Pavonian Novitiate - Juniorate Formation House

Who is Lodovico Pavoni?

Lodovico Pavoni was born in Brescia on 11 September 1784, soon revealing himself to be a lively and brilliant boy, open to many interests, sensitive to faith and social problems.
At 19 he accepted the Lord's call to priestly life and was ordained on February 21, 1807. As a young priest he dedicated above all to youth ministry and distinguished himself for an intense catechetical activity. In 1812 he founded an oratory for the aggregation and education of the poorest teenagers, who were ashamed to attend the other speakers in the city. In the same year the Bishop, Msgr. Gabrio Nava, chose him as his secretary and in 1818 promoted him canon of the Duomo and appointed him Rector of the church of San Barnaba, encouraging him to dedicate himself to the most troubled children. Here, at the former convent adjacent to the church, in 1821 Pavoni created a "College of arts" for orphaned, poor or abandoned teenagers, to whom deaf-mutes later joined. Thus was born the Institute of San Barnaba. In the following thirty years, Lodovico Pavoni developed his "educational method", which places him at the forefront of the most enlightened pedagogists of the 19th century (reasonableness, love, prevention, centrality of faith, importance of work: elements that will be taken up again and developed by Don Bosco); he organized a model of education and start-up for work which was a prelude to the current professional schools; began a thriving typographic and editorial activity, anticipating the contemporary apostolate of the mass media; he introduced completely new reforms to the world of work, anticipating the social doctrine of "Rerum Novarum" by half a century (dignity of work, family wages, assistance in illnesses, dismissal only for just cause and with notice,

To give continuity to the work begun on God's inspiration, after exhausting practices with the civil and ecclesial authority, on December 8, 1847 he founded the religious Congregation of the Sons of Mary Immaculate, composed of priests and lay people, with equal rights and of duties. Thus appears the figure of the lay religious, educator and worker, inserted directly into the mission of the Congregation. Lodovico Pavoni died in Saiano, near Brescia, on 1st April 1849, on Palm Sunday, heroic victim of his efforts to bring his children to safety from the fighting of the Ten Days of Brescia. Pope Pius XlI recognized the heroicity of his virtues on June 5, 1947. Pope St. John Paul II declared him Blessed on April 14, 2002. Pope Francis proclaims him Saint on October 16, 2016.

Childhood and early years
Lodovico Pavoni was the first of the four children of Lelia Poncarali and Alessandro Pavoni, both from noble families. At Baptism, received two days after birth in the church of San Lorenzo, he was given the names of Lodovico Tommaso Maria Giuseppe. He probably received his first education through private tutors and continued his studies in one of the colleges for nobles still existing in Brescia. From what little is known of his childhood and adolescence, it emerged that he gave his clothes to the poor who increasingly crowded the streets of his city. At 11 years old, contrary to the use of time, he was admitted to First Communion.

Sensitivity to the poor and vocation
Often he went to the estate in the countryside in Alfianello, owned by the family, where he spent time like the other young men of his rank: he went on horseback and, armed with a rifle, he hunted game. It wasn't long, however, before he became aware of the conditions of the children of the peasants: he therefore began to instruct them in the basic elements of culture and catechism and, not infrequently, he left some financial help. Those acquaintances, combined with the political situation marked by the recent French revolution, led Lodovico to think that he could serve the Church, which in Brescia and not only was the subject of fierce assaults, but also its poor friends: in a word, he understood that he had to become priest. So he gave up hunting and gave himself passionately to the study of philosophy and theology,

Priest in a diocese without a bishop
On the eve of the Immaculate Conception of 1803, Lodovico completed the clerical habit. Four years later, on February 21, 1807, he was consecrated priest in the church of San Pietro in Oliveto by the bishop of Bergamo, Monsignor Giovanni Paolo Dolfin. The bishopric of Brescia had been vacant since 1797, when Monsignor Nani was forced into exile by Napoleon. The new bishop, Monsignor Gabrio Maria Nava, former parish-abbot of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan, made his solemn entry only on January 17, 1808.

