The life of Blessed Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Gabriel Possenti, of the Congregation of the passion

Front matter

■i^P^WPHP^P mmmm cA'i

Life Of \

BRieL,C.R

Contents

chap. page

Introduction by Cardinal Gibbons 7

I. Birth and Parentage 13

Introduction

Meee natural virtue, however excellent and praiseworthy, can never raise man to the sublime perfection which is the end of his creation. Divine faith and grace joined with man's cooperation, alone justify the soul unto eternal salvation. " If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments " (Matt. xix. 17) ; and the first and the greatest commandment is : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart." (Mark xii., Matt, xxii.) ]^o other plan of salvation has God ever given, either in the old dispensation or in the new. To facilitate the road to this perfection, Christ gave His disciples the evangelical counsels of poverty, continency and obedience, and when accepted as irrevocable obligations, they place the disciple in a new state of life, which is therefore, the state of perfection. " If thou wilt be perfect, said Christ to the young man, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me." (Matt. xix. 21.) It was from among those who had left all things to follow Him, that He chose His apostles. Hereunto likewise, He invited Christians in every age, when he said : " Every one that hath left house

8 INTRODUOTION.

or brethren or sisters, or father or mother, or wife or children or lands for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting." (Matt. xix. 29.) In these passages of the gospel. Christian tradition has ever seen the institution of the state of perfection, which the Church of God has prudently adapted to the circumstances of place and time, embodying it in various rules and constitutions, just as she has acted with relation to the sacraments, surrounding them with appropriate rites and ceremonies.

Thus were the different forms of the religious life introduced: eremitic and monastic, clerical and lay ; wherein a steadily increasing number of Christians, male and female, dedicated themselves to the exercises of the contemplative or active life. Apart from this variety of forms, one thing ever remained common to all, as the very essence of the state of perfection, namely an irrevocable profession of the three evangelical counsels, whereby the state of perfection became synonymous with the religious state, and those who professed it became religious properly socalled.

From the earliest times, too, the Church accepted this profession in God's name, regarded the whole religious life as a state of consecration, and those that belonged to it as sacred : insomuch that the same canon law that protected the Church's ministers from violence also safe-

INTEODUCTION. 9

guarded the religious, and rendered him that profaned the person of a religious or a cleric, equally guilty of sacrilege.

So complete is the sacrifice implied by the religious profession, that the early fathers have compared it to a holocaust, the victim of which dies to the world to live only for God. The world assumes that such self-annihilation is of no public utility : but " if the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, it bringeth forth much fruit," and every unprejudiced observer may infer the rich harvest of beneficent works accruing to the general public from religious in the past, from what is now acconiplished by the numerous religious institutions that dot the fair territory of these United States.

In the life of the youthful Passionist now presented for the first time to American readers, the excellence of the religious state is plainly set forth in a more than ordinary degree. A child of our own times, whose days barely cover twenty-four years of the middle of this expiring century, the sanctity of the Bl. Gabriel Possenti has been made illustrious by the wonders wrought at his grave since 1892. His early life presents this unique feature, that it contained no presage of his future holiness until he crossed the threshold of his cloister-home. The five short years in which the work of his spiritual perfection was accomplished, were spent in the

10 IlSrTRODUCTION.

obscurity of the retreat, devoted to the performance of common duties, as if God wished to emphasize once more in the eyes of the world, the sanctifying efficacy of the religious state.

Moved by these considerations, no sooner was the extraordinary virtue of this Servant of God brought to my notice, than I conceived for the youthful hero a love and admiration which were but the outcome of my profound esteem for the religious state. I recall with pleasure that in 1895, together with our illustrious brethren in the Sacred College, Cardinal Parocchi of Rome, and Cardinal Yaughan of London, I was one of the three bishops who first petitioned the Holy See for Gabriel's beatification. I then represented to the Sovereign Pontiff " what honor would thereby accrue to the Church, what salutary profit to Christian people, and especially what assistance to youth, so sorely straightened in these days by the spirit of wickedness." (Epistola Postulat, Aug. 4th, 1895.) Similiar petitions have since been forwarded to the Holy Father by twenty-nine cardinals, and as many archbishops and bishops ; and now that the petition has been granted, we gladly introduce to the public this "Life of the Venerable Gabriel, of the Passionist Congregation."

