotations; these are gener-ally not found in the original texts.

For translations of the letters of Gaspar as well asseveral other Italian sources I have relied on the invalu-able work of the late Fr. Raymond Cera, C.PP.S., whotranslated nearly all of the close to four thousand extantletters into English. English translations of the lettersas well as of the depositions of Merlini, Valentini, andPallotti (also the work of Fr. Cera) are currently avail-able only in digital form and and have only been pub-lished in a looseleaf, photocopied edition.

Where English translations of source material existI have given those references in addition to the refer-ences to the original Italian or Latin documents. Manyof the citations come from sources that have not beentranslated. I have not provided English translations forthese citations, believing that anyone wishing to pursuesuch a reference in an endnote would have some knowl-edge of the language in question.

In matters of capitalization and punctuation of quot-ed documents, I have adhered to the original text even ifthis does not conform to current form and style inEnglish. For example, in many original texts we findwords capitalized that would not be capitalized in mod-ern English. Speaking of capitalization, modern Italianwould usually capitalize the “Del” in Del Bufalo,although Gaspar himself used the lowercase form, “del.”This is the reason why both forms are found in contem-porary Italian texts.

I would like to acknowledge the invaluable assis-tance of Pauline Vokits, who formatted the text forprinting, proofread the text with great diligence, andoffered many helpful suggestions. Jean Giesige also readthe translation and offered useful comments and isresponsible for the new cover design for C.PP.S.Resources which debuts with this volume. The image ofSt. Gaspar on the cover is used with permission of Fr.Jeffrey Finley, C.PP.S., who commissioned the paintingof the icon.

Translating this book has been a rewarding taskand has given me the opportunity to become much bet-ter acquainted with Gaspar through the words of Fr.Conti who knows him so well. I hope that this work willbe read by many, especially by members andCompanions of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, sothat all of us might come to know better this greatApostle of the Precious Blood. May we, too, be transformed by the fire of that divine love that Jesuscame to bring to our world.

Jerome Stack, C.PP.S.July 1, 2008

Feast of the Most Precious Blood

What are the distinctive features of the spiritualityof St. Gaspar del Bufalo within the great company ofsaints venerated in the Church?

Witnesses to his life and his activity have given usample descriptions of those features in their depositionsfor the canonical processes for his beatification and can-onization. We find the features of his spirituality in hisbiographies and particularly in his writings. The preciseand unmistakable characteristic, one that will be con-tinually associated with him as a specific title, isdescribed by the documents of the Church that markedthe path to the solemn proclamation of his canonization.

Already in the decree (January 15, 1852), introducing the cause of the beatifi-cation,1 St. Gaspar is presented as the founder of aCongregation of Missionaries under the title of the MostPrecious Blood of the Divine Redeemer. This will berepeated in all future documents.2 Moreover, he is rec-ognized as having the honor of having given the Church,with this Institute, a new splendor in the service of thecare of souls (“

”).The decree 3 (May 29, 1904) that

approved the two miracles for his beatification describesGaspar as a herald of peace and salvation in the DivineBlood for his troubled times. Against the errors andvices of his contemporaries, Gaspar proposed the Bloodof Christ, the Blood of Christ that was the force of hisapostolate as well:

It is the signal splendor of this beloved city ofRome, source of all piety and devotion, to havegiven birth to a man who, in that very agitatedperiod at the end of the 18th century, “

” ‘making peacethrough the Blood of his Cross’ (Col 1: 20), keptthe avenging hand of God from his people, ful-filling what the Apostle says:

‘jus-tified by his blood, we shall be saved from wraththrough him’ (Rom 5: 9).

Strengthened by the Blood, which became, the Venerable Servant of God

Gaspar del Bufalo exercised a very diverse apos-tolate, but one : topromote the devotion to the Most PreciousBlood with indomitable and ardent love.

He used this weapon against the errors andvices of his day. It was a weapon all the morepowerful since it inwardly permeated the testi-mony of a life of great integrity. From the Bloodhe drew all the energy for his love, urging onpeople of whatever condition to faith in holi-ness.The decree (June 24, 1904),4

declaring that the beatification could proceed, affirmedthat while the fruit of Gaspar’s missionary work was“the salvation of people” ( ), he himselfappeared in the Church, a field made fertile by theDivine Blood, as the one whom the Lord sent as aninstrument of redemption: “

” ‘The Lord has sent redemption to hispeople’ (Ps 110: 9). He is also called an angel of the liv-ing God who had the mission of announcing the messageof the Blood of the Lamb in the Church: “

” ‘And the Blood of the Lamb shallbe a sign to you’ (cf. Ex 12: 13). Moreover, in this pontif-ical document and those following, the Institute of the

Adorers of the Blood of Christ is also linked to Gaspar’sCongregation:

Flowing from the side of Christ, the Church, themystical field made fertile by the Divine Blood,produced abundant and varied fruit, accordingto the various charisms of the gospel workers( ) and according to the oppor-tunity of the times, guided by the Providence ofGod. Among the holy workers in the vineyard ofthe Lord, the Venerable Servant of God GasparDel Bufalo, founder of the Congregation of theMost Precious Blood, to which the Sisters whobear the same name are linked, has exercised his apostolate under the auspicesof the same font of holiness and of salvation:[the Blood of Christ].

It seems that he is like that Angel bearingthe ‘ ’ ‘a sign of the living God’[Rv 7: 2] with which is announced: ‘

’ [cf. Ex 12: 13].The image of St. Gaspar as the propagator and stan-

dard bearer of the devotion to the Most Precious Bloodreturns in the Apostolic Brief (August 29,1904),5 with which St. Pius X formally declares the beat-ification of Gaspar and grants the recital of the DivineOffice and the celebration of Mass in his honor in thechurches and oratories of the Missionaries and of theSisters of the Most Precious Blood and in the diocese ofRome.6

After the beatification, the pontifical documentsthat trace the spiritual physiognomy of Gaspar in theChurch continue with the decree 7

of July 22, 1949, summarizing the cause of Gaspar,which would come to a happy conclusion five years later.In this decree and in the following, ofMay 4, 1954,8 approving the miracles for canonization,Gaspar is presented only as the founder of a

Congregation of Missionaries of the Most PreciousBlood, to whom are connected the Sisters Adorers underthe same title.

The final two documents, however, namely thedecree (May 8, 1954),9 affirming that thecanonization could safely proceed, and the decretal let-ter (June 13, 1954),10 bywhich Gaspar could be accorded the honors due tosaints, present Gaspar in a more solemn and completeway in the light of the mystery of the Divine Blood.

In the first document, Gaspar appears as the onewho, absorbed and strengthened by the cry of the Bloodof Jesus, presented it to the souls of his time and spreadits cult, which will bring Blessed Pius IX to extend thatdevotion to the universal Church:

Blessed Gaspar Del Bufalo, the illustriousboast of the Roman Clergy, meditated deeply onhow our Lord Jesus Christ willed to shed all ofhis Most Precious Blood for the redemption ofthe world, how he chose to undergo the mostterrible torments and be condemned to ashameful death, so that men and women wouldnot be deprived of this infinite treasure throughsin and thus be punished with eternal condem-nation. . . . He gave himself over to labor for thesalvation of souls. Then . . . he founded aCongregation of Priests, so that they wouldevangelize the people under the banner of theMost Precious Blood . . . He himself, in themeantime, strengthened by the Divine Blood,dedicated himself to the ministry of the mis-sions . . .

Finally, in order to spread the cult of theMost Precious Blood, fountain of salvation,among the faithful, [Gaspar] worked hard andwith diligent zeal for the institution of the feastof the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus

Christ, which was extended to the entireChurch by Pope Pius IX.As already noted, in this decree Gaspar is given

credit for being promoter of the liturgical cult of theDivine Blood for the entire Church, even if in fact it wasDon Giovanni Merlini, his faithful disciple and executorof his wishes, who obtained this from Blessed Pius IX onAugust 10, 1849.

The second document affirms that after Sts. Peterand Paul extolled in a special way the benefits of thePrecious Blood there has never been lacking in theChurch very holy persons who have spread the cult ofthe Divine Blood among the faithful. Nevertheless, thedocument recognizes that St. Gaspar in recent timesenjoys a glorious preeminence with regard to this greatmystery: “

” ‘One out of all of them shines brightly: the mostblessed Gaspar Del Bufalo.’

The glories and efficacy of the Most PreciousBlood, with which the Son of God bathed thehard wood of the Cross and the dry earth, werecelebrated by no one with a more grateful affec-tion than by the Apostle Paul.

Recalling the ancient sacrifices mandatedamong the Hebrews, he not only said that noremission of sins was possible without the shed-ding of blood, but also that the blood of Christwas immensely more powerful than the blood ofgoats and calves in expiating sins, since HeHimself enjoys the unsurpassed dignity of theonly-begotten Son of God and possesses theeternal priesthood.

Peter, the first leader and head of the HolyChurch, admonished the band of Christiansthat they had not been redeemed by a large sumof gold or silver but by the crimson blood of

Christ, the most spotless and most holy Lamb ofGod.

There has been through the centuries no lackof very pious men and women who, moved bylove of the divine Redeemer, have popularizedamong the people a devotion venerating HisBlood. But , among those whose loveand devotion have been stirred up by the Bloodand who, with vigilant attention and passionatezeal, eloquently preach the benefits of thatBlood that was shed, the one who shines bright-ly, , is Gaspar Del Bufalo, whomtoday we have adorned with the crown ofSaints.This attributes to Gaspar a particular

excellence in spreading the cult of the Divine Blood. Histitle, thus, is to be that of

, even though this is recognized as beinglimited to our age. One more step and every restrictionwill be withdrawn.

This happened with Blessed John XXIII, a pope verywell disposed to the devotion to the Precious Blood.Blessed John described St. Gaspar as the “distinguishedchampion” ( )11 of the devotion to theMost Precious Blood and wrote that “the Most PreciousBlood was the point of light of the apostolate of St.Gaspar Del Bufalo, the glory of Rome.”12 But in thesolemn allocution held in St. Peter’s Basilica on January21, 1960, at the close of the Roman Synod, he recom-mended devotion to the Precious Blood in a special wayto the priests and laity of Rome and hailed St. Gaspar as“the true and greatest apostle of the devotion to the MostPrecious Blood in the world.”13

Again, in the apostolic letter (June 30,1960)14 he definitively bound the name of St. Gaspar todevotion to the Precious Blood, just as that of St.Bernardine of Siena was linked to the devotion to the

Holy Name and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque to devotionto the Heart of Jesus.

Following these testimonies of Blessed John XXIII,the figure of St. Gaspar leapt to the forefront in the his-tory of Precious Blood devotion. He emerges as its

and as such he will pass into the history ofthe Church and of Christian spirituality.

Our work will be divided into two parts. In the firstwe will seek to study the development of this devotion inSt. Gaspar and his apostolic ministry to spread the devo-tion. In the second, we will attempt to reconstruct hispreaching on the devotion to the Precious Blood on thebasis of his schematic writings. We will close this volumewith an appendix with a collection of Gaspar’s moreimportant writings on the Blood of Christ. [

: only the first part and parts of the appendix arepublished in this volume. The second part will be pub-lished in a future volume.]

We nourish the hope that this modest research, inallowing us to understand better the relationship of St.Gaspar to the devotion to the Precious Blood, willencourage Gaspar’s spiritual heirs—the Missionariesand the Adorers of the Blood of Christ and all devoted tohim and to the Most Precious Blood—to mature withgreater commitment in their Christian vocation in thespirituality of the Blood of Christ, in the phrase werightly use today.

In reprinting this work thirty years after its originalpublication we acknowledge its substantial validity andpublish it again without significant modifications. At thesame time, following the publication of all the writingsof St. Gaspar (letters, sermons, and rules) and above allin the light of the documents found in Tarquinia(Viterbo) in 1997 in the

, we must correct some notes contained in previouseditions15 (1970, 1978) and add a few others, especiallywith regard to the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, in

order to give a more complete and exact picture of St.Gaspar’s activity for the devotion to the Blood of Christ.

Rome, October 21, 2002Solemnity of St. Gaspar del Bufalo.

(Rome, 1870–1909)

(Rome, 1909–)

General Archives of the Missionaries ofthe Precious Blood, Rome

General Archives of the Adorers of thePrecious Blood, Rome

Archives of the Missionariesof Patrica-Frosinone

Historical Archive of the Vicariate of Rome

(23 volumes of manuscripts)

,vols. I–XI, Rome, 1986–2000

Gaspar Del Bufalo,

Rome, 1998–1999.

, Rome, 1995–1996

January 6, 1786 Birth of Gaspar in Rome

July 31, 1808 Ordination to the priesthood

December 8, 1808 Founding of the Confraternityof the Most Precious Blood

at San Nicola in Carcere, Rome

June 13, 1810 Gaspar refuses to takethe oath to Napoleon

July 15, 1810 The exiled Gaspar arrives in Piacenza

December 1810 Gaspar is transferred to Bologna

October 20, 1811 Death of Gaspar’s mother,Annunziata Quartieroni

January 12, 1813 Transfer to the prison of Imola

May 16, 1813 Transfer to the Rocca di Lugo

December 20, 1813 Arrival in Florence on the way to Corsica

February 1814 Return to Rome

September 1814 Pius VII commits Gaspar to thepopular missions

August 15, 1815 Foundation of the C.PP.S at S. Felice, Giano dell’Umbria

December 27, 1817 Gaspar becomes director of themissions of the Archconfraternity

of the Most Precious Blood

November 24, 1819 Death of Bishop Francesco Albertini

March 10–25, 1822 Mission in Vallecorsa (Frosinone)

mid-May 1830 Maria De Mattias seeks Gaspar’scounsel regarding her vocation

October 31, 1831 Death of Gaspar’s father, Antonio del Bufalo

March 4, 1834 Foundation of the Adorers of theMost Precious Blood in Acuto

December 28, 1837 Gaspar dies in Rome

January 3, 1838 Gaspar is buried in the Church ofSt. Paul, Albano Laziale

1861 Gaspar’s body is moved to the Church of Santa Maria in Trivio, Rome

December 18, 1904 Beatification of Gasparby St. Pius X

June 12, 1954 Canonization by Pope Pius XII

January 4, 1963 Visit of Blessed John XXIII to thetomb of St. Gaspar at

Santa Maria in Trivio, Rome

Documents of the Church, as we have seen, presentSt. Gaspar to us as “the true and greatest apostle of thedevotion to the Most Precious Blood in the world.”1 Thisjudgment clearly refers to the mature personality ofGaspar.

What place did the Blood of Christ have in theyouthful spirituality of Gaspar? How did this definingcharacteristic of his spirituality begin and then develop?In this chapter and the following we will seek to answerthese questions.

It would be tempting to believe that St. Gaspar wasborn with this devotion or, at least, that he practiced itfrom a very early age, especially under the tutelage ofhis holy mother, Annunziata Quartieroni (1761–1811).Reading the testimonies given during the canonicalprocesses for Gaspar’s beatification would leave those ofthis opinion quite disappointed.

These testimonies repeatedly affirm that from hischildhood Gaspar loved Jesus and the mysteries ofredemption dearly. He was quite devoted to theEucharist, to the Passion, to the Madonna, and in a spe-cial way to St. Francis Xavier and St. Aloysius Gonzaga,but the witnesses never speak of true devotion to the

2 APOSTLE OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

Most Precious Blood. On the contrary, we can speak ofan explicit contact with devotion to the Precious Blood inthe early years of Gaspar’s life (He was born in Rome onJanuary 6, 1786.) only in 1808, at the age of twenty-two.On December 8 of that year he was invited by the canonsof the Basilica of San Nicola in Carcere in Rome topreach some sermons on the occasion of the institutionof the Confraternity of the Most Precious Blood in thesame church, where a relic of the Precious Blood hadbeen kept since 1708.

Prior to this date we cannot properly speak ofGaspar’s devotion to the Divine Blood. It would be his-torically false to assert this both because of the spiritualenvironment in which Gaspar grew up and, principally,because this contradicts all of the testimonies of his lifeand of his writings.

In fact, for a devotion to develop in the mind of thefaithful—except for the case of particular revelations,which is not the case here—it must be a tradition pres-ent in an environment or it must be kept alive there bysome kind of institution (congregations, pious unions,priests or other persons, church documents . . .).

In the case of the early years of Gaspar we cannotspeak of devotion to the Precious Blood

in the universal Church, although we have arecord of many confraternities or congregations andother minor institutions with the title of the “MostPrecious Blood” scattered here and there, especiallywhere a relic of the Blood of Jesus was venerated,2 eventhough the liturgical celebration of the Precious Bloodoccurred in some dioceses and religious congregations.3

Even less can we speak of such a genuine devotionby the or in a particular institutionfrom which Gaspar could have derived spiritual nour-ishment prior to the year 1808.

We know that under the pontificate of Gregory XII,there was instituted in Rome “a Congregation orConfraternity of the Precious Blood, which even had the

3THE BLOOD OF CHRIST AND THE YOUNG SAINT

approval of the very severe Pope Sixtus V.”4 The priestswho were members of this society were responsible fortaking care of the missions. Very quickly, however, thiswork disappeared and all memory of it has been lost.5

Only in 1808, as we have said and as we will see inthe next chapter, would the canons of San Nicola inCarcere, at the urging of their colleague Don FrancescoAlbertini, promote devotion to the Precious Blood intheir church. We are ahead of ourselves here, however.

We find complete confirmation for our point of viewif we examine the testimonies from the canonicalprocesses for determining the heroic virtue of Gasparand from the spiritual writings that remain from hisyounger years.

In the canonical processes only Maria Tamini, hisfriend from infancy, testifies to the presence of “PreciousBlood” in the spirituality of Gaspar the boy in twoplaces. She asserts that he made the Precious Blood “anobject of meditation from the time he was a boy,”6 espe-cially meditation on the agony in Gethsemane, andwhen he would console his mother, worried aboutdomestic affairs, he would say: “Mama . . . have hope inGod and trust in the merits of the Most Precious Bloodof Jesus Christ.”7 We have sought in vain for otherexplicit references to the Blood of Christ in the boyhoodof Gaspar.

We arrive at the same conclusion in examining hiswritings. Although we have some discourses, for exam-ple on two saints to whom he was especially devoted, St.Francis Xavier and St. Aloysius, we have only a fewtraces of devotion to the Precious Blood in the transcrip-tions of Gaspar’s sermons by Monsignor GiovanniBaccolo. But if one takes into account the material deal-ing with the preaching of others and of the very nearlyliteral precision with which the young Gaspar was tran-scribing those discourses—something which made thosesame preachers marvel—it is evident that the paternityof such allusions are attributable to those preachers.


Had Gaspar been specifically devoted to thePrecious Blood, it would be easy to find evidence of this,even if he did not mention the Precious Blood explicitlyin his preaching. Such is the case of the fifteenth com-pendium of Lenten sermons given by MonsignorGiovanni Baccolo in the Church of the Gesù in 1804,where he speaks of “The Sacrifice of the Holy Mass.”8

How much more appropriate a subject for inserting someexplicit references to the Divine Blood? All the more sobecause in reading these notes one gets the impressionthat the Blood remains rather in the wings and is notcalled to center stage.

Elsewhere, as we said, we have found only fleetingreferences to the Blood of Jesus.

The first, in an argument in the ninth ser-mon, “On the respect owed to the holy temple of God,” isfound in the same collection of compendiums which wereferred to above:

If in the old Law a drop of that Blood which theyused to offer could not fall except on virginearth.

If they required a place very pure and cleanfor the ark . . . tell me, will not the Holy templeof God be Holy? Will not the precious vesselswhich enclose the entire Body, Blood, soul, etc.,of Jesus be sacred?9

We find another brief note on the Blood of Jesus inthe “Sermon on the Passion” (again from the compendi-um of sermons of Monsignor Baccolo) on the sweat ofBlood in the Garden of Olives:

But what does it mean, you will say, that therein the Garden he sweats Blood and declines thisChalice,10 etc. But I ask you, did he not know ofhis sufferings before going to the Garden?Certainly he did! Thus he sweats Blood now,because he wants it this way, because he is the


beloved son of God, because he wants to sufferas the beloved son of God. He declines [the cup]because he sees that this Chalice will be of nouse, etc., because he would long for, etc.11

We refer to just one more text, found in the com-pendium of the twenty-first sermon, entitled: “On theExcellence of our Soul.” The proof of the excellence of thesoul is inferred from the fact that “a God would comedown from Heaven to become human, to pour out all hisblood, etc., ‘he gave him-self for us’ [a reference to Eph 5: 2]12

‘humanity does not know its price.’”13

Thus we can assert that prior to 1808, that is beforehis contact with the Confraternity of the Most PreciousBlood of San Nicola in Carcere, as we will see later on,the theme of the Blood of Christ is practically absentfrom the writings of St. Gaspar, while it will come moreand more to the fore after that date.14

Although we know well that the argument fromsilence is often weak, nevertheless it seems impossible toassert that St. Gaspar had genuine devotion to theDivine Blood since childhood but that he did not speakor write of this or that it escaped the notice of those wit-nesses with whom he shared the most intimate senti-ments of his spirit.

Must we conclude, therefore, that Gaspar from hischildhood did not nurture

Must we close this chapter andabandon our investigation of the childhood years, yearsso fervid in the life of Gaspar? Can we not find someglimmers that predict a future splendor? Can we notfind some seeds that will explain the luxuriant growth oflater years?

We must investigate, because the personality of themature person is rooted in his/her infancy and child-hood. We can do this because we know the elements inwhich the devotion to the Most Precious Blood of St.


Gaspar will be expressed and thus it is easy to find theseseeds in his childhood spirituality.

We could list many of these seeds. We group themunder three categories:

1. The mystery of redemption.2. Restorative penance ( ) and

the apostolate.3. The mystery of the Eucharist.

Sr. Maria Tamini tells us:He used to speak to me, from his boyhood untilhe was older, of the mystery of the Unity andTrinity of God and of the Incarnation,

, and he used to sayto me many times: ‘When you make the sign ofthe Cross, do you think about the mystery of theUnity and Trinity of God and of the Incarnationwhich are contained in that act?’15

The persons who were near Gaspar in his infancyand childhood, especially the already mentioned MariaTamini, who, under his influence, at the age of seven-teen became a religious of the at the Churchof S. Tommaso in Parione, and the Basilian monk,Filippo Berga, agree in attributing to him a very tenderdevotion to the Passion of Jesus in his meditation, whichoften lasted several hours into the night. Tamini offersthis testimony:

. . . His parents found him, late at night, sayinghis prayers on his knees before his little altar,and sometimes he would tell me that he hadslept the entire night on the ground, almostalways on the night preceding Friday . . . Hewould meditate during those hours . . . on thepassion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, using thebook called , and he confided


in me the good ideas and resolutions he made.He also told me that those hours of the nightseemed to pass like a moment.16

Filippo Berga assures us that this kind of medita-tion practice was habitual from his first years:

From his first years he would make a brief med-itation and I believe that this was on the pas-sion of Jesus Christ, because he would oftenurge me to this practice (

).17

In meditating on the Passion “the prayer of theGarden used to move him in a special way”—he confidedthis to Tamini, as we have already said above—“becausein all of the other episodes of the Passion the Lord

as a result of external violence, whilein the prayer in the Garden of Olives he shed it out of aninner compassion of love, that is to say it was complete-ly spontaneous.”18 This is a reflection that we find amaz-ing in a boy and it gives us a glimpse at the kind of reac-tion provoked in Gaspar by that vital element that hasalways made an impression on the great and small:blood.

Since he was anxious about the welfare of others, hecould hardly help but recommend to them the practice ofmeditating on the Passion, as Berga notes in his testi-mony already cited, so that they could obtain the samebenefits that enriched his soul.19

This mysterious thirst of this spirit prompted him tohave recourse often to “the specialists” of the Passion ofJesus: the sons of St. Paul of the Cross. Thus he is oftenon retreat with the Passionists at their retreat house ofSts. Giovanni e Paolo, where he struck up a friendshipwith St. Vincent Strambi, who will later became a col-laborator with Gaspar in spreading the devotion to thePrecious Blood.

Another place where he would come when deeplymoved in his heart was the basilica of Santa Croce in


Gerusalemme. A maternal uncle lived in the adjacentCistercian monastery, the monk, Don Eugenio Pechi, aspiritual man who had a great influence on the forma-tion of young Gaspar. Besides, in that basilica, whereare kept the relics of the Passion of our Lord, he couldrelive with more devotion, even sensible devotion, thesad drama of redemption.

Here Gaspar made a retreat of an entire month inpreparation for receiving the first tonsure20 at the age offourteen, on Holy Saturday of 1800, the twelfth of April.

This retreat, in which he prepared himself for theact which would officially induct him into the clericalstate, thus placing him in a particular way of followingthe Savior, must have filled him with the spirit of thecross of Jesus if, in receiving the tonsure, he had thesense of embracing the cross. This was a feeling he hadevery time that his tonsure was renewed (

). He expressed these sentiments to Tamini, whogave the following testimony at the process for his beat-ification held in Albano:

. . . I remember that, having received the firsttonsure, he told me that, while the bishop wascutting the hair in the front, he felt a rush ofblood ( ) and hewas afraid of falling, and when I asked him whythis happened and what he thought about this,he replied that when he felt his hair being cut,

. He reminded me of this oftenwhen he would ask his mother to maintain thetonsure and to make it large, saying, ‘I am notashamed to wear it.’ Then he used to turn to meand say: ‘Every time the tonsure is renewed, Ifeel moved and happy in the same way that Ifelt the first time . . .’21

This mystical union of his spirit with the cross ofChrist spurred him on to become more like Christ.


Filippo Berga says: “. . . , on Fridays he used to engage in particular

mortifications.”22 The Crucified Christ23 was his bookand his teacher of the heart and of the mind: “One mustreflect,”Berga asserts,”that he learned many things atthe foot of Jesus Crucified in his mental prayer.”24

In this “school” Gaspar arrived at the greatestexpression of holiness: to give back one’s life for life.Thus the testimony of Maria Tamini:

. . . from his earliest years and likewise in thosethat followed, the Servant of God showed methat he wished to give himself to God through alife of withdrawal or even by dying as a martyrfor Him . . .25

If devotion to the Precious Blood is an impetus toconforming oneself with the Savior who sheds his Bloodout of love for us, in the young Gaspar we must say thatwe find the spirit of this devotion.

This desire for martyrdom was not simply a piousexpression, but from his infancy was a genuine, almostsuperhuman force that impelled him to unite his feelingsand sorrows to those of the Redeemer, who embracedsuffering to expiate sin and to save humankind.

Every Christian is called to work with Jesus for theredemption of humanity. As the cross, that is to say, hisfreely given love “to the end,” was the sign of redemptionfor Jesus (Jn 13: 1), it is also the distinctive sign of theChristian. The cross of Jesus was for the remission of thesin of the world; the cross of the Christian should be thesign of sharing in the cross of Christ. This is the sense ofthe cross in Christianity; this explains martyrdom, suf-fering, and penance, accepted out of love and in unionwith Christ, into whose life is woven that of the pilgrimChurch.


The Blood of Jesus, since it is “the highest note ofthe Redeeming Sacrifice,”according to an expression ofBlessed John XXIII,26 spontaneously invites us not onlyto meditate on the sacrifice of Jesus, but to continue it inourselves, to make it our own, in its end and in itsmeans. It is no wonder, therefore, that the spirituality of“Blood” is tinted with . No wonder that the apostleof the Precious Blood had to specialize in penance and insacrifice, accepted out of love and in a spirit of repara-tion with Jesus. St. Catherine of Siena, the mystic of theBlood of Christ, rightly synthesizes this quite succinctly:“blood for blood.”27

In the spirituality of young Gaspar we also find par-ticularly this aspect of traditional Christian asceticism,which reveals another cornerstone of the future physiog-nomy of the “Apostle of the Precious Blood.”

Filippo Berga says that from the time he was verysmall, Gaspar was given to mortification and penance28

and Maria Tamini tells us of the generosity of his heart:He would confide in me that he desiredto suffer and do penance, which was moderatedby the Director, and that he wanted him to becontent with the merit of obedience.29

He had a tendency to penance and toscourge his body, taking as a model BlessedLeonard of Port Maurice, a compendium ofwhose life the Servant of God had written in hisown hand. I suppose that he did this in order tomoderate and combat his lively temperament. Iknow that he would have continued this austeremethod with himself, had he not been prevent-ed from doing so by his spiritual director AbbotGiovanni Marchetti.30

Why all this penance? Simply because he wanted toconform himself to Jesus Crucified. In the precedingparagraph we referred to a testimony of Filippo Berga,which attributed the penances of Gaspar to the goal of


“making himself like the Crucified,” that is absorbinghis sentiments and, I would say, also his outward form.

But he gave himself to mortification also because hehad an acute sense of sin. “From his boyhood, [Gaspar]would suddenly break the silence, jump about and,swinging his hands and his waist, would go aboutexclaiming through the house: ‘My love, my love, nomore sins! Help, help!’”31

Gaspar could absolutely not bear to hear blas-phemies or coarse language: they caused him genuinephysical as well as spiritual distress.

We see this goal—penance for sin—already in thetestimony of Don Biagio Valentini, later confessor ofGaspar and his successor in governing the Congregationof the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood.According to Valentini, in fact, Gaspar practiced thosepenances for the purpose of “fighting his lively tempera-ment.” From the years of his infancy, according to thetestimony of his contemporary D. Filippo Berga, one canaffirm the same thing: “I have reached the age of reason( ) and thus I can also fast.” Thus Gasparwould respond to his mother who, concerned about thehealth of her son, used to tell him that he did not havethe obligation of fasting because of his age.32

Gaspar hated sin and fought it in himself and in oth-ers with prayer, advice, and action, as Berga testifies:

Coming with me to the Roman College, hewould see some groups of persons of mixed sexwhich could be suspicious and he would cry outsuddenly to God: ‘O Lord, save them from sin.’Moreover, when talking with me, he used to saywhat a disgrace sin was for a Christian, and heurged me to always stay far from sin. He prayedthat God would keep sin far from him. He wouldrepeat all this with such feeling that showedhow much he abhorred offense against God.33


In giving alms to the poor, he would tell them “tohave the fear of the Lord, that they should flee from sinand things like that.”34

We refrain from referring to other facts and the var-ious activities of his youth, already noted, that reveal tous in the soul of the young Gaspar an apostolic drive solively that it was admired by those who knew him. Evenin the midst of the concerns of study and of piety hefound much time for the work of the apostolate. He wasirresistibly drawn to fighting evil and to spreading goodas much as possible.

These, therefore, are the other vital elements inyoung Gaspar—penance conformed to Christ, a profoundsense of sin and apostolic zeal—on which one day will begrafted the devotion to the Most Precious Blood. In fact,immersing souls in the Blood of Christ in a “crucifiedapostolate” in order to purify them of sin and vivify themwith supernatural life could be the synthesis of the lifeof St. Gaspar the apostle. We see him forming himselffor this mission already in the years of his youth.

Another factor of the spirituality of young Gasparwhich will have a great influence on the life of theApostle of the Most Precious Blood was his Eucharisticpiety.

The Eucharistic mystery is at the center of devotionto the Divine Blood, because in it we have the memorialof the Passion and death of Jesus. From it we draw thefruits of redemption; by it we come into sacramental con-tact with the Precious Blood poured out for us and webecome conformed to Christ: “The one who eats my fleshand drinks my blood abides in me and I in him” (Jn 6:56).

The witnesses to the early years of Gaspar’s life alsodescribe his particular devotion to the Eucharist. Whilestill small, “his mother used to take him to hear Massevery morning in the church of the Gesù, where he


would stand like a statue and his mother would have topick him up and make him sit down out of compassion . . .”35 When he learned to serve Mass, he volunteered toserve .36

His communions, limited by the discipline of thetime, were “seraphic” in the way in which he preparedhimself, for the fervor that accompanied them and forthe heavenly communications that God gave him. In thewords of Maria Tamini:

. . . After his first Communion I saw him fre-quent holy Communion two or three times aweek. He had great fervor in making them, andoften he would tell me that God wanted every-thing for him . . . He showed me a chain for anundershirt that his own Director had given himand ordered that he should gird himself withthis on the day of his Communion . . .”37

The visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was adaily practice. The goal of his afternoon walks was thechurches which were having exposition for the FortyHours Devotion. Moreover, speaking of the Forty Hours,Gaspar may be considered a pioneer for perpetual ado-ration:

Gaspar was friends with the monks ofSant’Alessio and found himself there for FortyHours Devotion. He suggested to them that atnight they should not put the BlessedSacrament back in the tabernacle, showinghimself willing to remain and urging me[Filippo Berga] to keep him company before theBlessed Sacrament the entire night. I compliedwith his wishes, and he suggested to me that Itake a coffee instead of supper, as he did, andthus we could remain awake the entire night.[Gaspar] kept himself always in prayer and oneknew well that he was completely united with


God. From time to time he turned to me andwould offer a in order to inflame mewith love for Christ Jesus. [He] was not yet apriest and Perpetual Adoration was not yetestablished in Rome, that is to say the nightvigil before the Blessed Sacrament. This hap-pened more times in Sant’Alessio and the samething also took place in the Church of SantaCroce in Gerusalemme. 38

In this testimony and in these facts we find paintedthe enterprising and fervid spirit of the young Gasparregarding the Eucharistic mystery. The next steptoward the devotion to the Most Precious Blood will beeasier for him: to highlight in the Eucharistic mysterythe sacrificial aspect of the Blood of Christ.

At the end of this rather brief research of ours on theyouthful spirituality of St. Gaspar in relation to theDivine Blood, one could object that those elements thatwe have indicated as formative of the future Apostle ofthe Most Precious Blood are not really distinctive, butare the patrimony of holiness in general.

We do not deny this. On the other hand we mustreflect that God does not prepare apostles for a specificmission in a generic manner. This preparation does nottake place ordinarily in a single moment and in a man-ner that is uniquely supernatural.

Certainly we also have shown at the beginning ofthe chapter that one cannot properly speak of devotionto the Most Precious Blood in Gaspar’s youth.Nevertheless, knowing of the successive developments ofa spiritual formation and noting that those elementsthat we pointed out had a in his youth-ful spirituality (and the witnesses notice this often andwe have emphasized it as well), we thus believed itopportune to highlight them as roots from which willdevelop abundantly the personality of the future Apostleof the Most Precious Blood.

In the previous chapter we have seen that, at leastfrom the documents we have, the youthful spirituality ofGaspar was not characterized by a devotion to thePrecious Blood. Gaspar’s devotion to the Blood of Christwill become much more evident later. In the presentchapter we want to retrace the journey of Gaspar’sexplicit formation in Precious Blood spirituality.

In this journey we can identify four principal stages,the years 1808, 1810–1814, 1814, and 1817.

The first stage along this spiritual path begins in1808, the year of Gaspar’s ordination to the priesthood.This event designated him not only as one who distrib-utes the benefits of the redemption, but likewise the vic-tim with Christ for the glory of God and for the salvationof souls.

Gaspar’s first explicit encounter with the devotionto the Precious Blood took place on December 8, 1808,when he was invited by the canons of the chapter of the


Basilica of San Nicola in Carcere to give some shortinspirational sermons on the Eucharist (

) and the official address for the inaugurationof the “Pious Association of the Most Precious Blood ofJesus Christ, of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Maryand of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” in the same basilica.

A relic of the Precious Blood that was mounted andsealed in a silver box, a gift of Prince Giulio Savelli, hadbeen preserved in this very ancient basilica since 1708.It was engraved with the words, “

” ‘From the water and Blood ofOur Lord Jesus Christ which flowed from his mostsacred side while he hung on the Cross.’1 According tothe tradition of the noble Roman Savelli family, anancestor was a Roman legionary present in Jerusalem atthe death of the Savior who had possession of the gar-ment sprinkled with a few drops of the Blood of Jesus.When he became a Christian the former legionaryattached the part of the garment that was still red with

FORMATION IN THE PRECIOUS BLOOD 17

the Blood to his own garment and, upon returning toRome, placed it in a precious reliquary, which was pre-served and handed on with devotion for many centuriesin the Savelli family.2

The chapter of the basilica, through a special privi-lege, used to celebrate the feast of the Precious Blood onthe first Sunday of July with a proper Office and Mass,and already in 1808 used to expose and carry the relic inprocession.3 In the same church was venerated a crucifixwhich, according to tradition, had spoken to St. Brigida.4The crucifix and the relic were placed together at thesame altar.

These sacred objects were apparently little venerat-ed if the good canons were concerned about the religiousapathy of the neighboring quarters of the city.5 However,a member of the chapter of that basilica was the learnedand holy canon Don Francesco Albertini, a highlyregarded spiritual director. He directed the servant ofGod Sr. Maria Agnese del Verbo Incarnato, of themonastery of the Paolotte (Sisters of St. Francis ofPaola) in Rome. Sr. Maria Agnese

. . . after communion, would have certain rap-turous experiences, during which she spoke ofsublime matters. One morning, having receivedCommunion . . . one of her usual ecstasiesoccurred. The nuns alerted the Canon[Albertini] of this, and he was attentive to hearwhat she was saying. He understood that shewas speaking of the devotion of the PreciousBlood, how this devotion would be spread, andsimilar matters regarding the devotion.6

From that moment, Albertini began to devote him-self enthusiastically to spreading this devotion. Thispresented no difficulties for him at San Nicola, becausethe canons wanted to revive the Christian faith amongthe faithful of the area, and because they venerated therelic of the Precious Blood and the crucifix there—both


of which were indispensable means for encouraging thedevotion, especially among the simple people. In addi-tion, the feast of the Precious Blood was already beingcelebrated with a proper Mass and Divine Office in thebasilica. Albertini’s intention was to foster devotion tothe Blood of Christ and not to the relic, as we will seelater.

Albertini argued for this holy cause so well that thechapter of the Basilica of San Nicola in Carcere engagedcanons Mons. Francesco Maria Pittori, Don GregorioMuccioli, and Albertini himself to work for the estab-lishment of the “Pious Association of the Most PreciousBlood of Jesus Christ, of the Rosary of the Blessed VirginMary, and of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.” The officialinauguration took place on December 8, 1808.

According to a memoir written by Albertini, theyoung and newly ordained Gaspar was called to preachfor the event. (Gaspar had been ordained on July 31,


1808, with a dispensation from lack of canonical age.)Here is a description of Gaspar’s role in the event takenfrom Albertini’s memoir:

The feast of the Immaculate Conception wascelebrated with a solemn General Communion,and countless people approached the HolyTable, since there were many Confessors in theChurch as well as many Masses for the conven-ience of the Devoted who came. In the Mass ofCommunion there was organ music and Motetssung by the Musicians. From time to time themusic was interrupted with moving and effec-tive short sermons ( ) delivered by DonGaspar del Bufalo, Canon of the IllustriousCollege [of Canons] of San Marco.

. . . After the Mass, the praiseworthy Canondel Bufalo offered a brief but energetic dis-course directed to the Representatives, bothMen and Women, in which explained to themthe principal aim of the new Association thathad been founded, and consequently the properspirit and disposition of those who were to be itsfoundations. Gaspar animated and encouragedall to dedicate themselves entirely to this Workthat gave such glory of God, that was of suchspiritual advantage to one’s fellow men andwomen, and of such suffrage for the souls of theDeceased. He finished the discourse with a fer-vent prayer to the Most Precious Blood of JesusChrist and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, toimplore the abundance and fullness of heavenlyBlessings upon the new Association which wasto be born in only a few moments in the wombof the Holy Catholic Church so that it wouldbear very copious fruit.7

This pious association with its 8 wasapproved and canonically erected on February 27, 1809,


with a decree of the vicar of Rome, Cardinal AntonioDespuig y Dameto.