"Attractive sweets" for the service to abandoned young people
Meanwhile, Don Lodovico was outlining the type of priest he wanted to be. In this sense, the reading of Schedoni's text "Moral Influences" was providential, outlining the reasons why young people from the less wealthy classes ended up spending an unruly life, so much as to commit crimes. The only solution proposed by the author was to open schools where they could receive good education for free and, in parallel, learn a trade. The young priest understood that this was his way, even if he still did not know how to carry it out: «These were the sweet attractions with which it pleased the Lord to call me from the quiet stay of my paternal home and to entice me to the voluntary oblation of my whole advantage of such a good public, "he wrote later. He then began to help Father Pietro Guzzetti, who had been hosting poor young people for eight years and had founded four speakers in as many areas of Brescia; precisely, Don Lodovico worked in the one named after Saint Louis. After the death of his mother on 11 November 1809 (the father had left two years after his dressing), he decided to found an oratory in first person, choosing the church dedicated to Sant'Orsola and the free space next to it to rally the boys. He did not stop, however, to those who came alone: ​​he went personally to look for the most abandoned, poorly dressed, who survived, did not really live. After the death of his mother on 11 November 1809 (the father had left two years after his dressing), he decided to found an oratory in first person, choosing the church dedicated to Sant'Orsola and the free space next to it to rally the boys. He did not stop, however, to those who came alone: ​​he went personally to look for the most abandoned, poorly dressed, who survived, did not really live. After the death of his mother on 11 November 1809 (the father had left two years after his dressing), he decided to found an oratory in first person, choosing the church dedicated to Sant'Orsola and the free space next to it to rally the boys. He did not stop, however, to those who came alone: ​​he went personally to look for the most abandoned, poorly dressed, who survived, did not really live.

Secretary of Monsignor Nava
As for Monsignor Nava, he was reorganizing a diocese that was really going to collapse, between the suppressions of orders and religious institutes and the erroneous doctrines that spread in the clergy. He therefore made the most of his care for the reopening and reorganization of the seminary. Furthermore, not forgetting his Ambrosian past, he began to look with interest at the work of the Brescian speakers, especially that of Don Lodovico. In 1812, therefore, he asked him to become his secretary, without however abandoning his boys. Since then he shared his life both in the most ordinary days, both in pastoral visits, and in common prayer. Indeed, as soon as possible, sometimes it was the bishop himself who ordered it, he ran to "his" oratory.

Two transfers to the oratory
Just returning from a pastoral visit, Don Lodovico learned that the municipality of Brescia intended to sell the church and the small annexed courtyard, where he kept the oratory. Monsignor Nava procured a new arrangement in the church of San Giacomo and annexes, but within a few weeks it appeared to be too narrow. The second place chosen was Santa Maria di Passione, with a house, a church and a land suitable for the more than 200 boys and young people (more than half was over eighteen) who attended the oratory.

Canon and rector of the basilica of San Barnaba
In 1817 Father Pietro Guzzetti died: his oratories, especially the central one in San Barnaba, were in danger of closing. Monsignor Nava, therefore, thought of assigning Don Lodovico to succeed him, and to guarantee him an income, he appointed him canon of the cathedral of Brescia. After obtaining permission from the Austrian civil authorities, on 14 February 1818 he passed from the bishop's secretary to canon and rector of the basilica of San Barnaba. Apart from the prayer obligations in the cathedral to which he was required, Canon Pavoni began to draw up a regulation for his oratory and understood that his young people, very often, when they started to work, ended up abandoning the teachings he had given them .

The Pio Istituto San Barnaba is the first Italian printing school
For this reason, he thought of creating "a beneficial private Institute, or College of Arts, where at least orphans, or neglected by their parents, were collected, free of charge maintained, Christianly educated, and made able to disengage some art, in order to form them together dear to religion, and useful to society, and to the state ". The chosen venue was the rooms of the former Augustinian convent attached to the basilica, which was in need of restoration. Don Lodovico came to sell his part of the inheritance and to use his canonical salary to finance them and he himself, with the help of some young people, improvised himself a bricklayer and carpenter. The "Pio Istituto S. Barnaba" therefore began its activities in 1821 and three years later, in 1824, the first Italian printing school came into operation. Ten professional profiles were presented to the young students: typographer, bookbinder, stationer, blacksmith, carpenter, silversmith, carver, turner, shoemaker and tailor. In the following years, Don Lodovico turned to propaganda, or rather, to the advertising of books printed by the typography through thousands of letters, which peaked in 1825, when he asked and obtained, on November 30, the governmental approval of the Institute.