Besides, this little volume is a new departure in hagiography, and one to be commended. A glance at the fundamental plan which underlies

INTRODUCTION. 11

the work will reveal the object of the author. After the historical portion that leads up to Gabriel's correspondence to his religious vocation, we follow step by step, the development of his interior perfection. Helped by divine grace, and guided by a wise and prudent director, the young religious applies himself first to overcome the passions of rebellious nature, passing thence to the acquisition of the moral virtues that form the character of the man. Thus we come to sympathize with Gabriel as a brother, before we are consciously drawn to admire and imitate the saint. The heart being thus purified and strengthened, free scope is given to the operations of grace, which works by faith, hope and charity, unto the perfect union with God wherein consists our supreme perfection. Then only are we shown how marvelously this work was fostered by the means proper to the state of perfection, until we see its consummation in a holy death, and its wonderful sanction by the voice of heaven.

Whilst showing the excellence of the religious life, it is hoped that this little book will be an encouragement to those whose vocation is in the world, showing them that holiness is not to be sought for in wonderful deeds, but rather in the ordinary duties of life when sanctified by the love of God : in this alone, essential perfection consists.

12 INTRODUCTION.

To those who overestimate the value of moral virtue, it will show that this is only conseq%ient perfection ; that is, valuable only in proportion to the amount of grace and divine charity that animates it ; bereft of which, the most heroic deeds are deserving only of human praise, and an earthly reward.

Let us add, in conclusion, that for those more privileged souls who live in the cloister, this little book will be a gentle reminder that the religious state, as such, is not ready-made sanctity put on with the religious habit, but only a means {instrumental perfection, as theologians call it) to be used unto an end — the acquisition of virtue.

J. Cakd. Gibbons.

Balti?nore^ Feast of St. Aloysius^ i8gg.

J. X. p.

The Life of Blessed Gabriel of the Sorrowful

Mother, of the Congregation of the Passion.

BIRTH AND PARENTAGE.

" Do you wish to enjoy in the loveliest season of the year the spectacle of one of the most beautiful regions of far-famed Italy ? Then, traverse by slow stages the road which leads from Florence to Arezzo and Cortona, thence along the classic and enchanted shores of Lake Thrasymene to Perugia, and then down the eastern slopes of the mountains overlooking the Tiber to the mountain-side beyond, to whose steep acclivities clings Assisi." Here it was, that on the first day of March, 1838, was born of Sante Possenti and Agnes Frisciotti, a child who in these dark days was to enhance the ancient splendor of Umbria by adding one star more to the constellation which has made this province the land of sweetest saints. The late bishop of Assisi, IS^icanor Priori, a truly holy man wrote : " Even as this city, in the most troublous times of the church, brought forth the Blessed Francis and other men of great holiness forechosen of God, that by their splendor and example they might enkindle the faith, purify the morals, and by the foolishness of the cross confound the wisdom of the world, — even so, in these latter and more evil times, did it give birth to another Francis, surnamed Possenti (and afterward among the Fathers of the Passion, Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin,) — who having followed the example of the first, showed himself principally to the young, a despiser of the world, a follower of all good works, and an ardent lover of the Cross of Christ."

His father, Sante Possenti, was a lawyer of exceptional talent, who during his long life of eighty-two years, deserved well of his native land. When barely twenty-two years old, Signor Possenti was appointed governor of ITrbania in Eomagna. He was continued in this office in various places, with successive promotion, by five Popes, until in 1842, Gregory XYI. nominated him Grand Assessor of Spoleto, in which capacity he continued to serve his country up to the date of his retirement from public life in 1858.