After the approval Albertini, named president of the‘Pious Association,’ composed the Chaplet

(or rosary) of the Precious Blood,9 which was approvedby the Sacred Congregation of Rites on March 31,1809,10 and then printed.

Albertini called on Gaspar to preach to the in 1809 and 1810 as well, as we find recorded

in the above mentioned :The introduced the practice of theMost Holy Rosary with , somethingwhich had not been the previous practice . . .And this was done on the feast of the Most HolyRosary and during the Octave. On the feast ofthe Rosary the for the first part werepreached by Abbot Giannoli, the second part byCanon del Bufalo, and the third by AbbotMarini. On the day of the Octave . . . Canon delBufalo, already praised above, preached the

only for the third part . . . on the day ofthe feast [of the Most Precious Blood], which fellon the first of July [1810], there was . . . GeneralCommunion, during which Canon del Bufalogave with great force and earnestness( ).11

This is the bare recounting of the facts that broughtour saint to his first explicit contact with devotion to theDivine Blood. We are interested in knowing the reasonthis encounter took place and its repercussions in thesoul of the young priest.

Why did the three canons in charge of the chapter atSan Nicola in Carcere call on the twenty-three year oldDon Gaspar, ordained only a few months, to take onsuch important preaching for the founding of the confra-ternity on December 8, 1808?


It does not appear that the three canons called himbecause they noticed in Gaspar a particular zeal for thedevotion to the Divine Blood. Nor does it seem that theyasked this of the preacher, for at that moment the

was also concerned with the holy rosary andthe souls in purgatory. Besides, in light of what was saidin the first chapter, devotion to the Precious Blood hadnot yet begun to grow in the youthful spirituality ofGaspar. Even though on that December 8, 1808, Gaspar“concluded the discourse with a fervent prayer to theMost Precious Blood of Jesus Christ and to the BlessedVirgin Mary,” as we read in the already cited memoir,this does not mean that devotion to the Precious Bloodwas particularly prominent in his life, as it would cometo be later. The closing prayer related to the topic of thesermon was customary for Gaspar as a conclusion to hispreaching, as one can observe in other preaching of thesame year.12

The reason for Gaspar being invited to undertakesuch important preaching was of a more general nature:it was the same reason why he was called to preach anofficial discourse on divine providence in the Basilica of


St. Peter in the Vatican for the exposition of the funeralpall ( ) of the holy martyrs,13 namely, his fame as agreat preacher and zealous apostle. The intense pastoralministry of this young priest, which took place beforetheir very eyes as he moved back and forth between theSanta Galla Hospice and the evening oratory of SantaMaria in Vincis (inaugurated on October 23, 180814)could hardly escape their notice. They would have heardthe opinions that were running through the entire popu-lace of the area of the Campo Vaccino (the RomanForuma) on account of young Gaspar, canon of the neighboring Basilica of St. Mark in the PiazzaVenezia: a truly zealous priest who could make one loveGod simply by being around him.

This twofold fame as a holy priest and an exception-al orator, therefore, was the reason for the invitation

____________________a : The Campo Vaccino, literally “cow pasture,”

was a popular name for the Roman Forum in Gaspar's day. At thattime it had not been excavated and preserved as it is today and layunder several meters of debris. Prints from the era show cows andother animals grazing among the ruins that poked up through thepasture.


offered by the three canons to preach on December 8,1808, in San Nicola in Carcere.

What kind of influence did Gaspar’s first encounterwith the devotion to the Precious Blood and withAlbertini have on him?

For St. Gaspar this encounter with the devotion tothe Precious Blood was not of great importance, becausehe had not yet become well aware of its doctrinal impli-cations. On first contact with the devotion it would bedifficult to distinguish it from devotion to the Jesus cru-cified, to the Passion, or to the Eucharist. Later, when hebecomes aware of his vocation to propagate the devotionto the Precious Blood, Gaspar will apply himself tostudying it, as St. Vincent Pallotti affirms in his deposi-tion.15 D. Giovanni Merlini also notes:

To succeed even better in this regard [Gaspar]told me that he would apply himself diligentlyto the study of Scripture and the ChurchFathers in order to amass as much as he couldfor his sermons on the Divine Blood.16

The meeting with Albertini was not important forGaspar, except for those few contacts with Albertini andothers that took place to coordinate the commitments ofministry that Gaspar was fulfilling at San Nicola inCarcere, especially after Albertini was named presidentof the of the Precious Blood by the chap-ter of San Nicola in Carcere. In addition, Gaspar wasalways involved in various pastoral ministries whichfully absorbed his time. Gaspar also already had hisspiritual director in Rome, the learned Mons. GiovanniMarchetti, rector of the Church of the Gesù, and so onemust dismiss as without any foundation the notion thatAlbertini had begun the spiritual direction of St. Gasparbefore the deportation.17 As a matter of fact, D. GiovanniMerlini, a well-informed witness, states in his depositionin the :


It is well to note that the Servant of God, as hehimself told me, even though he already knewthe celebrated Albertini in Rome by sight, hadonly greeted him and, if memory serves, hadtalked with him a few times. During his depor-tation, Gaspar, knowing his reputation as anexcellent director of souls, placed himself underhis direction, and I know that he never dis-tanced himself from him.18

Professor Mariano Armellini, the archeologist whowrote a highly regarded biography of Gaspar, reachesthe same conclusion: “Up until the day of his departure[for exile, in July 1810], Gaspar had only very infrequentcontacts [with Albertini.]”19 These statements would bein error if Albertini had begun spiritual direction withSt. Gaspar before the exile and had him in mind to col-laborate with him in spreading his dear devotion.

Rome, with its endless apostolic demands thatabsorbed all of Gaspar’s activity given the generous res-onance they found in his zealous heart, would not havebeen the place suited for realizing the divine plan,according to which he was to be the Apostle of the DivineBlood. Just then God took him from his own surround-ings, from his cherished and demanding apostolic works,and from his family. He called Gaspar to a land of mar-tyrdom, where he began revealing to him his vocation inthe Church.

Gaspar’s pilgrimage began with a summons by theFrench police, which reached the del Bufalo householdin the Palazzo Altieri on June 12, 1810. The followingday Gaspar had to present himself at the PalazzoBorromeo near the Church of St. Ignatius to take theoath of loyalty to Napoleon Bonaparte.


The French army had already occupied Rome onMay 17, 1809, with the intention of bending Pope PiusVII to Napoleon’s aims of dominating Europe and abol-ishing the temporal power of the pope, after havingannexed the last two regions of the Papal States, Lazioand Umbria, to the French empire. On June 10, 1809,Pius VII issued a bull of excommunication for all respon-sible for the suppression of the patrimony of St. Peter.During the night of June 5–6, 1809, the aged and weakPius VII was arrested at the Quirinal Palace by Frenchpolice and was taken into exile, first to Grenoble, then toSavona, and finally to Fontainebleau.

News of this crime petrified the population of Rome.Added to this abuse was the imposition of the oath of loy-alty to the established authority, that is, to the emperor,with the consequent approval of the deeds already done.Cardinals, bishops, prelates, and ecclesiastics whoenjoyed benefices, such as pastors and canons, wereobliged to take the oath. It was either loyalty to theemperor or deportation.

In two instructions of May 22 and August 30 of1808, Pius VII declared such an oath illicit, notwith-standing the opposing opinions of some theologians andcanon lawyers who had been manipulated into consider-ing it legal. Gaspar made accurate copies, in his ownhand, of the two papal instructions, and those copies arepreserved among his writings.20

Thus on that June 12, 1810, the order to take theoath arrived at the home of Gaspar, a canon of St.Mark’s. The following day, accompanied by his fatherAntonio, Don Gaspar went before the commissioner pre-fect at the Palazzo Borromeo. Before the prefect heannounced, instead of the prescribed formula for theoath, his decision: “I cannot, I must not, I will not,” justas Pius VII had declared before General Radet, when, onthe night of June 5–6, 1809, the latter had invited thepope to renounce his temporal sovereignty.21 Gaspar’sdeportation to Piacenza followed immediately.22

During the first days of July he was on his way toPiacenza together with Albertini and two other canonsof the Basilica of St. Mark: Francesco Gambini andBernardino Filippo Marchetti.23

The threads of the divine fabric began to cometogether. Out of sheer necessity Gaspar was to rubshoulders with the pioneer of the devotion to thePrecious Blood and began to submit himself to his influ-ence willingly.

Passing through Florence, Albertini used the oppor-tunity to promote his dear devotion, stirring AbbotConsalvo Petrai to sufficient enthusiasm to have theChaplet of the Precious Blood reprinted and distrib-uted.24 Monsignor Emidio Gentilucci, in his short biog-raphy of our saint, assures us that Gaspar also helpedhim in this work.25

In Piacenza, Gaspar could not help but observe thezeal of Albertini in spreading devotion to the PreciousBlood and the chaplet, which Albertini had translatedinto five languages.26

However, the moment of revelation of the will of Godhad not yet arrived for Gaspar. This came about unex-pectedly while he was in bed with a very serious illnessin September 1810. The unhealthy air of Piacenza or“Dispiacenza,”b as he jokingly refers to it in one letter,27

had brought him near death. Even the physicians didnot hide the seriousness of his case, and so Albertini cel-ebrated the anointing of the sick with him. (In that peri-od the sacrament was customarily administered only atthe point of death.) While he was attending him,Albertini, with heart heavy with sorrow, gazed on thefeatures of this young priest, transformed by the wrin-kles of a premature old age.


____________________bThis is a play on words in Italian. means “to

please” and “to displease.”


On August 28 Gaspar wrote to Don GaetanoBonanni28 asking him for prayers to St. Francis Xavierfor his health.29 Even at that point—the first days ofSeptember of 1810—as Gaspar lay on his straw mattressnear the point of death, he was invoking the help of hisdear saint, to whom he was so devoted from his boyhood.Albertini did not let so much as a breath from the appar-ently dying Gaspar escape his notice; he observed every-thing. At one point, not so much to console Gaspar, inas-much as he was sustained by an interior force, Albertiniassured him that his cure was certain. Why this suddenchange? Albertini had always kept in mind the prophet-ic words referring to Gaspar by the already notedServant of God Sr. Maria Agnese del Verbo Incarnato:

You will recognize in the difficult times of theChurch a young priest, zealous for the glory ofGod, and with him, in the face of oppression ofenemies and in pain, you will form a spiritualfriendship and you will be his Director. The dis-tinctive characteristic of this priest will be thedevotion to St. Francis Xavier. He will be des-tined to be an apostolic missionary and he willfound a new congregation of missionary priestsunder the title of the Divine Blood, dedicated toreforming morals and for the salvation of souls,to promote the decorum of the secular clergy, torouse the people from their indifference andunbelief, calling all back to the love of Jesus cru-cified.

He will be the founder of an institute of sis-ters, but he will not direct them. Finally, he willbe the trumpet of the Divine Blood, in order toarouse sinners and sectarians in the difficulttimes of Christianity.30

Albertini now entrusted these communications thathe had kept in his heart to Gaspar, in order to explain


the categorical assertion that he would be cured, whichin fact did occur.

The prophecy which Sr. Maria Agnese had receivedfrom God, in all probability during one of her habitualecstasies after communion,31 and which she had commu-nicated to Albertini, was explicit. It foretold that a youngpriest would be the apostolic missionary, founder of twocongregations with the Divine Blood in their titles, tocall back “all to the love of the Crucified One” andApostle of the Blood of Christ.”

What weight did this prediction have for the soul ofAlbertini and that of Gaspar?

Albertini had to have been convinced of the truth ofthis prediction above all because he was familiar withher holiness. This holy woman and member of thePaolotte Sisters was born Barbara Schiavi on June 24,1757. From childhood she was dedicated to prayer andpenance

. . . in the humble condition of a lay sister, astate she voluntarily chose, and her life shonewith the light of solid virtues. She was favoredby God with great gifts of miracles, of prophecy,of counsel, of the knowledge of hearts . . . Highranking people, both clerical and lay, came toher for advice.32

She enjoyed the esteem and veneration of St.Vincent Strambi, Passionist bishop and friend ofGaspar’s, the Jesuit Giuseppe Maria Pignatelli, and ofVenerable Clotilde di Savoia. After a very long illness,she died on the day she predicted, March 15, 1810, somemonths before Gaspar and his companions departed forexile.33

The effect of this holy religious on the soul ofAlbertini was of no small importance if, as we alreadyknow, she persuaded him to propagate the devotion tothe Precious Blood precisely because he heard her speakof this in an ecstasy.


Albertini, after fasting and prayer, was inspired towrite the Chaplet of the Precious Blood and, after fin-ishing it,

. . . considered taking it to Sister Maria Agnese

. . . with the intention of making some finishingtouches later. Scarcely did the pious lay sistersee her confessor that she spoke to him aboutwhat he had written, although he had notshown it to her. She was as happy as if she hadreceived an ineffable gift, and said to him: ‘Youhave the Chaplet of the Precious Blood! Do notchange a thing. Leave it as the Lord hasinspired it.’34

Albertini followed her counsel to the letter.For these and other reasons, known only to the holy

canon through his special relationship to Sr. MariaAgnese, one must conclude that Albertini considered theprediction as a genuine divine message even before itwas fulfilled. We say this because, already during theperiod of imprisonment, we see him working withCountess Caterina Bentivoglio Orsi (1765–1826) for theestablishment of the Institute of the “Daughters of thePrecious Blood.”35 We say this because Gaspar wanted toenter the newly reestablished Society of Jesus uponreturning to Rome after his imprisonment and Albertinidid not try to stop him, assuring Gaspar that he wouldnot be successful, which, in fact, was the case.36

What kind of influence did that prediction have onGaspar in September 1810?

The prophecy contained a beautiful message, but itwas difficult for Gaspar to receive it enthusiastically.This was also part of the character of our saint: to befearful in the face of the great responsibilities he wasabout to embrace until some sign manifested the will ofGod to him. This was the case at his priestly ordination:he needed the counsel of St. Vincent Strambi. It would


also be the case in his choice of vocation: he would needthe call of Pius VII.

That prediction, therefore, certainly did not find anenthusiastic welcome in Gaspar. It left him perplexed,but it was not in vain, especially with the encouragingand enlightening presence of Albertini.37

From September 1810 Gaspar will begin to workactively to enrich his soul with the beautiful devotion tothe Most Precious Blood and to spreading that devotion,as we will see shortly. From being a simple assistant toAlbertini, as he was in Rome, Florence, and Piacenza, hebecame more and more a genuine instrument of thePrecious Blood through an interior desire, becausealready the vermilion sun of the Blood of Christ hasappeared on the horizon of his life, making it more fruit-ful and bringing it gradually to full maturity.

All of Gaspar’s life may be seen as continuinggrowth in his devotion to the Precious Blood, but Ibelieve that the years of most luxuriant growth werethose he spent in prison. It was there that he began to bedirected by Albertini, whose personality held a strongattraction for him.38 In prison his soul was formed notonly by study and prayer but also by his accepting thismartyrdom out of love for Jesus Christ and the Church.

First, we should describe the figure of CanonFrancesco Albertini,39 who was born in Rome on June 8,1770 and who died on November 24, 1819. Given hisimportance in the life of Gaspar, we should take a closerlook at his life. Albertini molded the soul of Gaspar forhis great mission and their destinies appeared to befused together into a single ideal and their souls burnedwith the same spirituality.40

From the moment that he chose Albertini as hisspiritual director during their deportation, Gaspar nur-tured a growing admiration of the canon. Albertini pre-scribed a method for living and observed it exactly.Gaspar remained obedient to his director even after hedied, following his counsels scrupulously.41 He used to


say: “I observe exactly what Monsignor Albertini pre-scribed for me and I don’t stray from his rules . . . Whata great director was Albertini! How hard it is to find onelike him!”42 He often called him “the Saint,”43 as one caneasily see in his letters.

He truly was a holy man, very humble, given tosometimes incredible mortification. He was hard on him-self so that he could control his fiery temperament. Withothers, however, he was gentle and loving to the point ofreminding one of St. Francis de Sales, whose life andwork he knew.44

He was such an accomplished and wise spiritualdirector that after his death several works were pub-lished under his name:

and46

Such is a brief sketch of Albertini who in 1819 wascreated bishop of Terracina, Sezze, and Priverno by PiusVII.

Albertini was extremely significant in the history ofdevotion to the Precious Blood. He was important notonly for stirring up a devotion that would become uni-versal in the Church, for having written the belovedChaplet of the Precious Blood, for having formed andhelped the “herald of the Divine Blood,” but also for aheart that burned for the price of the redemption ofhumankind.

For this reason we will mention a few ideas ofAlbertini that we will find developed in Gaspar. Afterall, Albertini called Gaspar his “favorite son,” so weshould be able to discover some the father’s characteris-tics in his spiritual offspring.

The mind ( ) of Albertini regarding the Bloodof Christ may be found in a letter written from Bastia,Corsica, on July 11, 1812:

Long live the Most Precious Blood of my dearRedeemer. I am consecrated to that devotion


and wish to remain forever immersed in it,while he graciously gives me the necessarystrength . . .47

May the love of Jesus Christ always grow in(our) heart. Who will love, if we do not love ourDivine Redeemer, who gave his Blood and hisLife for us? He is the Master, the Sovereign, theKing of (our) soul.48

Quite significant is the insight into his spirit whichhe offers us in a letter he wrote to a nephew on January11, 1812, seven days after his arrival in the awful pris-ons of Bastia:

See that I no longer write you from Bologna, butfrom Bastia, where I arrived on the fourth ofthis month . . . I did not want to let you knowthis earlier so that you would not be upset. Nowthat I have arrived at my destination and findmyself in very good health, happy and calm andfull of joy, I share all of this with you so that youcan be united with me in thanking the Lord,who, through the merits of his Precious Bloodhas deigned to give me a share in this addition-al little suffering for his Divine Glory . . .49

This consecration of his life to the glory of the DivineBlood spurred him to spread the devotion with greatzeal:

I commend to you the devotion to the MostPrecious Blood of our divine Redeemer, which isour true treasure.50

Ah, long live the sweetest Blood of Jesus!This powerful devotion is becoming more wide-spread each day. Yes, to Him be honor and gloryfor all ages. Amen. And I am in the same MostDivine Blood your very devoted Servant [andthe Servant] of all.51


He spread the devotion by means of letters of spiri-tual direction, the confessional and counsel, writings,preaching, publications, and especially the Chaplet ofthe Precious Blood, which he had translated into variouslanguages. Was there an important decision to be made?He had recourse to the Divine Blood:

Regarding the advice you asked for in the mat-ter of the coming election of a Superior, do whatI tell you: first place the matter in the MostPrecious Blood of our Redeemer. Then go beforethe Most Blessed Sacrament and ask Him forenlightenment . . .52

Writing from prison in Bastia, for example,Albertini intervened in a conflict within theConfraternity of the Most Precious Blood and pointedout that the Chaplet of the Precious Blood had beentranslated and printed in five languages and that thedevotion was spreading. The devil, he says, is inimical tothe spread of the devotion to the Blood, the source of thesalvation of the world. He urges:

Be happy and affectionately devoted to the MostPrecious Blood of our Redeemer Jesus, who isthe only one who can placate the wrath of theEternal Father, and who can obtain an abun-dance of all good things for us.53

Here is an excerpt from a letter offering some pointsfor meditation on the Blood of Christ, particularly dur-ing Holy Week:

Why does [Jesus] suffer? Out of love for thesemiserable and ungrateful creatures, whoinstead of returning to him, as each must do,offend him so many times with their faults andsins. Oh! Never has been found a model moreexpressive of solid patience, which confoundsour delicacy, and self love, by which we do not


know how to suffer even a remark and a slightoffense of our neighbor. Why does he suffer? Tofree men and women from their unhappy lot ofdamnation, into which they have voluntarilyfallen. The incomprehensible Mystery of Mercyby which we are taught to be more compassion-ate toward our fellow men and women, and togive comfort with an open heart, insofar as pos-sible, to others in their misery. Finally, up towhat point does he suffer? He pours out the lastdrop of his Blood for our salvation. Oh, adorableschool of love and of charity, in which he teach-es us to love again without reserve the one whohas sacrificed his entire being for us. Here, mydear Daughter, are some helpful thoughts,which should occupy your mind in these holydays.54

Some of his expressions seem to show the mysticalinfluence of St. Catherine of Siena when speaking of theBlood of Christ: “I leave you in the Precious side of JesusChrist,” or “immersing you in [his] Most PreciousBlood.”55

These few quotes taken from his letters56 areenough to provide us with a sense of the spiritual statureof the teacher of Gaspar, of his great love for the Bloodof Jesus, which Albertini sought to instill subtly by thewitness of his life in the heart of his disciple.

Albertini and Gaspar were transferred to Bolognaon December 12, 1810. There Gaspar lived next toAlbertini in the house of the Oratorians, attached to theChurch of Santa Maria di Galliera, and then, inFebruary 1811, in the quarters of the CountessesMarianna Spada Bentivoglio and Caterina BentivoglioOrsi, her daughter. It was Albertini who sought lodgingfor himself and St. Gaspar with Caterina after he hadbeen chosen to be her spiritual director. Since there wasno place available in their house, in which several exiled


priests had already found lodging, they had him stay inthe house of their servant Giuseppe Sarti and his wifeMarianna Gressi, at Via Cartoleria Nuova, 618, present-day Via Domenico Guerazzi.57

The year Gaspar spent with Albertini in Bologna—the latter was transferred to Corsica on December 28,1811—was a time of great spiritual influence on the soulof St. Gaspar, especially through the intense apostolatefor the devotion to the Precious Blood which Albertiniwas able to arouse in that city.

During these months in which Gaspar lived withAlbertini, his zeal for the devotion to the Precious Bloodhad not waned, but 1811 was the year in which the zeal-ous apostolic activity of Albertini was impressed evenmore deeply in the life of our saint.

Albertini’s activity coincided with the enthusiasm inthe region of Bologna, especially that of CountessCaterina Bentivoglio Orsi, whose fervor for this devotionwas roused by her spiritual director, Albertini. So greatwas her devotion that, as she herself writes in an auto-biographical letter, in September 1811, that Albertini

. . . erected [in Bologna] a union of seven indi-viduals, who honor the seven sheddings of the


Blood of our divine Redeemer, and he commis-sioned me to be their leader. This union wasestablished on the day of the birth of our Ladyand met on the last Sunday of the month.58

This was the basis of the future Confraternity of theMost Precious Blood in the Church of San Domenico,which eventually merged with the Archconfraternity ofthe Most Precious Blood of San Nicola in Carcere inRome on June 9, 1816. Just as Albertini had singled outGaspar as the future Apostle of the Blood of Christ inPiacenza in September 1810, so in Bologna in 1811 hesingled out the Countess Caterina Bentivoglio Orsi to bethe foundress of the Institute of the Sisters of the MostPrecious Blood. From that time on Albertini began toprepare her, along with some companions, for the found-ing of this institute, to be dedicated to caring for the sickin hospitals and in the home.59 But we will speak of thislater, when we describe Gaspar’s commitment to found-ing the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood.

Now, however we must see what influence Albertiniexercised on the soul of Gaspar during the year that theylived together in Bologna.

Until June 1811, Gaspar’s letters provide no explic-it witness to the devotion to the Precious Blood in hisheart ( ). In Bologna the call to cultivate the devo-tion to the Precious Blood becomes apparent in his let-ters for the first time. This will be the principal refrainof his letters in future years.

We notice this first evidence in a letter written onJune 18, 1811, to Countess Virginia MalaspinaCaracciolo of Piacenza. Among other news, he speaks toher of the approaching feast of the Sacred Heart ofJesus:

Oh, how happy I would be if I had always lovedJesus as I ought! At least you, please, love himfor me and let us make every effort to be entire-ly his in this life so as to be with him for all


eternity. What beautiful thoughts come to meas I meditate now on our Redeemer, whose feastof the Most Sacred Heart we are about to cele-brate very soon. That most Sacred Heart teach-es us two truths in particular, that is, humility,as he says ‘learn [from me, for I am meekand humble of heart],’ etc. [Mt 11: 29] and holylove, symbolized in those flames surroundingthe Sacred Divine Heart. ‘Ihave come to cast fire [on the earth],’ etc. [Lk12: 49]. So, let us then place ourselves beforehim and ask him to sanctify our hearts and sup-ply us with all that we need.

Be mindful of the devotion to the MostPrecious Blood of Jesus and say often the

; and I also ask you, at yourconvenience, to offer a novena to St. Xavier forme.60

In another letter to the same Countess Caracciolo,Gaspar praises her for the zeal that she was showing inspreading the devotion to the Precious Blood in her cityand he also describes to her the rapid spread of the devo-tion to the Blood of Christ in Bologna and in all ofRomagna by means of the Chaplet of the Precious Blood.He asks her to have thousands of copies reprinted. Thushe writes her on September 19, 1811:

I am thoroughly edified by your work, especial-ly for the zeal and Christian charity that youdemonstrate by propagating anything that willredound to the greater glory of God. In particu-lar, I am referring to the now well-knownChaplet which you, in your goodness, havebegun to distribute to the nuns and other piousindividuals. May you be blessed and may Godshower his favors on all of your efforts and bringfulfillment to our hopes.


Here in Bologna, some women, on their own,and other people have become so interested inthis devotion that at present it has spreadthroughout Romagna, throughout the Diocese ofBologna, etc. In many churches of Campagna,they are already using this devotion in publicservices. The same thing is occurring, at thepresent time, in only one of the churches in thiscity [the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna],but becoming more and more widespread inother places. I mention all of this for your con-solation.

One devoted person [Countess CaterinaBentivoglio Orsi] had thousands and thousandsof the booklets published which were then dis-tributed into the hands of the seculars as wellas private individuals, and little by little intro-duced into the churches. Thus, if devout peoplein Piacenza can be found who could join togeth-er to handle the publishing of some thousandsof these booklets and passing them around pri-vately, you will see that our good Jesus will takecare of the rest.61

This news of the spread of the devotion to thePrecious Blood in Bologna and in the whole diocese, inRomagna, and in the countryside is not an exaggeration,since Albertini and St. Gaspar had a strong friendshipwith the priests of the

,62 who dedicated themselves to preaching popularmissions and who were committed to spreading devotionto the Precious Blood63 by means of the recitation of theChaplet of the Precious Blood. It is significant thatGaspar will propose writing to these very missionariesfor a copy of their Rule in order to have “enlightenment”( ) when he is about to go to Giano in July 1815 tofound the Congregation of the Missionaries of thePrecious Blood.64


The year 1811 was a year of great spiritual fermentfor the Blood of Christ. The rest of Gaspar’s time inprison, which ended in February of 1814, was an appren-ticeship of intense pastoral and spiritual formation forthe Apostle of the Blood of Christ, even when he wasforced to be separated from his beloved Albertini onDecember 28, 1811, when the latter was deported toCorsica and Gaspar was transferred to the prisons ofImola (January 14, 1813) and Lugo (May 15–December7, 1813). From Lugo he was sent to Florence (December20, 1813) to await his transfer to Livorno, whence hewas supposed to embark for Corsica. Fortunately thistransfer did not take place because of the decree of free-dom granted by Gioacchino Murat on January 26, 1814,to priests who had not sworn the oath. In this period St.Gaspar, although he was alone, committed himself toimitate Albertini in propagating devotion to the PreciousBlood.

Having formed a friendship with the family of thenoble Ginnasi family in Imola,65 (specifically with theCountess Lucrezia Ginnasi) and with the priest DonFrancesco Pollini,66 spiritual director of those impris-oned, St. Gaspar took it upon himself to obtain for themthe booklets of the Chaplet of the Precious Blood fromCountess Caterina Bentivoglio. Thus he writes onFebruary 11, 1813, to Monsignor Annibale Ginnasi:

I have thought also of writing a couple of linesto the Countess [Bentivoglio] to ask her help ina small matter that will have to be settled atBologna (according to a letter from Rome whichcommissions me to it); on that occasion I willmention to her also the Booklets, etc.67

In the letter of February 22, 1813, to LucreziaGinnasi, sister-in-law of Mons. Annibale Ginnasi,Gaspar assures them that the booklets requested hadarrived from Bologna and that he was disposed to ask for


more, so that he could introduce the public recitation ofthe chaplet in Faenza and in other places.

If the Chaplet of the Blood of Christ could bepublicly introduced also in Faenza or in someother place, I will see to it that other bookletsare sent from Bologna and, as far as I am con-cerned, both now and always, I will never loseinterest in the salvation of souls.68

In fact, some letters of St. Gaspar from this periodgive us evidence of his interest in the devotion to thePrecious Blood, as he obtains the booklets of the chapletfor his friends.69 Of particular significance is the letter toCountess Lucrezia Ginnasi of May 10, 1813, telling herof the arrival of a large quantity of booklets of the chap-let. He writes her:

At the end of this month, we will have the book-lets for the Chaplet, and today I wrote toCountess Bentivoglio who will send 500 ofthem: 300 for Fr. Pollini, who asked me to getthem; 100 for you and 100 for me. I hope thatthe Lord will bless our pious intentions and, inthe meantime, let us not cease offering the priceof our redemption for the Holy Church and forthe eternal salvation of our souls.70

When St. Gaspar stopped in Florence at the end ofDecember 1813 and in January 1814, awaiting transferto Corsica to join Albertini, who had suffered for twoyears in the horrible “tombs” of Bastia, he undertook thespreading of the devotion to the Precious Blood in themonastery of the Montalvo Sisters.71

Why did St. Gaspar, lacking the support and guid-ance of Albertini, engage in spreading the devotion tothe Precious Blood? Above all, it was because in theseyears of special participation in the cross of Christ out oflove for the Church, with the guidance and splendid


witness of Albertini, he devoted himself to his own inte-rior maturity in the spirituality of the Blood of Christ.

He did this in the first place by means of prayer.Don Pietro Del Frate, who was in prison with St. Gasparfor about eight months, tells us that he “had all of thehours assigned, some for prayer, some for the reading ofScripture and for the recitation of the Chaplet of thePrecious Blood . . . ”72 On February 22, 1813, Gasparwrote to Countess Lucrezia Ginnasi, suggesting to her aprayer of St. Francis Xavier, which had certainly alsobecome his prayer.

The prayer that St. Francis Xavier was accustomedto recite in honor of the five wounds of Jesus Christ isthe following:

‘Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you, through the fivewounds you suffered on the Cross out of love forus, help your servants whom you haveredeemed at the price of your Precious Blood.’73


This loving contact with the Divine Blood in inti-mate prayer was strengthened and illuminated by hisdaily study of this great mystery. As noted above, DelFrate mentions that Gaspar applied himself to“Scripture readings.” St. Vincent Pallotti, who was latera friend and confidant of St. Gaspar, assures us that thisstudy was precisely of the Precious Blood. During thecanonical process for beatification he testified:

The Servant of God, himself, realized thisdivine vocation to which he was being called inthe Church because of the vibrant faith whichanimated him. He occupied himself seriously ingaining knowledge through a study of thesacred words found in the holy books which pro-nounce the ineffable values of the PreciousBlood of Jesus Christ, so that he might, withevermore growing love, be prepared to preachthem more clearly and effectively to the peo-ple.74

In addition to prayer and the study of the mystery ofthe Blood of Jesus, his joyful sharing in the cross ofChrist out of love for the Church and of souls made the


youthful soul of Gaspar grow progressively in the mys-tery of the Precious Blood. We have clear testimony tothis maturation in the letters that he wrote to hisfriends while he was in prison. For example:

Let us read more reflectively the great book ofthe Crucifix [ the Italian

can also mean ‘the Crucified One.’]which is opened for all and, therein, let us learnlessons leading to eternal life, while repeatingoften each day as a short prayer,

, etc. ‘We, therefore,beseech you help your servants, etc.’ Oh howhappy we would be if all people were to availthemselves of the price of our redemption! Whata comfort this would be to the sweetest Heart ofJesus.75

In his meditation on the mystery of the Blood ofChrist he could not omit reflecting on the salvation ofsouls, for whom Jesus had poured out his Blood. Thus,St. Gaspar writes in various letters to Countess LucreziaGinnasi in 1813 in order to support her and “to animateher for the work . . . so advantageous for the soulsredeemed with the Precious Blood of Jesus”:

Oh, you souls who are still faithful to me, atleast you should be interested in procuringglory for me, defending my honor, satisfying mydesires. With resolve remove from the jaws ofthe demon the person who has been redeemedat the price of living blood; and, since you areaware of the malice of sin and the hurt it caus-es me, arm yourselves with holy zeal to preventit and to remove it insofar as it is possible. I amsaddened to see so many fall into ruin, for Iwould want them to share in my mercy and Iam continuously at work, drawing them awayfrom evil. For a single soul alone I would have


done all that I did for everyone; and from every-thing that I suffered, you can see the value of asingle soul!76

On the other hand, have no doubt about this. . . Jesus still loves you; and from the Cross, hesays again: , I thirst for your soul and Iseek nothing more than a sorrowful contrition,a sincere reform, an interior grieving based ontrue repentance. Oh soul, do you not see that Iam on the cross with my arms opened out totake you in and that you can truly satisfy myburning desire for love? Do you not know that Iwent so far as to sweat blood in the garden sole-ly because of the pain of seeing so many soulslost? I did not, in fact, say: Let this cup of suf-fering pass from me in a general meaning, but Idid say: let this very bitter cup pass from me ina particular meaning in my heart, for I wouldthat everyone be saved; I was alluding to theloss of so many souls. So, be courageous, for youhave nothing to fear. Am I not that shepherd ofthe Gospel who went persistently in search ofyou; that father who arranged a great feast forthe return of his wayward son; the Redeemerwho even prayed for his crucifiers and promisedheaven to the thief who converted? . . .Oh what a feast there will be in heaven as youconvert! Oh what joy I will feel in my heart!What a blessing will come down upon you! Is itpossible that you would love sin, which is thecause of the loss of peace of conscience andmakes you eligible to receive the greatest ofchastisements? What more could I have donefor you that I did not do, and all for your owngood? Come now. Wash yourself in my Blood, forI indeed have prepared for you a splendid ban-quet which is the most holy sacrament of the


Eucharist and, thereafter, an eternity of joy inheaven. Everything turns out to be sweet in thisworld when you possess habitual grace andeverything turns out to be insufferable whenthe soul is deprived of it.77

Oh soul, redeemed by the Most Precious Bloodof Jesus the Redeemer, at this point, lift up yourthoughts and realize that this ineffable benefitand august mystery, together with theIncarnation of the Son of God, was a flamingoutburst of love:

‘he emptied himself, taking theform of a servant’ [Phil 2: 7]. His submission toso many pains and trials was a flaming outburstof love, finally expiring in a sea of sorrows andon the infamous scaffold of Calvary. It was aflaming outburst of love to leave himself entire-ly in the Eucharistic banquet. It was a flamingoutburst of love for him to find his delight in usmiserable creatures:

‘my delights were to be with the chil-dren of men’ [Prv 8: 31] and that burning wishof his for our eternal salvation in the belovedhomeland of heaven.Oh soul, plunge yourself deeply into these mov-ing thoughts and you cannot help but repeatwith the Apostle: ‘thecharity of Christ presses us’ [2 Cor 5: 14]! It isnot so much what Jesus suffered as it is the lovethat he demonstrated in his suffering for usthat obliges us and even forces us to love him inreturn. Let us listen to what St. Francis deSales says in this regard: ‘Knowing that Jesus,true God, has loved us to the point of sufferingdeath for us, even death on a cross, is this notthe same as having our hearts put under awinepress and feeling its crushing force,


squeezing out love with a violence that is asgentle and loving as it is forceful?’ Then headds: ‘So then why do we not cast ourselves ontoJesus Crucified, to die on the Cross with himwho was willing to die out of love for us? Weought to say: I shall cling to him and I shallnever abandon him; I will die with him and Ishall burn in the flames of his love. One and thesame flame will consume this divine Creatorand his miserable creature. My Jesus gives allto me and I give my all to him. I shall live andlie on his breast; neither death nor life will everseparate me from him. Oh eternal love, my soulseeks you and chooses you for all eternity.Come, Holy Spirit, inflame our hearts with yourlove. To love or to die; to die to every other loveso as to live in the love of Jesus. Oh Savior ofour souls, allow us to chant forever: Hail toJesus; love Jesus; hail to Jesus whom I love; Ilove Jesus who lives forever and ever.’This love (says the Venerable John of Avila) isthe kind that makes good souls go beyond them-selves and leaves them in a state of amazementwhen they come to realize it. Then, a feeling ofinterior burning arises, a desire for martyrdom,happiness in suffering, an enjoyment of thosethings that the world fears, and an embracing ofthose things that the world abhors. St. Ambrosesays that the soul that is wedded to JesusChrist on the Cross considers nothing more glo-rious than to bear in itself the marks of theCrucified. Oh how, my beloved, can I repay youfor your love? He deserves to have a compensa-tion of blood for blood. See, here I am tintedwith that blood and nailed to that Cross! Ohholy Cross, receive me unto thyself. Oh crown,loosen thyself so that I can place my head there-in. Oh nails, release those innocent hands of my


Lord and pierce my heart with compassion andlove. . . . Oh my most loving Lord, intoxicate ourhearts with this wine, burn them with thisflame, wound them with the arrows of yourlove.78

[Souls] immerse themselves in the most tendermeditation of everything that Jesus has doneand suffered, reflecting on the fact that he, inas-much as he was God, determined from all eter-nity his love for mankind. They fix their glanceon the blessed eternity that awaits them and,submerged, shall we say, in that sea of consol-ing thoughts, they become marvelously ecstaticand allow themselves to be consumed by thedivine fire of love.St. Francis of Paola, viewing the Crucifix, wouldcry out: Oh love! Oh love! St. Francis de Salesused to say: ‘With what love should we not beinflamed when we look upon the flames thatburned in the breast of our Redeemer! And ohwhat a fortunate thing it would be for us to beable to burn with that same fire that burns inour God! What joy it would be to be united toGod by the chains of love! Oh how many lovingarrows issue from those wounds that strikeeven the hardest of hearts! Oh what flamescome out from the burning heart of JesusChrist, flames that warm the coldest of souls!Oh how many darts fly out from that piercedside which strike the most obstinate of sinners!Oh what an abyss of mystery lies in that veryintense love which, like a flaming furnace, con-sumes the very life of the Savior! What a greatact of kindness it was for us to be redeemedfrom servitude to the devil, to return to the pos-session of grace, to a claim to glory, to be chil-dren of God! However, Jesus could have


achieved that without undergoing so much suf-fering. I mean, without the total outpouring ofhis Blood. Jesus wanted to be the model for con-fessors and martyrs, for apostles and virgins,for hermits and contemplatives. Jesus wantedto be the universal master. Jesus wanted tonourish us with his very self; he wanted to diefor us! Oh love! Oh love! Oh love! My dearRedeemer, grant that I may live only to loveyou. Amen.’79

These and many other expressions one encountersin his prison letters reveal a soul already grasped byJesus, contemplated in the mystery of his Blood.

In February of 1814, Gaspar returned to Rome afterfour years of prison spent far from his homeland. Hedeparted Florence with a heart full of sorrow because ofthe apostolic works he was leaving behind and becausehe was going home but would no longer find his belovedmother there. She had died while he was in exile.

He returns, however, bearing in his heart animmense treasure, acquired through the humble witnessof his new spiritual director, Don Francesco Albertini,and through his generous participation in the mystery ofthe cross, faithfully following Christ, who was now show-ing him his face in the characteristic sign of his PreciousBlood, shed with immense love and sorrow for the salva-tion of all.