Don Lodovico's "Plan of Education"
On November 2, 1831, Monsignor Gabrio Maria Nava died. A few months earlier, however, he had been able to read the definitive regulation of the Institute that Don Lodovico had submitted to him. The title he had given him was "Education Plan" and outlined in the first few lines the "characteristic idea" for which he had started that work. According to his own words, the poor and abandoned boys had to find there "not only [...] a bread, a dress and an education in letters and the arts, but the father and mother, the family, whose misfortune them he deprived, and with his father, mother, family everything a poor man could receive and enjoy. " To succeed the one who was a true father to Canon Pavoni was his ancient tutor, Father Domenico Ferrari, who officially took office on May 11, 1834.

Cholera and deaf-mutes
Don Lodovico's charity was tested by a cholera epidemic, which exploded in the summer of 1836: he also opened the house to children who were orphaned. In the same period, a 22-year-old young woman, Paola di Rosa, daughter of an entrepreneur friend of Don Lodovico's father, went to the care and treatment of cholerosis: later she founded the Ancelle della Ca**tà of Brescia and took the name of Sister Maria Crocifissa (was canonized in 1954). The following year, the priest agreed to host some deaf-mute boys as well, so that they could learn a trade alongside the others; he himself tried to learn sign language, to put himself on their level.

Birth of the Sons of Mary
Already in 1825 Don Lodovico had begun to think about how to give continuity to his work. He then began to instruct his closest collaborators, clerics and lay people, during the conferences he held after a long day of work. After seven years of waiting, including letters, petitions, visits to the authorities, on 9 December 1846 the emperor of Austria signed the government approval. Pope Gregory XVI, on March 31, 1843, had instead given his assent with the formula of "praise of purpose". Finally, on 11 August 1847, the Vicar General of the Brescia diocese canonically erected the Congregation of the Sons of Mary. After renouncing the office of canon on 10 October, Fr Lodovico professed the evangelical counsels on 8 December and, following the celebration of Mass,

The ten days of Brescia
The uprisings for Italian independence, which started in 1848, also affected Brescia from 23 March 1849. Father Lodovico tried to curb the intemperances of his young people, but began to consider the possibility of rescuing them. At midnight on the 24th he divided the boys into small groups, giving them an appointment on the Calvary hill near Saiano, where he had already established their summer colony. His health was seriously compromised by that strain, also because of the rain and wind that accompanied the escape.

The death
On March 26, Father Lodovico was now very serious. Father Agostino Amus, one of his religious, gave him the Anointing of the Sick and brought him the Viaticum, while the echo of the battles came from outside. Until the end he encouraged those present: “Roll your eyes. Have a spirit of faith and charity ”. At dawn on April 1st, Palm Sunday, he gave his last advice and, in a last goodbye, gave his soul to the Creator: he was 64 years old. Temporarily buried in the Saiano cemetery, it was brought to Brescia cemetery on 29 April 1849.

The information process and the transfer of the remains
The path to the altars of Father Lodovico Pavoni has unfolded for over a century. The information process began on 11 February 1908 in the diocese of Brescia and ended on 7 October 1912. The decree on the heroicity of virtues arrived on 5 June 1947; according to the legislation of the time, it marked the introduction of the Roman phase. Meanwhile, his mortal remains, which rested in the church of San Barnaba from 1861, with various movements, were subjected to canonical recognition from 22 to 24 February 1922. On the morning of 28 May 1931 they were finally buried in the votive temple of the Immaculate Conception in Brescia.