His mother belonged to one of the most con-

BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 15

spicuous families of Civitanova in the Marches ; but the distinctions of fortune and birth were enhanced in her by a treasure far more precious and praiseworthy — the blessing of a lively faith, shining forth in works of charity and religion. The union of this distinguished couple was a happy one, and God blessed them with a numerous family, thirteen in all, four of whom received the crown of innocence in their tender years, all the rest walked in the footsteps of their holy parents, two being raised to the priesthood ; while Francis, the eleventh of their children, was destined to be the brightest gem in the diadem of their parental love. Happy the parents of virtuous children ! blessed the children of true Christian parents !

Following the laudable custom of Catholic countries, Francis was baptized on the very day of his birth, and by a gracious dispensation of Providence, he was regenerated at the same font where eight hundred years before, the glorious patriarch of Assisi, St. Francis, had been born to grace. Our little Francis w^as entrusted to a nurse during the first year of his life, on account of the delicate health of his good mother, but on his father receiving the appointment of Governor of Montalto in 1839, the child was restored to his family. The official duties of the father, as well as the frequent changes of residence implied in his various appointments, left him but little time to share either the burdens or pleasures of homelife; but his devoted wife consecrated herself with all the greater solicitude to the Christian education of her children ; and already at so tender an age, she began to arouse in Francesco's infant soul, the first awakenings of the faith and grace of his holy baptism.

At last the day dawned when in consequence of Signor Possenti's appointment to Spoleto, the loving parents might hope to live henceforth undisturbed in a permanent home. But alas, hardly had a few months passed by when one of the children. Rose, only seven months old, took her flight to join her two angel brothers Paul ind Louis, in heaven ; then, a few weeks later, Adele, a lovely maiden of nine summers, passed away ; and finally after a melancholy interval of a few weeks, the bereaved family in deep mourning and sorrow laid the mortal remains of their beloved mother to rest. Agnes Frisciotti-Possenti, young in years but rich in merits, died February 9, 1842. She sleeps in the church of the Oratorians at Spoleto waiting for the day when she will shine before the world as the nother of a saint.

CHILDHOOD. 17

II. Childhood

God's providence has its mysterious ways, — the cross must try and perfect his elect. The widowed father bowed his head in tearful resignation, then with the solicitude of a mother and the fortitude of a Christian, he looked duty in the face undaunted. Surrounded by a family of nine children, the duties of his important oflBce hardly left him time to sit at table in their midst ; so, at last he resolved to entrust the government of his household, as well as the care of the family, to a respectable and experienced lady named Pacifica. The imputation of harshness which we find recorded of her may well be excused on the score of necessity, if we consider the age and number of the boys and girls committed to her charge ; while time and results proved that Signor Possenti had not been mistaken in his choice, and the affection and respect ever shown her in after-life by his family, well attest how worthy she was of the absolute confidence placed in her. l^one, however, cherished a more grateful remembrance of her than Francis, as his letters amply attest.

At the very outset, we might as well inform our readers, that the child, whose life-story we have undertaken, did not in his early years manifest any of those extraordinary signs of precocious holiness so often found in the lives of the saints. In fact, Francis was, if anything, more lively than any of his brothers and sisters, and as he grew up, his gay and sympathetic nature brought more than its expected share to the noise and bustle of the Possenti mansion. Then, too, our hero was not without his faults. He began to show unmistakable signs of anger, giddiness, and disobedience. The impetuosity of his nature would often break out in fits of passion, which it was no easy matter for him to control. His earliest biographer states that when corrected by his father, Francesco would give way to his angry feelings, his face would become inflamed with the violence of his unruly temper, and he would leave the company abruptly. But the flame would subside almost as quickly as it had been enkindled; his better nature would assert itself, and then it was beautiful to see him after the absence of a few moments, return to his father, weeping and confused, begging pardon for his hastiness. But his father would pretend not to care for this change of feeling, and would dismiss him, saying : " Francesco, what I want, is that you learn to behave yourself." Then would the boy throw himself upon his father's