One would be tempted to think that the already her-alded “Trumpet of the Divine Blood,” now so spirituallycharged, free of the shackles of imprisonment andreunited with the father of his soul, Don FrancescoAlbertini, would begin to sound, gathering the faithfulunder the standard of the Blood of Christ.

This did not happen, however, because even thoughthe fulfillment of the prophecy of Sr. Maria Agnese was


at hand, clouds of doubt were gathering in Gaspar’sheart. So great were these that his old desire to leave theworld and abandon himself “in a haven of faith and tohide myself in the Society of Jesus.”80 He felt himself“bound by a thousand ties” that were preventing himfrom making “an effective decision.” He submitted him-self to the will of God: “Enough; just let us pray and if itpleases the Lord, all will work out and we will adore thedivine dispositions, since doing his will is what willmake us saints.”81 Thus he writes to the CountessLucrezia Ginnasi on July 2, 1814.

Albertini was a great help in this matter of voca-tional discernment. Valentini, whom Gaspar chose ashis spiritual director in 1820, writes of the resolution ofthe matter:

When the Servant of God returned from exile,he continued to consult with his spiritual direc-tor Monsignor Albertini who, likewise, had justreturned from his period of exile. With clarity ofconscience, he opened himself up wholehearted-ly to him making known his own inclination tojoin the Company of Jesus.

That great spiritual master did not opposehis expressed desire but, reminding him of thethings that had been spoken by that greatServant of God, Sister Maria Agnese of theIncarnate Word, he advised him not to pay toomuch attention to those words since suchextraordinary things should not be the basis ofgoverning one’s life, neither of belief nor ofaction. Rather, basing one’s life on the rules offaith and in adhering to the basic principles ofaction, one must move forward always in accor-dance with good counsel and prayer. In thatway, one will discover the pure will of God andnot make a mistake in regard to one’s vocationupon which depends every fragment of the


mosaic of our lives, our predestination, our sal-vation (

). Completelysatisfied with those fundamental principles,although still others were advanced for his well-being, the Servant of God did not cease tendingtoward joining the Company of Jesus. He evensought to be admitted there along with Fr.Carlo Odescalchi. However, the Lord, who hadother things planned for him, as did Albertinialso, though I am not able to say whether it wasthrough the concern of Monsignor Cristaldi orthrough some other supernatural interventionthat made the situation known, he was assuredthat even though he and Odescalchi had sub-mitted their names to the aforementionedCompany, they would not enter. And, as a mat-ter of fact, around the following day, theyreceived news by means of a short note thatthey had been summoned by the SupremePontiff Pius VII to an audience in order toassign them to mission work. The Servant ofGod bowed his head to this wish of the supremeauthority and knew decisively from thatmoment on that it was the most holy will of Godthat he should accept the apostolic career ofconducting missions.82

Writing to the same Countess Ginnasi at the end ofNovember 1814, Gaspar confides in her regarding hisvocation:

In regard to the question of my joining theJesuits, I have sought the advice of the mostexpert spiritual directors and the advice com-monly given was that I should continue to dogood work as a secular priest. But even so, let uscontinue to pray so that I will know how to rec-ognize the will of God.83


The papal commission to be an apostolic missionaryengaged Gaspar to carry out this task in the most effi-cient way possible together with his companions of theHoly League, founded by Don Gaetano Bonanni on thefeast of Corpus Christi in 1813. The League consisted ofsecular priests, called the Gospel Workers, who dedicat-ed themselves to the popular missions while remainingin their own residences. While still in prison, Gasparwas also invited to participate in their work and hejoined the group with enthusiasm, by means of a letterwritten from Florence on January 14, 1814, to the secre-tary of the Gospel Workers, Don Antonio Santelli.84

The priests of the Holy League were preaching mis-sions, but as it was conceived the League could notassure the stability of this ministry. Thus, Gaspar devot-ed himself not only to finding a stable location for thework with his companions and, above all, with Bonanni,but also to establishing a true and proper institute ofsecular priests living a common life and dedicated solelyand permanently to the ministry of popular missions. Ina letter of September 22, 1814, he writes to Bonnani“with holy liberty”:

So, let us follow once again the paths of thatProvidence which has already given and contin-ues to give to our Works very manifest signs ofapproval . . . An Evangelical Worker for whomthe way is opened to perpetuate such a praise-worthy institution, even after his death, mustnot abandon the undertaking to which he hascommitted himself, postponing it for some othergoods whose stability is equally uncertain. . . .All I want is the will of the Lord.85

Moreover, he did take the initiative. This is howMerlini describes the events:

He had the opportunity of going to Giano, in thediocese of Spoleto, with the illustrious


Monsignor Belisario Cristaldi who had the prac-tice of taking with him each year an enthusias-tic priest for preaching a short Mission in prepa-ration for the feast of the most holy Madonnadelle Grazie, celebrated in Giano on All SaintsDay. In past years, Fr. Gaetano Bonanni hadalso taken part. There, together with LawyerPaolucci, one of the principal landowners inGiano, they seriously discussed the new organi-zation and it was mentioned that for such a pur-pose, most serviceable would be the church andmonastery of San Felice, bishop and martyr,which had recently been surrendered and for-mally renounced by the Passionist Fathers.86

When he returned to Rome, he spoke of this withBonanni and his companions. Cristaldi pressed him topresent the request for the convent and church of SanFelice di Giano in the most reasonable way possible andon November 30, 1814, the rescript of Pius VII grantingthe request was ready.87

In addition to concerning himself with bringing thefoundation of the work to completion, along withAlbertini and Cristaldi he saw to it that the foundationwould have the name of the Divine Blood, as we will seein chapter four.

In December 1814, the Apostle of the Divine Bloodmade an auspicious beginning for this ministry of hiswith a mission at San Nicola in Carcere, the birthplaceof the devotion destined to be spread throughout theworld.88

The prediction of Sr. Maria Agnese of the IncarnateWord was gradually being realized. Gaspar was alsobecoming more aware of the truth of the prophecy, withthe result that he no longer had doubts about the plan.Thus, in 1825 he would write to Leo XII that hisInstitute was

. . . conceived during the time of exile, wonder-fully developed immediately after the exile with


great advantage to souls, and, at the same time,to the anger of the devil who has never ceasednor does he now cease from waging a specialwar against this very expression: ‘PreciousBlood of Jesus Christ.’89

Moreover, the testimonies given in the processesprior to Gaspar’s beatification pass on to us this firmconviction.90

After St. Gaspar founded the Congregation at SanFelice in Giano on August 15, 1815, he continued to workwith Albertini to expand the Confraternity and to enrichit with spiritual favors. A brief obtained from Pius VII onSeptember 22, 1815, gave the Confraternity variousindulgences. With another brief of September 26 it waselevated to the title of Archconfraternity.91

Shortly afterward Gaspar sought to have a plenaryindulgence attached to the recitation of the chaplet foran entire month and for other indulgences for prayers tothe Precious Blood, which was granted on October 18,1815 by Pius VII.92

Now Gaspar’s soul has championed the cause of theBlood of Jesus and he will live single-mindedly for it.

From this point on it seems impossible to be able torecord, with specific dates, other movements of Gaspar’sspirit toward the devotion to the Precious Blood. Onemust understand that he would continue to grow in thisdevotion until his death. How might one follow the inti-mate and intense activity that the Holy Spirit wasunfolding within him? It is impossible for us, who under-stand his soul only through facts and testimony of thosewho knew him. Nevertheless we will attempt to do thisin the following paragraphs.

We must take a final step, which permits us to con-template the figure of Gaspar rising like a lone giant


within the spirituality of the Blood of Christ, accom-plishing the third part of the prediction of Sr. MariaAgnese: “He will be of the Divine Blood,”not just a trumpet, for he will be of thePrecious Blood, and not just an apostle.

We now come to 1817, the fifth stage we have deter-mined in the mystical spiritual journey of our Apostle ofthe Blood of Christ. Gaspar continued to spread thedevotion through the ten missions he preached this yearand in June he preached the “Great Month” of thePrecious Blood in San Nicola in Carcere,93 a practice hehad initiated in 1815, in the same church, in imitation ofthe Marian month.94

I single out this year mainly because it was thenthat those responsible for the Archconfraternity of thePrecious Blood recognized Gaspar as having a specialexcellence in his devotion to the Precious Blood. Here ishow the events unfolded.

One must remember that Albertini founded thePious Union of the Precious Blood as an association ofthe laity. Then, in his desire to assure the spread of thedevotion to the Precious Blood, especially by means ofthe preaching of popular missions, he enlarged the proj-ect, instituting as an integral part of the lay associationthe group of Missionaries of the Archconfraternity of thePrecious Blood. Secular priests, as well as religious andbishops, were able to join. The first to join this group in1817, following the suggestion of Albertini, was St.Gaspar,95 and after him his missionary companionsjoined.96 These “were confirmed in the Constitutions ofthe Archconfraternity and declared as the principalbrothers and propagators of the devotion of the PreciousBlood.”97

Now that Gaspar had become a member, it washardly a surprise that, at a meeting of the officers of theArchconfraternity held on December 27, 1817, he wouldbe elected general director of the missions of the


Archconfraternity as well as “First Promoter andMissionary of the Precious Blood.”

The following day the secretary of theArchconfraternity, Sig. Pietro Zucchetti, communicatedthe news with these words:

Since your most reverend lordship has beenelected by a significant number of votes as theFirst Promoter and Missionary for stirring up( ) devotion to the Most Precious Blood ofJesus Christ, the primary title of ourArchconfraternity erected at the altar of themost holy Crucifix in the basilica of San Nicolain Carcere, the undersigned secretary, in carry-ing out the directions of our Congregation, here-by informs you of the decision made last nightand has the honor of kissing your hands.98

The choice could not have fallen to a person moreworthy or more prepared. In this event, we see the pointof convergence of the divine plan with human collabora-tion. Gaspar, from this moment, is the Apostle of thePrecious Blood, not just out of a personal impetus, butalso by means of an obligation received and accepted. Inorder to carry out this commitment with greater merit,he makes a vow to spread the devotion to the DivineBlood to the point of sacrifice.99

This vow marks the highest summit Gaspar reachedin his formative journey to becoming the Apostle of theBlood of Christ—and acknowledgment of this role on thepart of others. His future life would be an uninterruptedimplementation of this vow until his death on December28, 1837.

“Trust in the Divine Blood! All of us together mustdedicate our hearts, our zeal to this devotion.”1 Thisencouragement addressed to Missionary Don CarloGazola could be the call to action of Gaspar’s apostolateof spreading the devotion to the Precious Blood.2

How deeply interested I am in this devotion. Imust confess what lies within me with all mylimitations, namely, that I shall put myself outcompletely for this very great work! This is theprice of our Redemption, this is the reason formy confidence in being saved; to this devotion, Iwish to consecrate my life; for this am I a priest,to apply the Divine Blood.3

The . . . devotion to the Most Precious Blood(which ‘called forth delight from his heart’4) con-tinuously nourished Gaspar’s love for God andserved as a very powerful stimulus for him tolove in return the one who had done so muchand suffered so much for us, and thus he often


repeated these words: ‘The love of Christ com-pels us’ [2 Cor 5: 14].5

The devotion also nurtured and stimulated his apos-tolic zeal, because it spoke to him of the Redeemer’sthirst for souls and because divine blessings wereattached to it.

In Gaspar’s day, a period of a profound moral pover-ty, the devotion was “the weapon”6 for combating thedemon; it was the “truce”7 granted by divine mercybefore calling into action punitive justice.

Aware of this mission entrusted by God to the devo-tion to the Precious Blood, Gaspar gave himself body andsoul to spreading it among the faithful. Among the vari-ous “objects of the glory of the Lord,” this was for him“primary.”8

He sought to communicate the ardor of his heartwith others: “let us promote the devotion to the DivineBlood;”9 “be tireless in promoting and spreading ourdevotion to the Divine Blood;”10 “do not cease propagat-ing the great devotion to the Divine Blood.”11 Phraseslike this are continual refrains in practically all of hisletters.

A variety of circumstances offered him the chance toinstill his beloved devotion and he was quick to use anopportunity. He writes to Camillo Possenti of Fabriano,who was very helpful to him in his ministry and in otherways: “Oh how devoted to the Divine Blood was S.Camillus.”12 “You, who bear the name of a saint who wasso devoted to the Divine Blood—St. Camillus—must bethe definite promoter of this work, overcoming any andall obstacles that Lucifer might offer . . .”13

To a religious inquiring about the choice of a name,Gaspar suggested “Maria Saveria del PreziosissimoSangue,”14 a name that offered a striking synthesis ofthe fundamental lines of his spirituality: the PreciousBlood, the Blessed Virgin, and St. Francis Xavier.

When he hears of progress in the devotion amongthe faithful, he is very pleased. Thus he writes to

59DEVOTION TO A NEW MISSION

Vincenzo Adriani of Perugia: “I note from your mostappreciated letter the propagation there of the greatlyimportant devotion of the Divine Blood. May praise begiven to the Lord, and may you, in particular, be grant-ed endless blessings. I assure you, I could not havereceived more consoling news.”15 To strengthen him infulfilling his ministry, he tells him that “the Holy Fatherhas shown a special sign of approval for the propagationof this very great devotion.”16

Missionary Don Giovanni Battista Pedini, an eye-witness, assures us in the canonical processes thatGaspar was also interested in the spread of the devotionoutside of Italy. When he became aware that others ontheir own initiative were spreading the devotion, hecould not keep his joy to himself. “His EminenceGiustiniani has propagated our most important devotionin Spain,”17 he writes to Cristaldi on July 31, 1827, withthe happiness of a child who has received the gift helonged for.


Amid the often unbearable sufferings and calumnieshe endured in the course of his ministry, the awarenessthat he was following the will of God and the news aboutthe progress of his beloved devotion were his strengthand consolation.

“I would like to have a thousand tongues to softenevery heart to the Precious Blood of Jesus.”18

The breadth of this desire is evidenced by the con-tinuous use that Gaspar makes of the ministry of theword for spreading the devotion to the Precious Blood.Canon Adriano Maria Tarulli noted that “he was so onfire and he spoke of it constantly, from the stage, [theplatform used in preaching missions] in private and inpublic.”19

His letters often begin and end with references tothe Precious Blood: “

” ‘Christ loved us and washed us in hisBlood!’ [Rv 1: 5]; “ ” ‘Longlive the Blood of Jesus Christ!’ “Long live the Blood ofJesus Christ”: these are the first words that he writes tothe recipient of a letter. The closing is a wish in thePrecious Blood: “I wish you all every blessing, throughthe merits of the Blood of Jesus Christ”;20 “while await-ing a prompt reply from you, believe me to be, in JesusChrist ” ‘who hasredeemed us in his Blood’;21 “

‘Iam yours from the heart in the Heart of Jesus Christcrucified who redeemed us in his Blood.’”22

“There was never a mission during which he wouldnot preach on the passion, and sometimes he wouldinsert a sermon on the Blood shed by our Lord JesusChrist. Sometimes, on the other hand, he preached onthe Blood shed on another day.”23 In the

Gaspar had prescribed: “One must give . . .


never omit . . . the preaching on the passion and theMost Precious Blood.”24

Preaching on the Precious Blood was accomplishedquite movingly and solemnly on the arrival of the coffinof the dead Christ, taken down from the cross. The cof-fin, covered with red damask and adorned with flowers,was carried by the priests vested in red tunics.

With this touching exercise, animated furtherby the visit of the Sorrowful Mother . . . the peo-ple are moved to kiss in spirit the sacredWounds, those sources and wellsprings of eter-nal life, to remember tenderly the sorrows ofMary, and to find peace and healing in suchnoble and delightful ( ) objects.25

While he was singing the glories of the price of ourredemption, “there flowed from him such energy and aforce that one could call supernatural and superior tophysical forces.”26 With fervent words of love, whichreminded each person of the infinite love of Jesus,

he would so penetrate the heart of the one whowas listening, that one would see souls who hadbeen cold and frozen in the love of God, changecompletely, until they became the most out-standing sacrifices,27

or else they would break into continuous weeping, ashappened in Albano in 1830, during the devotion of theseven bloodsheddings.28

In addition, there was a special exterior posture insuch preaching:

he never sat down and only preached standingup . . .; he would preach the seven bloodshed-dings on his knees before the BlessedSacrament with such fervor and zeal that hewas like a seraph of love . . .29


Gaspar spoke of the Precious Blood not only in suchspecific preaching, but in nearly every discourse or med-itation he would offer some appropriate thought on hisfavorite topic.

Don Ferdinando Angelici, abbot of Matelica, hadthis to say about Gaspar’s preaching:

When he gave the spiritual exercises, in all theconferences (never fewer than eighteen) hewould offer a sublime and tender thought abouthis , but he always gave an appro-priate conference . . . He said such sublime andbeautiful things, that he resembled one of thoseelders who stand in heaven around the throneof the Lamb singing .30

Canon Antonio Santelli, contemporary and friend ofSt. Gaspar, confirms that this was his habitual practice:“In nearly every conversation with me he spoke aboutthis devotion as the devotion of the time and that thisdevotion will save us from the punishment for our sinsthat God was about to visit upon us.”31

The preaching that was most dear to his heart wasthe ‘Great Month,’ at that time celebrated inthe month of June, in preparation for the feast of theMost Precious Blood. The great poet of the Blood, duringan entire month, in mobilizing all of his interiorresources, would enrich himself and others with the newstrength of love for the Divine Blood. For this reason hewould speak of the “extreme consolation of the month ofpreparation for the great feast” and would spread thepractice everywhere. Among many letters, one excerpt ofa letter to Signora Emidia Santucci of Matelica revealsthose sentiments of his to us:

I do give thanks to God for the zeal that I notein your efforts, especially in promoting the glo-ries of the Divine Blood. You can be certain thatthis will be for you the source of every blessing!


Furthermore, I am exceedingly consoled by yourmaking preparations for our great feast, and Ihope that this year you will attempt to propa-gate it everywhere, along with the yearly recita-tion of the Chaplet. Expressing our love forJesus is never sufficiently said. So, if you shouldhave need of some booklets in order that ourmonth will be observed in other parishes, I shallbe as helpful as I possibly can. Despite themany, many devotions used to show glory to theLord, I can say that this one is, for me, primary.From this you can see that I would not onlywish to be there, but I would even rush topreach our month there.32

How very happy he was to speak always of the Bloodof Jesus “and always with new and loving topics,”33

extremely well prepared for this through study and med-itation. He wished that others, especially hisMissionaries, would have the same zeal and the samepreparation.

“Hold nothing back with regard to the devotion tothe Precious Blood”34 he wrote to Don Angelo Primavera,inviting him to preach the month of June.

If someone would try to fend off his requests withthe excuse that the Blood of Jesus was sterile materialfor an entire month, Gaspar, flushed in the face (

), would correct him immediately. DonDomenico Silvestri was witness to one such occasionthat happened with one of the Missionaries. “So themonth of the Divine Blood is sterile material!” Gasparreplied and then

he spoke for more than a half hour, runningthrough many texts of scripture, of the Fathers,of examples, of illustrations . . . presentingmaterial ample enough to make not just one buta hundred or a thousand months on the topic ofthe glories of the Most Precious Blood.


Coming back to the present, he added: Let them say no more . . . that speaking of theBlood of Christ is sterile material; from all ofthe sacred books, in every page one finds mate-rial abundant enough to preach the glories ofthe Divine Blood forever.35

Nevertheless, recognizing humbly that the Lordsupplied him “with such beautiful ideas” on the MostPrecious Blood, he sought to form his Missionaries forthis special preaching and often helped them, sendingthem outlines for preaching, as he did for Don MichelePalombi and Don Luigi Mosconi. Urging on Don MattiaCardillo to prepare the sermons for the month of theMost Precious Blood, he promised him “some outlines.”36

He did the same for many others.He gave this advice to Don Pasquale Virgili, a

Missionary living in Vallecorsa, when he asked him to goto preach the month of the Most Precious Blood inFrosinone: “By following the book for the Month and bypreparing yourself with a thought developed with a nar-ration of an example, the task will be manageable.”37

Where the spoken word could not come to inflamethe hearts toward the Blood of Christ, the written wordwas necessary.

Even though Gaspar did not publish anything orwrite very much on the Divine Blood, nevertheless hedid his best and advised others to publish works on thismaterial.

Such is the case of St. Vinenzo Maria Strambi,38 whopublished

‘The month made holy with devout con-siderations and affections of the Most Precious Blood ofJesus Christ, to inflame the hearts of the faithful to thelove of our Divine Redeemer.’ This was the title of thefirst edition printed in Fabriano in 1820.39 Gaspar used


this little treasure of a book a great deal in his preach-ing, often taking thoughts and examples from it. He pro-moted it widely and was very happy to see it reprintedseveral times and in 1829 he prepared an edition at theexpense of the Institute.

Gaspar took note of the great gifts of CountessCaterina Bentivoglio Orsi as an author of spiritual trea-tises and, in a letter of January 24, 1823, whileBentivoglio was in Frosinone, he asked her to write a lit-tle work of monthly meditations on the Most PreciousBlood of Jesus:

Even if we will soon see one another there,where I hope to do much good, even so it isworthwhile to start before then in order toencourage you to begin writing a little work ofmonthly devotional mediations on the MostPrecious Blood of Jesus Christ. The title will be‘The Soul, Adorer of the Mystery of the MostPrecious Blood of Jesus Christ.’ Always writeafter Communion, especially on Fridays . . .This little work will also help those who makethe Hour of the Most Precious Blood.40

Canon Niccola Palma di Teramo, urged on by oursaint, wrote a pamphlet entitled:

The Soul Invited to Contemplation ofthe Mysteries of the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in31 Meditations’ (Aquila 1830), dedicating it to Gaspar,who wished that it would be dedicated to the King ofNaples.41

To Don Ferdinando Angelici, who had vowed “towrite a little work pertaining to the devotion . . .,”Gaspar suggested to call it either

‘A Collection of PreachingMaterial on the Devotion of the Divine Blood’ in imita-tion of St. Alphonsus Liguori,a or else _______________

a : The title of the work of St. Alphonsus is:


‘The Devotion ofthe Divine Blood, Reformer of Humankind.’ He adds:

Just what decision you should make in thisregard I am not able to say: either option islaudable. Through prayer, God will enlightenyou to make your decision. I advise only that inassuming the second title, it would be necessaryfor you to hold to the idea of discourses or med-itations; and, in both cases, you might include acolloquium intended to stimulate one’s affec-tions.42

Already he had counseled him:. . . why do you not work it out with some print-er, for example the one in Fabriano, to bring outas a devotional book the one that you have pre-pared to the glory of the Divine Blood, a devo-tion that must always afford the greatestdelight to your heart?43

In addition to these worthwhile written works,Gaspar wanted to make known the beauty of the devo-tion to the Most Precious Blood by means of the works ofthe Fathers of the Church, but he had to take intoaccount the scarce resources of his Institute. He lamentsthis fact to Leo XII:

. . . would that we were given the means ofreproducing, through the public press, the glo-ries of this inestimable treasure of our souls,along with the noble compositions of theFathers of the Church for the understanding ofthe sacred text; and especially so, since, in our

_______________‘A

Collection of material for preaching and instruction for giving the[spiritual] exercises for priests and also for private reading for indi-vidual profit’ that was published in 1760.


days, generally speaking, this is not sufficientlyknown.

Gaspar always shows himself to be confident, adding “. . . the Lord will reproduce [these compositions] inhuman memory.”44

The spoken or written word that illuminated themind with the values of the Divine Blood had as its aimstimulating in the hearts of the faithful a lovingresponse to the love of Jesus. This happened primarily inmeditation, by means of which truths already knownbecome the substantial food of the soul, the vital force ofthe apostolate.

Accustomed to regular meditation since his youth,Gaspar did not stop this practice as an adult. He recom-mended it to others, instructing them in practicing it.Bartolomeo Panzini, the servant who accompaniedGaspar on the missions for many years (1821–1837), tes-tified that in his apostolic journeys Gaspar and his com-panions would meditate every day for a good half houron the

passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and especiallyon the prayer in the garden or on the scourgingor some other sorrowful mystery. He wouldmeditate on these mysteries with pleasure andin calling to mind the Blood shed by our LordJesus Christ he would be encouraged (

) ever more in the hope of obtaining eternallife and the means to achieve it by the merits ofthis Blood.45

To his Missionaries during Holy Week he used to say . . . almost inecstasy that in the office of that week therewere so many beautiful things related to the


passion and to the Most Precious Blood of ourLord Jesus Christ that could be the basis ofmany sermons.46

He would recommend the by the Jesuit Fr. Giovanni Francesco

Durazzo and he himself had it reprinted, saying that “itis a precious work for the preachers of our devotion andfor everyone.”47

The maturation of the devotion to the Divine Bloodin his soul had led him to make this mystery evident inhis daily meditation. We have recalled above the witnessof his servant Bartolomeo Panzini. Another brother,Filippo Fausti, offers us another witness to the medita-tion of St. Gaspar in Rome, in his apartment in theTeatro Marcello, at night between Thursday and Friday:

His devotion to the Most Precious Blood wasquite striking . . . and I recall that in Rome,while I was sleeping next to the wall of hisroom, on Fridays, at night, I would hear himawaken about three or four hours before dawn,and then I believed that he had begun to medi-tate, because after getting out of bed, I did nothear him moving about and, when daybreakcame, I knocked on his door and we wenttogether to the Church of San Nicola inCarcere.48

This continuing contact with the Blood of Jesus wasfor St. Gaspar

. . . a continuing nourishment by the love of Godwhich strongly moved him to return the love ofthe one who had done so much and suffered somuch for us. For this reason he would oftenrepeat these words: ‘ ’‘the love of Christ presses us’ [2 Cor 5: 14].49

When he would consider the mystery of theMost Precious Blood shed by our Lord, he


seemed to be completely elevated mentally toGod and it was as if he was ecstatic in contem-plation. This succeeded in edifying us greatly,even though he tried to hide and to cover up hisactivity.50

Even during the day the contact with the DivineBlood was continuous, because “it was his practice torepeat one of his ejaculations, in which theBlood of Jesus Christ is offered to the Eternal Father,”51

or the , an invocation that he wouldrecommend that others say often as well.52

The most beautiful meditations on the MostPrecious Blood, other than before the tabernacle, wouldbe made at the foot of the crucifix. For Gaspar this wasa living book in which he could rediscover the sadaccount of the sheddings of the Blood and all the senti-ments that moved Jesus to offer his life. From theCrucified One he would see flowing immense benefits forall of humankind.

Oh what a great book for us is the Cross! It is asummarization of the apologetics of our faith, apractical knowledge for our moral life, and themost tender lessons of love that the Lord hasshown.53

Let us encourage each other evermoretoward the pursuit of perfection and let us notcease studying the great book of the Crucifix [or‘Crucified One’]. From that book, we learn pro-found humility, indomitable patience and gen-tle, industrious charity so that we are able toattract souls to his love.54

Kneeling before the crucifix, “the mystical stairwayto heaven, seat of truth, tree of life,”55 he would pass themost precious moments of recollection and of comfort.

At those unfortunately frequent times when thecross pressed more heavily on his shoulders, he liked “to


occupy the time in penitential union with [his] CrucifiedLord.”56

He would make his preparation for Mass and forpreaching in his room, “kneeling before the Crucifix andimmobile.”57 His faithful servant Bartolomeo Panzini,who, as we know, was at his side for the greater part ofhis missionary life, often found him in a similar posture,“as if ecstatic,” in such a state that Gaspar would nothear him come in, but had to be shaken.58

The explanation for such an attraction to the crossis that in it our saint found sustenance for the devotionto the Most Precious Blood: “From this book, every soulis encouraged to promote evermore the most importantdevotion to the Divine Blood . . .”59 It is for this reasonthat he wanted the crucifix as the distinct, “inseparablecompanion and witness of [his] actions”60 and those ofhis Missionaries. Thus the goal of his apostolate was to“inspire in all the love of the Crucified Lord,”61 carrying“everyone to the foot of the Cross and making all livingimages of the Crucified One.”62

“God has wanted me out in the field to propagate thegreat devotion to the Divine Blood.”63 Gaspar was quiteclear about his mission. To carry this out he must usemind, heart, body, and goods: his mind for “ponderingthe mysteries of love ” of the Blood of Jesus; “[his] heartto love its application”; his body “to present its tri-umphs”64 in ongoing ministries; his goods for the meansof spreading it.

Indeed, even his already slender purse was emptiedin service of the devotion. He himself confirms this manytimes: “I must confess what lies within me with all mylimitations, namely, that I shall put myself out com-pletely for this very great work!”65 In order to help thefaithful in their devotion, he had pamphlets of prayers tothe Most Precious Blood printed and distributed, con-taining, for example, the chaplet and the Seven


Offerings, entrusting these to the care of the most zeal-ous.

With regard to the Seven Offerings which arepresently being printed, I am leaving them with you so that you can distribute them, wher-ever possible, for public and private recitation,and especially anywhere that we have conduct-ed our Missions. In that way, you are workingtogether with us in making permanent the holyfruits of the divine word.66

We encounter similar quotations frequently in his let-ters.

Particularly in those places where his inspiringpreaching would not be heard, this was the ordinarymeans of spreading the devotion. It was a method thathe had found efficacious during the time of his deporta-tion with Albertini.67 Thus he writes to Don AnacletoGigliucci in Ancona on October 21, 1819:

To propagate this devotion in proper fashion, itis necessary first to introduce the recitation ofthe Chaplet, or at least the Offerings. Later, youmust find priests who wish to become aggrega-tors . . .68

If he found a person ready to give him a little help,he was not ashamed to press him or her a bit, because“pamphlets should fall like snowflakes everywhere.”Cardinal Giacomo Filippo Fransoni gives us his beauti-ful testimony in relating his personal experience:

I remember that he had a great zeal for spread-ing the devotion to the Most Precious Blood ofour Lord Jesus Christ, and he pressed me to joinin spreading the devotion. To this end he usedto distribute the pamphlets in which were print-ed the Offerings of the Most Precious Blood ofthe Divine Son to the Eternal Father for the


sake of sinners. He encouraged me further topurchase some copies, saying that he wishedthat these pamphlets would fall like snowflakeseverywhere, because he judged this devotion tobe very useful . . .69

The second step in the orderly propagation of thedevotion consisted, as already noted above, in finding“priest aggregators,” that is priests whose duty it was toinscribe the faithful in the Archconfraternity of the MostPrecious Blood, because they could participate in thespiritual favors which Gaspar was gradually obtaining.Gaspar sent many reports ( ) so that they couldput together an accurate list to send to Rome. He did notwithhold praise from the most zealous: “Joyfully did Inote the concern you have shown in increasing the num-ber of the adorers of the Divine Blood. Oh how manyblessings you will receive from the Lord!”70

The search for priests to spread the devotion, some-thing simple and at the same time sublime, takes upseveral pages of “ ” ‘stories or tales.’ The searchgrew out of unforeseen circumstances, which Gasparknew how to use effectively.

One day he found himself with Don BeniaminoRomani at the Congregation for the Propagation of theFaith, waiting to be received by the secretary. Romanirecounts that as Gaspar’s turn for an audience came, hesaw

. . . a priest dressed in oriental style, with a longbeard. Instead of passing the priest, Gasparquickly and anxiously approached him asking ifperhaps he would be leaving for the foreign mis-sions, and if he were acquainted with the devo-tion to the Most Precious Blood and other thingswhich I would not be able to say and which I didnot understand, as he accompanied him to thestairway.71


Another time he had gone to visit his uncle DonEugenio Pechi, at the monastery of Santa Croce inGerusalemme, together with the missionary DonAntonio Lipparelli. When he found out that one of theCistercian monks had to leave for the foreign missions,“he recommended to him the devotion to the MostPrecious Blood and provided him with Chaplets and thefaculties pertaining to this devotion.”72

Gaspar obtained the most abundant harvest of devo-tees of the Most Precious Blood by means of the mis-sions, because it was precisely in that milieu that he hada way of expanding the devotion to the Divine Blood.73

Among all the means of spreading the devotion, this wasthe most effective.

We have already made note of the preaching on theMost Precious Blood and of the “triumphal procession”;we recall the morning Mass of the Chaplet, prayers,hymns in honor of the Blood of Jesus, and invitations( ) of various kinds: a true planting of the devo-tion to the Most Precious Blood.

Every sower looks to a fruitful and stable harvestand thus it was with Gaspar. On the missions “he wouldaggregate to the Archconfraternity (of the Most PreciousBlood) the organizations ( ) that already exist-ed, making a precise note of this to the President . . . inRome.”74 He founded local pious unions to keep alive thedevotion of the Precious Blood and he instituted a solidnetwork of associations called “r ,” whose mem-bers were given guidance on gaining personal holinessand helping others to the same through the spiritualityof the Divine Blood; they were to be the adorers andapostles of this Blood. No category of persons couldescape his apostolic zeal.

The most important association was the , made up of the most fervent and pious

priests of the place. These had the principal obligation of


“seeing to it that the fruit . . . gathered [from the mis-sions would be] stable and permanent.”75 He recom-mended the effectives of these associations in his letters:

The main reason for this letter is to beg youurgently to revive the Association of theApostles upon which depends the immediaterenewal of the other pious organizations.76

They, in fact, were to be vigilant in seeing that everyassociation observed its proper statutes and carried outits religious practices, “but especially meditation and therecitation at the end of the Seven Offerings of the MostPrecious Blood.”77

Gaspar made use of them for “promoting the devo-tion to the Divine Blood and the public recitation of theChaplet.”78

The spiritual life of the “Apostles” was to be modeledon the teaching that came from the Divine Blood, draw-ing from it the zeal, constancy, and patience for the sanc-tification of souls.

Do not regret suffering for the sake of souls andprecious are the words of the Apostle: ‘I amoverjoyed in all our affliction’ (2 Cor 7: 4); ‘Icould wish that I myself were accursed and cutoff . . . for the sake of my own people’ (Rom 9: 3).Let our whole life be used for the love of thatGod who loves us so much, that he sent aRedeemer and victim of love for us: ‘who lovesus and washes us in his blood’ (Rv 1: 5). See howwe will apply effectively this healing balm of theBlood of the Savior, repeating with the Apostle:‘I am completing what is lacking in Christ’safflictions’ (Col 1: 24). Let us always withdrawin spirit into the Holy Wounds of Jesus ChristOur Lord, and there may we find our rest andour peace.79


‘The Congregation of the Upper Class of theone and the other sex’ (or ‘ofthe gentlemen and ladies,’ as written in the printed in 1819) had as its principal object “visitingHospitals according to gender.”80 The members, on thefirst or on the fourth Fridays of each month, would gath-er together, men and women separately, “in holy recol-lection of spirit” in order to “gain the knowledge of theCrucified One.”81 The recitation of the chaplet and theobligation to

. . . promote the devotion of the Most PreciousBlood, in order that souls might know at whatgreat price they are redeemed, and animate therest of the people, with their example they willindeed enable the faithful to apply the merits ofthe Savior to their spiritual advantage.82

The for men was modeled on theoratory Fr. Caravita83 instituted in Rome. Gasparattached great importance to this, because he knew of itsbenefits through his experience in the oratory of SantaMaria in Vincis as a young priest. In fact, he writes:

One cannot express in words how useful theHoly Oratory is. It saves so many from occa-sions of sin and useless entertainments; it pro-vides a place for confessions for many men, whowould not be able to confess during the day orwho had been ashamed to confess. In the quietand silence, O, how much is the holy name ofour Lord God glorified and to honor that namehow tireless must be the hardworking charity ofthe Gospel Ministers.84

Opposition to such a good work meant great suffer-ing for him. In the matter of the oratory of Teramo,erected during the mission of 1822 and then suppressedby Bishop Giuseppe Maria Pezzella, Gaspar expressed


his sorrow thus: “I instituted the Oratory, that is quitetrue, but I did so with the approval of both authorities. Iheard of its suppression, and in the presence of God Iwept because of it; I have not ceased praying.”85

The spiritual formation of those who participated inthe oratory was centered on the mystery of redemption.

The crucifix was the standard of the association,and with it they would visit the most frequented placesof the town or city to call the men. In the oratory, Gasparhad decreed, the crucifix “will always be outside thepresbyterium and positioned in such a way as to be eas-ily kissed by the brethren.”86

The practices of piety during the week were the Wayof the Cross (Monday), the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrowsof Mary Most Holy (Wednesday), and the Chaplet of theMost Precious Blood (Friday). One could not skipEucharistic devotion (Thursday) and Marian devotion(Saturday). Meditation on the eternal maxims (

) (Tuesday) and a moral discourse (Sunday)served to remind everyone of the fundamentals ofChristianity.

There, by means of confession, men had the oppor-tunity “to apply the Blood of Jesus Christ to them-selves.”87

Thus, removed from occasions of sin and kept to thepractice and awareness of the good, they were roused toan intense Christian life, to find fulfillment “especially[by means of] devotion to the Most Precious Blood,”88 towhich all things had to be attributed.

“Let the devotion to the Most Precious Blood beinculcated,”89 he had recommended to the

‘The Ristretto of the ImmaculateConception of Mary Most Holy and of St. AloysiusGonzaga,’ an association which gathered young men ofvarious ages, and to the association of the

‘Daughters of Mary,’ which was for the youngwomen. He wanted to bring the eagerness of youthful


hearts, so capable of an extraordinary power of love, intocontact with the Blood of Jesus.

Three other merit a mention: the ‘Brothers of St. Francis Xavier,’

dedicated ( ) to the devotion of the Most PreciousBlood, the ‘Sisters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood’ and the

‘Association (orCongregation) of Farm Workers.’ We gather the respec-tive regulations from the edition printed in Fabriano byCrocetti in 1836.

The was “made upof a certain number of Brothers already dedicated to thedevotion of the Most Precious Blood.”90

Besides “applying themselves in a special way to thecultivation of a proper spirit,”91 they were “considered tobe apostles devoted to sanctify their neighbors in thosematters that concern them,”92 and more than just that ofa “simple Brother of the Oratory.”93 In fact, one of theirmain tasks was to help the missionaries or secularpriests in “promoting the Evening Oratory everyevening”94 in the places where it had been established.

Gaspar wanted them to have a marked devotion tothe Divine Blood. Their unique uniform drew attentionto this commitment: a bag, a black pilgrim’s staff, andthe coat of arms of St. Francis Xavier trimmed in red.They also had a red sash “which held up the Crucifixhanging from the neck . . . and the Crown of the MostPrecious Blood of Jesus Christ on the side . . .”95

The practices of piety that they were to carry out inthe course of the day, beyond those that took place in theoratory in the evening were varied, although without aspecial burden of conscience, among which were the“seven in memory of the principal sheddingsof the Most Precious Blood,”96 the examination of con-science, meditation and, possibly, the Mass.

Then, of course, the usual advice: their director “willparticularly exhort everyone to have a tender devotion to


the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, price of ourRedemption.”97

The , was made upof “widows and married women of the higher class, andalso of the second class, if it should be thought expedi-ent,”98 whose purpose was to perform the spiritual andcorporal works of mercy, especially among the sick.Beyond performing the same practices of piety as the

, they were tasked withpromoting the “Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood andthe practice of the Month of June, in order that devotionto the Price of our salvation be ever increased,”99 as wellas to celebrate most solemnly the Feast of the MostPrecious Blood.

