Salesian Priest: 1837-1910
His life
+ Michael was born in Turin, Italy, and was the son of a weapons manufacturer.
+ As a boy, he attended Saint John Bosco’s Oratory and Saint John was so impressed with Michael that he made him his assistant in his work with youth.
+ Michael eventually joined Saint John Bosco’s community of Salesian Fathers and Brothers and was ordained a priest.
+ Following Don Bosco’s death, Michael was elected Superior General of the Salesians. During his term, the community grew from 773 Salesians in 57 houses to 4,000 members in 345 communities.
+ Blessed Michael Rua died on April 6, 1910.
Worth knowing
The Salesians celebrate the memorial of Blessed Michael Rua on October 29, the day on which he was beatified in 1972.
Quote
“The Salesian Family owes its origin to Don Bosco, to Fr. Rua its continuation … he developed the Saint’s example into a school, his Rule into a spirit, his holiness into a model. He turned the spring into a river.”—Blessed Pope Paul VI at the beatification of Blessed Michael Rua
Prayer
O God, who raised up blessed Michael in your Church to show others the way of salvation, grant us, by his example, so to follow Christ the master, that we may come with our neighbor into your presence. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For Educators)
–
Saint profiles prepared by Silas Henderson
And today we celebrate...