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From Xaverian Mission Newsletter by Fr. Carl Chudy, s.x.Jan. 2, 2011
Blessed Guido Maria Conforti: A new missionary Saint for a Global Church
Pope Benedict XVI has advanced the sainthood cause of a new and inspirational
figure whose sanctity and world vision of faith is so needed in these times. The
Church’s newest saint will be Blessed Guido Maria Conforti, founder and father
of more than 800 Xaverian Missionaries. The Pope authorized the miracle
attributed to Blessed Conforti’s intercession, the second needed to affirm his
sainthood.
Bishop Conforti founded the Pious Society of St Francis Xavier for Foreign
Missions, or the Xaverian Missionaries, who through his guidance helped bring
about a renewal of the missionary spirit at the turn of the 20th century. Our
missionaries first spearheaded evangelization efforts to China and are now
present in 19 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The first miracle attributed to Blessed Conforti came about in 1965. After
prayers for his intercession from the Xaverian Sisters in Burundi, 12-year old
Sabina Kamariza was cured of pancreatic cancer. He was beatified by Pope John
Paul II in 1996.
Guido Maria Conforti was Bishop of two major dioceses in Italy, Ravenna and
Parma, as well as a missionary for the world. The Second Vatican Council
proclaimed that the Church is missionary by her very nature and that the bishops
“are consecrated not just for one diocese, but for the salvation of the world.”
He sought to fulfill this ideal throughout his life, becoming a model for his
own missionaries, the people of his dioceses and the priests and the bishops of
the entire Church of God.
Although he dedicated all his energy to caring for his two large and demanding
dioceses, he also felt the daily preoccupation and concern for all the world (2
Cor 11:28). In commemorating the 25th anniversary of Conforti’s death, Cardinal
Giuseppe Roncalli, then Patriarch of Venice and the future Pope John XXIII,
defined him well as the Bishop of Parma, but a Missionary for the entire world.
Founder of the Xaverian Missionaries
Since health problems prevented him from pursuing the missionary vocation he had
felt since his high school years, Conforti conceived the idea of founding a
Missionary Institute. Thus, in agreement with the Congregation of Propaganda
Fide and with the approval of his Bishop, Conforti founded a new missionary
family in 1895.
The characteristics of the Xaverian Missionaries can be found in the personal
documents Conforti wrote: the Fundamental Rule, the Letter to mark the
promulgation of the Constitutions approved by the Holy See (Testament Letter)
and his addresses to departing missionaries.
Who is the Missionary for Conforti?
In an address to some of his missionaries who were leaving for China, Conforti
offers a definition of the missionary, which, given the mentality of those
times, may seem somewhat romantic; nevertheless, it does contain some perennial
values because it invites us to contemplate the missionary of all times and
ages, Jesus Christ: “The Missionary is the most beautiful and sublime
personification of the ideal life. He has contemplated in the spirit Jesus
Christ, who shows the Apostles the world they must conquer for the Gospel, not
with the power of weapons, but through persuasion and love.
The missionary is captivated by this ideal and leaves behind his family, country
and dearest and most legitimate affections in order to pursue it. He travels
into inhospitable jungles, crosses fiery deserts and the icy poles. He does not
search for gold and jewels, ivory, rare furs, or precious woods, but only souls
to win over to Faith in Christ. He carries no sword or rifle to face the
difficulties he encounters along the way, or to strike down the enemies in his
path; his only weapon is the cross of Christ and, if necessary, he is ready to
shed his blood for the good of his brothers. Indeed, his heartfelt desire is to
seal his apostolate with martyrdom” (Address to departing missionaries, 16 Nov
1924).
In his “Testament Letter” Conforti lists some inalienable characteristics of his
missionary family: “The distinguishing characteristic of the present and future
members of the society be the result of the following components: a spirit of
living faith which enables us to see God, seek God, love God in all things,
intensifying our desire to spread his kingdom everywhere; a spirit of prompt and
ready obedience in everything, no matter how costly, in order to achieve the
victories promised by God to those who are obedient; a spirit of intense love
for our religious family, that we must look upon as a mother, and a spirit of
intense love for all the members of our Society” (Testament Letter 10).
Path to Sainthood
Bishop Evasio Colli, the first successor of Conforti in Parma, saw the signs of
sanctity and began the whole process which ultimately led to the beatification
and soon the canonization of Blessed Conforti. The proclamation of the heroic
nature of his virtues took place in 1982. He was beatified on 17 March 1996, in
St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, in the presence of Pope John Paul II.
Blessed Guido Conforti wanted his first missionaries to continue the work of St
Francis Xavier, the patron saint of our Missionary Family, in China at whose
doors Xavier had died. Therefore, China was chosen as the first mission of the
Xaverians. After 1954 with their expulsion by the communists, the Xaverian
Missionaries gradually spread out to the 19 countries we are serving today.