CHILDHOOD. 19

neck, embrace and kiss him, until the parent, conquered and moved, would assure his son that he loved his dear little Francesco still. Blessed the son who learns betimes to revere and love his father 1 Filial affection will mould his character into manliness more effectually than the rod : the human reason unfolds only in the light of reason, the human heart is conquered only by the conviction of love.

Signor Possenti had not been slow to realize that his paternal admonitions, even when emphasized in his absence by a watchful and devoted governess, would hardly prove a sufficient aid and safeguard for his growing sons ; so a tutor was selected for them, a young cleric of piety and ability, who should be to them an experienced friend and constant companion, guiding them in their studies and associating with them in all their recreations. Such a measure may appear strange to our American ideas of selfeducation, but it was a custom among families of rank and consideration in other days and other lands ; and it will hardly be denied that habitual intercourse with a more trained and mature companion is likely to form a more manly character in the young, than if they grew up with those of their own age, and tastes, and dispositions. However, it is not our object to become the advocate of any system, depending as it must needs do, so largely upon national traits and local circum-

20 LIFE OF BLESSED GABKIEL.

stances ; suffice it to say that a worthy and congenial companion was provided for the young sons of Signor Possenti in the person of Philip Fabi. When he was installed in his new office he was ten years older than Francis, and survived him by many years. By reason therefore of his close intimacy, he became a valuable witness to his pupil's conduct as a secular, when the juridical processes were set on foot.

Fabi's task was by no means easy. About this time, we are told, that Francesco's character was very changeable ; all inclined to piety one day, and on the morrow equally given up to worldliness : now all studiousness and fervor, then all tepidity and languor. Yet, in the midst of this fickleness, his piety would burst into sudden flame, revealing the fire of virtue that lay smouldering in his heart.

JiCt it not be supposed, however, that it was Signor Possenti's intention to give a private tuition to his sons : he was fully aware of the blessing of public education, and as the first magistrate of the city, he was too public-spirited to seek any for his boys but the common schools ; he feared for them, not their contact with the poor, but the contamination of the wicked ; and the advantages of select schools were far outweighed in his mind by the democratic idea of spirited emulation with talent and merit, in whatever class of society they might be found.

CHILDHOOD. 21

His one ambition was to make his sons true men, useful citizens and practical Christians.

And so it came to pass that little Francis, to his supreme delight, found himself accompanying his older brothers on his way to school. At that time elementary education in Spoleto was superintended by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and it was under the influence of their teaching and example that the seeds of virtue implanted in his soul by his Christian parents, developed into flowers and fruits, despite the weeds that threatened to stifle them.^ " It was while under the care of the Christian Brothers," says his sister Teresa, " that Francis received the first rudiments of learning, as well as his first systematic instruction in religion. From his earliest school-days," she continues, " he showed a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin, never missing the ro sary that we recited at home every evening. He often visited the sacred image or Icon of our Lady in the cathedral ; and if perchance the doors were closed, he would devoutly venerate the

* The idea o{ public schools is not an invention of our times or of our country : it is as old as the parish and cathedral communities in the Catholic Church. Its modern and popular form is derived from two of her illustrious sons : Peter Fourrier doing for the education of girls, what John Baptist de la Salle did for the boys. The society instituted by the latter to further Christian education' (though but one of the many now flourishmg in the Church of God) numbers at present about 18,000 religious, all pledged to the principle of gratuitous education.

statue placed over the entrance, la santisshna Vergine del Portico^ as it was called. My brother's moral conduct was ever unblemished, writes his Dominican brother, Louis, (who had lived with Francis until the latter had reached his twelfth year) yet I remember that when he was very young he was not very strict in the custody of his eyes; it seems that little Francesco was a trifle too wide-awake ; he thought it his prerogative to gratify his natural curiosity in seeing and knowing all things.