The ( ) printed inRieti in 1823100 prescribe that the had “to bemost dedicated . . . in promoting the tender devotion tothe Most Precious Blood shed for our Salvation”101 and to“the public recitation of the Chaplet . . . on Fridays andfeasts, but it would be desirable if they could promote itto be said every day at the time of the Mass.”102 Everysister had to take “the Hour of Prayer during the year inorder to adore the mysteries of our Redemption.”103

The was especiallyinteresting. It was instituted for the first time at SanFelice in Giano in order to assist in spirit “those who tirethemselves in the cultivation of the fields, and who aresubjected to extraordinary trials.”104 It is interesting, notfor the usual practices of piety in honor of the MostPrecious Blood and the inscription in the Pious Union,but for the method of the spiritual life that is suggestedfor the farm workers during the course of the day. Indescribing the method there is a point that we coulddescribe as the “living Chaplet.”

As they walk in the direction of the place ofwork, they should think of the journey Jesus,drenched in blood, made to Calvary, carrying


the Cross on his shoulders. They will becomeaccustomed to deriving sentiments of the spiritfrom everything. For example, if they see thornsin the countryside, they will think of Jesuscrowned with thorns . . .105

Their entire life of work in the fields had to be forthem a call to the mystery of salvation: “When one meetsa shepherd guiding his flock, one calls to mind Jesus,shepherd of our souls, and we his sheep; when cultivat-ing the earth, one reflects that the soul will not producefruit unless it is cultivated.”106

Thus those simple folk were aided to carry out theirdaily tasks in a supernatural way, by means of continu-ous prayer. One was not to undervalue this method oflife, as Gaspar goes on to say:

The Director insists in explaining so manythings and making their practice easier, eachone grateful to have had Jesus himself use suchparables or similitudes, to aid in the under-standing of holy things.107

The few pages of this chapter embrace the activity ofabout twenty years of the apostolate of St. Gaspar. Wehave not made reference to everything that he did orwrote on behalf of the devotion to the Most PreciousBlood. This material by itself would fill a large volume;we have only presented a panoramic view of his aposto-late, which would permit us to make some judgmentabout the way in which he fulfilled his consecration tothe Divine Blood.

Gaspar appeared as a fire of love for the MostPrecious Blood of Jesus, completely intent on kindling agreat blaze of that love in the Church for the benefit ofsouls and for the praise, honor, glory, and power of Himwho sits on the throne and of the Lamb that was slain(cf. Rv 5: 13).

Gaspar would have stood out in the history of thedevotion to the Most Precious Blood even if his apostolicactivity had ended with his death. His special place inthis history would be more than merited by his pioneer-ing work in awakening and promoting the devotion inthe universal Church, by organizing practices of pietydevoted to the Precious Blood, and by making the devo-tion accessible to all the faithful by means of institutingvarious associations.

All of these accomplishments acquire a new gloryand strength when one considers that Gaspar, accordingto the documents which marked the journey toward hiscanonization, founded two religious families with theaim of making his apostolate for the glory of the Blood ofJesus permanent in the Church. He wanted aCongregation of Missionaries with the title of thePrecious Blood and he defended the existence of this titleeven against the opposition of three ill-informed popes.He was also committed to founding a congregation ofwomen imprinted with the same spirit, a goal he finallyreached with St. Maria De Mattias. In this chapter wewill speak of the Congregations of Missionaries of the


Most Precious Blood (hereafter simply: Missionaries ofthe Precious Blood).

We know that Gaspar, shortly after returning fromprison and after the failed attempt to enter the Societyof Jesus, was concerned with founding the institute pre-dicted by Sr. Maria Agnese del Verbo Incarnato. Howhard he had to work to bring this congregation to lifeand keep it going!

The works of God are like the mustard seedwhich, when planted in the earth, continues togrow in such a way that it very soon becomes arobust plant which spreads its branches out in amarvelous way and sets its roots deeply into thebowels of the earth. O my beloved confreres inJesus Christ, that also is what our holyInstitute is.1

A little seed, then a little plant “and this plant grad-ually grew with the continued assistance of theVenerable [Gaspar] and came to that maturity to whichGod wanted to bring it”—so adds Merlini.2

This progressive growth of the Missionaries of thePrecious Blood to the maturity desired by God is to befound both in the conception of the Work in itself—butthis is not of interest for our purposes—and in the attri-bution of the title.

We have already noted that in September 1810Albertini had seen in Gaspar not only the person whomSr. Agnese del Verbo Incarnato had predicted would bethe trumpet of the Divine Blood, but also the founder ofa new congregation of missionary priests under the titleof the Most Precious Blood (

).3 We also noted that the predic-tion had not had an effect on Gaspar’s heart at the time.While Gaspar was in Florence waiting to be transferred

83THE NEW CONGREGATION

to harsher imprisonment in Corsica, he was invited to bepart of the ‘The HolyLeague of the Gospel Workers’ that Don GaetanoBonanni and his fellow priests had founded on the feastof Corpus Christi in 1813, but this organization had notyet gotten off the ground since it lacked a location for itsheadquarters. We know that Gaspar, enthusiastic for allinitiatives for the good—in particular for such an under-taking that was dedicated to the missions, to which hefelt drawn—replied on January 14, 1814, happily accept-ing the invitation. We have also indicated in anotherplace that after Pius VII designated him an apostolicmissionary, Gaspar’s role in carrying out this ministrywas not secondary, but decisive, even if because of hisage and his virtue he gave Bonanni prominence.4

In all of this Albertini saw God’s plans being ful-filled, but still in need of complete realization: Gasparhad to found an institute, but it had be under the title ofthe Divine Blood. This was very much the heart’s desireof the pious Canon Albertini, who would have found cer-tain and effective propagators for his devotion to thePrecious Blood by means of the popular missions andspiritual exercises, to which the Gospel Workers werededicated. But how was he to insert himself into theinternal affairs of the Work, without provoking anunderstandable refusal on the part of Bonanni, since itwas not his own idea? The only one capable of realizingthe project was Gaspar, not because he could impose hiswill over the others—he was too young—but because, inthe internal life of the Work, he was the one who stoodout because of his devotion to the Blood of Jesus.

One must proceed with prudence, which was cer-tainly not lacking in the Canon. He began to link theConfraternity of the Most Precious Blood to the GospelWorkers, having them preach a mission in San Nicola inCarcere in December 1814, under the direction ofGaspar.5 A felicitous way of acquainting the GospelWorkers with the devotion was in the turnout of the


people, the ordering of the functions, the spiritualatmosphere of this devotion, the impassioned preachingof Gaspar.

In addition, Albertini sought the mediation ofCristaldi to persuade Bonanni, the head of the Work(i.e., the Gospel Workers) to place that organizationunder the title of the Most Precious Blood. But Cristaldi,whether he did not wish to impose his authority onBonanni or for other reasons, thought that there wouldbe no better patron to carry this out than Gaspar. ThusGaspar was called again to center stage and sought tocomplete the mission entrusted to him. On March 1,1815, he wrote Bonanni, who was preaching in Sutri, thefollowing:

Msgr. Cristaldi has been begging me to put ourcommunity under the title of the Most PreciousBlood of Jesus. He makes this observation withevery good reason. The Evangelical Workerslabor so that the Blood of Jesus will be appliedto the salvation of souls, and this they mustoffer continually, asking for pardon for sinners;if other Institutes assume the charge of propa-gating the one or the other devotion, this one ofthe Missions must be intent on the propagationof that devotion which incorporates all the oth-ers, that of the Price of our Redemption.

‘through blood weare saved.’ I could do nothing but praise theintentions of this Prelate, and making his prin-ciples my own, from now on our community iscommitted to the merits of the Blood of Jesus.6

One should not think that Gaspar was acting onlybecause he was urged on by others. In fact, in respond-ing to Cristaldi, he openly makes known his desires,which are the same as those of Albertini.

I will attend to the memorandum of our DonGaetano. . Help me with


your prayers.

that is, that the union or Congregation ofthe Missionaries be erected under the title ofthe Most Precious Blood of Jesus, which takesaway sins, the Blood that saves souls, the Bloodthat will give strength to the words of theMissionaries and will make them efficacious ingaining the fruit of their Missions.7

What was Bonanni’s response? For the moment hewas not enthusiastic; quite probably Gaspar had toinsist again and again, if he could write the following toCristaldi on July 5, 1815:

Finally, with regard to the title of the MostPrecious Blood etc., I believe that this too mustalso be a declaration ‘from above.’ Theother day, Bonanni assured me that he hadpropagated this devotion. Everything, in short,has been completed in the month of the MostPrecious Blood

, etc., ‘through which we have been savedand freed.’8

Here it appears clear that only at the beginning ofJuly 1815, just before the founding of the new Instituteon August 15, 1815, did Bonanni agree with the propos-al of Gaspar, that is, to give the title of Most PreciousBlood to the Work, and at the same time assuring hiscollaboration in spreading the devotion to the Blood ofJesus.

Scarcely had he completed this first step, Gaspar,perhaps foreseeing the attacks on the Institute onaccount of its title, was concerned that the title beassigned , that is, that it would have juridicalrecognition, because in the official acts conceding thefirst house to the Congregation, the Work was calledonly “Pious Institute” or “Society of secular

86 APOSTLE OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST:

Missionaries”9 or even “Pious Institute of MissionaryPriests.”10 But the hoped for assignment of the title“from above” did not come for the time being, and he hadto maneuver quite a bit to have the title recognized insome way as a matter of public right (

). Gaspar’s activity was also indispensable for accom-

plishing this aim. The path that led to this was his join-ing the Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Bloodwhich took place, as we already know, in 1817. “[Gaspar]also inscribed others of his companions in thisArchconfraternity and thus imperceptibly the title wascreated”11 and “those who had first been called ‘GospelWorkers’ in the association of Rome and ‘ApostolicMissionaries’ when sent on the missions by His Holiness[Pius VII] were [eventually] called Missionaries of theMost Precious Blood, according to Bonanni.”12 More pre-cisely, we should say that they were called “Missionariesof the Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood.”This is also to be found in the

‘Method of the Holy Missions’ printed in Romein 1819, by Lino Contedini, with this heading:

‘The Method of the Holy Missions printed bythe Venerable Archconfraternity of the Most PreciousBlood of O.L. Jesus Christ, for the use of its Missionariesand of all those who wish to make use of it. Added arethe short Rules of the Pious Works that are establishedat the time of the Mission.’13 The members of the Workwere called by the title “Missionaries of theArchconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood” until1831,14 when Gaspar suppressed the word

by pasting a piece of paper on whichhad been printed over it, thus obtaining the


new title: “Missionaries of the Institute of the MostPrecious Blood,” a title which he left in place very defi-nitely in September 1835 when he revised the bookletsof the rules of the Congregation.15

What were Gaspar’s reasons for taking this step?The witnesses at the canonical processes for beatifica-tion listed many, but the main reasons, in my view, arethree:

1) Gaspar knew well that his Missionaries, even ifmembers of the Archconfraternity, were distinct as aninstitution from the priest members of that organiza-tion.

2) By this time he had passed the most criticalmoment of persecution of the Institute by Leo XII andPius VIII. During that period, the union of “the Work” ofGaspar with the Archconfraternity of the Most PreciousBlood, which had canonical recognition, permitted thedefense of the title of the Congregation.

3) Already in the Bull of Installation of the Jesuitsin Spoleto (July 4, 1826), Leo XII called the Work ofGaspar with the title Society “

” ‘whose name is most precious blood.’16

Even if Gaspar wanted to show that hisCongregation was distinct from the Archconfraternity bydeleting that word from its title, his relationship withthe Archconfraternity remained very good, both becausehe retained “the spiritual union by which there is devo-tion and indulgences”17 and because he kept the presi-dent of the Archconfraternity informed through ongoingcorrespondence, requesting faculties from him and com-municating the names of those who had been inscribed,as noted in his letters after 1831. It will be GiovanniMerlini who on July 29, 1851, would obtain from Pius IXthe brief for erecting the Primary Pious Union of theMost Precious Blood, independent of theArchconfraternity of San Nicola in Carcere and whichwas given “all the faculties, privileges, and indulgencespresent and future of the same.”18


What is of interest to us here is to note the troubledjourney that the title “Most Precious Blood” had toendure before it became the banner of the new Institute.More important, we note the central role and definitiveaction that Gaspar took to reach this goal. Truly it wasprincipally due to him that the first family under thetitle of the Divine Blood was born into the Church.

If Gaspar had to work very hard to give hisCongregation the name of Most Precious Blood, he hadto work even harder to defend the existence of theInstitute because of its title. It was the hardest trial ofhis life, a trial that produced terrible distress in 1825with Leo XII, in 1829 with Pius VIII, and in 1831 withGregory XVI. We name these three pontiffs not merelyfor historical reference, but because they were the prin-cipal protagonists in his spiritual martyrdom.

This martyrdom possibly reached its peak with LeoXII. Testimony to this is given in various letters writtento Monsignor Cristaldi and they constitute one of thebetter parts of the correspondence of Gaspar on accountof the openness of heart with which he turned toCristaldi for every need, following the counsel ofAlbertini.19 On June 29, 1825, while he was stillunaware of the tempest that began swirling about him,Gaspar wrote to Cristaldi these prophetic words:

My dearest Monsignor, up to now we have car-ried the cross as far as Mount Calvary. Now itwill be necessary to climb that mountain andthen die with Jesus Crucified at the top of thatsame mountain of myrrh and bitterness.20

Leo XII had, in fact, first been a friend and sincereadmirer of Gaspar.21 He had been badly informed byMons. Giovanni Antonio Benvenuti,22 apostolic delegateof Frosinone and by other lay authorities of the Province


of Marittima and Campagna, and had put faith in themany calumnies spread about the Missionaries andtheir founder regarding the apostolate they had carriedout at the mandate of Pius VII in that province infestedwith brigandage.23

Beyond this, the enemies of the Institute began totake offense at the title, hiding their ill intent under amask of zealous piety for the Blood of Jesus. Theydeclared themselves scandalized that a human institu-tion would dare to carry such a sacred title. Thespokesman against this presumed scandal before LeoXII was his privy chamberlain, Monsignor GiovanniSoglia.24 He had such a negative influence on the heartof Leo XII that the latter deleted with his own hand thewords “of the Most Precious Blood” for the title of theInstitute, substituting “of the Most Holy Redeemer” forthem.

In 1825 the Missionaries petitioned Leo XII toobtain the Office and Mass in honor of St. FrancisXavier, patron of the Congregation, for March 12. Theyobtained a favorable reply but not without some pain.Following custom, they had written using the title“Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood” but when thepope read the title, he deleted the words “Most PreciousBlood” instead substituted “Most Holy Redeemer.”25

In similar fashion the same pontiff substituted“Divine Redeemer” for “Most Precious Blood” in anotherpetition, in which the Missionaries of theArchconfraternity asked him to accept the dedication ofa little ascetical work compiled by St. Gaspar based onthe writings of Mons. Francesco Albertini, titled

.26

The author and bearer of this and the other petition(for the concession of the Mass and Office in honor of St.Francis Xavier) was Don Innocenzo Betti, who deliveredthem to Leo XII in an audience held on June 29, 1825,and who, through Mons. Belisario Cristaldi, quickly


revised them to be resubmitted with the corrections ofthe pope.27

As soon as Gaspar was apprised of this fact by Betti,he vented his feelings with his friend Mons. Cristaldi,writing him on July 8, 1825, from Frosinone. In a letterwhich reveals a profound bitterness of heart, but at thesame time his decision to defend the works of Godagainst human malice and weakness:

Canon Betti has sent me one of your lettersalong with some rescripts issued by the HolyFather. I give thanks to God that, because ofcertain works of the ministry, he has not goneout on the Missions and has considered no othertrip than the one for the greater advancement ofour Institute, since some reports about ourSociety have caused in my human weaknesscertain feelings that are not in the least pleas-ant. Yet, as far as my spirit is concerned, thishas not alienated me from due resignation tothe divine will, for that is what I truly wish andwhat our religion and our faith call for.

So, you are obliged, and God is with you, toremind the Holy Father that, except for

definitions, all other things call forexamination, peaceful discussion and both prac-tical and theoretical evaluation. All of the saintshave given us these directions. It is not some-thing new in the Church for the Pontiffs toreject for the Church this or that society, andthen, after examination, have to recognize thatit is from God. If this whole situation were to beconcerned with me alone who is writing this let-ter, you can be quite certain that I would neverbother you to read these pages. But, this is aquestion , namely, the preven-tion of our being looked upon as impostors andfalse teachers; and also the acceptance of a title


which the Roman See is presently seeking todisapprove. Consequently, out of love for thePontiff, I point out the following details:

1. Pope Pius VII, who had so many discus-sions with the now deceased MonsignorAlbertini, erected an Archconfraternity

evident in theApostolic Briefs. Even before Pope Pius VII,Sixtus V had already erected one in Ferrara,more precisely [Santa Maria] in Vado. I addnothing further.

2. The Archconfraternity needs to haveMissionaries who are capable of propagatingthis very important devotion, which is the priceof redemption and of salvation. . . . I am speak-ing of the Divine Blood, and also of propagatingwhat is clearly proposed in its Constitutions.

3. It is a fact that the Congregation of Ritesitself has granted certain privileges to us, asMissionaries of the Archconfraternity men-tioned above.

4. It is also factual that the Church, byapproving the Mass and the Office of the DivineBlood, has recognized that title as one that isfitting. The question raised here is not con-cerned with the word “Missionary,” but theadditional characterization: of the Archconfra-ternity of the Most Precious Blood, a title, Irepeat, which is canonical not only because ofpresent day acceptance but even .Now that the present Holy Father has crossedoff that title, in my opinion, that was not a gooddecision, based on the application of the cus-tomary rules, but rather one that was producedthrough the vile intervention of someone closeto his Holiness, whom you know very well, andwho was seeking to meddle into the situation. Iexcuse in everyone their intentions; I regard


lovingly even the private opinions of our HolyFather; I am ready to submit, but, because ofthe decorum of Church History, the decorum ofthe Holy See, because of the rescripts that havebeen granted, because of the Pious Unions thathave been established by the bishops and aggre-gated to the Archconfraternity in Rome, I must,with tears, bring this matter to his attention.28

While declaring that he was disposed to obeying thepope, St. Gaspar, “for the sake of the decorum of ChurchHistory,” suggests to Cristaldi to propose to the pope,“before he takes any further action,” that he would con-sent “to have on his desk an historical and defensivememorandum on the Institute.” Thus he continues in hisletter:

If his Holiness will permit me, I, with yourintervention before he takes any further action,will see that very quickly he will have on hisdesk an historical and defensive memorandumregarding the Institute which I, trusting inGod’s help, will draw up immediately. I said his-torical and defensive so that he will come toknow the origin of our Society, the goal that ithas set for itself, and the reason why this par-ticular title was adopted. After he has read thatmemorandum, having first offered prayers, hewill come to the judgment that he sees fit. SinceI am an obedient child and one who prefers to besilent rather than to speak, I shall do absolute-ly nothing until the Holy Father, through yourintervention, authorizes me to proceed with thewriting of this memorandum. Then, after hav-ing read it, if he remains firm in his conviction,nevertheless it would still be necessary to deter-mine the manner of procedure, so as to main-tain the decorum of Rome, of the Institute, ofthe members; and, not give the libertines


further weapons for impeding the work of theministry. Anything more concerning this situa-tion I reserve to say to Jesus Crucified in thesacred recesses of his wounds where I now leaveyou, most reverend Excellency, with the usualesteem and respect.29

In his stream of ideas Gaspar forgot to insert anargument which was of particular significance for LeoXII; he adds this in a postscript, along with other argu-ments:

His Holiness, as Cardinal Vicar, erected inRome a congregation for women, under the titleof the Divine_Blood, and it was directed, in fact,by Fr. Andrea Butirroni. I have read the print-ed decree with my own eyes. I am aware of thedisturbance aroused by the enemy, and I amsorry. But then, how about what was said atfirst about the titles: Passionist, Jesuit, Nuns ofthe Blessed Sacrament etc.? History speaks tous. So, every individual program of religiondeserves some consideration; that is the usual,sensible response, and the Church confirms itsdecisions with the yearly festive celebrations.30

For all the excellent arguments and the proposal fordialogue that was more than wise, all the more did thepope persist in his contempt for the Missionaries of theMost Precious Blood, demonstrated at times even inpublic audiences. Here is Merlini’s deposition in thecanonical processes for Gaspar’s beatification:

While the Servant of God was enduring theseafflictions, still another was added which Ithink it would be good to mention here likewise.Fr. Francesco Pierantoni, around the date ofJuly 19, 1825, wrote to the Servant of God, say-ing:


‘If I rejoiced greatly, some time ago, in beingassured by a person worthy of belief that HisHoliness has the highest opinion of ourInstitute and for you especially because of yourreluctance to accept honors and dignities, still Iexperienced displeasure this past week in learn-ing of the amazing behavior that His Holinessdisplayed. Here is what happened. An out-standing, zealous priest, closely associated withour Institute and a missionary ,approached the Pope with the usual feeling ofconfidence and, among other things, asked forthe permission to enjoy all the privileges accord-ed to the Missionaries of the Archconfraternityof the Most Precious Blood. The Pope replied: ‘Isthat, perhaps, to eat meat on Fridays andSaturdays, as Del Bufalo has requested? That isreally something surprising in one who preach-es penance! If a medical statement had beensubmitted that might justify it . . .’

On the outside of this letter which theServant of God sent to Cristaldi, one can note inthe Servant of God’s own handwriting: ‘Youmay enjoy reading this and then burn it, like allour other pages.’31

Gaspar sent this letter to Cristaldi, as Merlini tellsus at the end of the deposition just cited, along with theletter of July 20, 1825, which he wrote to him fromVeroli, where he was preaching a series of spiritual exer-cises at the seminary:

May you keep this most humble letter of mine‘in the communica-

tion of the spirit’ with the greatest secrecy.Please read the enclosed matter. The personwho wrote me this is very, very dear to me. I donot add anything further. Please do me thefavor of telling the Holy Father that perhaps he,


one day, will realize what he does not presentlysee. I am not speaking about myself but aboutthe Society. He will weep for having used dur-ing an audience a procedure which was not inaccordance with God. Only God knows whetherI shall survive all of the bitter things that haveoccurred. I have not lost sight of my conformityto his divine will, for doing his most lovabledivine will is my total pursuit.

However, I am not made of iron or of bronze.To face continuous, baseless rebukes and invec-tives, without due process, both of my conductand that of others, is a very bitter chalice todrink. All of this, however, is very little, consid-ering my own demerits. Still, I glory in being ason of the Church and, wretched though I maybe, I have not lost my faith. Excuse this out-burst of mine which is meant for you alone, forI am besieged with sadness, yet I have notallowed any of this to leak out even to my com-panions, realizing that the war that is beingwaged is brought on by the enemy, and in themost despicable way. They referred to a Missionduring which I am supposed to have eaten meaton Friday or Saturday. With the help of divinemercy, they will discover what is the real con-fession of the truth. Have his Holiness questionthe bishops and the pastors, etc.

I am writing from Veroli where I am present-ly conducting a series of retreats, while at thesame time being assailed by a thousand bitterthings, all of which have their origin in whathas been explained, without saying anythingfurther about temporalities. Nevertheless, thespiritual work being accomplished is immense.It is God who is doing the work. We are nothingmore than wretchedness itself. Yet, it is hisgood will that, with regard to these accusations,


the Holy Father should make his judgment andhis inaccurate knowledge be given illumination.I pardon the intentions of everyone. My onlytrue regret is the detriment that is being causedto the honor of God. I am the real culprit, so whydoes he not reprimand me, condemn me? Butthe ministry . . . the Missions . . . oh God . . .Priests who have left their own homes, theirpossessions, their small comforts and havejoined a society where, except for their daily liv-ing, they have nothing more . . . how can anyonesay they have no spirit? This business about oneof our Missionaries in Albano going aroundrequesting silver table settings is truly a hoax. Iam well acquainted with the members who areappointed there and I have checked with them.Oh God, my beloved Monsignor, what utterdarkness! We are in very bad times.Nevertheless, we place our trust in God. I amconsoled that etc.‘I am with him in tribulation, etc.’ I shall beawaiting a line or so from you to Frosinone fromwhere I shall have to depart, if you consider it agood idea, to conduct some Missions. Therequests are varied—in Umbria—in the Marche—in Benevento—in the Kingdom where, if itpleases God, a foundation will be established.

My Monsignor, what can I say or do? Give meyour counsel and remember that MonsignorAlbertini told me over and over again that afterGod, I should look for no one else but you withregard to the Society. Also, he said that I shouldnever be fearful because of the extreme trialsthat the Society would face, for they would besigns that the Society is from God. For a bit ofquiet, I would like to withdraw to S. Felice. But,my will does not allow me to do that. Try to finda moment here or there to send me your reply. I


do not deserve it, I know, and I am quite awareof my nothingness. Nevertheless, the glory ofGod, the defense of innocence and of truth arethe beautiful causes to be dealt with here.

The list of faculties which you had the HolyFather confirm ‘for a year’ is thesame that goes back to the time of the goodFather Filippo Fortuna. It was he who, for hisown peace of mind, obtained the dispensationconcerning the use of oil and milk products onFridays. I told him that it would not be needed.But, at that time, I was no more than a care-taker in the Missions. He spoke to the HolyFather, Pius VII, about this matter and, withpaternal concern the Holy Father took all of usinto consideration, and, in order to remove anyfeelings of scrupulosity, he granted it for all. Itseems to me, however, that no one really madeuse of it, as Canon Muccioli32 will recall verywell (but it is a good idea to keep this betweenourselves). I, indeed, can declare before heavenand earth, that I, myself, never made use of thisprivilege. The present Pontiff saw this articleand he made the deletion. When I went to havea meeting with him, he said nothing to me.Monsignor, pray for me who, while recommend-ing myself to your prayers . . .33

Cristaldi replied immediately to Gaspar, invitinghim to go to Rome, because he intended to obtain anaudience with the Holy Father. Gaspar responded quick-ly on July 25, 1825, from Frosinone, as soon as hereturned from preaching in Veroli:

I have just returned from Veroli and I am send-ing an immediate reply to your most appreciat-ed letter for which I am so obliged to you! Ifeared that you might not be well since I had notreceived news from you. I shall come quickly to


Rome during these days, as you advise me, andas soon as it becomes possible for me. I humblypray to God, the Giver of every good gift, that hewill bless my steps. Tomorrow I shall begin bythe application of holy Mass for this very impor-tant intention and, in order to obtain the assis-tance of very great advocates in heaven, I shallapply it for the holy souls in Purgatory, a devo-tion that is so close to us. I acknowledge my owninsufficiency in handling a matter as grave asthis and, from this very moment, I ask for yourwell known charity, most reverend excellency,to beseech the Holy Father to grant me an audi-ence that is convenient and without disturbanceto him and, in addition, your own most assidu-ous recourse to the throne of divine clemency.

Just how deep is my feeling of gratitude toyou for so many, many outstanding favors, youyourself can better conceive in your own mindthan I could ever indicate to you in words. Itrust, through my devotion to the Divine Blood,to Mary most holy and to St. Francis Xavier, aswell as in your prayers, that everything willturn out successfully to our mutual consola-tion.34

Unfortunately, he had scarcely reached Rome onJuly 26 when he learned that Leo XII had again beenspeaking ill of the Missionaries in his audiences. OnJuly 27 he confided in Cristaldi, as usual, asking him toobtain an audience with the Holy Father quickly. In thecase that this audience had to be delayed, he would go tospeak with Mons. Soglia:

Yesterday I met with a very pious prelate andhe told me that when he spoke to the HolyFather in a favorable manner concerning ourSociety, the Pope gave him a sort of reply which,from the connotations (although he did not say


it outright, it implied the name of MonsignorBenvenuti) one could conclude that MonsignorBenvenuti has a certain opposition to ourSociety. This conversation came up accidentallywithout my inviting it any motivation.However, he did ask me to promise that, in theevent that I might use this reserved informa-tion, I would never reveal the particular source.All this for the sake of the records. The entireprovince is resounding with the glory of God,and despite that, ‘seeingthey do not see.’ Full of respect for MonsignorBenvenuti, I realize that there is nothing else tocling to than prayer.

I shall delay my visit with Monsignor Sogliaso that, this morning, you can petition anappointment with him for me. I feel that thereis an urgency to speed up this matter so that thePope does not go into audiences speaking illabout our people. So, upon getting in to see theHoly Father, I will not fail to give my thanks toMonsignor Soglia, and, I shall carry out every-thing else that I spoke of yesterday. If, fromyour reply, I learn that the audience with thePope is being delayed, I can go to see MonsignorSoglia tomorrow. I am given to understand thatanyone who is suffering from bias can be put inhis place by a precautionary word fromMonsignor Soglia, persuading the Holy Fatherwith respect to our Society. I shall be awaitinga line or two from you, in your charity, todayafter the noon meal.35

On the afternoon of the same July 27 Cristaldi prob-ably communicated with St. Gaspar that he could notassure him of an audience with the pope on such shortnotice, because St. Gaspar, as he had planned, went tothe Vatican on the morning of July 28 to meet with


Mons. Giovanni Soglia. Immediately upon returninghome, he wrote Cristaldi:

Here I am giving you a report of my visit to theVatican, where, upon my arrival, I was told thatMonsignor Soglia was with His Holiness. Theirdiscussion was quite long so I had the time tomake my usual meditation. Then, I went intohis office with him, and after the topic wasintroduced by being questioned concerningCanon Betti, gradually and quite peacefully weentered into the matter. I spoke at great lengthabout our Institute and of the good work that itwas accomplishing, etc., etc. He, on his own,asked me about our title and he confided to methat there were some who had presented papersto him in opposition to that title, but he did notmention their names to me. At this point (I cantell you) I felt a higher strength coming downupon me and so much so that Monsignor Sogliawas almost in tears as I delved into the theolog-ical motives, etc., etc., and, I might say that I,too, without wanting to, also began to weepalong with him. Let all of this be kept in secretas a usual communication between ourselves.And, oh how blessed I would be if only I had ona sheet of paper just what I said on this topic forI was afraid that it might be forgotten. I reflect-ed that I should not be forgetful of your verywise directions in which, and I say this with allmy heart, I decisively recognize the will of God,especially in the results that follow, with theLord disposing even more. He admitted to methat he was with the Holy Father when hedeleted the title, and everything else related tothe question. If the hour had not been so late, Iwould have come speedily to you in person, butcircumstances forced me to supply with thismost humble page of mine.


With regard to the audience, he told me thaton Saturday he would work things out with you.You manage things as God inspires you to do. Ishall come to inconvenience you next Sundaymorning after you have been in church. Indeed,in this regard, pray a lot for me for on the morn-ing of the feast of St. Ignatius, through arescript, I was ordained priest in the choir of theFathers of the Mission. I shall offer my Mass onthat day for you, to whom I owe so very much.Tomorrow, I shall offer it for Monsignor Sogliaso that he will receive great illumination con-cerning our Society, as I realize that all could beentirely dependent upon him.

If you choose to speak to the Holy Fatherabout me, you might use the occasion for askinghim to be kind enough to reduce the number ofvisits during the Holy Year for gaining the holyindulgences, and then next Sunday you can giveme the results. ‘Let us prayfor one another.’ I would appreciate a line fromyou so that I would know at what time I cancome to inconvenience you next Sunday morn-ing.

If your discussion with the Holy Father goesalong smoothly, try to ask him for an extraordi-nary subsidy. I shall pray to God that he will seeits urgency; Monsignor Soglia would like me toput all of this in writing. I shall set myself todoing so tomorrow. Tomorrow, at the Ave Mariahour, I shall send everything to your most rev-erend excellency, so that after you have read thematerial, if you please, you can then pass thesepages on to the aforementioned Monsignor,Saturday morning . . .

P. S. As for any other matters, more when wesee each other in person. Take good care of


yourself [underlined three times in the originalletter] and pray for me.36

As he had promised Cristaldi, on July 29 St. Gasparset himself to write three memoranda, in accord with thewish of Mons. Soglia: one on the Institute and on the reg-imen of life of the Missionaries of the Most PreciousBlood, one on the title, and one on the privileges grant-ed by the Holy See, so that Cristaldi could deliver themto Mons. Soglia in the meeting with the latter which wasto take place on Saturday, July 30. On the evening ofJuly 29, Gaspar, as he had promised, sent the threememoranda to Cristaldi, accompanied with the followingnote:

I am sending you three documents: one regardsthe general idea of our Institute; the seconddeals with the title; the third, a few privilegesobtained up to now. I recommend this intentionto your zeal which will bring you special bless-ings from the Lord. Pray to the Lord for me . . .37

Even if we now go on at some length in reconstruct-ing these events, we quote these documents here as theyappeared in the first draft sent to Cristaldi38 out of adesire to offer our readers something that they willappreciate. The final and stylistically improved versionwhich was presented to Leo XII, can be found else-where.39

Here is the first memorandum on the “General Ideaof the Work,” that is, on the Congregation ofMissionaries of the Most Precious Blood, as it camedirectly from St. Gaspar’s pen, and which Cristaldi sub-sequently corrected:

In these times of upheaval, which it has pleasedGod to reserve for us, there is a great need for areform of the people. The Lord,


‘rich in mercy’ [Eph 2: 4], wished to pro-vide an effective means for curbing the torrentof iniquity and for restoring order in the heartsof the people by furnishing them with helps thatare most suitable for the sanctification of theirsouls and for their continuous and lastingimprovement. One such means is the establish-ing of more Mission and Spiritual RetreatHouses for the secular clergy, to revive in thema sense of dignity, of good example, as well as aneagerness for study and holiness, all of which isin line with the spirit of that ancient disciplinein which community living of ecclesiastics waseagerly fostered.

St. Augustine, the Doctor of Grace, treatedthis matter in a special way. St. CharlesBorromeo also followed a program such as thiswhen he founded the Oblates, and the same canbe said for St. Philip Neri when he institutedhis congregation. The institution that we arediscussing here, however, differs from that ofthe Filippini Fathers [the Oratorians] onlybecause it adds to their most praiseworthyobjectives, the practice of giving Missions andSpiritual Retreats, either by doing their preach-ing to the people in a very public way as well as(in the Retreats) by a very private approach inthe respective Houses that have been founded.

This expansion of good work was not under-taken by the apostle of Rome, St. Philip Neri,for he limited the work of his congregation tothose devout programs for which his sacredinstitute is so well known. It differs from that ofthe Oblates of St. Charles insofar as they arerequired to assume bonds that hold them in con-science and, as a consequence it is not easy forthem to engage in a rapid and necessary propa-gation of the faith. It likewise differs from the


Missionaries of St. Vincent de Paul, becausethey too are bound by the sacred vows and,abstracting from the apostolate of the Missionsand other pious works undertaken by theirfoundations, they do not have the flexibility toput into practice what shall be described indetail in these pages, not ordinarily making useof a public church for each of the sexes, so thatall of the souls are given an equal portion ofnourishment of the divine Word through whichthe faith has been promoted among peoples, andthrough which we can look forward to a renew-al: ‘

‘faith comes from hearing, but hearingthrough the word of Christ [Rom 10: 17].’

One must now also cast a glance at the foun-dation of the Liguori Fathers [the Passionists].For the sake of brevity and in order to point outthat this congregation in the Papal State doesnot engage in an extensive propagation, it, too,excludes those programs that make the Societythat we are discussing here plausible. TheHouses of Study for priests, immediately sub-ject to the Holy See and hence to the respectivebishops, began spreading, more or less, havingan even much broader idea of the apostolatethan the spirit of the now deceased DoctorBartolomeo del [sic] Monte and the nowdeceased Marchese Imperiale, particularly withrespect to the secular clergy who were devoid ofany bond of sacred vows.

In the case of the latter, the GospelMinisters, adhering to their pious legacies, con-templated the giving of Missions. But in ourpresent foundations, we are taking into consid-eration, as a whole, everything that could beneeded by the pastors in the respective dioceses,so that we can be of immediate help to the


urgent needs of the people to effect the reform oftheir daily lives.

While other institutes, such as the Fathers ofthe Company of Jesus [the Jesuits], have astheir primary objective the education of youth,our Mission and Retreat Houses offer whateveris necessary to bring about, with the greatestpossible rapidity, the conversion of souls, goodexample from the grown-ups, and, in short, anapostolate directed towards every sort of group-ing of people in the various dioceses which willthen evaluate, facilitate and consolidate theeducation given. There will be no fear that theclergy will fall into a state of inertia, for, exclud-ing the pastors, the canons and other sacredministers necessary for the respective places,the other clergy will gradually be broughttogether into a union bonded by dedication tothe ministry and they will activate this aposto-late which is so very necessary for the greaterglory of God. Their own personal affairs will notdeter them, since we do not forbid proper eccle-siastical assistance.

Nor can being advanced in age make them attimes fearful of the fulfillment of their sacredduties, since those who are more vigorous willapply themselves to the giving of Missions andthose who are not so strong in health can takecare of the internal forum, thus enjoying thatpeace which the Houses of our foundation canoffer. In these Houses, in a special way, the soulis lifted to God in prayer. Also, ignorance, attimes, may be the cause of complaints, but evenwith all that, one moves ahead by the provisionof scholarly conferences which, in a way, makeup for the past and eventually prepare them forwhatever may be relevant.


So, we conclude that in these foundations,already put into motion by the now deceasedSupreme Pontiff Pope Pius VII, the clergy find ahaven and the longed for reform of the clergyitself is promoted so that they can become a bea-con of holiness for the people. The seminaries,in preparing new plants for the Church of JesusChrist, are effecting a certain graduated scaleby which, through mutual assistance, they willbring about a certain equilibrium in the clergy.Eventually, with this mystical growth beingsupported, they will produce the noble fruit ofvocations to the Missions of the PropagandaFide. The evangelical workers, who will be wellfortified in solid virtue, in adequate learning, indetachment from everything, will go forth. Theglory of God will be wondrously promoted. Stillcompletely available to those souls who preferthe sacred vows will be those other instituteswhich they can embrace, whichever one theymay be called to. However, that step must bethe fruit of mature advice and of a true spirit ofvocation.

Finally, in our Houses of Study, there isoffered a compensation for the present shortageof Regulars insofar as the people will have out-side confessors to go to. Furthermore, the bish-ops are afforded a means whereby, even afterthe completion of the course of studies in theseminaries, the new priests will have the oppor-tunity to be further developed in their vocationso as to be equipped for parochial work or otherareas in the priestly ministry. All of this ismerely a general presentation of the idea of ourInstitute. If necessary, more details can begiven at another time.40


In the preceding document St. Gaspar spoke of hisMissionaries as “Gospel Workers” ( );he spoke of the “Mission and Retreat Houses,” but he didnot speak of the title of the Institute. Here, then, is thesecond memorandum, on the title:

Now, we turn to the question of the title whichadorns these foundations, as is evident fromvarious documents, it was the Supreme PontiffPius VII who considered it, as a matter of fact,a good idea to take it from theArchconfraternity having the august title of theMost Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, of the mostholy Mary, Help of Christians and assigned to itas special protector the glorious apostle of theIndies, St. Francis Xavier. This title does notpresent anything novel, since it flows from whatwe see in the sacred scriptures: ‘

’ ‘You have redeemedus, O Lord, in your Blood and have made us forour God a kingdom and priests’ [Rv 5: 9–10]. Wepriests, therefore, are marked with the sacerdo-tal character in order to apply the divine Bloodto souls. It is his Blood that is offered in thedivine Sacrifice; it is his Blood that is applied inthe sacraments; it is his Blood that is the priceof redemption. This is what we can present tothe heavenly Father for the reconciliation ofsinners: ‘

’ ‘We,therefore, beseech you help your servants whomyou have redeemed by your precious Blood.’Whereas the devil would like all to be the vic-tims of justice, we ministers of the sanctuarymust make known the depths of God’s mercy sothat


‘justified by his Blood, we shallbe saved from wrath through him’ [Rom 5: 9]. Inthis devotion, we have the treasures of wisdomand holiness; in it we find comfort, peace andsalvation.

