Day 189 -- Saint Luigi Orione

"Engage always in good works to everyone but never do harm to anybody."
his motto

Here is the story of another Italian saint: Saint Luigi Orione. Luigi was born on June 23, 1872 in Allessandria, Italy. He joined the Franciscans at a young age, but developed severe health problems and he went back home to his family. He studied under Saint John Bosco and was there when he died. At the funeral he was cured of his illness. He was able to return to seminary and Tortona, Italy. While still a layman and student, he opened Sain Luigi House in San Bernardino in 1893 which was a home for the poor, homeless and abandoned. He was ordained on April 13, 1895.

He went on to found the Hermits of Divine Providence congregation, the Ladies of Divine Providence, and an orphanage in Rome in 1899. Under the patronage of Pope Saint Pius X he founded the Little Missionaries of Charity. He build a Marian shrine which became a point for people during times of unrest. He was able to travel the world visiting the houses of his congregations--Wales, Brazil, and the USA, and others in Italy. He died on March 12, 1940 in San Remo, Italy from heart disease. He is interred at the shrine of Our Lady of Safe Keeping in Tortona. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 16, 2004.


"Without Prayer nothing good is done. God’s works are done with our hands joined, and on our knees. Even when we run, we must remain spiritually kneeling before Him."