The first miracle and beatification
Also due to the legislation of the causes of the Saints in force at the time, two alleged miracles were examined: the recovery of Maria Stevani di Soncino from abdominal typhus, which occurred in the first half of December 1909, and that of Ines Riva from tuberculosis. The respective apostolic processes took place in Cremona (from June 25, 1925 to August 3, 1926) and in Monza (ended on February 6, 1928). The second fact, however, was dismissed because it had the only characteristic of scientific inexplicability. After 1947, therefore, the cause stopped. It resumed only in October 2000, when the then Superior General Father Lorenzo Agosti, looking for a simple report on the miracle of Soncino in the Archive of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, instead found the records of the apostolic process in this regard. The validation of the trial on the alleged miracle was then signed on 26 January 2001. Since only one miracle was needed to obtain the beatification, Maria Stevani's was deemed sufficient in terms of evidence and documentation. Thus, on June 7, 2001, the Medical Consultation recognized that the healing was sudden, complete, lasting and scientifically inexplicable. On 26 October of the same year and on 4 December both the theological Consultors, both the Cardinals and bishops members of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints expressed themselves affirmatively. Finally, on December 20, 2001, Pope Saint John Paul II authorized the promulgation of the decree with which the healing was considered miraculous and occurred through the intercession of the Venerable Lodovico Pavoni. The beatification took place therefore on April 14, 2002 in Rome, in St. Peter's square. The liturgical memorial was set for May 28, the date of the first transfer to the Temple of the Immaculate Conception. In the same place, on 27 October 2002, they found definitive accommodation in the left nave, where the altar of the statue of the Immaculate Conception stood.

The second miracle and canonization
To ascertain a second miracle, the practice was much simpler: the fact taken into consideration took place in 2009, one hundred years after the first prodigious healing ascertained. Honorio Lopes Martins, Brazilian, had undergone a prostate operation, but after the surgery he had serious complications: if he survived, he would have had various cognitive and physical problems. His son, the Pavonian brother Diomar Batista Santos Martins, asked for the intercession of the blessed founder and launched a chain of prayers in all the Pavonian communities of Brazil. In a short time, Honorio was declared out of danger. The investigation into the alleged miracle took place in the diocese of São Paulo in Brazil and ended on June 18, 2013; Brother Diomar himself was chosen as vice-postulator. The validation of the trial came on December 12, 2014. In 2016, the other stages followed in rapid succession: the meeting of the medical commission, March 10, the positive opinion of theologians and, on May 3, that of the cardinals and bishops. On May 9, 2016, receiving the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in audience, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree with which the healing was declared miraculous, thus paving the way for the canonization of Blessed Lodovico Pavoni. In the ordinary consistory of 20 June 2016, the date was set for 16 October of the same year, together with that of six other Blesseds. that of cardinals and bishops. On May 9, 2016, receiving the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in audience, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree with which the healing was declared miraculous, thus opening the way to the canonization of Blessed Lodovico Pavoni. In the ordinary consistory of 20 June 2016, the date was set for 16 October of the same year, together with that of six other Blesseds. that of cardinals and bishops. On May 9, 2016, receiving the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in audience, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree with which the healing was declared miraculous, thus paving the way for the canonization of Blessed Lodovico Pavoni. In the ordinary consistory of 20 June 2016, the date was set for 16 October of the same year, together with that of six other Blesseds.

Pavonians yesterday and today
At the death of the founder, only his six most faithful collaborators remained. Difficult moments were not long in coming: the premature death of his successor (the aforementioned Father Agostino Amus), the suppression of religious orders, the confiscation of their property and the dispersal of the surviving members. A small group gathered in Ala, in Trentino, and kept the memory and charisma of Father Pavoni alive. The congregation spread from Veneto to Lombardy and from 1880 onwards. The expansion abroad has touched, as already mentioned, Brazil, but also in Mexico, the Philippines, Eritrea and Burkina Faso. As for the name, it was originally "Sons of Mary", enlarged in 1892, with pontifical approval, in "Sons of Mary Immaculate", considering the importance that this title has always had for the founder.

Source: http://www.pavoniani.it/pages/pages/le_nostre_origini.html