Indeed, it is an essential devotion inChristianity, venerated by our mother, theChurch ‘ ’ ‘whichhe acquired by his blood’ [Acts 20: 28]. TheMass, the Office of the Most Precious Blood arealready in practical usage in the church mili-tant. Even from most ancient history, for exam-ple, we note that God, indeed, prescribed thatthe Hebrews in Egypt should taint their door-ways with blood so as to be freed from theavenging sword, alluding to that means of eter-nal salvation by which our souls would be liber-ated from the slavery of hell. Add to this, whatthe apostle states: ‘

?’ ‘If the blood of goatsand bulls sanctifies those who are defiled, howmuch more will the Blood of Jesus Christcleanse our consciences from dead works?’ [Heb9: 11–12]. One should read the precious littlebooklet entitled ‘The Month ofJune’ dedicated to the devotion of the mysteriesof the Divine Blood. It contains the documentssupporting this important devotion. Sufficientfor now is to conclude with the words of St.Bernard [Ep. 7]: ‘

’ ‘The Blood of Christ calls out like a trum-pet’ or, the words of St. Thomas (Opusc. 15a):‘ ’ ‘The Blood ofChrist is the key to paradise.’

But, to sum up everything briefly, one mustnot omit listening to what St. Paul observes in


Col 1: ‘’ ‘Making

peace through the Blood of his cross whether forwhat is in heaven or on earth.’ Our timesdemand that we carry out what is proposed inthat quotation. It is, therefore, the divine Bloodthat will placate the divine eternal Father, thatwill purify our hearts and will inebriate us withlove for Jesus who

‘loved us and washed us in hisBlood’ [Rv 1: 5].41

.’In order to integrate the two preceding documents,

St. Gaspar also wrote a document called the ‘The Form of Government of the Institute’

which is reproduced in the first volume of the.42 We say that it forms a part of the two

preceding documents, because in the volume found inthe General Archives of the Congregation, which gathersthe two documents on the Institute and its title (

XII, 48–50), the document on “The Formof Government of the Institute” follows immediately( , XII, 51–56), as an integrating sec-tion and also Cristaldi made some corrections to thisdocument, as he did to the preceding, above all notingthe place most opportune for inserting the material thedocument was treating. Here, then, is the document on“The Form of Government of the Institute”:

1. There is a President for the observance( ), and he is one ofthe more mature Missionaries who, withoutbeing in charge of the house and in the spirit ofthe rules of St. Charles is only concerned withseeing to it that all takes place as it should.2. There is the Local Superior whose duty it isto ring the bell for the observance, to give theprivate talks to the lay brothers, and to


communicate with them the Knowledge of theSaints, that they may grow daily in virtue andsee to their own sanctification.3. There is the Vice Superior who fills in duringthe absence of the Superior, and who is alsoSecretary and Archivist of the House.4. In addition there is the Director of theMissions whose duty is the correspondence andadministration of this very important matter.5. There is the Director of the SpiritualExercises whose duty is to watch over those whoare making the exercises and to give them salu-tary reminders to persevere always in theirgood intentions. 6. There is the Prefect of the Church andSacristy, and he directs the Sacred functions,maintains the silence of the Sacristy, and seesto it that all goes according to the rule.7. Finally there is the ‘treasurer’ whotakes care of the temporal affairs of the House.

Everything is done in common, and accord-ing to the spirit of the Institute which is verysimilar to what is practiced by the OratorianFathers ( ) in the House Meetings( ) of the Congregation.

Food follows the norms for Seminaries.Other clarifications are omitted as not beingnecessary for the moment, since these pages area general overview of the Institute.

At the beginning of new foundations, oneindividual, for example, will have two responsi-bilities. As there are more members, theseresponsibilities will be given to others.

The Work would seek now the more solemnapprobation ‘following


[that] of the Oratorians,’ beyond that which hasbeen obtained under the past Pontificate, mak-ing the necessary endowments.

It is to be immediately subject to the HolySee and to the respective Bishops because theInstitute also has in mind the Foreign Missions.The primary House will be founded in Rome,God willing, and this will provide a stable sup-port to these various pious Works entrusted tothe Secular Clergy. Doubtful questions from theother houses are to be referred to this housebecause it is ‘nearthe Roman Pontiff’.’ This house will be con-cerned with the proper regulations for changesof assignments ( ) inpreaching the respective subjects of differentfoundations, and also giving a change of venueto someone who feels that he is experiencingsome harm from being in a certain climate, andsimilar situations. The circular letters for theforeign Missions will subsequently be sent fromRome. Every year one of the more matureWorkers from the respective Provinces will beappointed to listen to the wishes of the Bishopsas well as those of the Confreres, so that, in cus-tomary regularities of prudence, to provide fortheir needs, and always with the decorum ofministry, and thus good order and a regulatedsystem of observance will be maintained. Withmoderation it is permitted to see one’s own rel-atives, and other matters similar to the spirit ofthe Oratorian Fathers.

Each foundation will send a yearly summary( ) of the good that has been accom-plished to the primary House of Rome, and itwill be called for public edificationand it will promote a competition in good worksin the sense of the Apostle:


‘be zealous for the bettergifts’ [1 Cor 12: 31]. [ : Therevised Vulgate has for .]

The Work had its beginning in the area ofGiano in the Diocese of Spoleto. It hopes to bestrengthened under Pope Leo XII, whom theLord preserve for a long life, and from whom ithumbly asks the Pontifical blessing.

In the Mission Houses silence is observedalso in the case of those who are making theExercises, and outside of the customary hours ofhonest Ecclesiastic recreation they seek tomaintain union with God through silence.

In the evening there is the Meditation incommon. At table there is always spiritual read-ing in the morning from Rodriguez (in additionto the text from the Scriptures) and in theevenings there are readings on the lives ofApostolic Men in order to have both sacred the-ory and examples to imitate.

Before going to bed there is the examinationof Conscience in Chapel and other piousprayers.

Every month now, on different days, one orthe other Missionary takes a day of retreat inpreparation for death, doing this privately.

Every year in the novena in honor of St.Francis Xavier there are the spiritual Exercises,directed by the Missionaries alone.

They never go out by themselves and theyare never out of the House for lunch. They arealways dressed suitably for ministry.

In short . . .

.


On ordinary days there are conferences anhour and a half before midday. The priests fromthe various areas who wish to profit from themattend these, and the topics are Dogmatics,Moral Theology, Liturgy, Sacred Scripture,Ascetical Theology, etc. The authors chosen arethose used by the Jesuits.

The public Exercises for the special feasts ofChristmas, and the Catechisms before Easterare not neglected; also, the Three Hours of theAgony in memory of the last three Hours inwhich Jesus suffered on the Cross, serve to ani-mate a tender love toward our most lovingRedeemer.

In the month of May the exercise of theMarian month is observed and in June peopleare animated to meditate on the mysteries ofthe love of Jesus who has redeemed us with theinestimable price of His Divine Blood.

We have not spoken of other good workswhich are promoted according to the respectivelocalities and the needs of the people.

There is the general Communion in the formof a retreat in preparation for death; it followsthe norm practiced in the Oratorio of Fr.Caravita.43

Catechism for the soldiers, Prisoners, andother subjects of ministry according to therespective locales is not neglected, such aspreaching to the neighboring people andspreading there the pious institutions that weare treating, so that the sermons continue in awonderful way to have an effect for the greaterdivine glory.


One Friday each month they assist at themeeting of the Gentlemen and Ladies, to givethem their respective duties and to animatethem to piety and to give good example. On oneFriday after lunch and at least monthly there isthe institution intended for the Clerics, accord-ing to the practice of the Union of Saint Paul, toexpress briefly to the various classes of Personswho present themselves for ministry and oneseeks to spread the flock in accordance with thedivine word. Nor is there omitted each month aconference for the Sisters of Charity, whosefoundation is guided by the norm of the rulesgiven in the various Congregations which havebeen erected elsewhere.

In addition to the duty of the Missions andthat of admitting various classes of retreatants,every week on Sunday a public Catechism isheld, after which there is the exercise for ahappy death. Where the Pastors request it, theMissionaries also help out with ChristianDoctrine for the adults in the respectiveChurches.

On Thursdays there is the adoration of theBlessed Sacrament in memory of the Institutionof this august mystery.

On Fridays there is the Exercise of the Wayof the Cross.

On Saturdays there is the Example in honorof Mary most holy and the Litanies.

We add that in all feasts there is not omittedthe Congregation of the young people under thetitle of Mary Most Holy and Immaculate and ofSt. Aloysius Gonzaga.


At dawn there is the Mass before the peoplego to work, and at the time of the Mass theChristian acts ( ) are said withthe people. The Mass ends with a salutaryReminder for making holy the day for thegreater glory of God.

Every evening there is the Oratory for themen according to the practice of the Oratory ofFather Caravita.

On Fridays and Sundays the communityassists with Confession, usually hearing theconfessions of the men first, and then thewomen. On the other days they take turns inthe Confessional, so that they have time at thedesk for the duties of ministry.44

The third document that St. Gaspar sent toCristaldi in the afternoon of July 29 concerned the priv-ileges granted to the Congregation by the Holy Seethrough July 1825. Here is the text of the document:

Most blessed FatherThe Missionaries of the Archconfraternity of

the Most Precious Blood of our Lord JesusChrist request, etc., for the sake of uniformity inthe Divine Office, adapting themselves to theRoman calendar, etc.

From the audience of July 28, His Holinesskindly agreed to the favor for the private recita-tion of the Divine Office, etc.


Other rescripts obtained from the nowdeceased Pius VII have been omitted and in theinstallation of the Houses, preserved in therespective curias, as well as other privileges.

In behalf of the Confraternity of theMissionary Priests aggregated to theConfraternity under the invocation of the MostPrecious Blood, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XII,kindly assenting to the prayers of the priestswho devote their efforts to the missions underthe invocation of the Most Precious Blood of ourLord Jesus Christ, with respect to the report tome, signed below, of the Secretary of the SacredCongregation of Rites, has agreed that theOffices of the Mysteries and Instruments of theLord’s Passion can for the future be recited bythem annually in a major double rite, safe-guarding the rubrics according to the ordergiven below, namely, etc., etc.

Even before this, under the pontificate ofPius VII, there was likewise granted by theSacred Congregation of Rites the Office and theMass of the Most Precious Blood on the firstSunday in July; and the same is evident in theDecree, namely:

To the Confraternity of Missionary Priestsaggregated to the Confraternity under the invo-cation of the Most Precious Blood of our LordJesus Christ, etc.

The same is true of another decree relating tothe rite or a double of the second class, assignedfor December 3rd, the feast of St. FrancisXavier, special protector of the Missions of theArchconfraternity.


Finally, our most Holy Lord Pope Leo XIIgranted, through a decree from that sameCongregation and with the same declaration,the privilege of adding to the prayers on semidoubles, that of St. Francis Xavier.

So, the history of the Church of Jesus Christ,of which the Roman Pontiff is the head since heis the vicar of Jesus Christ and successor to St.Peter, calls for the continuation of these privi-leges and favors for the greater expansion of theInstitute which was conceived during the timeof exile, wonderfully developed immediatelyafter the exile with great advantage to souls,and, at the same time, to the anger of the devilwho has never ceased nor does he now ceasefrom waging a special war against this veryexpression: ‘Most Precious Blood of JesusChrist.’45

With these documents, St. Gaspar not only commit-ted himself to the defense of his Congregation and of thetitle that he had given it, but also worked with the pres-ident of the Archconfraternity of the Most PreciousBlood, Monsignor Gregorio Muccioli, so that he alsowould commit himself to defending the title of theArchconfraternity. This was needed because in the twodocuments that Don Innocenzo Betti had presented inthe audience of June 19, 1825, the pope had himselfdeleted the title “of the Most Precious Blood” that hadcome after “Archconfraternity,” substituting “of the mostHoly Savior.”46

Because of this, on the day after his return to Romefrom Frosinone, that is July 27, 1825, Gaspar wroteMons. Muccioli a letter which to date has not found asecure position among the of St. Gaspar,47 butwhich had to be written from Rome the same July 27,


1825,48 sending with it a document entitled: “

.” ‘Respectful Observations on theArchconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood.’ First wepresent the letter to Mons. Muccioli and then the docu-ment sent to him in defense of the Archconfraternity.

In this letter St. Gaspar advises Mons. Muccioli of“our bitterest tribulation” prompted by the deletion ofthe title “Most Precious Blood” from the phrase“Archconfraternity.” He asks him to forward to the pope,in his name, the document which he is sending for thedefense of the Archconfraternity, in case it were not pos-sible to present it to him in a private audience.

On the very day of the feast of the Divine Blood,the Lord has given me an inspiration withregard to our bitterest tribulation. ‘

,’ but, ‘ ,’ etc. ‘Behold in peace’ but‘bitterness,’ etc.1) Beware of the devil when you read this page;

‘in the end’ it is definitely the will ofGod, to whom I have recommended myself.2) I have not made a copy of it for myself, butyou can take a copy of it for yourself, at mostmodifying a word, here and there, either in thespelling, the terminology or the sentence struc-ture, ‘safeguarding all thosethings’ substantial. I request, however, that yousend the enclosed back to me, when you havemade your copy of it.3) If some word or other should not be clear,bring it up to me next Saturday for our consid-eration.4) We have reached the point when we musthave a talk, ‘with free speech,’


being certain of the Divine good will and assis-tance.5) We will discuss things further in person, real-izing that we can omit nothing that is known tous, since everything has a bearing. The Saintsgive us the example of the apostolic and respect-ful way by which we must conduct ourselvesdefensively for God’s cause.

I think that it would be prudentially betterfor you to handle everything after our meetingon Saturday, preparing a folder for His Holinessin which you make known to him that, becauseof the difficulty of getting an audience, youintend to fulfill your duties in this way, alwaysready, however, to present yourself wheneverrequested. Meanwhile, time: in my opinion thematter will be passed over; and, until we get abetter opportunity, we will forget about makingpetitions for the time being. We shall makeprogress by keeping hold of ourselves and navi-gating the best we can. Work this matter out atthe foot of the Crucifix. If you want me to makea copy of the page in my own handwriting, I willhave no difficulty. And if it should be necessaryto identify it as my own, I am perfectly happy todo so, when the glory of God demands it thus.Otherwise, I prefer not to have my name men-tioned.

I am in ‘in the Blood of Christ’. . .49

Here is the document that St. Gaspar sent to Mons.Muccioli with the preceding letter.


It cannot be denied that the Lord, alwaysrich in mercy, has provided powerful means inevery age capable of drawing souls to a consid-eration of the Crucified Lord and thus seeing inthem the application of the redemption throughhis Divine Blood.

Setting aside the first centuries in theChurch, centuries that produced martyrs, in thefollowing epochs which history records for us,we note how one or the other dogma wasattacked, how sacred things were subjected toscorn in one or the other part of the Catholicworld. In our miserable times, the crisis amongthe people is a general one, with indescribableperversion of basic principles and of proper liv-ing so as to hurl an insult at the redemptive actand, through human malice, to frustrate theapplication of the merits of Jesus Christ whohas redeemed us by the price of his Blood.

Now, Most Holy Father, is it not necessary torekindle apostolic zeal and follow the inspira-tions of soul that are so favored by God so thatwe can revive in the memories of these peoplethe inestimable price of our redemption andattempt to stir them to repentance and to tears?Is it not also a fact that Sacred Scripture itselfgives us the steps to take for a reform?

‘making peacethrough the Blood of his Cross, both as to thethings that are on earth, and the things that arein heaven’ [Col 1: 20]. Do we ourselves not knowthat

‘Christ loved the church, and


delivered himself up for it . . .’ [Eph 5: 25].‘he purchased [it] with

his own blood’ [Acts 20: 28]. Does not DivineWisdom tell us that

‘justified by his Blood,we shall be saved from wrath through him’[Rom 5: 9]. It is not sufficient simply to utter thename of the Lord to be saved:

[sic]

‘Not everyone who will say to me, Lord, Lord,will be saved, but the one who will do the will ofmy father will be saved.’ [Gaspar seems to paraphrase Mt 7: 21 here. TheVulgate text differs, but the sense is the same.]Therefore, there are two things that must nec-essarily be done nowadays. The first is to find away of placating the Divine Eternal Father; andthat we have in the merits of the Divine Blood:

‘I will take the chal-ice of salvation’ [Ps 115: 13]. The other is to tryto find a way of effectively applying those mer-its to souls, and this can be done particularlythrough holy Missions and Spiritual Retreats,as well as other pious programs that are pro-portionately salubrious for our times.

In fact, these are the very same reasons thatmotivated the holy Pontiff Pius VII to erect theArchconfraternity, bearing this most augusttitle of the Divine Blood. Sinners continue to behorrendously abusive and the Lord, in thetransports of his love, keeps crying out: ‘

’ ‘What profit is therein my Blood?’ [Ps 30: 10]. So, is there not anyonewho will, through this sacred, solemn cult, pro-cure adoration in compensation, and preach tothe people its glories, bringing to their attentionthat in this devotion we have a compendium of


faith itself; that is why, in the consecration ofthe chalice, we say: “ ” ‘the mys-tery of faith’ and, consequently therein lies thesalvation of souls.

In fact, it is to this that the prophetic oracles,the predictions, the symbols, the figures, thesacrifices of the old covenant have their focus.As we read in Genesis: “

” ‘Heshall wash his robe in wine, and his garment inthe blood of the grape’ [Gen 49: 11]. TheHebrews were ordered to mark their doorpostswith the blood of the lamb in order to be freedfrom their chastisements in Egypt, a symbol ofthe liberation of our souls from diabolical servi-tude . . . . Without saying too much further,what did Moses do for his people? “

‘Taking the book hesprinkled it with Blood, saying . . . this is theblood of the testament [covenant] that God hasenjoined on you . . . all things . . . are cleansedwith blood, and without shedding of blood thereis no remission’ [Hb 9: 19–22]. Hear, now, whatthe apostle says: “

‘For if the blood of goats . . . and ofyoung bulls . . . sanctify such as are defiled, howmuch more shall the Blood of Christ . . . cleanseour conscience from dead works?’ [Hb 9: 11–12].[ Gaspar does not appear toquote the Vulgate text exactly here.]

Without saying everything that could besaid, the divine Scriptures are loaded withsacred citations . . . “


” ‘Why is your apparel red?’[Is 63: 2] “. . .

” ‘And he was clothed with a garmentsprinkled with blood’ [Rv 19: 13]. One shouldadd only that by means of this devotion theremembrance of our baptism, through whichour souls were purged, is revived; we arereminded of penance and the other sacramentsand when asked why, we conclude that it wasbecause: “

you haveredeemed [us] in [your] Blood . . . , [and] youhave made us to our God a kingdom and priests’[Rv 5: 9–10].

Other devotions are all means for facilitatingCatholic piety, but this devotion is the basis, thesustenance, the essence of all. Other devotions,coming forth at various times, signal a period oftime, ever holy, ever praiseworthy, but thisdevotion of ours is so antique that it goes backto the very moment when Adam sinned; that iswhy Jesus was called the “

” ‘the lamb slain from thebeginning of the world’ [Rv 13: 8]. [

: The current text of the Vulgate has instead of . Also, in the originaltext Gaspar used the Italian instead of the Latin .] And it wasbecause of this that we were given the means ofreproducing, through the public press, the glo-ries of this inestimable treasure of our souls,along with the noble compositions of theFathers of the Church for the understanding ofthe sacred text; and especially so, since, in ourdays, generally speaking, this is not sufficientlyknown. However, the Lord will regenerate themin the hearts of people!


Indeed, St. Thomas says: ‘the Blood of Christ is the key to

paradise.’ St. John Chrysostom:

‘The Blood of Christ is the salvation ofsouls . . . the Blood of Christ is fine gold.’ Oneshould read the small work composed by theoutstanding member of the Missionaries of theArchconfraternity, that is to say, the nowdeceased bishop Monsignor [Vincenzo Maria]Strambi who, in giving his final retreats to allthe Roman clergy, had them meditate on thisvery devotion. One could consult with the pres-ent bishop of Assisi [Francesco Maria Giampè],well known for his theological knowledge, oralso the bishop of Nocera [Luigi Pervisani], notto mention others, and one will discover theinterest that everyone should have in diffusingand spreading the glories of theArchconfraternity of the Divine Blood, gloriesthat already are evident in the establishment ofthe Mission and Spiritual Retreat Houses underthe direction of its Missionaries; they makeavailable those means for fulfilling its objective. . . the glories that are evident in the many,many confraternities erected everywhere in theCatholic world, etc., etc., etc.

How could it ever have been possible for thevery respectable bishops, among whom weinclude his Eminence [Cardinal] Severoli[1757–1824], to give their consent to the diffu-sion of this good work if there had been the leastdisagreement with the principles or the prac-tices of the Church? How could it be that thenow-deceased Pontiff Pius VII should issue anumber of briefs for the erection of thatArchconfraternity, and the Congregation ofRites50 should recognize its title by the granting


of privileges, in particular, to the Mission andSpiritual Retreat Houses where the clergy havebeen reclaimed for the apostolate, for pursuingstudies, for attaining holiness? Even yourHoliness himself, with the revision of theChaplet for use by that same Archconfraternity,has increased its privileges through the organ ofthat same Congregation of Rites, and, at thetime when you were Cardinal Vicar of Rome,established some sisters of charity (under thedirection of Butirroni) who had this same mostaugust title.51

In these miserable times in which we live,one must point out, would the procedure of theRoman Curia not be subjected to derision? Infact, it is because of this that evildoers are led tocriticize other titles, thus multiplying the num-ber of enemies, while supposing that they aredoing something good by suppressing a titlewhich is the glory of redemption. This is the lan-guage of truth, and it is a well known fact thathell itself trembles at the very mention of“Divine Blood.”52 Furthermore, because of thismental confusion, good people get the wrongidea and then disturb the peace of yourHoliness’s magnanimous heart.

So, in view of the fact that there is nothinginvolved here which is contrary to good Catholicinterpretation, why, then, now change some-thing that has been canonically established?The Pontiffs Paul III and Paul IV, the PontiffGregory XIII and Pope Sixtus V (who confirmedit with a brief of May 8, 1586), were these not allmen who, in S. Maria in Vado,53 erected andpromoted the same good work which is nowbeing done by the confraternity erected thereunder the title of the Divine Blood and which


presently has the most intimate connectionwith the Archconfraternity?

Most Holy Father, these are the intrinsicreasons as well as arguments from the historyof the Church . . . But using such a title wouldbe a case of becoming overly familiar! This wasthe same difficulty proposed when the Companyof Jesus, in particular, emerged. Was it to begiven that name, the name of Jesus beforewhich ‘every knee shouldbow’ [The revised Vulgate of Phil 2: 10 has:‘ .’] so that it would be on thelips of everyone and adored by all? And whatwas the answer given? The religious titles areall very praiseworthy. Any abuse of it would bedue to the person who, through his own malice,would create it, but the Church’s intention is aholy one (so says Fr. Suarez in

) insofar as a distinct venera-tion is shown toward the sacrosanct mysteriesof the Savior.

Nor would it be a valid argument for one tosay: There will be someone who will abuse thistitle, so let us get rid of it. . . . Well, there willalso be someone who, as a matter of fact, will dothe same thing with the name of religion, sotherefore. . . . Oh my, to what consequenceswould this not lead. In keeping with the basesand principles explained, we have the establish-ment of Confraternities of the most holy Trinity,of the most Blessed Sacrament, etc. Finally, itwould be good to point out that as an agent (orprocurator) says: “Alms for the Confraternity ofthe most Blessed Sacrament,” in our[Archconfraternity] there should accordingly bea similar provision. But, ‘let pass’ thislast remark which was produced only to put themind of your Holiness at ease.


We conclude by saying that the adherence tobasic principles, the observance of fundamen-tals, the welfare of our times, the glory given tothe Redemption as well as the scorn that hellitself will receive—all demand that yourHoliness, rather than derogating and removingthis most august title, should be in it and pro-mote it throughout the entire Catholic Worldwith a solemn decree, extending the use of theMass and the Office of the Price of ourRedemption. May what happened to BlessedGiacomo di Bevagna,53 with regard to theDivine Blood, encourage your soul to do what, inall humility, has been proposed to you for thepure glory of God.55

Up until now it was believed that this document, the“ , etc.” written by St. Gaspar inthe same period of the three preceding documents on theidea and form of government of the Institute of theMissionaries, its title and the privileges obtained fromthe Holy See, was submitted to Leo XII by Gaspar him-self through Cristaldi, as were the other documents.

In 1998, however, we found a document in the his-torical archives of the Vicariate of Rome (ASVR), a copyof this same document made by Mons. GregorioMuccioli. The more important discovery made at thattime was that Muccioli, toward the end of July 1825, per-sonally presented this document to Leo XII as his ownwork, with the following request, according to the sug-gestions given him by St. Gaspar in the letter of July 17:

Most Holy Father,The Bishop of Agatopoli Gregorio Muccioli,

President in perpetuity of the Archconfraternityinstituted by the holy memory of Pius VII underthe Title of the Most Precious Blood of Our LordJesus Christ in the Church of S. Niccolò [sic] inCarcere, having heard after a delay of 24 days


the sentiments of your Holiness regarding theTitle of this Archconfraternity, and always dis-posed to be submissive to the Orders of yourBeatitude in this matter, believes that it is hisunavoidable duty to seek and to obtain, withoutfurther delay, a Personal Audience. Meanwhile,he humbly offers to Your Holiness some veryrespectful reflections on the matter, so thateverything that would help to bring about a bal-anced judgment on the matter, for the greaterglory of God, might be considered in the clarityof your wise counsel . . .56

We do not know if Mons. Muccioli had the audiencehe requested with Leo XII, but an audience for St.Gaspar was certainly assured, according to the agree-ment reached by Cristaldi with Mons. Soglia on July20,57 even if the exact date was not determined.

In waiting for the audience St. Gaspar, wanting tomake his Institute better known to the Holy Father, letCristaldi know that he had sent to Mons. Soglia otherdocumentation, e.g., the , the first rule of theCongregation, published in 1822.58 Thus he writes toCristaldi on August 5, 1825:

This morning I went to the Vatican and I rec-ommended myself unworthily to our mostbeloved Mother for a successful outcome.However, I waited for Monsignor Soglia in vain.While I was hoping to speak with him, the HolyFather came into St. Peter’s, and, since it wasnoontime, every effort was useless. I resorted towriting a respectful note in Monsignor Soglia’soffice and I also enclosed a printed resume ofour rule, along with a page of information cal-culated to make him understand the correctconcept of the Work of God [the Congregation].59


But beyond furnishing documents intended to pre-pare for the audience, St. Gaspar was making an intensespiritual preparation. A letter to Cristaldi of August 13,1825 bears witness to this. In the letter St. Gasparexpresses his intense desire that the audience with theHoly Father take place on August 15, “ten years afterthe opening of the House in San Felice.” After havingrecommended to Cristaldi a request of Don BiagioValentini for the sanctuary of San Felice, to present tothe Holy Father in the audience which he would have tohave had on the same morning of August 13, he contin-ues:

On the feast of the Assumption, ten years willhave passed since the opening of the House in S.Felice, the fruit of your zeal and that of theexcellent lawyer Paolucci. Oh, I wholeheartedlybeseech Mary most holy to bless me and theWork [the Congregation] on that occasion. Ishall apply my Mass on the feast of theAssumption for your soul, asking that your ten-der love for Jesus will be evermore increasedand for all those helps that are necessary foryou to fulfill the work that has begun andentrusted to you by the Lord. If the Holy Fathershould find it convenient, you might speak tohim of the usual extraordinary subsidy which, ifat all times it was of pressing need, now, thatmy expenses from day to day grow larger, youcan imagine how even more urgent this matteris for me. God watches over you. He will blessyour words.

Pray very, very much for me, and, since onthe feast of the Assumption St. Stanislausdeparted heavenward, I shall ask this greatsaint to be my mediator so that I will obtain thedesired admission to the presence of hisHoliness.60


The papal audience certainly took place, but in thebiographies of St. Gaspar there is some disagreement onthe precise date, either August 15 or 16, 1825.

Very probably the papal audience took place onAugust 15. In the audience it seems that the pope didnot touch on the argument regarding the title of theInstitute. Perhaps the memoranda presented and theintervention of Mons. Soglia had been sufficient tochange the opinion of the pontiff.

St. Gaspar did not discuss the matter further in hisletters to Cristaldi after the audience. Instead, the issuethat was in the forefront was making the pope aware ofthe letters and commendations on the part of bishopsregarding the ministry of his Missionaries, because atthat time the pope was receiving many complaints aboutreligious orders and religious institutes, so much so thateven St. Gaspar felt the need to have some suggestionsabout the reform of religious presented to the HolyFather through Cristaldi.61 In his deposition at theprocess for beatification of St. Gaspar, Valentiniaffirmed that the opposition to the Congregation of St.Gaspar on the part of Leo XII after his elevation to thepapacy came from

complaints made to him, as to every new pon-tiff, from accomplices ( ) . . . and fac-tions in the provinces. They sought to availthemselves of the benefits of the papal court,under the guise of doing the right thing.Precisely in this epoch, Leo XII, in a rather longaudience with Gaspar, revealed that he wasinclined to suppress the new Institute for whichthere was no need at all in the Church of God,taking as his motivation the case of so manyinstitutes and ancient orders that were not wellordered spiritually or temporally.62

Therefore, the first great difficulty that the pontiffexpressed to Gaspar was that his Institute was of no use


to the Church. This explains why Gaspar, on August 16,went to Cristaldi to speak to him about the good that his[Gaspar’s] Institute had done and was continuing todo.63 On August 17 he sent Cristaldi a letter stating thathe grasps fully the Holy Father’s just concerns, but inwhich he begins to describe to him rather abruptly—asign that the discourse had already begun the day beforein a personal meeting—the request for ministriesalready made to the various communities. He asks himto make clear to the pope, in the audience that Cristaldimust have had on the morning of August 17, the com-plete willingness of St. Gaspar and his companions todisengage themselves from ministerial commitmentsthat the pope might request of them and finally he tellshim to add that Cristaldi himself had read letters andnotes in which the ministry carried out by theMissionaries had been praised.64 Here is the letter ofAugust 17:

Enclosed are the various appointments for theministry in keeping with the requests:Benevento, Rimini, Umbria, the March ( ),Kingdom of Naples. Benevento could offer thepossibility of a closer letter correspondence withthe bishops of the Kingdom with reference tofoundations, as well as to arrange otherMissions for the Kingdom. Rimini: that founda-tion will give strength to the ministry, and sincethere are requests made for other dioceses inRomagna, in this way that province, which Ibelieve is in great need, will be given a bit ofattention. The Missions of the March wouldsupport those that have already been given andwould be useful for the foundation inPievetorina. Then, information concerning theglory of God in Umbria should come to theattention of the Holy Father, especially ofSpoleto, where, because of that question of


arrear payments we have not been too welcome,as though, by seeking to collect that money, wehad done some uncalled for act.

In November, I expect to be in the area of S.Salvatore Maggiore at his Eminence Ercolani’sseminary, if God will preserve him until thattime, etc. I have made my selections in keepingwith the desires of the Holy Father, and havethus directed my other companion groups, oneof which is still laboring in the vast dioceses ofPenne and Atri. I say nothing about theProvince of Marittima and Campagna where I,too, would gladly return to carry out the min-istry, if it would so please the Lord. I felt that Ishould give this information so as to show, inkeeping with your advice, that the ever lovablewill of the Lord is made clearly manifest.

Today at the 2lst hour, I shall have the pleas-ure of seeing you again. Miserable thing that Iam, I recommended, at this morning’s Mass, theaudience which you will have with our HolyFather.

And since your conclusions were truly con-vincing in the totality of your apologetical dis-course with the Holy Father, then, do not ceaseindicating to him, if you think it is a good thing,my very, very deep concern: Assure him thateveryone in the Society will always be prayingfor his Holiness, and, add anything else that theLord inspires in you. As the opportunity offersitself, you might include that you yourself haveread letters and reports in which praise wasgiven to our ministry; these are the letterswhich I, content only that the good work beknown by God, would never have sent to you ifthe urgency of the situation did not demand it . . .


P. S. Take care of yourself and do not over-work. You might also mention to the HolyFather that you yourself are acquainted withmany of the members of our Society, etc. Eventhough you do not need these reminders, never-theless, in order not to repeat what I have hap-hazardly written, I shall leave this letter just asit is.65

If the subject of the validity of his Institute that washandled in the papal audience was that which was ofgreater concern to St. Gaspar, there was another topicthat touched Gaspar personally and which he did notreveal to Cristaldi either in the meeting he had with himon August 16, after the audience of the previous day, orin the letter of August 17 after the papal audience thatmorning. In the audience of August 15 the pope made itvery clear to Gaspar that he, the pope, wanted to pro-mote him . . . But let us hear from Gaspar himself, as hehimself writes to Cristaldi:

Even though I am fully resigned to acceptpeacefully the crosses that God sends me, still,to bring peace to my soul which cannot help butbe disturbed, I put together the enclosed memo-randum [the following letter, no. 1229] which Isubmit for your scrutiny. Although I am send-ing it on to you, next Friday morning [probablyAugust 19] we shall discuss it in person, alongwith another matter which I did not have timeto tell you about during our last meetingbecause of the disturbance and confusion inwhich I am presently engulfed. I said nothingelse to the Holy Father than that, with hisblessing, I would like to continue in the min-istry; he said, . . . ‘Well, are you always toremain a missionary?’ I answered what I could,indicating to him the extreme consolation that I


have in being in the Congregation [ ],and I then recommended it to him again.

However, I confess that I noticed that myresponse to him did not go down so well, sincehe interrupted me and went on to somethingelse.

Oh how close to my heart is our Institute!Miserable thing that I am, I pray that God willbe propitious toward me. You must help meboth with your prayers and with your counsel. Ifind myself confronted with a great responsibil-ity both toward my beloved companions as wellas to so many other things that in every regardhave been accomplished up to now with divinegrace and with your most efficacious mediation.

In that letter, I wrote that another membercould be selected who would direct the Institute,thus allowing the Holy Father the opportunityof appointing whomever he judged best to pre-side over the Congregation [ ], since Ifear that it is my own inadequacy that retardsever greater blessings. I simply do not knowwhat else I can do. It seems to me that a veryclear discussion with the Holy Father in regardto how much our Congregation [Opera] meansto you, would, in my opinion, be reason to expectvictory. May God bring it about that what I saidto him will have made an impression.

I asked the Holy Father whether he had readthe reports that were submitted to him previ-ously, and I noted that he had perhaps mislaidthem. I asked him whether he would like newones prepared, and he gave me neither a yes nora no reply. Excuse me if I have annoyed you.Recommend me often to God . . .66

The “enclosed memorandum” of which he speaks inthis letter, is a request to Leo XII, that he not be


removed from his apostolic ministry, even if he is willingto leave the administration of the Institute to a confrerewhom the pope designates:

Most blessed FatherCanon Gaspar del Bufalo, Apostolic mission-

ary and most humble petitioner of yourHoliness, for the sake of peace of mind, makesbold to suggest the following.

In the recent audience, which your Holinessdeigned to grant him as a distinct grace andfavor, while he was asking for an apostolicblessing on the Society, he intended only tostrengthen the apostolic ministry using the holymeans that our religion provides for us.However, noting that your Holiness was plan-ning perhaps to remove him from the careerwhich he has assumed, he now petitions you toallow him to quietly remain in its fulfillment. Itwould be quite sufficient for the petitioner toremain as an individual member of the Instituteso that he can continue to promote the awaken-ing of enthusiasm among the clergy as well aspriestly decorum.

He is completely ready to surrender thedirection of the Society to whomever you mayjudge opportune and capable for achieving itsadvancement. Kissing your foot, he does notcease begging for the help of your prayers; that,etc.67

Finally, toward the end of August, St. Gaspar, withthe permission of Cristaldi, was able to leave Rome andgo to San Felice di Giano. There he returned to the twotopics dealt with in the papal audience: the defense ofhis Institute and his promotion.

On September 1, 1825 he sent Leo XII some lettersof commendation that were promoting the Missionariesof the Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood,


bringing together the arguments against the Instituteand its title:

I believe that it is my duty to humbly placebefore the eyes of your Holiness a few lettersrelating to the good work that is being promot-ed by the Missionaries of the Archconfraternityof the Most Precious Blood of our Lord JesusChrist, so that you will come to know even bet-ter the truth of things that pertain to the gloryof the Lord.

The holy Missions and Retreats, as well asother pious works, which are currently beingaccomplished by the Congregation [ ]are surely the principal bases for the reform.Whereas other institutes cultivate young peo-ple, the apostolate which our ministry is provid-ing takes care of the needs of the people in gen-eral and outstanding good example is given byadults, who have been educated, to the youngpeople who comprise the future most concernedobjective of our loving mother, the Church.

Herein lies the glory of the priesthood, insti-tuted for applying the price of redemption tosouls, so that the Divine Blood will not havebeen shed in vain, due to our own fault, as wenote in the Holy Scriptures: “

” ‘What profit is there in my Blood? . . . TheBlood of Jesus Christ will cleanse our con-sciences of dead works’ [Ps 30: 10 . . . Heb 9: 12].

I am writing this page most humbly from ourHouse of S. Felice in Giano where we have oneof our houses of study for priests, namely, forthose young men who have already completedtheir seminary courses and now, in silence andholy recollection of spirit, are preparing them-selves for the ministries in the Church and for


various fields of the apostolate, in keeping withthe most lovable will of God. I cannot tell you,most blessed Father, what a reason for joy sucha beautiful undertaking brings with it.

May your Holiness not cease to bless and pro-tect this holy institute in which I pray inces-santly that God will allow me to complete theshort number of days that remain for me in thismiserable world. While kissing your most holyfeet, I have the consolation of declaring my pro-found obeisance to and veneration of yourBeatitude.68

On the same day, September 1, 1825, prior to hisreentry into the active apostolate and after more than amonth of suffering ( ) brought on by the disputesof the curia, St. Gaspar wrote this very beautiful letterto Cristaldi. We present only a few selections of particu-lar interest:

Before leaving this place of solitude that is sovery dear to me, allow me to write to you aboutthose things that are pressing for the glory ofGod, which we must incessantly promote. Whenone is out in the ministry, one is necessarilyforced to be brief.

1. In accordance with our fundamental prin-ciples to make use of all means for defendingGod’s Society from diabolical attacks, I amenclosing a packet of papers which, if you thinkit is a good idea, you could have his Holinessread, pointing out to him that we did not pre-serve a lot of documents which might have beenvery opportune for this present situation. Neverwould I have imagined that such troubles couldhave arisen. But, then, recalling the statementsof our Monsignor Albertini, I reflected that hewould often say to me: ‘You will suffer a greatdeal, but from it all you will come back with a


victory.’ And, on another occasion, he assuredme that you would be the promoter and defend-er of the Institute and that this was the will ofGod. So, I pray to the Lord that he will give youcourage to speak out in holy liberty to the HolyFather, without perplexity of spirit, so as to winhim over to our side.

