austraLasia 1465
Pavia Celebrates Luigi Versiglia
This item was written by Fr Savio Silveira (INB) member of the community in Pavia while studying at the university there. It could be read in conjunction with #1174 and even #1361
PAVIA: 26th February 2005 -- This year as we celebrate the centenary of Salesian presence in China, we also had the privilege of celebrating for the first time the liturgy in honour of the Salesian Protomartyrs as a 'Feast', on February 25. This double celebration took on a special significance at Pavia and for good reason – one of these two great martyrs, indeed the man who led the first Salesian Missionary Expedition to China in 1906, Luigi Versiglia, hailed from Pavia.
Luigi Versiglia was born on June 5, 1873 in Oliva Gessi, Pavia. As a young lad he showed great interest in studies, especially mathematics, and hence many believed that he would some day grow up to be a renowned professor at the famous University of Pavia. But all this was to change when Luigi, at the age of 12, entered Don Bosco's Oratory in Turin in 1885. Ten years later he was ordained a priest and in 1906 led the Salesians to China.
Oliva Gessi is a tiny village nestled in the Pavia hills. Today it has just 198 inhabitants. At the entrance to the village a board announces: ‘Oliva Gessi: Birth place of St. Luigi Versiglia’. It is but natural that Luigi Versiglia has become the central figure in the history of this little village. The descendants of the Versiglia family, who continue to live here, recount to us with pride incidents from Bishop Versiglia's life, his return to Oliva Gessi in March 1922 as Bishop, and the arrival of the news of his martyrdom in 1930. “My mother was a young girl then and actually met Bishop Versiglia when he was here in 1922”, Don Pino, current parish priest of Oliva Gessi, tells us. His good mother is now 100 years and 4 months old!
The solemn festive Eucharistic Celebration was held at 9.00 p.m., in the parish church dedicated to San Martino. A grand statue of Versiglia with a little Chinese boy by his side stands prominently in the sanctuary, while a huge picture of him hangs over the altar. Don Maurilio Biella, Rector of the Salesian House at Pavia, was the main celebrant at the Eucharist. In his truly inspiring homily, Don Maurilio recalled the great apostolate of Versiglia in the missions in China, and the fruit that it has now borne. Oliva Gessi is clearly a village in love with China – even the little altar-girls who looked sleepy, probably because of the late hour at which the mass was celebrated, sit up straight every time China is mentioned. “After the World Youth Day in Germany last year, three groups of Chinese youngsters came here to visit us”, the people tell us after the mass. “Don’t forget that Oliva Gessi still has a responsibility towards China” Don Maurilio reminded them!
Pavia has a rich tradition of holiness. Several ‘Pavesi’ and more than a dozen of its former bishops, have been raised to the altars. Besides these ‘local saints’, other important saints associated with Pavia are St. Martin of Tours who spent his childhood here (his father was an officer in the Roman army and was transferred to Pavia), and while at Pavia learnt about Christianity, felt drawn to it, and became a catechumen; and St. Augustine of Hippo whose tomb is at Pavia. On a more recent note, the Cause of Beatification of Don Enzo Boschetti (1929 – 1993), a Pavesi and founder of the ‘Home for Youngsters’, was opened on February 15, 2006, at the Basilica of S. Salvatore, Pavia.
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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
Pavia Celebrates Luigi Versiglia
This item was written by Fr Savio Silveira (INB) member of the community in Pavia while studying at the university there. It could be read in conjunction with #1174 and even #1361
PAVIA: 26th February 2005 -- This year as we celebrate the centenary of Salesian presence in China, we also had the privilege of celebrating for the first time the liturgy in honour of the Salesian Protomartyrs as a 'Feast', on February 25. This double celebration took on a special significance at Pavia and for good reason – one of these two great martyrs, indeed the man who led the first Salesian Missionary Expedition to China in 1906, Luigi Versiglia, hailed from Pavia.
Luigi Versiglia was born on June 5, 1873 in Oliva Gessi, Pavia. As a young lad he showed great interest in studies, especially mathematics, and hence many believed that he would some day grow up to be a renowned professor at the famous University of Pavia. But all this was to change when Luigi, at the age of 12, entered Don Bosco's Oratory in Turin in 1885. Ten years later he was ordained a priest and in 1906 led the Salesians to China.
Oliva Gessi is a tiny village nestled in the Pavia hills. Today it has just 198 inhabitants. At the entrance to the village a board announces: ‘Oliva Gessi: Birth place of St. Luigi Versiglia’. It is but natural that Luigi Versiglia has become the central figure in the history of this little village. The descendants of the Versiglia family, who continue to live here, recount to us with pride incidents from Bishop Versiglia's life, his return to Oliva Gessi in March 1922 as Bishop, and the arrival of the news of his martyrdom in 1930. “My mother was a young girl then and actually met Bishop Versiglia when he was here in 1922”, Don Pino, current parish priest of Oliva Gessi, tells us. His good mother is now 100 years and 4 months old!
The solemn festive Eucharistic Celebration was held at 9.00 p.m., in the parish church dedicated to San Martino. A grand statue of Versiglia with a little Chinese boy by his side stands prominently in the sanctuary, while a huge picture of him hangs over the altar. Don Maurilio Biella, Rector of the Salesian House at Pavia, was the main celebrant at the Eucharist. In his truly inspiring homily, Don Maurilio recalled the great apostolate of Versiglia in the missions in China, and the fruit that it has now borne. Oliva Gessi is clearly a village in love with China – even the little altar-girls who looked sleepy, probably because of the late hour at which the mass was celebrated, sit up straight every time China is mentioned. “After the World Youth Day in Germany last year, three groups of Chinese youngsters came here to visit us”, the people tell us after the mass. “Don’t forget that Oliva Gessi still has a responsibility towards China” Don Maurilio reminded them!
Pavia has a rich tradition of holiness. Several ‘Pavesi’ and more than a dozen of its former bishops, have been raised to the altars. Besides these ‘local saints’, other important saints associated with Pavia are St. Martin of Tours who spent his childhood here (his father was an officer in the Roman army and was transferred to Pavia), and while at Pavia learnt about Christianity, felt drawn to it, and became a catechumen; and St. Augustine of Hippo whose tomb is at Pavia. On a more recent note, the Cause of Beatification of Don Enzo Boschetti (1929 – 1993), a Pavesi and founder of the ‘Home for Youngsters’, was opened on February 15, 2006, at the Basilica of S. Salvatore, Pavia.
__________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
