Luigi Orione

thumb|Luigi Orione Luigi Giovanni Orione (June 23, 1872 - March 12, 1940) was an Italian priest who was active in answering the social needs of his nation as it faced the social upheavals of the late 19th century. To this end, he founded a religious institute of men. He has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church. Quotes Christ, the Church, souls love and serve each other on the cross and crucified or do not love and do not serve each other at all. Scritti, 68, 81; quoted in Pope John Paul II, Papal Chapel for the Canonization of 6 Blessed, vatican.va, 16 May 2004. Perfect joy can only be in perfect self-dedication to God and to men, to all men, to the most miserable as well as to the most physically and morally deformed, to the most distant, to the most guilty, to the most adverse. P:lace me, O Lord, in the mouth of hell that I may by your mercy close it. May my secret martyrdom for the salvation of souls, of all souls, be my Paradise and my supreme bliss: Love of souls, souls, souls! Sette brani e relativi commenti, Università popolare don Orione, Torino, 1955, pp. 5-7; quoted in Giuseppe De Luca, L'annuario del parroco 1955-1962, Edizioni di storia e letteratura, Rome 2002, pp. 97-98 In the most miserable of men the image of God shines. La contemplazione in San Luigi Orione, Messaggi di Don Orione, 36 (2004) n. 113, pp. 55-68. Only charity will save the world. Scritti, 62, 13; quoted in Pope John Paul II, Papal Chapel for the Canonization of 6 Blessed, vatican.va, 16 May 2004. Quotes about Although Don Orione was already well into his forties at the time and I was a sixteen-year-old boy, at a certain moment you saw an extraordinary event, every age difference between us had disappeared. He began to talk to me about serious matters, not indiscreet or personal matters, no, but about important matters in general, which, wrongly, adults do not use to discuss with us boys, or mention in a false and didactic tone. Instead, he spoke to me naturally and simply, as I had not yet known the equal, asked me questions, begged me to explain certain things to him, and also induced me to answer him naturally and simply without costing me any effort. Ignazio Silone, Uscita di sicurezza, Longanesi, Milano 1979. Yet with the Gospel on the heart, like Don Orione, one cannot resign oneself to being pessimistic. Giovanni Canestri, quoted in O Roma Felix, 30-giorni, 3-2000. Man totally given to the cause of Christ and his Kingdom. Physical and moral suffering, toil, difficulties, misunderstandings and obstacles of all kinds have marked his apostolic ministry. [...] The passion for Christ was the soul of his daring life, the inner drive of unreserved altruism, the ever-fresh source of indestructible hope. Pope John Paul II, Papal Chapel for the Canonization of 6 Blessed, vatican.va, 16 May 2004. External links Orione, Luigi Category:1872 births Category:1940 deaths Category:Catholic saints Category:Roman Catholic priests Category:Catholics from Italy