You probably have received already the onlycopies of the printings for the Mission in Ascoliand Teramo. In Rome, I spoke with MonsignorMarchetti and I warmly urged him to speak infavor of our Society. I did the same withMonsignor Filonardi, but I did not go intodetails, since prudence demands that we keepthings to ourselves. I spoke to him so convinc-ingly that he ended up by saying: ‘This is reallythe basis for reform. . . . I thank God for havingcome to know about the spirit of such a holyinstitute.’ Various people have been asking for aprospectus of the Society and I am doing every-thing I can to avoid scrupulosity for my lack ofproviding it. Oh, if I had the means of doing so,I would immediately have a description of theInstitute printed and I would see that copies ofit would be circulated everywhere. But, even inthis regard, God humbles us, and may he never-theless be blessed . . .

2. In my opinion, after reflecting quietly inmy mind, my meeting with the Holy Father, insome way, seemed to have gone along quitewell, having brought the situation out into theopen air, etc. and surely God must have illu-mined the Holy Father to better discern theimportance of our Institute. Now, if one seeksnot to overlook the reason for the success of ouraim, we can say: ‘

’‘But thanks be to God, who has given us the


victory through [our] Lord Jesus Christ’ [1 Cor15: 57]. . . .

4. Finally, I am intending not to return everto Rome, or, if I do return, not to go to the HolyFather in person; that, because, in one’s owncase, someone else must act as apologist; also, Ido not like to go through all those antechambersetc., etc., giving them the chance to say what isnot so. ‘Loveto be ignored and to be considered as nothing.’ Ido not care to hear about dignities, positions,nor any other embarrassing thing. I love theMissions, the ministry, etc. You, in particular,must help me with your prayers. When I returnto the Province of Campagna, I shall passthrough the walls. This is what I am planning todo, and I pray that it will be blessed by God. Owhat holy solitude here in S. Felice, etc.

P. S. You, who have read many pages that Ihave submitted to you at various times andhave come to know personally many of ourmembers, can say quite a bit to the Holy Father.The spirit of the Lord will descend upon you,etc. That is my hope. Do not forget about thegarden for Rimini and a small subsidy forPievetorina in the Marches. Oh how many obli-gations I have to you! ‘

’ ‘The Lord will repay me’ [Ps137: 8]. Look after the matter in Benevento.

When the Holy Father told me that theLiguori Fathers have a small allowance, etc., Ireplied that they too must subsist, and thathaving the means even to undertake construc-tion is a sign that God is providing and, in fact,that the Kingdom is giving help, etc. Excuse meif I have written lengthily, but my love for theWork [the Congregation], which I would like tosolidify with the shedding of my own blood, as


well as the fact that I foresee that I will not behaving another opportunity for expressingmyself so fully, all of this has led me to come tothis decision. I point out, with regard to myintention of not including Rome for me, thatthis is something which is just between you andme. I desire that the Institute be spoken of aswell as our companions, and, insofar as possi-ble, nothing be said about me. I speak to youwith open heart.

I repeat, ‘Love to be ignored and to be considered as noth-ing,’ etc. . . .69

The recounting of these facts regarding the attackson the Institute and its title during the reign of Leo XIIwas lengthy, in order to establish how much St. Gasparhad to suffer and to preserve in the Church, withCristaldi’s assistance, both the glorious title of the MostPrecious Blood and the very survival of thatCongregation which was the only true promoter of thedevotion of the Blood of Jesus.

The spiritual anguish that Gaspar experiencedunder Leo XII was quite distressing to Gaspar’s heart,as we have tried to describe accurately up to this point.

Because the same vile tongues did not cease por-traying Gaspar, his Institute, and his Missionaries in abad light, the same anxiety began anew under the suc-cessor of Leo XII, Pius VIII, who was elected March 31,1829, and died on November 30 of the following year.Once again Gaspar had to write another memorandum,explaining the purpose of the Institute, its activities,and notes on the founding of the Mission Houses.70

Gaspar succeeded in obtaining justice from PiusVIII as well, but another storm was not long in breakingout under Gregory XVI, elected pope on February 2,


1831. This time the pope seemed truly determined to bedone with the Institute of Gaspar. This is how the eventsoccurred, according to the testimony of Don CamilloRossi in the for the beati-fication and canonization of St. Gaspar. He stated:

When Gregory XVI had been raised to thePontificate one of our Confreres, I believe it wasDon Biagio Valentini, presented himself to thenow deceased Cardinal [Gian Francesco]Falzacappa [cardinal bishop of Albano Laziale].The praiseworthy cardinal asked where CanonDel Bufalo might be found because he had notseen him in a long time. He indicated to thisConfrere that he wanted a document outliningcore ideas of the Institute ( ) and hepromised to present it to the Pope for approval.Don Biagio Valentini spoke of his talk with thecardinal with the Venerable [Gaspar] and alsowith me, and [Gaspar] dictated to me a com-pendium of all of the ideas regarding theInstitute for the Pious Works, both internal andexternal, and once this was written down it waspresented to His Holiness, and the Pontiff atthat point wanted to know nothing of it.Following this, I went to the praiseworthyCardinal Falzacappa, to obtain the consent topreserve the Holy Oil in our Church of St. Paul,and he said to me: ‘When there is another Pope,I will have the approval for the Institute intwenty-four hours, and then there will be roomfor questions related to the Holy Oil . . .’71

Thus, according to the testimony of Rossi, CardinalFalzacappa presented a request for the approval of therules of the Institute of the Missionaries to Gregory XVIat the beginning of his pontificate, that is during Marchor April 1831, if he went to request permission to keepthe holy oil in the Church of St. Paul since the holy oils


are blessed at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday,which fell on March 31 in 1831.

The cardinal revealed to Rossi the pope’s annoyance( ) with the Institute. This date at the begin-ning of the pontificate of Gregory XVI is confirmed by aletter written to Gaspar by Cardinal Carlo Odescalchi[cardinal archbishop of Ferrara and friend of Gasparwho later became a Jesuit]. Gaspar had asked the cardi-nal to recommend approval of the rules of the Instituteto the new pontiff. On April 20, 1831 Odescalchi wroteGaspar, saying that the pope “does not want to speak ofrules at the present time” and therefore, he added: “I didnot judge it opportune to seek an audience for you.” Hereis Cardinal Odescalchi’s letter:

Dear Canon: I have not hurried to send a quickresponse to your request to come and visit withme nor to give you a report of the audience withthe Pope. Bad news always travels fast. It isnow eight days since I spoke with the HolyFather concerning your pious Institute. I regretthat I have to tell you that he is badly informedand that two things deserve particular atten-tion. The first thing is that if Pius VIII mayhave handled this situation with good humor,Gregory XVI is seriously disturbed about it. Thesecond thing is that he assured me that washow Leo XII looked upon this, and I mustbelieve this. So, this would be the third Pope ina row who has been unfavorable. This would bea source of great disturbance to me if theInstitute were mine. He is opposed to the verybasis for the Institute. He looks upon the oneswho constitute its membership as ignorant andperhaps views the conduct of one or the other ascensurable. He is not interested in any discus-sion at all about its rules. I would not considerit a good idea now to request an audience for


you nor to leave for him the brief and the tworequests that I am returning to you. Since theHoly Father gave me a task which I cannotreveal to you, maybe something good can resultfrom it. This might well be a last hope, afterwhich, if another shipwreck occurs, one mighthave to set the whole idea aside as insupport-able. More about this in person, after you com-plete your retreat.72

Don Camillo Rossi—and he is not alone in this—interpreted the “seriously disturbed” found in the letterof Odescalchi as indicating the intention of the pope tosuppress the Institute.73

In addition to Cardinals Falzacappa and Odescalchi,St. Gaspar also turned to Cardinal Giovanni FilippoFransoni [cardinal vicar of Rome], asking that he pres-ent to Gregory XVI or to the Congregation of Bishopsand Regulars [ “Regulars” are thosewho follow a rule, i.e., members of religious congrega-tions.] a petition for the revision of the rules of hisInstitute, but Fransoni did not believe it opportune topresent the petition. Here is the text of the depositionmade by Fransoni on April 24, 1844 in the

for the beatification of Gaspar:The Congregation of Missionaries of the MostPrecious Blood, during the life of Canon DelBufalo, never had formal apostolic approval,even though he had requested this and had rec-ommended that I present it to his Holiness OurLord Gregory XVI or to the SacredCongregation of Bishops and Regulars. I did notjudge it opportune to present the petition,because the title of Most Precious Bloodappeared to be displeasing to the Holy Fatherand because, in various remarks made in audi-ence about those Missionaries, he showed thathe had a bias against their competence: the


Holy Father told me that they were a crowd ofignorant people.

I have guarded jealously the petition that theServant of God [Gaspar] gave me for this pur-pose, and it concludes with the following: ‘Mostblessed Father, the Missionaries inscribed inthe Archconfraternity of the Most PreciousBlood of our Lord Jesus Christ, prostrate at theThrone of Your Beatitude, humbly ask that therevision of their rules be sent to theCongregation of Bishops and Regulars.Although these rules come from the same rulesof Canon Law and from the wisdom of theRoman Pontiffs Pius VII and Leo XII, in anycase they would fervently desire the pledge ofbeneficence and good will ( ) on the partof Your Holiness. . . .’74

Such negative feelings toward the Congregation ofMissionaries of the Most Precious Blood in the heart ofGregory XVI were not new; he had been nursing themfor a long time. During the canonical processes Bettispoke of these negative feelings on the part of the pope:

The present Supreme Pontiff Gregory XVI, atthat time the Most Reverend Cappellari, in avisit he made to San Gregorio for the commis-sion of Canon Del Bufalo . . . made me aware ofhis lack of esteem for the Institute; and

he shared that he did not approve of thetitle of Most Precious Blood, and had to saymuch about this, even though with all duerespect I would try to put forth the reasons forkeeping it.75

Nevertheless even Gregory XVI, after getting a bet-ter understanding of the facts, changed his mind, so thaton October 15, 1831 he made a visit to the house inAlbano76 and it was he who later approved the


Congregation of Missionaries in 1841, but four yearsafter the death of St. Gaspar!77

Merlini notes that Gaspar, in writing to Sr. MariaGiuseppa Pitorri, discussing the devotion to the MostPrecious Blood, told her “that it seemed to him thatJesus had spoken to him that as he had shed his Bloodamidst sufferings, thus amidst sufferings the glories [ofthe Blood] were to be spread.”78

This testimony resonates with the whole of Gaspar’slife, but it reaches its high point in the events which wehave referred to in this section.

From these events, it is evident that Gaspar’s con-tributions to the modern history of devotion to the MostPrecious Blood are outstanding, because, in defendingthe title of his Institute, he protected the cult of theDivine Blood from the Jansenist zeal of persons who hadeasy access even to the Apostolic Palace.

Gaspar wanted to give his Congregation a welldefined physiognomy. This consisted not only in itsjuridical organization and in the choice of apostolicworks (missions, retreats, and “works of perseverance,”that is, the devotions, associations, evening oratories,etc., aimed at keeping alive the fruits of the retreat ormission) that are the substance for revitalizing theChurch, but also in the cult of the Divine Blood, whichanimates the spiritual formation and the apostolate ofthe members.

Thus in the approved later by Gregory XVI in1841, he established that the Missionaries “from themoment which they serve (in the Church) under thestandard and in the name of the Most Precious Blood ofOur Lord Jesus Christ, have nothing more at heart thanto offer [that Blood] the worship it deserves and tospread that devotion everywhere; from this wellspring infact came the abundance of all graces.”79 Every member


who embraced the Institute consecrated himself to thismission: “to enter together with others in the commit-ment to propagate in a special way the great Devotion tothe Most Precious Blood, and to apply its merits (

) tirelessly with preaching, and with the administra-tion of the Sacrament of Penance to Souls.”80

Thus Gaspar writes to his Missionaries in thefor the retreat in 1834:

As the Lord never fails to support every crea-ture in its needs, so he offers us the Red Sea, asymbol and type of the mysteries of his PreciousBlood. It is in that Blood that we find provisionsfor our welfare. The mystical soil of souls, aridbecause of sin, is cultivated and watered. A wayis prepared for the sinner by which he may goout of Egypt, image of this wicked and desert-like world. To the penitent person, as well as tothose souls burning with love for Jesus, he givesa spur, an incentive even to become ship-wrecked in that mystic sea, thus spelling outanother victory for the bountiful and divineRedeemer of all.81

In order for this to run truly well, Gaspar made hisMissionaries understand—through exhortations, advice,and aids of all kinds—the need to nurture a great devo-tion to the Precious Blood, that mystical force of theirsanctification and their apostolate.

Union with Jesus Christ is the goal to which westrive. This union consists in perfect, true, andpure love: therefore to love Jesus Christ. To lovehim 1) because he is our Father—we are sons ofhis Blood 2) out of gratitude: how much has hedone for us? . . . 3) He does more for a Priest, ele-vated to the sublime dignity: to bring God to theworld, to sacrifice to the Heavenly Father, toforgive sins, to preach the gospel to the people


. . . 4) As members of the Congregation of theMost Precious Blood, then, we must preach thelove for Jesus Christ to others; but one who iscold does not bring warmth to others. Therefore,devotion to the Most Precious Blood will be themost secure way to reach the love of JesusChrist.82

When his Missionaries were engaged in ministry, hefound a way of reawakening in their hearts the idealthey had embraced, using a little note.

To Don Pietro Torsani he sends a word of praise andencouragement:

I give thanks to God for the zeal that you showfor our devotion . . . Oh what a grace of God it is,my dearest in the Lord, to render service to theglory of Jesus Crucified. He gave himself entire-ly for us, and we must give ourselves entirely tohim. We are irrevocably his. But he is the

‘bundle of myrrh.’ But, do we losecourage because of that? No. Read all the restthat lies in my heart.83

In the same way he writes a lay collaborator: “I givethanks to God for the concern that you nourish in pro-moting the glories of the Divine Blood and I hope thatabundant blessings will be your reward (to GiovanniPalmucci of Offida, July 31, 1828).”84 To a diocesanpriest: “Joyfully did I note the concern you have shownin increasing the number of the adorers of the DivineBlood. Oh how many blessings you will receive from theLord! To a diocesan priest, Don Ferdinando Giglozzi ofFonta Liri (July 4, 1825).”85

The Missionaries must not fear the battles that thedemon puts up as obstacles to their apostolate. He worksto take away from their clutches the souls redeemed bythe Blood of Christ; the devil becomes “angry”86 and forhis part “The devil does everything in his power to keep


Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood far away.”

‘They (in particular) conquered thedragon because of the Blood of the Lamb’ [Rv 12: 11].87

In the Blood of Christ the Missionaries will find thesupport for bearing their crosses and the reward of theirapostolate.

Spreading the devotion to the Most Precious Bloodin the specific apostolate of the ministry of the word canbe said to be the task Gaspar gave to his Missionariesduring his life, and entrusted to them as a precious giftafter his death, in order that everyone might hear theinvitation of divine love coming from the Blood of Jesus.

Vincent Pallotti, in this testimony in the canonicalprocesses, describes this solemn handing on not as aword barely murmured but as a trumpet blast thatwould sound throughout the world:

[Gaspar] was the man particularly chosen andenriched with the needed and opportune natu-ral and supernatural gifts from God to be theheaven-like trumpet of the gospel in the Churchat this time, capable of illuminating the peoplethrough his preaching the divine values of theMost Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Hepreached this so fully as to sufficiently arousehearts to a love of Jesus who with infinite lovepoured out all of his Most Precious Blood forus.88

Pallotti goes on to say later that Gaspar was chosento be the founder of the Congregation of Missionaries

who in their daily, monthly and annual occupa-tions, giving Missions and Retreats, preach theinfinite treasures of the Most Precious Blood,thus continuing to be in the Church of God somany more trumpets of paradise to destroy inthe hearts of sinners all earthly affections . . .89

The Missionaries of the Precious Blood came intobeing soon after the time of Gaspar’s exile, as he wroteto Leo XII on July 29, 1825.1 The plan to found theSisters of the Most Precious Blood was also born duringthe exile, in Bologna, to be precise.

We know that in 1811, while Albertini and Gasparwere together in Bologna, they were guests of theCountesses Marianna Spada Bentivoglio and CaterinaBentivoglio Orsi, her daughter.2 Albertini, who had beenchosen by Catherine as her spiritual director, saw in herand revealed to her that God was calling her to found aninstitute of sisters, who would be called the

‘Daughters of the Most PreciousBlood.’ They were to be dedicated to the care of the sickin hospitals and in homes.3 On November 29, 1812,while Albertini found himself in Corsica in the harshprisons of Bastia, Bentivoglio began writing the

,4 in line withthe directions she had received from Albertini during hisstay in Bologna and also in light of the experience ofservice to the sick in hospitals that she had at that time.5

When Albertini was freed from prison in Corsica inMay 1814 he passed through Bologna before returning


to Rome. There he communicated to Bentivoglio that hehad changed his mind about the apostolate of theDaughters of the Most Precious Blood: they were to bean institute of contemplative life. Finally, afterAlbertini’s death in Terracina on November 24, 1819,Bentivoglio came to know, by means of the

that were sent to her from Rome, that theInstitute of the Daughters of the Most Precious Bloodwould be dedicated to the secular and religious educa-tion of women. Thus, in a letter of November 20, 1820, toMons. Gian Francesco Falzacappa (1767–1840), the per-son whom Albertini asked to assist Bentivoglio in thefounding of the institute, she describes the variouschanges in the activities of the institute:

In the rule I wrote when Father [Albertini] () was in Corsica6 . . . everything is there,

because ‘these rules carried the obligation ofserving the sick in hospitals [and] at home,’ as Itold you, but I believed that the institute wasfor education and less aimed at the cloister. Ibecame aware of the latter [the cloister] uponhis return from exile and the part aboutEducation I determined from the papers theysent me after his death . . .7

The papers sent from Rome after the death ofAlbertini that Bentivoglio is speaking of are the

‘Fundamental Articles on whichwill be based the new Institute of [Sisters] Devoted tothe Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ com-posed by Albertini after he was nominated bishop ofTerracina, Sezze, and Priverno, in 1819. According tothe prescriptions of these Bentivoglio was to found the Institute of the Daughtersof the Most Precious Blood.

153SISTERS OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

In May 1820 Bentivoglio was called to Rome togeth-er with three other companions to begin the work.Unfortunately, and notwithstanding the variousattempts made (in the Monastery of the Oblates of St.Philip Neri in the Monti district, the Monastery ofDivine Love near the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore,and finally in Frosinone, in the school of Maria TeresaSpinelli, future foundress of the Augustinian Sisters ofJesus and Mary), Bentivoglio could not establish theInstitute of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood andshe died on July 9, 1826.

Mons. Falzacappa, who had the responsibility foraiding Bentivoglio in the founding of the sisters, was cre-ated cardinal and bishop of Ancona in 1823 and later,under Pius VIII, bishop of Albano. Despite his good will,he was not able to help Bentivoglio realize the workwhile she was alive.

In this situation Gaspar was not able to be person-ally involved in the founding of the Institute of theSisters of the Most Precious Blood, even telling Merlinithat this foundation was not his affair.8 He placedMerlini in charge of revising the of 1821–22, writ-ten by Bentivoglio in collaboration with others and inconformity with the provisions of .At the same time, Gaspar always felt a lively desire tofound such an institute, out of respect for Albertini. Forthis reason he committed himself to collaborate energet-ically to this end with Falzacappa. This interest ofGaspar, always subordinated to the decisions ofFalzacappa, we gather from the letters he wrote to bothBentivoglio and Falzacappa, which were found inTarquinia in 1997 in the archive of the

9

Toward the end of 1820 Gaspar had Falzacappapresent a plan already drawn up by Albertini to Pope


Pius VII. This plan for reforming the Church called foropening religious houses under the protection (

) of the Most Precious Blood in every diocesefor the human and Christian education of women bymeans of a school and spiritual exercises. The idealwould be to start this work in Rome, “the center ofCatholicism,” and looking at “one of the languishingmonasteries for this tender plant, which, grown to theglory of God, would extend its branches for the Reform ofthe people.”10 In the to Pius VII Gasparhad stated that “already since the exile there is no lackof persons to put [this plan] into action”11 and thatamong those to be included were the niece of Albertini,Maria Giuseppa Pitorri,12 and his own sister-in-lawPaolina Castellini and her daughter Luigia del Bufalo.13

In his zealous enthusiasm St. Gaspar suggested toFalzacappa the names of some Roman monasteries suit-able to be given over for the beginning of the work14 andmade it known that he knew other persons ready to col-laborate with those already designated by Albertini.15

In addition, St. Gaspar had committed himself tohelping Bentivoglio in compiling the of 1821, as wehave already indicated above.16 These revisions had torespect the provisions given by Albertini in the

, according to which the aim of theInstitute of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood was:

. . . to obtain with wholehearted commitmentthat the Blood of eternal life, the price of ourRedemption, not be shed in vain, but that eachmight take advantage of it for his/her own sal-vation. But since a most efficacious means toadd to such an aim is a good civil, Christian,and spiritual education, this will be the princi-pal aim of the new Pious Institute (articles1–2).17

Writing to Falzacappa on November 1, 1820, Gaspartells him:


My dear Monsignor, I do not let pass a favorableopportunity for this purpose, always working inthe silence that is the soul of pious institutions.I have already written to the Bishop of Narni[Antonio Maria Borghi] to have the constitu-tions of which I spoke to you . . . I have alreadyindicated to the Countess, that my sister-in-lawwill enter. In the matter of

, after long prayers, they can from time totime sit down at the desk and note down what-ever God will inspire. Also you may confirm inwriting if there was any agreement (

).18

At the end of February 1821 the first draft of thewas ready. There was a great deal of work to be

done on these to bring them in conformity with theprovisions of the of Albertini aswell as with the Rules of the Oblates of St. Philip Neriand later with those of the Monastery of Divine Love.This was a project that lasted from the middle of 1820through the fall of 1822.

Prior to going to Frosinone with the teacher MariaTeresa Spinelli for a third attempt at founding the sis-ters, Bentivoglio sent ahead the aforementioned toSpinelli, in order to acquaint her with the spirit andapostolic activity of the institute she intended to found.19

It seems that Gaspar had given these to Merlini sothat he could polish them, bringing them into conformi-ty with the provisions of the ofAlbertini and assimilating them “to our methods,” thatis to the of the Missionaries of the Most PreciousBlood, “given that they are of the same spirit”( ).20

In the same way, Gaspar collaborated withFalzacappa in 1825, when Bentivoglio proposed the pos-sibility of going to Terracina to start the Institute of theSisters of the Most Precious Blood in the work begun inthis city by Don Luigi Locatelli.21


As long as Bentivoglio was alive, St. Gaspar, eventhough he was aware that the founding of the Instituteof the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood was not his“affair,” as we have previous noted, nevertheless soughtout and assisted various priest friends and pious womento establish the Institute of the Sisters of the Blood ofChrist in various dioceses according to Albertini’s plan.There were several attempts at such foundations.

Before examining those attempts supported by St.Gaspar, we should respond to the following questions:Why so many foundations of sisters, in various dioceses?Moreover, why were the foundations entrusted to

, good and zealous, but not to his Missionaries,as will be the case after 1830?

We find the response to these questions in the which Gaspar had Falzacappa present to Pius

VII at the end of 1820, as noted above. We found theresponse repeated in an explicit way in some materialwhich Gaspar formulated for Leo XII and sent to Mons.Cristaldi in 1825. In these documents Gaspar points outnot only the areas in which it was necessary to work fora true reform of the Church, but he also suggested someappropriate remedies. In the material regarding “ ,”St. Gaspar proposes that each diocese have an institutefor educating girls, according to the directives of the

Every diocese should have at least one institutefor the education of girls; wherever that is lack-ing, the late Monsignor Albertini has laid downbasic procedures by which, with little difficulty,an organization can be set up, under the title ofAdorers of the Divine Blood, so that every girlwill recall the price of our redemption and theconcern that we all must have for our eternal


salvation (

).22

These various foundations, then, according to theplan formulated in the so-called to PiusVII, were to come together in the foundation whichBentivoglio was supposed to establish under the guid-ance of Cardinal Gian Francesco Falzacappa.

With this goal in mind, St. Gaspar sought to pressfor various foundations, entrusting them to zealousdiocesan priests, although in the early years, given hisposition, he would have had to watch over the effortmore attentively. He did not obligate his Missionariesand himself, whether for reasons of the distance fromthe ministry or to avoid further gossip about theCongregation, which was under harsh attacks particu-larly from the time when Gaspar was given the task ofovercoming brigandage in the Province of Marittima andCampagna, from October 1821 to about 1830.23

We can infer this from the testimony of Don BiagioValentini, successor of St. Gaspar in governing theCongregation and his spiritual director after the deathof Albertini:

At the beginning of his ministry, the Servant ofGod, for prudential reasons, showed that he wasagainst setting up those foundations of teachersunder the title of the Most Precious Blood

because his main interestwas the implantation, the establishment andthe perfecting of his Institute of missionaries.During the later years of his life, in seeing thathis Institute of missionaries was progressing inits membership as a result of his labors, he feltbetter disposed to set the other Institute ofwomen teachers in motion through the


cooperation of Fr. Giovanni Merlini and me.This was blessed by God . . .24

This task was given to Valentini and Merlini in 1830 aswe will see.

Here are the various attempts at foundations thatwere promoted by St. Gaspar, which we know from hisletters and from other sources.25

The foundation at Offida, in the province of AscoliPiceno, goes back to 1821, the year in which St. Gasparpreached a mission in this town.26

In a letter of October 13, 1821, to Sig. GiovanniFrancesco Palmucci, he writes: “A thousand greetings tothe Adorers of the Blood of Jesus Christ. Oh what agrand title! Oh what a beautiful boast for Offida!”27 Thisis a sign, therefore, that the foundation of Offida goesback to 1821 and that it enjoys the “beautiful boast” ofbeing the first of these foundations!

Offida lent itself well to an institution like this,because in the Church of St. Augustine an importantrelic of the Most Precious Blood from a Eucharistic mir-acle that had taken place at Lanciano in 1273 was stillbeing venerated. In his letters Gaspar writes: “With ten-derness, I recall the Mission I conducted there, especial-ly the procession with the holy relic.”28 He exclaims: “Oh,what beautiful days I spent in Offida!”29 He would haveliked to establish a mission house in that town to keepthe devotion to the Precious Blood alive, but the effortscame to nothing.30 He did, however, establish all of theusual works that he was accustomed to leave after com-pleting the missions, entrusting them to zealous priests.

When he had to propose the founding of the Adorersof the Most Precious Blood in the city or town of somepriest, he would readily point to the Adorers of Offida,also making clear the purpose of these foundations. In aletter that St. Gaspar wrote from Frosinone on April 11,


1824, to Don Ferdinando Angelici, his dear friend inSantanatolia (today Esantoglia in the Province ofMacerata), pointing out the example of the Adorers ofOffida, he makes him aware of the apostolic activity ofthe sisters and of his intense desire to expand such foun-dations:

. . . in Offida, there are individuals who havejoined together and have set up a certain type offoundation and taken on this title [of Adorers ofthe Most Precious Blood]. The substantialnotion for the institute is that of public educa-tion, for girls and women by means of retreats.But this good work could be initiated only grad-ually. Canon Tarulli is also familiar with thattype of institute. If necessary, send your lettersto me in Rome. I shall make every effort to be ashelpful as I can. I am not, however, knowledge-able about the temporal bases, the hereditaryrights. The reverend Vicar could advise aboutthat subject. After a novena to St. FrancisXavier, he will be able to begin by giving impe-tus to this important program for the greaterglory of God and tending toward the care forsouls. Miserable thing that I am, I shall notcease praying and have others pray.31

In another letter to Don Ferdinando Angelici ofMarch 12, 1825 he writes: “I will not fail to pray that theLord will bless the holy desires of the Alberici Adorers ofthe Divine Blood. May Jesus protect them in the grandwork that they have planned.”32

All of these foundations, then, were to be modeled onthe of Albertini.

The previously cited letter to Angelici of April 11,1824 paves the way for speaking of another foundation.In the letter St. Gaspar writes: “Canon Tarulli is alsofamiliar with ( ) that type of institute.”33


In the letter of April 11, 1824 St. Gaspar namesCanon Adriano M. Tarulli, who was from Matelica, inthe Province of Macerata. Thus, if he was “familiar withthat type of institute,” it means that quite probably somefoundation of Sisters [of the Precious Blood] had beenrealized in this city.

We found a certain confirmation of this suppositionin examining the witness for the of St.Gaspar. The same Canon Tarulli, telling of the way inwhich he came to know St. Gaspar, says:

In May 1818, when the Venerable Canon DelBufalo had gone to Matelica, my home town, toengage in the apostolic ministry of the MostHoly Missions . . . , I had occasion to associatewith him daily . . . In September of the sameyear . . .

. I heard a cryof young people on the street. I went to the win-dow and was told that Canon Del Bufalo withsome other companions was passing throughMatelica, in order to reach the Mission ofCerreto . . .34

From this deposition and from the letter of St.Gaspar one deduces that a pious woman of Matelica cer-tainly established a school for girls there and that thisschool, likely started in Matelica proper, was truly afoundation of the Institute of the Adorers of the MostPrecious Blood that was realized between 1818 and1824. In fact, St. Gaspar, in a letter to Tarulli datedDecember 25, 1820, writes thus: “As for the young ladythat you have directed and who wishes to become a nun,would you not consider her fit to join the new institutethat you are acquainted with?”35 In another letter ofSeptember 5, 1821, he further defines the project,including it in that of Bentivoglio:


The idea of a foundation is a holy one, and to myfullest satisfaction in God. I presume that thepious person will be able to dispose of the estate.The foundation could be started whenever onewishes. The bishop of Camerino [Mons. NicolaMattei Baldini] is fully behind such an institu-tion in general, since we have discussed settingup one in Camerino. I would begin it on a smallscale, and, when things begin to develop, Iwould have two of those selected according tothe spirit of the organization to come fromRome. The mother can remain with her daugh-ter, and in this there would be no obstacle. Letme know with greater precision how manycould be supported on the present endowment.Later on, God will provide. I would begin theorganization with the two from Rome, but withthe principal foundress from that area. I wouldcheck out the articles in the first section. Therewill be furniture.

So, nothing more remains to be done exceptfor you to have a meeting with the Archbishop,whom I will inform beforehand, and then moredetails ‘for another time.’ Perhaps itwill be necessary to support the two from Romesince they will be taken from another communi-ty. Let us develop everything by the use ofprayer. In matters such as these,

‘it is good to wait insilence’ [Lam 3: 26]. Include in your calculationsalso the support of relatives concerning whom Ihave no clear information. May Jesus be with usand may his grace abound in our hearts.Amen.36

On October 13, 1821, St. Gaspar recommended thatTarulli start a foundation of sisters in Pievetorina:


Look after the beginning of the foundation inPievetorina, by adhering to the articles now asthough in school. In Offida, they have obtainedthe longed for title. ‘Pray,entreat, be steadfast.’ Tell me what I should dowith the novice’s documents.37

In the previously cited letter of April 11, 1824, toDon Ferdinando Angelici, Gaspar writes thus of the pro-posal for an institute of Sisters of the Most PreciousBlood in Santanatolia, present day Esantoglia, in theProvince of Macerata:

Vicar Buscalfemi’s project is not to be dis-dained, and they could activate an institute ofAdorers of the Divine Blood observing those reg-ulations that might be revived so that the basicidea is not mistaken. Even in Offida, there areindividuals who have joined together and haveset up a certain type of foundation and taken onthis title. The substantial notion for the insti-tute is that of public education, for girls andwomen by means of retreats. But this good workcould be initiated only gradually. Canon Tarulliis also in agreement with that type of institute.If necessary, send your letters to me in Rome. Ishall make every effort to be as helpful as Ican.38

The institution of Santanatolia, nevertheless, couldnot be realized. In 1830 St. Maria De Mattias makesmention of this in one of her letters:

I believed that the school in this town[Santanatolia] was very necessary, all the morebecause our Founder, Canon Del Bufalo, spokeof this from 183039 with these Ladies, andordered it begun immediately, and they beganto offer school to some girls in this town.40


In a long letter to Mons. Paolo Trucchi, written onon May 17, 1850, St. Maria De Mattias makes himaware of another attempt at a foundation in Morino, inthe vicinity of Avezzano.

Mons. Trucchi had rebuked Maria, because she hadit in her head to found some houses. The saint respond-ed that

I had never wanted to be involved in openingthe schools, nor to seek them on my own, but toaccept those that were offered either by theBishop or by the Comune, not out of my owninterest or vanity, but for the salvation of soulsfor Jesus.41

She goes on to cite the case of Morino, where, with thepermission of Mons. Vincenzo Annovazzi, Bishop ofAnagni, she went to open a school in November 1841, atthe invitation of the pastor in the name of the bishop ofSora and of the Comune [of Sora].

After a few years the new bishop of Anagni, Mons.Pier Paolo Turchi, issued “a decree to close this school.”Maria goes on to say:

The pastor had received word to execute thisorder, but he immediately [sent] a letter to theeminent bishop, very resentful in tone, sayingthat if the current Teacher ( ) isrecalled, he would have to send some others,under the same title of the Most Precious Blood,because that school was built for that purposeat the advice of the late Canon Del Bufalo.42

According to this testimony, the foundation inMorino did not take place prior to the attempt of DeMattias. Nevertheless, it reveals to us the tireless con-cern of St. Gaspar to spread this institute in variousplaces. To whoever asked him for prayers that the Lordmight help some girl discover her vocation, Gaspar


would respond: “With regard to the soul, etc., etc., mis-erable thing that I am, I shall continue to pray. Whoknows whether God is not reserving her for the Instituteof the Sisters Adorers of the Divine Blood?” Thus Gasparwrote to D. Pietro Butti, canon of Alatri, from San Felicedi Giano on January 20, 1826.43

As noted previously, Cardinal Falzacappa withdrewhis commitment to guide the Countess CaterinaBentivoglio Orsi in the founding of the Adorers of theMost Precious Blood and the countess died on July 9,1826. Around 1830, after the opposition to theCongregation of the Missionaries of the Most PreciousBlood came to an end, St. Gaspar entrusted Don BiagioValentini and Don Giovanni Merlini, two of his mosteffective Missionaries, with the task of working towardthe founding of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood.Valentini is linked to the foundation of the Adorers ofthe Most Precious Blood in Patrica (Frosinone) and


Merlini to the foundation of the Adorers of the MostPrecious Blood of Acuto (Frosinone).

44

We begin with a selection from a memorandum( ) of the archpriest of Patrica, Don GiacomoPilotti, which gives us some information on the origin ofthe foundation in Patrica.45

The foundation in the area [Patrica] dates fromthe end of 1832 with the establishment of aPious Conservatory ( ) whichbegan nearby.

A certain Clementina Giorgi of Ferentinocame around that time to become a

, and she joined with a certain BrigidaContenta, an honest spinster of Patrica, whohad received an inheritance from a relative ofhers, and they informed Archpriest GiacomoPilotti of their desire to form a Conservatory of

In this union they could serve theLord better by the (

), at the same time applying them-selves to the public instruction of girls there andin other places of the Diocese, according to thejudgment of the Ordinary and if the number of

would increase. The Archpriest waswell aware of the great advantages that couldredound to civil and Christian society by thePious Establishment and gave his full consentto the project and, trusting in divine assistance,aided the Work. In a short time a house withattached garden was acquired.This narrative of the zealous archpriest, also a mar-

tyr of the Napoleonic persecution, is incomplete in sev-eral aspects.

In the first place, from his account it is not clear whowas the real foundress, while it is certain that Brigida


Contenta deserves the title. It was she who wanted thefoundation and made it possible with her inheritance.Beyond that, in the “Chronicle of the Mission House ofPatrica” edited by Don Angelo Mordenti, Missionary ofthe Precious Blood, we have found explicit mention thatthe were founded “in Patrica by means of

, who was joined by the threeAlderisio sisters and others from the town and neigh-boring region.”46 Finally, some notes regarding thehouse in Patrica, inserted after the selection of Pilottiwhich we have reproduced, state explicitly that onFebruary 18, 1850, Maestra Brigida Contenta,

, died and was buried in the Church of SanRocco.

From the quotation of Pilotti we do not have theexact title of the “Pious Establishment” of Sisters, whilefrom the “Chronicle” of Mordenti and the older traditionof Patrica we have certain knowledge that it had thetitle of “Most Precious Blood.”

This title leads us to suspect that St. Gaspar or atleast some Missionary of the Precious Blood had to beinvolved at the origin of the foundation. There is no men-tion of this in the memorandum of Pilotti. The suspicionbecomes a certainty, because we have found, in a noticeregarding the Pious Conservatory of Patrica, that at thedeath of Contenta she willed her entire inheritance tothe or, if these had been suppressed, to theMissionaries of the Most Precious Blood, or absent these,to the Sisters Adorers of Acuto.47 (We note in passingthat the Missionaries had not opened a house in Patricawhile Contenta was living, but had ministered theremany times, spreading the devotion to the Most PreciousBlood. The disposition of the foundress, therefore, wasintended to facilitate the establishment of the missionhouse in this town.) Why this interest in theMissionaries, we ask, if they were not involved in thefoundation of the of Patrica? Why, then, wasthere such pressure from D. Biagio Valentini, in


agreement with the archpriest Pilotti, to foster the unionwith the Sisters of De Mattias?48

The answer to these and other queries can be givenonly if we admit the presence of the Missionaries at theorigins of this institution. Justifiably, then, theMissionary D. Francesco Gargari testifies in the canoni-cal processes of beatification of Merlini that “theVenerable Del Bufalo together with D. Biagio Valentini,now deceased, founded a house of these Sisters Adorersin Patrica, Diocese of Ferentino.”49

Among the various attempts at establishing theSisters of the Most Precious Blood, the institute foundedby St. Maria De Mattias was blessed with vitality andpermanence.

Divine providence had already begun to prepare thecornerstone of the new institute in a region where brig-andage was freely spilling the blood of revenge and ofcruelty: in Vallecorsa, a town of the Ciociaria, in theprovince of Frosinone.