" Then, too, healthy boys are partial to fruits and sweets of all kinds, and our Francis was by no means an exception to the rule; but his generous nature would not enjoy what he could not share with others ; and his sense of honesty was too deep-rooted to allow of his ever appropriating anything whatsoever that was not his own. The little fellow was, besides, full of courage. He could not bear to see any one suffering unjustly, and full often he championed the cause of those older than himself, if they happened to be reprimanded or punished without reason. But on the other hand, his sense of justice would not allow to pass unnoticed any fault whether in the domestics, his brothers and sisters, or his companions ; he was outspoken, perhaps even forward, but it was not hard to see that all this came from the uprightness of an honest heart.

CHILDHOOD. 23

" On the whole, Francis was both the terror and the favorite of the home, whilst his playful disposition made him a welcome companion to all his schoolmates. Usually rather careless about his personal appearance, he was not exempt from a tinge of vanity ; still his heart was too magnanimous to receive any lasting impression from any kind of vulgar worldly show : with the same facility with which his eye would take to such things, he would put them aside, and sometimes disregard them with contempt, saying : ^ O, after all, what do I care ! '"

This nobility of character was not entirely due to the watchfulness of Pacifica, or to the influence of the good Brothers at school, most of it must be credited to Signor Possenti himself, in so many respects a model Christian father. This good man yielded to no one his place as the effective leader and teacher of his children, and he walked before them both by precept and example.

Signor Possenti was a man of piety and faith, and with the exercise of his religion he allowed nothing to interfere. Pising early in the morning, he began the day by devoting an entire hour to his morning devotions. He would afterward repair to the church to hear Holy Mass, taking with him most of his children. Then, relying on the assistance of God, and strengthened by the testimony of a good conscience, he would turn his attention to his judicial duties. This good Christian had likewise a remarkable love for the poor: both officially and privately he exerted himself to relieve their necessities, and he benefited by every occasion, not only to perform an act of charity, but to instil into the hearts of his children a practical sympathy for the suffering members of Christ. To the father's great delight, Francis learned the lessons of charity at the cost of personal self-denial. From his earliest years the boy showed great compassion for the poor, often giving away half of his lunch during the recess at school. Eeturning home, if he happened to meet some unfortunate creature whose misery moved him to pity, he would go at once to Pacifica, and ask for bread ; but it sometimes happened that the good woman's generosity was not all commensurate with the demands that Francis saw fit to levy upon it ; then would our young hero remonstrate with her, saying : " Why ! . . . father wants us to be charitable; we ought not to despise the poor, for we don't know what we may one day be ourselves." In the evening, after the labors of the well-filled day, Signor Possenti was accustomed to gather his sons and daughters in his room, and after the recitation of the rosary in common, hold with them such converse as was appropriate to their age and their needs. In the intimacy of such conversations he would open his heart to them,

I CHILDHOOD. 25

inculcating those Christian principles, wise counsels, and useful maxims, that were to guide them on the path of life ; he would speak to them of their duties toward God, of the respect and gratitude we owe to His Church, of the obedience commanded by parental authority ; above all, he would inveigh with all the warmth of his affection against the dangers of bad company, and impress upon his children's minds the vanity of the world, and everything in it. Then having received the blessing of such a noble Christian father, they would retire to rest. Truly did the parental blessing rest upon his family ; truly by such a blameless life did Sante Possenti deserve the love of his children, and the glorious title of heing the father of a saint I

III. Youth And School Life

In 1823 Cardinal clella Genga, a native of Spoleto ascended the papal throne under the name of Leo XII., and one of the first things that claimed his attention and solicitude was to provide for the youth of his native city the very best of educators. Instruction is not education : the latter term implies the formation of the heart as Avell as the cultivation of the mind; and it must be remembered in the words of a solid thinker of our own day that the teacher's personality, far more than his learning, determines his value as an educator.^ Thus the two great teaching orders of the Church came to Spoleto, the sons of La Salle and of Loyola, the Christian Brothers and the Jesuits. Under the patronage of Archbishop Mastai-Ferretti (afterward Pius IX.) the Fathers of the Society flourished, so that, when in 1842 the Possenti family was established at Spoleto, their college was already illustrious by the fame of its professors and the number of its students.