It was here in March of 1822 that Gaspar and hiscompanions were called to overcome the brigands withthe word of God by the preaching of a mission, accordingto the provisions of

‘The project of religiousand moral culture for the Delegation of Frosinone,’50

approved by Pius VII on October 8, 1821. A regular par-ticipant in the functions of the missions was Maria DeMattias (born February 4, 1805), a seventeen-year-oldgirl who “for about three months . . . had given herselfcompletely to God.”51 Gaspar, having gone up “on theplatform, seemed to Maria to be directing a penetratinglook at her, pointing out to her the crucifix he had in hishand.”52 This encounter with the gaze of Gaspar arouseda burning desire ( ) for the same ideal inthe heart of the young woman. In fact Merlini, later herspiritual director, writes: “Reflecting on the great good


that the Venerable [Gaspar] had promoted with the HolyMission, [Maria] conceived a great desire to imitate him,working for the salvation of souls as well as she knewhow and was able to.”53

In 1824 Gaspar sent Don Giovanni Merlini toVallecorsa for Lenten preaching. Maria, after abouttwenty days of spiritual anxiety, revealed her soul tohim and asked him to be her spiritual director. Merlinidirected Maria from 1824 to 1866, the year of her death,after obtaining permission from his own director, St.Gaspar. This permission was also reaffirmed later on,when St. Gaspar forbade Merlini to take on more spiri-tual direction because, in his position as secretary gen-eral, he was very much occupied with the affairs of theCongregation. Gaspar nonetheless permitted Merlini tocontinue spiritual direction with Maria.54

Under Merlini’s direction and through contact withthe Missionaries of the Precious Blood who had beenestablished in Vallecorsa, the heart of Maria opened tothe devotion to the Divine Blood, whose seeds, moreover,were noted in the spirituality of her early years.55

Spurred on by the Blood of Christ, the desire for perfec-tion and apostolic zeal continued to grow in her. Thus


writes Merlini: “. . . she wanted to live totally withdrawnfrom the world, and she contemplated entering somemonastery, but as a lay sister, to spend her daysunknown and neglected.”56 In fact, at the request of herfather, Giovanni De Mattias, St. Gaspar sought amonastery for his daughters,57 until in August 1827Maria, after a period of discernment,58 joined theTrinitarian Sisters, who had opened a school for girls inVallecorsa. Unfortunately, her stay with these religiouslasted a short time because, after the death of her sisterVincenza on January 21, 1829, Maria had to return toher family. Merlini writes in the : “In 1829[Maria] lost her sister and soon would lose her mother[who died on September 1, 1830] and had to devote her-self to running the house.”59

After leaving the Trinitarians, Maria had a person-al meeting with St. Gaspar, the only one in her lifetime,to seek counsel on her vocation. She herself tells us thisin a letter to Merlini written on August 12, 1847. Shewrites:

One time I was fortunate to speak with theServant of God [Gaspar] to receive advice on myvocation. He advised me not to go to othermonasteries,60 telling me that I could becomeholy in any place. He told me to learn the Officeof the Blessed Virgin and to study Fr.Rodríguez. Thinking back on these words, itseems that the good Father wanted to make meready for this Work.61

This meeting took place in the middle of May 1830.62

Certainly it is in August 1830 that Maria shows herselfwilling to go to Norcia as a at the school forgirls there, responding to the request that Mons.Gaetano Bonanni made to St. Gaspar, because Bonannifound in him a person suitable for this task. Gaspardared to ask the father of Maria, Giovanni, to willinglygive up his daughter to the Lord, assuring him “that he


would have great merit in Paradise for doing this.”63 “MyFather”—Maria writes—“cried very much, but he madehis sacrifice willingly.”64 Even though everything wasready for Norcia and in April 1831 a detailed itineraryfor the trip to this city had been prepared according tothe various stages meticulously described to Mattias byMerlini,65 the journey and the proposal to found theInstitute of Adorers of the Most Precious Blood were puton hold because of the revolutionary movements in cen-tral Italy in 1831.66

After the failed attempt in Norcia there was anopportunity for a school in Acuto. On March 4, 1834Maria arrived in Acuto, with “the desired and expectedblessing” of Gaspar, “who had told her to go with courageand trust in God, because everything would turn outwell.”67 She came there “not only to open a school, but tofound a Monastery as well”68 “under the title of the MostPrecious Blood.”69

Thus the seed God planted through Gaspar in thefertile soil of the heart of Maria in 1822 bloomed andmatured under the wise guidance of Merlini and, with


the ongoing collaboration of Maria, brought forth abun-dant fruit and luxurious growth after the death of St.Gaspar.

We have recounted this chapter only to shed light onthe action undertaken by St. Gaspar to give to theChurch, by means of St. Maria De Mattias andVenerable Giovanni Merlini, a congregation of womendedicated to the Blood of Jesus: the Adorers of the MostPrecious Blood.

The Missionaries and the Adorers of the MostPrecious Blood are like two beats of the same heart. Thetruth of this image of life is the communion of ideals forwhich they work in the Church: to become holy (throughadoration) and to make others holy (through mission)with faith in the Precious Blood which Jesus shed for thesalvation of all. That is to say, that they announce theGospel of the Blood of Christ and give witness to it bytheir lives.

This is the end that St. Gaspar wished for and whichhe defended with the greatest sacrifice. It is the endachieved by St. Maria De Mattias, whom one can con-sider the loveliest fruit cultivated and harvested byGaspar and by his Missionaries.1 And this is their spe-cific mission in the field of the Lord, as Blessed JohnXXIII reminded the Missionaries, the Sisters, and thelaity of the Pious Union of the Most Precious Blood inthe audience granted them on June 2, 1962: “Behold, mydear sons and daughters, the meaning of your presencein the Church, the tenor ( ) that your service in thewomb of the Church must assume: to spread the devo-tion to the Most Precious Blood . . .”2

The value of this specific apostolate, begun byGaspar in the womb of the Church, reaches unexpectedfrontiers of space and time. From his heart comes a pro-cession of apostles, who go into the world holding the


chalice of salvation in their hands. In fact, Gaspar sawthis and rejoiced in it:

In my mind’s eye, at times, I see a multitude ofworkers who are gradually making their waythroughout the entire earth with the holy chal-ice of Redemption, offering to the Divine Fatherthe Divine Blood: ‘making peace through the Blood’ [Col 1: 20];and, at the same time applying it to souls:

, etc. ‘justified in theBlood’ [Rom 5: 9]. While there are many whowill be giving abuse to the price of ourRedemption: . . . . ‘What profit is there in my Blood’ [Ps 30: 9],there will also be a huge army of souls who,with solemn worship, will be seeking to makecompensation for the many wrongs that Jesusreceives . . .3

The standard-bearer of this procession of apostlesand adorers of the Divine Blood is St. Gaspar del Bufalo.Blessed John XXIII justifiably linked the name of St.Gaspar to the devotion to the Most Precious Blood in hisapostolic letter , just as St. Bernardine ofSiena is associated with the devotion to the Name ofJesus and that of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque is associ-ated with devotion to the Sacred Heart.4

* * * * *

In this work we have accompanied St. Gaspar in hisformation and his mission as Apostle of the MostPrecious Blood and we pause to admire Gaspar’s quali-ties as one who adored the Divine Blood and who spreadits devotion.

We will do this through the eyes of those who livedwith him and we add some additional testimony found inthe canonical processes for beatification and canoniza-tion.

175CONCLUSION

Don Beniamino Romani, who for many years had“the opportunity to work with and talk with”5 Gaspar,asserts “with full conviction that . . . such devotion to theprice of redemption [in him] was constantly tender,strong, and operative, and one can say that it surpassedthat of all others he knew, thus . . . he was the

of [the devotion].”6

The Missionary Don Luigi Mosconi adds that byGaspar’s work, “I know that [the devotion] was spreadand propagated.”7

Don Ferdinando Angelici confirms these claims withthe results achieved in the Marches, comparing the stateof the devotion before and after Gaspar’s apostolic work:

I . . . know . . . [the] infinite price of our redemp-tion in our region came to be venerated in ageneric way, but . . . after the preaching of theVenerable [Gaspar] it came to be venerated in a

, through the institution ofthe appropriate sodality with the title of theMost Precious Blood.8

St. Vincent Pallotti, recalling the image of the prophecyof Sr. Maria Agnese del Verbo Incarnato, rightly callsGaspar the “gospel trumpet of Paradise” and “the mostzealous propagator in our time of Aggregation of peopleto the Venerable Archconfraternity of the Most PreciousBlood of Jesus Christ.”9

Angelici, who, as we have already noted, comparedhim to one of the twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse,10

calls him also the “the superhuman adorer of . . . theMost Precious Blood.”11

We make reference, at last, to the testimony of theVenerable Giovanni Merlini in the

We apologize for the length, butthis selection constitutes a magnificent synthesis of allthat we have said up to this point:

Above all, [Gaspar] was enraptured by devotionto the Precious Blood. He used to say that he


would not deprive anyone of that devotion.(Writing to Cristaldi on June 10, 1823 fromOffida) he expressed his feelings by saying: ‘Oh!Would that the entire world were purged of theleprosy of sin! This is the objective towardwhich our devotion tends, our very title! Thisdivine Blood is offered continuously in the holyMass, it is applied in the sacraments, and it isthe price of salvation; finally, it is the testimonyof the love of a God made man!’ Elsewhere, Imentioned that he had made a vow to promotethis tender devotion. At the urgent request of the Servant of God,Monsignor Strambi gathered together materialsfor the month of the Most Precious Blood andMonsignor Bonanni, our colleague at that time,saw to its spread. At the urgent request of theServant of God, Canon Palma put into printanother compilation of monthly devotions enti-tled:

‘The soulinvited to the contemplation of the mysteries ofthe Blood of Jesus Christ, in 31 meditations,one for each day of the month.’12 This piousauthor dedicated it to the Servant of God onJune 30, 1829,13 despite the fact that theServant of God wanted it to be dedicated to theKing of Naples, as is noted in the letter of July23, 1829. In addition to those two monthly devo-tions in honor of the Most Precious Blood whichhe inspired, he likewise encouraged the printingof a third consisting of short meditations. Also,through his influence, many confraternities ofthe Most Precious Blood were established andaggregated to the Archconfraternity set up inRome in the church of San Nicola in Carcere. He

177CONCLUSION

also lined up a large number of aggregators,whenever possible, even in foreign areas, so asto increase the number of devotees andenrollees.He urged the recitation of the seventimes a day in remembrance of the principalseven sheddings of the Most Precious Blood. Inthis regard, I point out that he made a mistake,as Monsignor Muccioli and others likewise did.Not having carefully examined the Brief, it wasthought that this practice was the workenjoined for the gaining of the indulgences.However, as I pointed out to Fr. BiagioValentini, after the death of the Servant of God,reading the Brief once again in reference to thataction, there was an indulgence granted inde-pendently of them. Perhaps this error happenedbecause, at the beginning, the recitation of the

seven times was recommended andvery simply was considered to be the workenjoined. It is quite certain that the Servant ofGod thought that the matter should continue asexplained. In no way, did he commit the leastdefect in maintaining that, since he was in goodfaith and did not, even for a moment, have adoubt.Furthermore, he engaged in seeking the promo-tion of a perpetual cult of adoration of the ines-timable price of our salvation. He recommendedan hour of adoration; he saw to the printing anddistribution of many flyers. He was greatlydelighted when he learned that in Naples theywere seeking devotees who, in the course of theyear and with shared hours of adoration, wouldoffer to the divine Eternal Father the price ofredemption. Whenever anyone wished to pleasehim, all he had to do was to tell him that he was


interested in propagating this devotion. He wasvery distressed when he found out that the devilhad cut him off from a companion who had beenvery deeply dedicated; I, myself, saw him whenhe was afflicted for this reason.He made every effort to have this devotionintroduced not only to private families but alsoin churches and religious communities. Notonly in the churches taken care of by theInstitute but also those in places where he con-ducted missions and anywhere else that hecould introduce the monthly devotion of theMost Precious Blood, which he referred to oftenwith the substitute expression ‘the greatmonth.’ He would simplify the procedure andwished that in the large cities they would picktwelve churches so that in each month of theyear there would be a church offering adorationof the Most Precious Blood. In part, he carriedout this desire of his in Rome, as long as he wasalive, by contributing some of his own moneyannually to cover expenses. In Sant’Andreadelle Fratte he met a benefactor in 1832 (at theend of May he was present in the Church of SanCarlo al Corso where he was preaching themonth honoring the glories of Mary Most Holy)and made every effort to keep him interested, asthat benefactor himself told me. His name wasPonziano Morichelli, the one encouraged by theServant of God to perpetuate this devout exer-cise. In Perugia, in 1824, together with CanonTori and Mr. Adriani, in the Church of theAddolorata, he set up the Pious Union of thePrecious Blood and promoted the month ofJune, as seen in the decree of MonsignorCittadini issued on May 30, 1835. Each year, hecontributed to them three and devotionalmaterials.

179CONCLUSION

Not satisfied with all that, he ordered that in allof the churches of the Institute, early eachmorning at the first Mass, the Chaplet of theDivine Blood should be recited along with theSeven Offerings, and that this was to be repeat-ed in community after the period of meditation.On the day of the feast of the Most PreciousBlood which we, by special privilege, celebrateon the first Sunday in July, he ordered thesolemn exposition of the most BlessedSacrament from early that morning untilevening in order to call the faithful, in that way,to the special cult, directing them to recite inthe morning the customary Chaplet in the pres-ence of the sacramental Jesus and to repeat it atthe evening service with and hymns.He ordered that this same Chaplet should berecited along with the Seven Offerings at thefirst Mass offered during missions. Whereverpossible, he would leave behind this devoutexercise. Furthermore, he saw to the transla-tion of this Chaplet into various languages, aswell as the month of June devotions which, atfirst, appeared under the name of Strambi sincehe had been the first to gather the materialstogether, then, under the name of Bonannisince he was responsible for its spread. Thus, hetried in this fashion to involve the people moreand more in this most beloved devotion.It is superfluous ( ) to mention how muchdevotional material he distributed in this activ-ity, how many times he had the Chaplet and theSeven Offerings printed and to how many peo-ple he distributed them so profusely. I shall sayonly that he seemed to regard any opportunitythat was offered to him as a precious treasure.If the occasion was not there, he sought one on


his own, so great was his urge to propagate it.Once, finding it very difficult to satisfy arequest submitted for this devotional materialfrom Veroli, he told me that he did not have theheart to disappoint them, making every effort toremedy the situation as best he could.Whenever he preached the glories of the DivineBlood, he was at times as it were outside of him-self and tried to inflame each and every soul toa feeling of gratefulness. To succeed even betterin this regard he would apply himself diligently,just as one day he said to me, to the study ofScripture and the Church Fathers in order togather as much as he could for his sermons onthe Divine Blood. He wanted his talks and anyother presentations that he would make to showthe fullness of doctrine and of inspiration.During missions, he delivered a sermon on theMost Precious Blood. Three times he preachedthe month in San Nicola in Carcere, three timesin Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, even though on oneoccasion he did not complete it. Once hepreached in the Church of the Carmine alle TreCannelle. Here, in Albano, he preached it manytimes and the last occasion, though he did notcomplete it all, was in the final year of his life.He preached that same monthly observance inFrosinone, Offida and elsewhere. Not only inpublic but also in private he spoke freely of thepower and efficacy of the Divine Blood. Hewould say to me that this was the devotion forour time and that through it divine justicewould be placated. In a word, he sought everypossible means to propagate this devotion anddid so with an unmatched fervor, as will becomemore apparent if you review all that I spoke ofconcerning the title of our Congregation. Here I

181CONCLUSION

shall add only that in the last year of his life hesuffered a great deal because of doubts thatcame to him about the manner of enrolling peo-ple in this devotion that we are treating here.However, he became calm upon reflecting thatthose doubts were the work of the devil, as hestated to me in a spiritual communication.So great was his devotion to the price of our sal-vation that he wanted the concession of theoffice and the Mass of the Divine Blood extend-ed to the entire Catholic world and he consid-ered himself blessed if he would be able toachieve that goal before he died, as he men-tioned to me several times. However, the Lord,who wanted to test the virtue of his Servant, didnot will to give him the consolation of seeing thefeast raised to a double of the first class with anoctave for his Congregation, even though hehimself had submitted a request to the SacredCongregation of Rites.14

In order to animate himself more and more inthe trust of divine mercy, he had the devoutpractice of often offering to the Eternal DivineFather the Blood of Jesus Christ with the cus-tomary ejaculatory prayer: ‘Eternal Father’which he recommended and prescribed to uslikewise at the conclusion of our meetings incommon. He also applied this practice at thebeginning and the end of his sermons, giving itas a reminder to the people and he also gave itas a penance in hearing confessions.

Since he had placed all of his hope in the meritsof the Savior and in most holy Mary’s interces-sion along with that of St. Francis Xavier, aswas evident to me, I am certain that he neverhad doubts in any way when he was faced with


the question of eternal salvation, even though,in viewing his own demerits, he felt fears ofbeing lost. With tenderness and a particularexpansiveness of heart so that it showed even inhis face, he would recall, meditate on and repeatthose texts which inspire confidence in the mer-its of Jesus Christ, for example: ‘

’‘justified by his Blood, shall we be saved fromwrath through him’ [Rom 5: 9]; ‘

’ ‘You have redeemedus, O Lord, in your Blood’ [Rv 5: 9]. Softly, too,he would recall texts from the Fathers andDoctors, for example: ‘

’ ‘The Blood of Christ, key of paradise’;‘ ’ ‘the Blood ofChrist [is] fine gold.’ I, myself, witnessed himtenderly moved and almost in tears whenever,feeling more than ordinary fervor, he wouldutter those passages. In writing to Cristaldi onJune 29, 1827, he said: ‘the Divine Blood,indeed, is the offering to be presented to theEternal, Divine Father, for it is written: ‘

’ ‘making peacethrough the Blood of his Cross both those thingson heaven and on earth’ [Col 1: 20]. It is a justthing to render a cult of special compensation,especially in our times, to Jesus who continuesto repeat: ‘ ’‘What profit is there in my Blood?’ [Ps 30: 10].Finally, while the devil would like to have allpeople be the victims of justice, through thisdevotion, may I say, the gates of divine mercyare opened and the only means established forreconciliation is made available. ‘

’‘justified by his Blood, shall we be saved from

183CONCLUSION

wrath through him’ [Rom 5: 9]. He used thisvery same language not only with Cristaldi, butI also heard him use it from the preacher’s plat-form as well as in private, familiar conversa-tions.Then, too, in writing to Monsignor Muccioli onSeptember 4, 1822, he says: ‘Our relatives, how-ever, are not lost; they simply precede us and asweet bond of religion unites us to them in amarvelous way.

‘Do not be sad over those who sleep’ [Aparaphrase of 1 Thes 4: 13]. You have probablylearned already of the death of the good Fr.Torribio, whom God has willed to take back tohimself. It is written: ‘

’‘Let us pray for everyone. The great day is uponus! But the Blood of Jesus is our hope and sal-vation for eternal life.’15

He had given the title of the Most PreciousBlood to his Congregation and this sustainedhim at the cost of all the opposition that wasraised against him, and amid sufferings soharsh for him. When Leo XII deleted this title ina manuscript, he knew how to speak to the HolyFather and moved him to restore the title to theInstitute. Writing to a religious, he spoke of thedevotion to the Precious Blood and that itseemed to him that Jesus had told him that justas He had shed his Blood in the midst of suffer-ings, so among sufferings must the glories of theBlood be spread . . .16

We have come to the end to this part of the work. Wehave tried to trace the personality of St. Gaspar as theApostle of the Precious Blood, describing how he was


formed by the spirituality of the Blood of Christ, how helived and defended it and his tireless activity to spreadit. This was the scope of our study.

Have we succeeded in presenting the personality ofSt. Gaspar in its true stature? Let the reader decide. Forour part we are aware that we have not said everythingthat could have been said. There are many spiritualriches of St. Gaspar yet to be explored in his writings,nearly all of which are available to us now. We are con-fident, therefore, that others who follow us will fill in thegaps we have left, delving more deeply into the thoughtof St. Gaspar and the influence that he and his spiritualheirs—Missionaries, sisters, and lay people—have hadin the Church under the living impetus of the Blood ofChrist.

a

In these times of upheaval, which it has pleased Godto reserve for us, there is a great need for a reform of thepeople. The Lord, ‘rich in mercy,’[Eph 2: 4] wished to provide an effective means for curb-ing the torrent of iniquity and for restoring order in thehearts of the people by furnishing them with helps thatare most suitable for the sanctification of their souls andfor their continuous and lasting improvement.

One such means is the establishing of more Missionand Spiritual Retreat Houses for the secular clergy, torevive in them a sense of dignity, of good example, as____________________

aSt. Gaspar's presentation shows evidence of corrections byCristaldi. This is the original as written by Gaspar.


well as an eagerness for study and holiness, all of whichis in line with the spirit of that ancient discipline inwhich community living of ecclesiastics was eagerly fos-tered. St. Augustine, the Doctor of Grace, treated thismatter in a special way . . .

Now, we turn to the question of the title whichadorns these foundations, as is evident from various doc-uments, it was the Supreme Pontiff Pius VII who con-sidered it, as a matter of fact, a good idea to take it fromthe Archconfraternity having the august title of theMost Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, of the most holyMary, Help of Christians and assigned to it as specialprotector the glorious apostle of the Indies, St. FrancisXavier.

This title does not present anything novel, since itflows from what we see in the sacred scriptures:“

” ‘You have redeemedus, O Lord, in your Blood, and made us for our God akingdom and priests’ [Rv 5: 9–10]. [ :The Vulgate reads “and made them for our God.”] Wepriests, therefore, are marked with the sacerdotal char-acter in order to apply the divine Blood to souls. It is hisBlood that is offered in the divine Sacrifice; it is hisBlood that is applied in the sacraments; it is his Bloodthat is the price of redemption. This is what we can pres-ent to the heavenly Father for the reconciliation of sin-ners. “

” ‘We, therefore, beseech youhelp your servants whom you have redeemed by yourprecious Blood.’ Whereas the devil would like all to bethe victims of justice, we ministers of the sanctuarymust make known the depths of God’s mercy so that“

” ‘Justified in his Blood, we will be saved fromwrath through it’ [Rm 5: 9]. In this devotion, we have thetreasures of wisdom and holiness; in it we find comfort,peace and salvation.

187APPENDIX A

Indeed, it is an essential devotion in Christianity,venerated by our mother, the Church “

‘which he acquired in his blood’ [Acts 20:28]. The Mass, the Office of the Most Precious Blood arealready in practical usage in the church militant. Evenfrom most ancient history, for example, we note thatGod, indeed, prescribed that the Hebrews in Egyptshould taint their doorways with blood so as to be freedfrom the avenging sword, alluding to that means of eter-nal salvation by which our souls would be liberated fromthe slavery of hell. Add to this, what the apostle states:“

‘If the blood of goats andbulls sanctifies those who are defiled, how much morewill the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanse our consciencesfrom dead works?’

One should read the precious little booklet entitleddedicated to the devotion of the mys-

teries of the Divine Blood. It contains the documentssupporting this important devotion. Sufficient for now isto conclude with the words of St. Bernard (Ep. 7):“ ” ‘The Blood of Christcalls out like a trumpet’ or, the words of St. Thomas(Opusc. 15a): “ ” ‘the Bloodof Christ is the key to paradise.’

But, to sum up everything briefly, one must not omitlistening to what St. Paul observes in Col 1: “

” ‘making peace through the Blood [of hiscross], both as to the things that are on earth, and thethings that are in heaven.’ Our times demand that wecarry out what is proposed in that quotation. It is, there-fore, the divine Blood that will placate the divine eternalFather, that will purify our hearts and will inebriate uswith love for Jesus who

‘loved us and washed us in his own Blood’[Rv 1: 5].


It cannot be denied that the Lord, always rich inmercy, has provided powerful means in every age thatare capable of drawing souls to a consideration of theCrucified Lord and thus seeing in them the applicationof the redemption through his Divine Blood.

Prescinding from the first centuries in the Church,centuries productive of martyrs, in the following epochswhich history records for us, we note how one or theother dogma was attacked, how sacred things were sub-jected to scorn in one or the other part of the Catholicworld. In our miserable times, the crisis in the people isa general one, with indescribable perversion of basicprinciples and of proper living so as to hurl an insult atthe redemptive act and, through human malice, to frus-trate the application of the merits of Jesus Christ whohas redeemed us by the price of his Blood. Now, BlessedFather, is it not necessary to rekindle apostolic zeal andfollow the inspirations of soul that are so favored by Godso that we can revive in the memories of these people theinestimable price of our redemption and attempt to stirthem to repentance and to tears?

Is it not also a fact that Sacred Scripture itself givesus the steps to take for a reform?

‘making peace through the Blood of hisCross, both as to the things that are on earth, and thethings that are in heaven’ [Col 1: 20].

Do we ourselves not know that

Christ loved the Church . . . he gave himselfup for it’ [Eph 5: 25] ‘he purchased [it] with his ownblood’ [Acts 20: 28].

189APPENDIX A

Does not Divine Wisdom tell us that ‘Justified in

Blood, we will be saved from wrath through it’ [Rm 5: 9].It is not sufficient simply to utter the name of the Lordto be saved:

‘Not the one who says “Lord, Lord” shall be saved,’but ‘Hewho will do the will of my Father will be saved’ [cf. Mt 7:21]. [ This is something of a para-phrase.] Therefore, there are two things that must nec-essarily be done nowadays. The first is to find a way ofplacating the Divine Eternal Father; and that we havein the merits of the Divine Blood:

‘I will take the chalice of salvation’ [Ps 116: 13].The other is to try to find a way of effectively applyingthose merits to souls, and this can be done particularlythrough holy Missions and Spiritual Retreats, as well asother pious programs that are proportionately salubri-ous for our times.

In fact, these are the very same reasons that moti-vated the holy Pontiff Pius VII to erect theArchconfraternity, bearing this most august title of theDivine Blood. Sinners continue to be horrendously abu-sive and the Lord, in the transports of his love, keepscrying out: ‘What profitis there in my Blood?’ [Ps 30: 10]. So, is there not anyonewho will, through this sacred, solemn cult, procure ado-ration in compensation, and preach to the people its glo-ries, bringing to their attention that in this devotion wehave a compendium of faith itself; that is why, in theconsecration of the chalice, we say: “ ”‘the mystery of faith’ and consequently therein lies thesalvation of souls.

In fact, it is to this that the prophetic oracles, thepredictions, the symbols, the figures, the sacrifices of theold covenant have their focus. As we read in Genesis:

‘He will wash his robe in wine and his mantle


in the blood of the grape’ [Gn 49: 11]. The Hebrews wereordered to taint their doorposts with the blood of thelamb in order to be freed from their chastisements inEgypt, a symbol of the liberation of our souls from dia-bolical servitude . . . Without saying too much further,what did Moses do for his people?

‘Taking the book he sprinkled it with blood saying . . .this is the blood of the testament that God mandated foryou . . . All things are purified with blood, and withoutthe shedding of blood there is no remission’ [Heb 9:19–22]. Hear, now, what the apostle says:

‘Ifthe blood of goats and bulls sanctifies those who aredefiled, how much more will the Blood of Jesus Christcleanse our consciences’ [Heb 9:11–12].

Without saying everything that could be said, thedivine Scriptures are loaded with sacred citations . . .

‘Why is your apparel red? Youwere clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood.’ [Rev 19:13–14]. One should add only that by means of this devo-tion the remembrance of our baptism, through which oursouls were purged, is revived; we are reminded ofpenance and the other sacraments. When asked why, weconclude that it was because:

‘You havebeen redeemed with blood; you have made us for our Goda kingdom and priests’ [Rv 5: 9–10].

Other devotions are all means for facilitatingCatholic piety, but this devotion is the basis, the suste-nance, the essence of all. Other devotions, coming forthat various times, signal a period of time, ever holy, everpraiseworthy, but this devotion of ours is so antique thatit goes back to the very moment when Adam sinned; that

191APPENDIX A

is why Jesus was called the ‘the lamb slain from the foundation of the

world’ [Cf. Rv 13: 8]. And it was because of this that wewere given the means of reproducing, through the publicpress, the glories of this inestimable treasure of oursouls, along with the noble compositions of the Fathersof the Church for the understanding of the sacred text;and especially so, since, in our days, generally speaking,this is not sufficiently known. However, the Lord willregenerate them in the hearts of people! Indeed, St.Thomas says: ‘The Bloodof Christ is the key to paradise . . .’ St. John Chrysostom:

‘The Blood of Christ is the salvation ofsouls. The Blood of Christ is fine gold.’

One should read the small work composed by theoutstanding member of the Missionaries of theArchconfraternity, that is to say, the now-deceased bish-op Monsignor Strambi who, in giving his final retreats toall the Roman clergy, had them meditate on this verydevotion. One could consult with the present bishop ofAssisi, well-known for his theological knowledge, or alsothe bishop of Nocera, not to mention others, and one willdiscover the interest that everyone should have in dif-fusing and spreading the glories of theArchconfraternity of the Divine Blood, glories thatalready are evident in the establishment of the Missionand Spiritual Retreat Houses under the direction of itsMissionaries; they make available those means for ful-filling its objective . . . the glories that are evident in themany, many confraternities erected everywhere in theCatholic world, etc., etc., etc.

How could it ever have been possible for the veryrespectable bishops, among whom we include hisEminence Severoli, to give their consent to the diffusionof this good work if there had been the least disagree-ment with the principles or the practices of the Church?How could it be that the now-deceased Pontiff Pius VII


should issue a number of briefs for the erection of thatArchconfraternity, and the Congregation of Rites shouldrecognize its title by the granting of privileges, in par-ticular, to the Mission and Spiritual Retreat Houseswhere the clergy have been reclaimed for the apostolate,for pursuing studies, for attaining holiness?

Even your Holiness himself, with the revision of theChaplet for use by that same Archconfraternity, hasincreased its privileges through the organ of that sameCongregation of Rites, and, at the time when you wereCardinal Vicar of Rome, established the women of char-ity (under the direction of Butirroni) who had this samemost august title.

In these miserable times in which we live, one mustpoint this out, how can the procedure of the RomanCuria be subjected to such derision? In fact, it is becauseof this that evildoers are led to criticize other titles, thusmultiplying the number of enemies, while supposingthat they are doing something good by suppressing atitle which is the glory of redemption. This is the lan-guage of truth, and it is a well-known fact that hell itselftrembles at the very mention of “Divine Blood.”Furthermore, because of this confusion of mind, one isled to erroneously judge the good people who then dis-turb the peace of your Holiness’ magnanimous heart.

So, in view of the fact that there is nothing involvedhere which is contrary to good Catholic interpretation,why, then, now change something that has been canoni-cally established? The Pontiffs Paul III and Paul IV, thePontiff Gregory XIII and Pope Sixtus V (who confirmedit with a brief of May 8, 1586), were these not all menwho, in Santa Maria in Vado, erected and promoted thesame good work which is now being done by the confra-ternity erected there under the title of the Divine Bloodand which presently has the most intimate connectionwith the Archconfraternity?

Most blessed Father, these are the intrinsic reasonsas well as arguments from the history of the Church . . .

193APPENDIX A

But using such a title would be a case of becoming over-ly familiar! This was the same difficulty proposed whenthe Company of Jesus, in particular, emerged. Was it tobe given that name, the name of Jesus before which

‘every knee is bent’ so that it wouldbe on the lips of everyone and adored by all? And whatwas the answer given? The religious titles are all verypraiseworthy. Any abuse of it would be due to the personwho, through his own malice, would beget it, but theChurch’s intention is a holy one (so says Fr. Suarez in:

) insofar as a distinctveneration is shown toward the sacrosanct mysteries ofthe Savior.

Nor would it be a valid argument for one to say:There will be someone who will abuse this title, so let usget rid of it. . . . Well, there will also be someone who, asa matter of fact, will do the same thing with the name ofreligion, so therefore. . . . Oh my, to what consequenceswould this not lead? In keeping with the bases and prin-ciples explained, we have the establishment ofConfraternities of the most holy Trinity, of the mostBlessed Sacrament, etc. Finally, it would be good topoint out that there is a mandatory that says: Alms forthe Confraternity of the most Blessed Sacrament, and soin ours too there should accordingly be a similar provi-sion. But, , ‘let it pass,’ with regard to this lastremark which was produced only to relax the mind ofyour Beatitude.

We conclude by saying that the adherence to basicprinciples, the observance of fundamentals, the welfareof our times, the glory given to the Redemption as wellas the scorn that hell itself will receive, all demand thatyour Holiness, rather than derogating and removing thismost august title, should be exultant with it and pro-mote it throughout the entire Catholic World with asolemn decree, extending the use of the Mass and theOffice of the Price of our Redemption. May what hap-pened to Blessed Giacomo di Bevagna, with regard to


the Divine Blood, encourage your soul to do what, in allhumility, has been proposed to you for the pure glory ofGod.

Once his deportation had been brought to an end inthe year 1814, the Supreme Pontiff Pius VII, of happymemory, occupied himself immediately in sending outevangelical preachers for the sanctification of souls andthe reform of the people. Already beforehand he haderected the Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Bloodof Jesus Christ in order to promote this sacred cult incompensation for the abuses made by sinners, particu-larly in our times; likewise, through it, to animate thefaithful to offer up this inestimable price of our redemp-tion to the divine eternal Father. In view of the fact thatone of the purposes of the Archconfraternity was that ofhaving our brother priests dedicate themselves to theapostolic ministry of giving holy Missions and Retreats,that beloved Pontiff wished to make use of them for thisproject for God’s greater glory, and through their servic-es to promote also that most important devotion to theDivine Blood.

‘Justified in his Blood we shall be saved from the wrath by it’

of everything that pertains to the pious Institute ofMission and Retreat Houses under the direction of theMissionaries enrolled in the venerable Archcon-fraternity of the Most Precious Blood of our Lord JesusChrist, canonically erected by Pope Pius VII.

In the upheaval of our times, times which God hasbeen pleased to reserve for us, and in the need for reformof the people, the Lord, rich in mercy, has willed to bring


forth a powerful means to be used in setting up a ram-part against the torrent of iniquities and to provide us,at the same time, with means that are salutary forattaining eternal salvation through the sanctificationand the spiritual cultivation of souls. Therefore, in hisProvidence, he presented to the Roman Pontiff, Pius VII,of holy memory, the plan for instituting Mission andRetreat Houses in order that through these two weaponsof apostolic ministry, a war could be waged against sin,as well as to lead back to the Heart of Jesus all thosewho had strayed.

The Holy Father then selected as his norm the oneset down by Benedict XIV for promoting theArchconfraternity of Christian Doctrine which servedthen, as it still does, to encourage the clergy and the peo-ple to a revival of giving instructions, something mostnecessary for knowledge and observance of the holy lawsof God.

We are, presently, living in times in which there isurgent need for stimulating the clergy and the people tothe yearned-for reform. The freethinkers, not at all inlove with the Catholic religion, are waging a most deci-sive type of warfare against the Crucifix [or CrucifiedOne]; and, they would like to see everyone become vic-tims of justice through a multiplication of vices and sins.Consequently, it is urgent that zeal for the glory of God,like a spreading fire, must burn in a holy fashion withinevery soul, and, by calling attention to the glories of theCrucified One, to open the fountains of mercy, thanks tothe application of the merits of the Divine Blood whichis the thing that will fully placate the justice of thedivine, eternal Father:

‘Makingpeace through the Blood of his Cross whether for what isin heaven or on earth . . . They overcame the dragon bythe Blood of the Lamb’ [Cf. Rv 12: 11].

199APPENDIX C

Having these basic principles in mind, his Holinesswas pleased to erect the Archconfraternity under theaugust title of the Divine Blood, together with the invo-cation to most holy Mary, Help of Christians; and, as itsspecial protector, he selected the apostle of the Indies,St. Francis Xavier, so as to provide an exemplar whowould stir one from any feelings of languor, who wouldurge one to the doing of good work, who would encourageone in the face of difficulties and point out, furthermore,the quickest way of promoting the greater glory of Godand the sanctification of souls.

Therefore, one can easily note what his plans for thefuture were and how very well directed they were for theverification of the apostle’s words:

‘Justified by his Blood, we shall be saved from wraththrough him’ [Rm 5: 9].

Finally, adding just a few more things in this pref-ace, it is to be noted that in carrying out these apostolicworks of the ministry, we seek to give a cult of compen-sation to the mysteries of our redemption, so greatlyabused by sinners. We wish to awaken in their souls thegreat idea of the inestimable price of our eternal salva-tion. . . .

‘you have redeemed [us] in [your] Blood[Rv 5: 9–10] . . . ‘you were bought at a great price’ [1 Cor6: 20]. Those who have gone astray are encouraged tohave hope or the pardon of the faults that they havecommitted, since

‘Christloved us and washed us in his Blood. . . . ‘what profit isthere in my Blood?’ [Ps 30: 10] and, finally, this is anopportunity for helping them take notice of the motiveswhich caused St. Bernard (Ep. 7) to exclaim:

‘the Blood of Christ calls out likea trumpet’; and St. Thomas (Opusc. 158) to say:

‘the Blood of Christ is the Key toParadise.’


St. Catherine of Siena, during the schism of hertime, received the inspiration from the Lord that on thisdevotion depended peace within the Church.

Though overlooking many other things . . . there arethe documents pertinent to the Office and the Mass ofthe Divine Blood which urge us to cherish it deeply with-in our hearts, but at the same time indicate how muchour holy Mother Church is concerned about the specialcult addressed to the price of our redemption:

‘Christ loved the church, he gave himselfup for it and acquired it with his Blood.’ [

: There are two quotations from the New Testamentthat are joined here: cf. Eph 5: 25 and Acts 20: 28.] Oneshould read the little work written by the now-deceasedMonsignor Strambi, outstanding supporter of ourInstitute and our devotion, so humbly presented in thesepages. Likewise, one should check the catalog of indul-gences granted by Pope Gregory XIII, confirmed andaugmented by Pope Sixtus V in behalf of theConfraternity of the Most Precious Blood of our LordJesus Christ, erected in the church of the CanonsRegular of S. Maria del Vado in Ferrara . . .

Then, Pope Leo XII, in addition to what he express-es in his Brief (v. f. n. 2) on the occasion of the installa-tion of the Jesuit Fathers in Spoleto, speaking inciden-tally of our House in San Felice in Giano, and aware ofthe various confraternities erected under our title,granted through the Sacred Congregation of Rites thefaculty of a solemn Mass of the Divine Blood on the firstSunday in July. Already when he was the Cardinal Vicarhe had canonically erected in the church of

in Rome, the piousunion of sisters visitators of the sick under the title ofthe Divine Blood.

As a final reflection, note how Vincenzo IV, Duke ofMantova, erected as an equestrian order in the year1608, the union of Knights under the title of the Divine

201APPENDIX C

Blood. That order was later approved by Paul V as canbe seen in the work

1AGCPPS, Box 6, fasc. 2, 4.2Specifically we cite the decree

(March 19, 1891), which affirmed the heroic virtue of Gaspar.Because this decree speaks of Gaspar only as the founder of aCongregation of priests with the title of “Most Precious Blood,” weare not going to examine it further. (Cf. , vol. XXIV, 6 ff.).

3 , vol. XXXVI, 741 ff.4 , vol. XXXVII, 112.5Ibid., 634 ff. The text of interest reads: “

” This repeats thoughts and words of thedecree

6All who share in devotion to Gaspar know that his feast is cel-ebrated on October 21, but not everyone knows that it was not alwayscelebrated on this date. Many ask why this date was chosen. In thisnote we make a bit of an excursus on the various dates on which thefeast was celebrated and on what prompted the selection of October21.

The feast of a saint is usually celebrated on a date of signifi-cance in his or her life, e.g., the date of birth, death, canonization, etc.Gaspar’s feast could not be celebrated on his birthday, January 6,because it is (in many places, at least) the Solemnity of the Epiphany.For the same reason it was not judged opportune to celebrate it onthe date of his death, December 28, since the Feast of the HolyInnocents occurs on that date. By a decree of the SacredCongregation of Rites of April 12, 1905, the feast of Blessed Gaspardel Bufalo was assigned to July 15 for the Missionaries of thePrecious Blood and for the Adorers of the Precious Blood. The dioceseof Rome, on the other hand, chose the date of June 23 for its own cal-endar. In order to maintain uniformity with the diocese of Rome, theMissionaries and the Adorers sought the faculty of celebrating thefeast on June 23 as well. The Congregation granted this request onNovember 28, 1906.


But since the Feast of the Sacred Heart sometimes fell on June23, impeding the celebration of the feast of Blessed Gaspar, theMissionaries and Adorers obtained permission to celebrate the feaston December 30 (decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites,September 27, 1913) and then on December 29 (decree of July 23,1914). The Diocese of Rome, however, fixed the feast of BlessedGaspar on January 4. These dates remained in force even after thecanonization of Gaspar on June 12, 1954. That explains why BlessedJohn XXIII went to venerate St. Gaspar on January 4, 1963, in theChurch of Santa Maria in Trivio: the Diocese of Rome was celebrat-ing his feast on that day.

Following the publication of the new Code of Liturgical Rubricsin 1960, the feast of St. Gaspar had to be transferred out of the octaveof Christmas and consequently became , that is, in someyears it would be celebrated on January 2 and in others on January3. To eliminate the inconvenience caused by this “mobility,” theMissionaries of the Precious Blood obtained from the SacredCongregation of Rites, by decree of May 14, 1962, the right to cele-brate the feast of St. Gaspar on October 21. Thus the Missionariesand the Adorers have celebrated the feast of Gaspar on October 21and in 1973 the Diocese of Rome also adopted this date. It is also pos-sible that in certain places and for particular reasons to celebrate thefeast of St. Gaspar on another date.

What were the reasons for choosing October 21? They wereabove all pastoral reasons. The feast was set for October 21, wroteDon Giuseppe Quattrino, then provincial of the Italian Province, “. . . for the convenience of all the churches of the Institute in Italyand abroad. At this time of the year one avoids the harsh weather ofwinter and the students of the colleges and schools directed by theMissionaries can participate.” Added to these reasons were otherslinked to Gaspar’s life: his mother, Annunziata Quartieroni, died onOctober 20, 1811, and his father, Antonio del Bufalo, died on October31, 1831. (Since 1937 his remains have been entombed in the Churchof Santa Maria in Trivio, near the tomb of St. Gaspar, in the tomb ofthe Sbordoni family.) In addition, since October is the month of themissions, what could be more suitable for celebrating the feast of agreat missionary and founder of a missionary Congregation, whosemembers are currently involved in missions ?

7 , XXXXII (1950), 199 ff.8 , XXXXVI (1954), 330 ff.9Ibid., 357 ff.10 , XXXXVII (1955), 175 ff.11 , March 21–22, 1960.12Letter of May 12, 1960 to the Commission of the Roman

Synod, published by the ¸ June 1963.13 , LII (1960), 306 ff.

205NOTES

14Ibid., (1960), 545 ff.15The first edition was published in 1970 with the

of the Vicariate of Rome; the second edition in 1978 bore the same

1 , LII (1960), 306 ff.2G. De Libero, , Rome, 1954,

106.3Cf. A. P. Frutaz, “Sangue Preziosissimo di N. S. Gesù Cristo,”

in , X, Città del Vaticano, coll. 1778–1780.4A. Rey, , I, Albano Laziale, 1979, 266.5Ibid.6Sacra Rituum Congregatione,

,Rome, 1851, § 160, 125. Hereafter cited:

, paragraph and page.7 , § 21, 158.8Cf. B. Conti, editor, ,

II, Rome 1996, 152–156. Hereafter this work will be cited as , the volume and page number. In the matter of these com-

pendiums of the sermons of Mons. Giovanni Baccolo, this is the tes-timony of Maria Tamini in the ¸ f. 1616t:“I remember that when [Gaspar] was a ‘little priest’ ( )it happened that one year a Venetian Priest of great merit came tothe Church of the Gesù to conduct the Lenten preaching (

). During the course of the preaching they put guards atthe doors of the Church. The Servant of God, who used to go everyday to listen to the preaching with attention, would transcribe theentire sermon once he returned home, as I myself used to observe andI would also read them. When the Preacher had finished the Lentenseries and came to know of this, he wanted to see the transcriptionsand to read them. He was so astounded that he would not be per-suaded that a boy so young was capable of doing so much, until[Gaspar’s] parents persuaded him that it was the work of the Servantof God.” (Cf. , §§ 132–133, 88.) However, wemust note that in the year 1804 Gaspar was not the “little priest” ora “boy so young,” but had already celebrated his eighteenth birthday.

9 , II, 129–130.10Cf. Luke 22: 42–44.11 , II, 273.12Eph 5: 2.13 , II, 174–175.


14Cf. Ibid., 255, note 1.15Sacra Rituum Congregatione,

, Rome 1870, § 123, 235. Hereafterthis is cited as , the paragraph and the page.

16 , § 112, 84.17Ibid., § 69, 333.18 , IV, f. 1644; cf. A. Rey., op. cit., I, 89.19Cf. , § 69, 333.20 , § 50, 109.21 , § 51, 109.22Ibid., § 159, 245.23 : In Italian, the word can mean

both “the Crucified One” and “crucifix.” It is usually capitalized whenit means the former. In this and in other places in the text I havetried to translate it to fit the context, knowing this might differ fromother English translations of the same text.

24Ibid., § 16, 101.25Ibid., § 131, 88.26B. Conti, editor,

, Rome, 1982, 88.27St. Catherine wrote thus to Bartolomeo di Smeduccio, lord of

Sanseverino, urging him on to the crusade for liberating the HolySepulcher of Christ: “Let your heart and soul be on fire in the dearChrist Jesus, with love and desire to give them in exchange for suchlove, to give life for life. He gave his life for you and you ought to wantto give your life for him, blood for blood. And I invite you, on behalfof Christ crucified, to give your blood for his blood . . .” (L. Ferretti,

, V, Siena, 1930:letter 374.

28Cf. , § 49, 69.29Ibid., § 128, 87.30B. Valentini, ,

Rome, 1990, p. 37. This work, edited by Beniamino Conti, is the dep-osition of Valentini given during the process of beatification and can-onization of St. Gaspar. An English translation exists in digital formon a CD-ROM, but is not at this time available in print.

31 , § 90, 339.32Ibid., § 149, 94.33Ibid., § 42, 68.34Ibid., § 47, 69.35Ibid., Tamini, 117–118, 85.36Ibid., Tamini, § 122, 86.37Ibid., § 127, 87.38Ibid., § 39–40, 67.

207NOTES

1Cf. A. Rey, , I, Albano Laziale 1979, p. 351.2At present this relic is preserved in the Church of S. Giuseppe

a Capo le Case in Rome, where it was transferred by theArchconfraternity of the Precious Blood in 1936. Cf. A. M. Triacca,editor,

, II, Rome, 1989, p. 481.3Cf. Sacra Rituum Congregatione,

, Rome, 1870, Merlini, 64. Hereafter citedas: , witness and page number.

4Ibid.5Cf. A. Rey, op. cit., I, 351.6 , Lipparelli, 53.7

in A. M. Triacca, editorII, Rome, 1987, 513–519.

8Cf. le “Costituzioni della Pia Adunanza,” in A. M. Triacca, edi-tor, , pp. 520–535.

9More on the history of the chaplet can be found in the testimo-ny of Merlini in , Merlini, 65. Merlini notesthat Albertini, in his dealings with the Sacred Congregation of Ritesafter submitting the chaplet to that office, had to clarify that theprayer was directed “to the price of our redemption” and not to therelic of the Precious Blood at San Nicola.

10Cf. A. M. Triacca, editor, , II, Rome, 1989, p. 475.

11A. M. Triacca, editor, , II, Rome, 1987, p. 519.

12Cf. , IV, pp. 575–576.13Cf. the discourse in , III, pp. 18–27.14St. Gaspar, 15Cf. V. Pallotti, , Rome,

1989, pp. 18–19. The English translation, by Raymond Cera, C.PP.S.,is available in photocopied and digital formats. The reference heremay be found in chapter 2 of the English translation.

16G. Merlini, . .Rome, 1984, 403. An English translation,

has been made by Raymond Cera, C.PP.S. It exists in photo-copied and digital formats. The reference may be found in chapter VI,p. 278, of that translation.


17This assertion is made only by D. Pietro De Victoriis. Cf.General Archives C.PP.S., vol. , 101/37 in themanuscript biography of Albertini.

18G. Merlini, , op. cit., p. 24. Englishtranslation: ch. II, p. 24. These affirmations of Merlini are not entire-ly tarnished by the deposition of Sr. Maria Giuseppa Pitorri, niece ofAlbertini. Cf. of St. Gaspar. This “letter” actually is thetestimony of Sr. Pitorri, an Ursuline, that contains twenty-four frag-ments from the letters of St. Gaspar.

19M. Armellini, , Rome, 1901, 82.

20Cf. Gaspar del Bufalo, , Rome, 1999, pp. 202–237.21Cf. Henri Daniel-Rops, , VI:

, tomo I: , Turin-Rome, 1966, 164.

22Cf. “Atti del Convegno di Studi Piacenza—Palazzo Fogliani,November 9, 1986,”

by various authors, Istituto per la Storia delRisorgimento Italiano Comitato di Piacenza, 1987.

23Gambini would die in exile in Bologna during the night ofJanuary 29–30, 1811. Cf. . Marchetti, unfortunately, tookthe oath while in Bologna on September 11, 1812, following theNapoleonic decree of May 4, 1812. He then returned to Rome. Cf. L.Contegiacomo, , III–1, Rome 1982,pp. 112, 143–149.

24Cf. the General Archives C.PP.S. (AGCPPS), , 101/38; L. Contegiacomo, ,

III–2, Rome, 1991, pp. 326–331; N. Pagliuca, Benevento, 1908, p. 30.

25E. Gentilucci, , Rome, 1852, p. 36.

26F. Albertini, , Part II, Rome, 1830,p. 122. Cf. N. Pagliuca, op. cit., p. 30.

27 .28Gaetano Bonanni was born in Rome on June 16, 1766, and

was ordained to the priesthood on December 18, 1790. From 1800 heand some other companions began to dedicate themselves to the min-istry of preaching missions in various parts of the Papal States andthe Kingdom of Naples. On October 23, 1808, he and Gaspar openedthe evening oratory at Santa Maria in Vincis. In 1815 Bonanni waswith Gaspar in founding the first house of the Congregation at SanFelice in Giano dell’Umbria, where he was the first superior.Appointed bishop of Norcia (Umbria) by Pius VII on February 5,1821, he was consecrated on July 8 of the same year in San Nicola inCarcere. He died on August 17, 1848. Cf. Andrew Pollack, “TheClosest Collaborators of St. Gaspar in Founding the Society,” in A.

209NOTES

Pollack, , revised edition, edited byRobert Schreiter, C.PP.S. Carthagena, Ohio: Messenger Press, 2002,pp. 2–16.

2930G. De Libero, , Rome, 1954, pp.

109–110.31Cf. , Lipparelli, p. 53.32V. Sardi, , Rome, 1904, p. 86,

note 1.33Ibid.34AGCPPS, vol. , 101/31v–33.35This is first name of the Institute of the Sisters of the Most

Precious Blood, as found in the rule written by Countess BentivoglioOrsi in 1812. Cf. B. Conti, editor,

. Rome, 2001, pp. 19–91.36A. Santelli,

, Rome, 1992, p. 92.37Cf. De Libero, op. cit., p. 110.38Cf. Merlini, , p. 24. English transla-

tion: ch. II, p. 24.39Cf. Giovanni Merlini, “Vita di Mons. Francesco Albertini,”in A.

M. Triacca, editor, , II, Rome 1987, pp. 537–553.

40There are many references to Albertini in the letters of St.Gaspar. He recommended collecting memories of Albertini to the lat-ter’s successor as president of the Archconfraternity of the PreciousBlood, Mons. Gregorio Muccioli. In 1829 he charged the MissionaryDon Innocenzo Betti with writing a life of Albertini ( ,January 15, 1829), and finally to the Missionary Don Pietro DeVictoriis, who completed the biography around 1835. This biographywas never published because it had serious gaps.

41Cf. , Merlini, § 4, 459.42 , Rossi, § 68, 417.43 , Tarulli, § 5, 460.44Cf. G. Merlini, pp. 548–549,

note 2.45The was first published in Rome in 1820. It was

published again in 1830 along with letters and other short spiritualworks attributed to Albertini, among them the .However, in light of the documents found in 1997 in Tarquinia(Viterbo), the true author of these works was actually CountessCaterina Bentivoglio Orsi. Cf. B. Conti, editor,

, Rome, 2002. 46G. Merlini, p. 550–551. The

text of , printed in Rome in 1825, is found in , I, pp. 357–403. The real author of this work is St. Gaspar.


Cf. L. Contegiacomo, , III–3, Rome2001, pp. 144–148.

47F. Albertini, , Part II, Rome, 1830,p. 125. The citations are taken from one of the 49 letters of Albertinithat were published in the second part of this edition of 1830.

48Ibid., p. 134.49Ibid., pp. 118–119.50Ibid., p. 120: letter from Bastia on June 24, 1812.51Ibid., p. 94: letter of October 2, 1810.52Ibid., p. 129: undated letter.53Ibid., pp. 121–124: July 22, 1812.54Ibid., pp. 110–111.55Ibid., p. 128: letter of May 1814; p. 139: November 10, 1819.56For a more complete analysis of the Precious Blood in the let-

ters of Albertini, see Alberto Santonato, “Il Sangue di Cristo negliscritti di Mons. Francesco Albertini,” in A. M. Triacca, editor,

, op. cit., pp. 566–571.57Cf. L. Contegiacomo, , III–1,

Rome, 1982, p. 13; B. Conti, ed., , Rome, 2000, pp. 11–12.

58C. Bentivoglio, .59A. Santelli, op. cit., pp. 56–57. Until recently it was commonly

believed that Gaspar and Albertini along with Bentivoglio wrote the‘Fundamental Articles,’ according to which the

Sisters of the Most Precious Blood were to be dedicated to the educa-tion of women (art. 2). However, documents recently discovered inthe archives of the show that theoriginal aim of the institute was service to the sick in hospitals andin the home. This also appears in the that Bentivoglio began towrite in November 1812.

60 .61 .62Blessed Bartolomeo Dal Monte (1726–1778), a priest of

Bologna, preached popular missions in the area around his diocese.With a small group of priests well trained in the ministry of missions,he founded ‘The Work of the Missions,’ whichsoon extended its activity beyond the boundaries of Bologna. He diedafter a tireless apostolate, enriched by more than 300 missions, notcounting other preaching. During his life he had printed some littleworks which then were gathered together with the title,

‘Jesus at the heart of the sec-ular and religious priest’ (Rome and Bologna, 1775). He also pub-lished ‘Method and Praises of theMissions.’ He is buried in the Basilica of St. Petronio in Bologna andwas beatified by John Paul II in 1997.

63Cf. L. Contegiacomo, , III–3,Rome, 2001, pp. 251–254.

211NOTES

6465Cf. L. Contegiacomo, , III–3,

Rome, 2001, pp. 62–64; 255–264.66Ibid., pp. 245–295, especially pp. 255–264.67 .68 .69Cf. 70 .71Cf. L. Contegiacomo, , III–2,

Rome 1991, pp. 328–331.72 , I, p. 209.7374V. Pallotti, op. cit., ch. II, p. 14.7576 .77 .7879 of May 10, 1813.80 .81Ibid.82Biagio Valentini,

p. 55; English translation: ch. 2, p. 1.83 .84This letter (number 87) reveals the maturity that Gaspar had

achieved just as he turned twenty-eight. Here is an excerpt from theletter:

Your most appreciated letter of the 29th of this pastmonth ‘filled my heart with joy.’I cannot find words to express adequately the contentmentof my soul; I am beside myself with joy and cannot satiatemyself in blessing and thanking the immense kindness ofthe most merciful God.

The undertaking of the Holy Missions has always beenthe object of my yearnings: I am destitute, it is true, ofthose qualities that are required for such a great ministry;but divine Goodness comforts me and his ineffable Mercyencourages my spirit. Hence, quite willingly I accept

‘and most gladly’ all that you seek to proposeto me in your greatly esteemed letter. I thank you for thecharity shown toward me by giving me a share in thosemerits that you acquire by working zealously for thegreater divine glory, along with the other most worthymembers and Brethren, to whom you will extend thesesentiments of mine.

The practices of piety which all of us try to exercise aremost opportune to maintain ever inflamed the fire of the


holy love of God, to increase evermore the concern for lead-ing stray souls to the path of virtue, and finally of not over-looking our very selves and the great business of our soulsin the midst of the most serious occupations which accom-pany the indefatigable concern for our neighbors. I shalltry therefore to be exact in my Meditation periods, in thereading of a chapter of the New Testament and in a specialMemento in the Holy Mass. Pray to the Lord that I profitfrom it for the attainment of a blessed eternity, and that Imay not have to reprove myself in the last moments of mylife, for not having taken into account so many impulseswhich God continues to supply for my conversion. Withregard to this, tell Fr. Gaetano to obtain for me the spiri-tual help of those souls that he feeds with the divine word.In regard to this same matter, I beg you and the otherexcellent Companions, whom you will greet for me withdistinction, to pray that Almighty God will grant me whatI desire so ardently.

I would be pleased if all of us, united in spirit, were torecommend the holy Missions to the great Xavier, to whomthe famous missionary, Father Paolo Segneri, was sodevoted, as is read in his biography. I am convinced that itwould be for us greatly advantageous to have his interces-sion. I know very well that it is not necessary to remindpersons of such spirit and burning zeal of this matter; butmy own devotion to this Saint, as you know, has urged meto write these few words. Meanwhile may God bless yourholy desires, your pious intentions, your apostolic endeav-ors.

[cf. 2 Cor 8: 6]

‘Grace to you and peace from God ourFather, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks tomy God, always making a remembrance of you in myprayers. Hearing of your charity and faith’ [cf. Phlm 1: 3].I am jubilant in the Lord; and since I am and will alwaysbe a useless subject in such a beautiful undertaking, hum-bling myself before God, I shall follow in spirit at leasttheir apostolic footsteps, and I shall go on repeating joy-ously:

‘How beautiful are the feet of themthat preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tid-ings of good things!’ [Rom 10: 15, cf. also Is 52: 7].85 .

213NOTES

86G. Merlini, , p. 190. English transla-tion: chapter IV, p. 32.

87Cf. Ibid. pp. 154–157; cf. also B. Conti, ed., (1815–1837),

Rome, 1998, pp. 28–32. Hereafter cited as , the volumeand page numbers.

88Cf. Santelli, op. cit., pp. 196–197.89 .90Cf. , Lipparelli, pp. 53–54.91AGCPPS, volume ,

35.92Ibid., p. 32; Cf. , II, pp. 542–543.93Valentini, , pp. 16–127.94Cf. ; Cf. also B. Conti, “Il mese del Preziosissimo

Sangue,” in A. M. Triacca, ed., , II, Rome, 1989, p. 290.

95Cf. G. Merlini, , op. cit., pp. 196–197. English trans-lation: ch. IV, p. 131.

96Ibid.97B. Valentini, , op. cit., p. 59. Cf. also

, III, pp. 6–9. 98G. Merlini, , op. cit., pp. 196–197. English transla-

tion: ch. IV, p. 132. Cf. the report of the appointment of St. Gaspar asMissionary of the Archconfraternity of the Precious Blood, datedMarch 31, 1818, in , III, pp. 342–344.

99Cf. G. Merlini, , op. cit., pp. 197, 400. English trans-lation: ch. IV, p. 131, and ch. VI, p. 276. It is quite certain thatGaspar had made a to spread the devotion to the Most PreciousBlood, even if we do not know the precise date. To the authoritativetestimony of Merlini we add that of Don Antonio Lipparelli: “When Itold him that I had no other vow except those attached to the priest-hood, he replied to me: ‘Nor do I, except for the vow of promoting thedevotion of the Most Precious Blood’” ( , § 165,247).

12This chapter will be only a summary exposition of the devotion

to the Precious Blood in St. Gaspar. In 2006 Conti published a bookcontaining all of the texts of St. Gaspar on the Blood of Christ fromthe letters, spiritual writings, and rules. The work is available onlyin Italian and is titled

Rome: Centro Studi Sanguis Christi, 2006. 3 .4 , Pedini, § 74, 335.


5Ibid., Romani, § 76, 335.67Ibid.8 .910 .1112 .13 .14 .15 .16Ibid.17 .18 .19 , § 168, 247.20 .21 .2223Severini, V., Menicucci, G., Panzini, B.,

, Rome: 1992, p. 204. Hereafter cited as Panzini,op. cit.

24 , III, p. 74.25Ibid., p. 83.26Panzini, op. cit., p. 204.27 , Antonio Muccioli, § 109, 344.28Ibid., Silvestri, § 162, 246.29 , Falcioni, § 172, 248–249.30 , § 110, 232. 31A. Santelli, op. cit., 727.3233 , Silvestri, § 77, 335.34 .35 , § 77, 335.3637 .38St. Vincent Strambi (1745–1824), Passionist and bishop of

Macerata and Tolentino. Cf. A. Naselli, “L’Ottocento romano e ladevozione al Sangue Prezioso,” in

, 4 (1963), 210–211.39The first edition of 1820 was published without the name of

the author. After the death of Bishop Strambi, January 1, 1824, itwas always published with his name. The true authors of the workwere S. Vincent Strambi and Don Gaetano Bonanni, made bishop ofNorcia in 1821.

40 , XI, 81–82. 41Cf. of July 23, 1829. Cf. also various authors,

[sic] Ragguaglio

215NOTES

Centro Culturale Aprutino, Bellante (Teramo) 1995,163–164.

42 , July 21, 1829.43 September 29, 1828.44 , July 29, 1825.45B. Panzini, op. cit., 214.46Ibid., 198.47 , November 11, 1822.48 , § 174, 249.49 , § Romani, § 76, 335.50B. Valentini, , op. cit., 232.51B. Panzini, op. cit., 205.52Cf. , for example.53 May 3, 1829.54 , July 10, 1825.55 , May 3, 1829.56 , July—August 1813. 57B. Panzini, op. cit., 206.58Ibid., 212.59 , May 3, 1829.60 , Spina, § 92, 225.61 , III, 59.62 , Berga, § 160, 245.63 , September 21, 1828.64 , I, 44. Cf. , N. 16.65 , June 30, 1825.66 March 2, 1829.6768 .69 , §§ 82–83, 223.70 , to D. Ferdinando Gigliozzi.71 , §§ 82–83, 225.72 , § 165, 247.73 , March 1, 1815, to D. Gaetano Bonanni.74 , Maggi, § 59, 127.75 , III, 97. 76 , August 18, 1820. 77 , III, 100.78Ibid., 103.79 , III, 104.80Ibid., 105.81Ibid.82Ibid., 106.83Fr. Pietro Gravita, or as he was popularly called, Caravita,

was a Jesuit, born in Narni (Terni) in 1588 and died in Rome in 1658.He built a church next to the Collegio Romano, which came to be


called the Oratory of Fr. Caravita. This Oratory was the heart of theurban mission and one of the most important centers of the aposto-late in Rome. (Cf. A. Guidetti,

, Rusconi, Milano, 1988, 89–91). 84 III, 76–77.85 , June 17, 1825.86 , III, 108.87 , III, 108.88Ibid., 109.89Ibid., 112.90Ibid., 257.91Ibid.92Ibid., 258.93Ibid.94Ibid., 259.95 III, 257.96Ibid.97Ibid., 262.98Ibid., 283.99Ibid., 284.100Ibid., 276–281.101Ibid., 277.102Ibid., 280.103Ibid., 281.104 , III, 296.105Ibid., 300.106Ibid.107Ibid., 300–301

12 , 63.3Cf. above, pp. 26–27.4Cf. above, pp. 49–52.5Cf. A. Santelli, op. cit., 196–197.67A. Santelli, op. cit., 232.8 .9Cf. G. Merlini, op. cit., 156–157, English translation:

ch. 4, pp. 6–7.10Cf. ibid., 171.11Ibid., 197. 12B. Valentini, , op. cit., 59.13Cf. , III, 58.

217NOTES

14In fact, from August 1831 Gaspar did not use the title“Missionaries of the Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood”for his missionaries, but called them “Missionaries of the MostPrecious Blood,” as appears in a letter to Mons. Gregorio Muccioli ofAugust 25, 1831 (cf. ) and in a request to Gregory XVI onMay 23, 1832 ( ).

15Cf. , I, 406–407; , III, 8–10.16Cf. G. Merlini, , op. cit., 278, English translation: ch.

4, pp. 88–89.17Op. cit., 200. Cf. also ibid., 199–200.18G. Cespites, “Giovanni Merlini e i Congressi della Direzione

Generale CPPS,” in A. M. Triacca, ed., . Rome, 1998, 312–313.

192021Cf. A. Rey, op. cit, II, 56–57.22Cf. .23Cf.

, approved by Pius VII, in B. Conti, , Rome, 1991, 9–11.

24In the letter of July 8, 1825 to Cristaldi, Gaspar gave thisgeneric description of Monsignor Soglia: “Now that the present HolyFather has crossed off that title, in my opinion, that was not a gooddecision, based on the application of the customary rules, but ratherone that was produced through the vile intervention of someone closeto his Holiness, whom you know very well, and who was seeking tomeddle into the situation.” . Later we will see thatGaspar will speak with Soglia before speaking with the pope.

25Cf. the petition written by Don Innocenzo Betti in the C.PP.S.General Archives, vol. , 164–265.

26Cf. G. Merlini, , op. cit., 270–271, English transla-tion: ch. 4, pp. 83–84. The work is found in , I,357–403.

27Cf. AGCPPS vol. , 264–269.28 .29Ibid.30Ibid. The congregation of women referred to here is the

, foundedin Rome in the Church of Beata Vergine del Buon Consiglio andapproved on October 7, 1822, by then Cardinal Vicar Annibale DellaGenga, the future Leo XII.

31G. Merlini, , p. 273. English translation: ch. 4, p. 83.32Antonio Muccioli (1783–1843), nephew of Cristaldi, was a

member of the Gospel Workers and until 1819 preached missionswith St. Gaspar.

33 .


3435 .3637 .38In the volumes of the General Archives C.PP.S. the first two

documents on the Institute and its title are found in XII 48–50 (cf. the transcription in ). Another

document on the (cf. , XII,5–156, which is not transcribed in the , but in the volume

, I, 360–365, forms part of these. The third document onthe privileges granted to the Congregation by the Holy See is foundin I, 367, and is transcribed as .

39Cf. , IX, 97–101, of July 29, 1825. Infact, this text, found in the Archives of the Sacred Congregation forExtraordinary Affairs of the Church (later a part of the Secretariat ofState) on the occasion of the processes for the beatification of St.Gaspar, was sent to the Sacred Congregation of Rites on July 5, 1894and, on June 10, 1961, was sent to the General Archives C.PP.S.Regarding the “printed sheet” ( ) spoken of therein,see ibid., p. 10, note 2 and cf. I, 37–44.

40 . Conti notes several corrections made by Cristaldito Gaspar’s text. The uncorrected text appears in the appendix.

41Ibid.42Cf. , I, 360–365.43 : The oratory, founded by the Jesuit Pietro

Gravita or Caravita, is adjacent to the Collegio Romano and was ded-icated to St. Francis Xavier. Gaspar must have been quite familiarwith this center for the lay apostolate.

44 , I, 360–365.4546Cf. , I, 355.47Cf. the various hypotheses on assigning a date to the matter

referred to in this letter in L. Contegiacomo, , I, Rome, 1968, 185.

48In the of St. Gaspar there is no letter written to Mons.Muccioli on July 27, 1825, but we maintain that it is the letter pub-lished in , IV, 190–191 with the presumed date of July2–7, 1826 ( ). In the rest of this footnote, Conti outlines indetail the reasons for this opinion, based on his discovery in 1998 ofa document in the archives of the Diocese of Rome written byMuccioli along with a request to Leo XII.

4950The Archconfraternity was granted the concession to have the

Office and Mass of the mysteries of the Passion. Cf. The third docu-ment sent to Cristaldi regarding the privileges granted by the HolySee. Cf. Also G. Merlini, , 268–269, English translation: ch.4, pp. 82–83; I, 371.

219NOTES

51Cf. , III, 265–275.52Gaspar is referring here to the verse in Revelation: “

” ‘They overcame [the dragon] bythe blood of the Lamb’ (Rv 12: 11). Gaspar cites this verse often in hiswritings.

53Cf. D. Balboni, “,” in A. M. Triacca, editor,

, II, Rome 1989, 415–452.54Perhaps Gaspar refers to the following event in the life of

Blessed Giacomo di Bevagna, recounted in the book ,(Day XX), written by St. Vincent Strambi: “One day, BlessedGiacomo, desolate and afflicted, placed himself before the image ofJesus crucified, and he saw that from his pierced side a great quan-tity of Blood flowed, and he heard these sweet words of Jesus:‘ ’ ‘Let this Blood be a sign ofyour salvation.’ At this vision and with these words all his fear van-ished . . . and he began to strive more than ever in the path of thevirtues, which led him to the height of perfection.”

55 , I, 365–370; cf. .56ASVR, , 147, Pac. 1,

fasc. 6.57Cf. the letter of St. Gaspar to Cristaldi of July 28, 1825 ().58Cf. , I, 79–97.59 .60 .61 and .62Cf. B. Valentini, , op. cit., 72. Cf. also pp.

68–72, ibid.63In 12, 105, is preserved a sheet written

by St. Gaspar on the approval on the part of bishops of the missionsand spiritual exercises of the Missionaries of the Most PreciousBlood. The document, however, touches on the approval of the bish-ops only regarding some ministries carried out by the Congregationfrom its founding. The text, which is incomplete, mentions a numberof places where the Missionaries had work and cites the satisfactionof several bishops.

64Cf. .65 .66 .67 .68 .6970One can consult the reconstruction of this history and of the

presented by St. Gaspar to Pius VIII in ,I, 274–377.


71 , II, 1561v–1562.72G. Merlini, , op. cit., 177–288, English translation:

the pages cited cover much of ch. 4.73Cf. , II, Rossi, 1570.74 , I, 405. It should be noted that Cardinal Fransoni

is speaking only of the petition and not of the “Rules.” On the otherhand, in 12, 90, on the margin of the page thereis the following annotation of Merlini: “Delivered to the most eminentCardinal Fransoni by the Servant of God with the Rules, but he[Fransoni] did not believe it opportune to hand them over [to thepope] and to recommend them. After [Gaspar’s] death [CardinalFransoni] gave them to me.” In his deposition Merlini also notes thatSt. Gaspar wanted to submit the rule of his Institute “to the judg-ment of the Holy See, and he said that he wanted to send them [tothe Holy See], and he gave the memorandum in his own hand whichI saw originally to the most eminent Fransoni.” (G. Merlini,

, op. cit., 217, English translation: ch. 4 p. 47.) Probably the“Rules” he is speaking about consisted only in a outline ( ) or

‘Summary’ of the Institute, which in fact was delivered toGregory XVI. Cf. the in .

75 , 23.76Cf. AGCPPS,

34–35.77For more on the relationship between St. Gaspar with Gregory

XVI, see the appropriate documentation in , I, 378–407.78 , § 164, 246–247; cf. This

is the testimony of Sr. Maria Giuseppa Pittori and contains excerptsof letters written to her by Gaspar, who was her spiritual director.She quotes Gaspar as hearing Jesus speak to him thus: “Look, myson, at my divine Blood. Through sufferings, I poured it out andthrough sufferings will its adoration be promoted.”

79

, Alae 1881, art. 5, in , III, 93.80 , I, 400.81 .82 , I, 520.8384 .8586 .87 .88V. Pallotti, op. cit., 18. (Chapter II, page 3 of the English

translation on CD–ROM.) 89Ibid., 47. (Chapter IV, page 3 of the English translation on

CD–ROM.)

221NOTES

1 : “The Institute . . . was conceived during the timeof exile, wonderfully developed immediately after the exile with greatadvantage to souls, and, at the same time, to the anger of the devilwho has never ceased nor does he now cease from waging a specialwar against this very expression: “Precious Blood of Jesus Christ.”

2Cf. A biographical profile of Caterina Bentivoglio Orsi, espe-cially the years 1820–1826, in B. Conti, editor,

, Rome, 2000, 5–78. Hereafter cited as C.Bentivoglio, , page number.

3In a long footnote, Conti notes that Antonio Santelli, biogra-pher of Gaspar, interviewed one of the companions of CaterniaBentivoglio Orsi who followed her to Rome. This religious, MadreCaterina di S. Luigi, testified that Albertini wanted Gaspar with himat the Bentivoglio household because he had in mind the founding ofa community of sisters who would be called the Daughters of theMost Precious Blood. She went on to say that Albertini had Gasparwriting the rules for the foundation almost every night. Santellibelieved that she was referring to a document called the

, because it had been believed that the institute of nunswas to be dedicated to the education of women. This interpretationcan no longer be held, according to Conti, after the finding of somedocuments in Tarquinia in 1997, because these indicate that therewere various plans for the institute of sisters. If Gaspar wrote some-thing regarding the rule of the Daughters of the Most Precious Bloodin 1811, those writings cannot be regarded as the rule thatBentivoglio will begin to compile in definitive form beginning inNovember 1829.

4Cf. C. Bentivoglio, , 19–41. 5Albertini, during his time in Bologna in 1811, had to work hard

to convince Bentivoglio and her companions to take on this activity,but he did succeed. In a letter to Mons. Falzacappa, Bentivogliowrites: “You will say to me, ‘How could you put in these [Rules of1812] the visiting of hospitals?’ It is because this is what [Albertini]used to instill in me and, even though here a Lady rarely goes toserve the sick, he wanted me, together with the first daughter [ClaraBenini] to visit the incurables very often. I had many disagreementswith my relatives over this, but obedience helped me overcome them. . .” Cf. C. Bentivoglio, , 160–161.

6Cf. C. Bentivoglio, , 21 ss. 7C. Bentivoglio, , 160.8Ibid., 103–104.9Cf. XI ( G. F.

Falzacappa), Rome, 2000. These have not been translated intoEnglish.


10Cf. XI, 36–39.11Ibid., 39.12This is the testimony of Sr. Maria Giuseppa Pitorri in the

for the beatification and canonization ofGaspar: “on their part, they [Albertini and Gaspar] had made plansfor founding an institute of nuns under the title of the Most PreciousBlood and wanted to make use of my cooperation . . . I was trans-ferred to a kind of temporary lodging ( ) in theMonastery of Divino Amore, because there was a previous under-standing that with the Countess Bentivoglio Orsi in residence there,she would be selected to put into motion the founding of the Instituteof the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood. Seeing that there was noinitiation of that foundation and at the same time not feeling at easewith staying in that place, I made known my sentiments to CanonDel Bufalo who, in agreement with Monsignor [Gregorio] Muccioli,bishop of Agatopoli, had me transferred, after almost five months, tothis Monastery of the Ursuline nuns where I made my profession in1823.” .

13 , XI, 41. 14Ibid.15Ibid.16Cf. C. Bentivoglio, , 103–104.17Ibid., 93.18 , XI, 41.19Cf. C. Bentivoglio, , 104.20 .21Cf. C. Bentivoglio, , 46–53; 61–63 (383–384); 65–66;

of January 24, 1825 [of St. Gaspar].22 .23Cf. “Progetto di cultura religiosa e morale per la Delegazione

di Frosinone,” in B. Conti, , Rome, 1991, 9–11.

24B. Valentini, , op. cit., 274. The words initalics, unfortunately, were involuntarily left out when the depositionof Valentini was transcribed from the .In the first edition of the volume that collected these depositionsthese words are missing.

25Cf. also B. Conti, “San Gaspare e la Beata Maria De Mattias,”in , 3 (1996), 210–218.

26St. Gaspar preached the mission in Offida from June 26 toJuly 9, 1821 (cf. ) and from June 6–15, 1823 he preachedten days of the month of the Most Precious Blood there (cf.

). 2728 , April 8, 1831. (The text published in the

has “August” by mistake.) In 2001 a of the

223NOTES

event was given to the Congregaton by Sig. Mario Vannicola, whichgives a description of the procession with the relic. Conti quotes thisdocument at length. The procession involved the entire town withaltars set up at various points. The “Head of the Mission” carried theCross and the Missionaries gave along the way.

29 .30 .31 .32 .3334 dei Processi di beatificazione di Gaspare Del

Bufalo, n. 2, p. 26.35 .36 .37 .38 ; cf. also .39St. Gaspar preached the mission in Santanatolia in May of

1819 and he did not go there for any more preaching commitments.Conti believes that the date of 1830 probably refers to the period of1820–1821 when Gaspar was looking for local priests to found theAdorers of the Most Precious Blood with the intent of joining them tothe foundation Bentivoglio would make. According to the depositionof Valentini, after the opposition to the Congregation stopped in1830, Gaspar made use of Valentini and Merlini for the foundation ofthe Adorers, as will be seen below.

40 , I, Rome, 1944,293–294. Hereafter cited and the page number.

41Ibid.42 327. The pastor of Morino, Ab. Felice Fiocchi, was well

known to Gaspar and accompanied him on the mission of Roccagorga(Cf. Santelli, op. cit., 656).

43 . Cf. also St. Gasparbegan to speak of this “soul” with Butti in 1824.

44An exhaustive treatment of the foundation in Patrica is foundin M. Simoni, , Rome,1983.

45AGASC, Prov. , Cart. 46 . 47Cf. AGASC, loc. cit.48Cf. , I, 9. In this letter of October 7, 1837, in reply to a

letter of D. Giacomo Pilotti of September 29, Maria De Mattias statesthat she is open to being joined with the community of the Sisters ofPatrica. Because the bishop of the diocese, as Gargari affirms, want-ed to retain “absolute jurisdiction” over the Sisters of Patrica, thisunion would be realized only on March 20, 1906, when the Sisters ofPatrica were nearly extinct. In any case, the Sisters of De Mattiasalways had very good relations with the Sisters of Patrica.


49 , § 29, 70. Cf. also the testimony of D.Vincenzo Gasdia: Ibid., 233.

50Cf. B. Conti, , Rome, 1991, 9–12.

51G. Merlini, . . ., Rome, 1868, 15. Hereafter cited as G. Merlini,

, and the page number.52Ibid., 15–16.53Ibid., 16.54G. Merlini, I, Rome, 1974, 429.

Conti notes that permission was granted sometime after May 1828.55Cf. B. Conti, , op.

cit., 195–205.56G. Merlini, , 21–22.57Cf. . In this letter he speaks only of a daughter. In

a letter of March 21, 1827, also written to Giovanni De Mattias, hespeaks of two daughters.

58Cf. , in which he speaks of only one daughterwhom we know to be Maria from other documents.

59G. Merlini, , 26.60This phrase permits us to say that the only meeting of Maria

De Mattias with Gaspar occurred after she left the Trinitarians,because he advises her against going to “other monasteries.”

61 , I, 242–243.62In the light of the documents now available to us, it seems that

one must place the meeting around May 15, 1830. Conti cites a num-ber of documents to support this dating.

63 II, Rome, 1947, 63. On February 14, 1831, Gasparwrites to Giovanni De Mattias: “I am writing in this ordinary maildelivery, having given a reply to everything, to the Most ReverendBishop Bonanni, bishop of Norcia. As soon as I receive an answer,you will be instructed in everything. In the meantime, prayers. Thesacrifice that you are making will call down upon you ample bless-ings. God rewards everything.” ( ).

64 , II, 63.65Cf. Ibid.66On March 1, 1831, Gaspar writes to Giovanni De Mattias:

“The most reverend bishop of Norcia has written to me that now itwill be necessary to allow some time because of circumstances; then,he will give advice concerning the execution of the holy plan.” (

).67G. Merlini, , 28–29. 68Ibid.69 , I, 2.

225NOTES

1For more on the Precious Blood spirituality of St. Maria DeMattias, cf. the excellent doctoral dissertation of Sr. AngelitaMyerscough, ASC, entitled , Ruma, Illinois,1963.

2“The Holy Father to the Missionaries, Sisters, and [to the mem-bers of] the Pious Unions of the Most Precious Blood,” in

, 48 (1962), 61. 34Cf.

, Rome, 1982, 64.5 14.6Ibid., § 83, 223.7Ibid.8Ibid., § 169, 248.9V. Pallotti, op. cit., 19.10Cf. , § 110, 232.11Ibid., § 109, 232.12The exact title of the work of Palma is:

, published in Aquila in 1830. 13Cf. .14G. Merlini, pp. 400–403; English translation: ch. 6,

pp. 273–275.15Ibid., pp. 297–299.16 , I, Merlini, f. 830.