Signor Possenti, who was highly cultured

' Life and Education. Chap, vi. (Bp. Spalding of Peoria, 18.97).

YOUTH AND SCHOOL LIFE. 27

himself, rejoiced at this opportunity of affording his sons a liberal education, and in 1849 it came to pass that having finished his elementary course of instruction with the good Brothers, our Francis followed his elder brothers to the Jesuit College, until he graduated in philosophy at the age of eighteen. Under such accomplished masters, Francis made rapid progress in secular as well as sacred knowledge. His success in his studies may be gauged by his acknowledged talent, and from the honorable * place accorded him in public examinations. His name is often mentioned in the programs which it was usual to print at the " Distribution of Premiums." His brother Henry says that the prize in philosophy was awarded to him, and his sister Teresa is still in possession of a " medal of honor " won by Francis at the end of the scholastic course, when such distinctions were far from being common.

Our young hero had a bright and open mind together with a tenacious memory. He was certainly one of the aptest scholars, writes his professor of mental philosophy ; and one of his companions, his senior in the Passionist novitiate, attests that he must have gone through his studies with great success, judging from the knowledge with which he was well furnished.

All this, however, was enhanced in Francis by external qualities that made his talents more valuable still. His directors used to select him as public reader both for the sodality and in the college church, when the catechism took place there on festivals. No one could surpass him in this exercise, both for readiness and inborn gracefulness. Nature had endowed him with a clear and sonorous voice, and while reading he was so penetrated with the author's meaning that he seemed less to repeat the sentiments of others than to express his own. Hence many foresaw in him the valiant missionary, recognizing in the graceful reader, the gifts of the distinguished preacher. He succeeded equally well in the academic dissertations and the classic authors, all which he would read with such feeling and naturalness that it almost seemed original declamation. Such is the testimony of Canon Bonaccia his college companion. As years went on, it became evident to all, that Francis Possenti was one of those who gave well-grounded hopes of brilliant success in his future career, whatever that professional career might be.

While commanding admiration, his natural distinction oifended nobody, because his frank, noble and generous disposition drew all to him, and surrounded him with the sweet halo of affection and esteem. And no wonder, for, ever smiling, kind and obliging to all, respectful to his superiors, he became the favorite of the Spoletan College, as he was the sunshine of his own home.

Yet these bright prospects were not unaccompanied with danger. How many a noble soul is deceived by the vanities of the world, and blinded by its concupiscence ! Hence the warning of the beloved disciple : (John ii. 14, 15) " Young men, love not the world." The personal qualities of Signor Possenti, no less than the social standing consequent on his high office, brought him in contact with the most refined and educated classes of the city, and threw open to him and his children the drawing-rooms of the most aristocratic and wealthy. It was customary with the nobility of Spoleto to hold soirees, in which the earlier hours of the night would be given to the familiar discussion of some artistic or scientific topic, after which the junior portion of the assembly would make merry in plays, music or dancing. Though rather young, Francis would occasionally be allowed to accompany his brothers and sisters, and as was to be expected, his winning ways soon made him so desirable a guest, that they were loath to miss him. These gatherings had such a fascination for him, that he would beg his father to bring him to them, and Signor Possenti fully appreciating the welcome accorded to his son would yield to his importunity, until so marked was Francis' partiality to these entertainments that he came to be called among his college associates, il damerino^ or, the society young man.