Guglielmo Massaia

Guglielmo Massaia
Guglielmo Massaia
    Guglielmo Massaia
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Guglielmo Massaia
    A Cardinal, born 9 June, 1809, at Piova in Piedmont, Italy; died at Cremona, 6 August, 1889. His baptismal name was Lorenzo; that of Guglielmo was given him when he became a religious. He was first educated at the Collegio Reale at Asti under the care of his elder brother Guglielmo, a canon and precentor of the cathedral of that city. On the death of his brother he passed as a student to the diocesan seminary; but at the age of sixteen entered the Capuchin Franciscan Order, receiving the habit on 25 September, 1825. Immediately after his ordination to the priesthood, he was appointed lector of theology; but even whilst teaching he acquired some fame as a preacher and was chosen confessor to Prince Victor Emmanuel, afterwards King of Italy, and Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa. The royal family of Piedmont would have nominated him on several occasions to an episcopal see, but he strenuously opposed their project, being desirous of joining the foreign missions of his order. He obtained his wish in 1846. That year the Congregation of Propaganda, at the instance of the traveller Antoine d'Abbadie, determined to establish a Vicariate-Apostolic for the Gallas in Abyssinia. The mission was confided to the Capuchins, and Massaia was appointed first vicar-apostolic, and was consecrated in Rome on 24 May of that year. On his arrival in Abyssinia he found the country in a state of religious agitation. The heretical Coptic bishop, Cyril, was dead and there was a movement amongst the Copts towards union with Rome. Massaia, who had received plenary faculties from the pope, ordained a number of native priests for the Coptic Rite; he also obtained the appointment by the Holy See of a vicar-apostolic for the Copts, and himself consecrated the missionary Giustino de Jacobis to this office. But this act aroused the enmity of the Coptic Patriarch of Egypt, who sent a bishop of his own, Abba Salama, to Abyssinia. As a result of the ensuing political agitation, Massaia was banished from the country and had to flee under an assumed name. In 1850 he visited Europe to gain a fresh band of missionaries and means to develop his work: he had interviews with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs in Paris, and with Lord Palmerston in London. On his return to the Gallas he founded a large number of missions; he also established a school at Marseilles for the education of Galla boys whom he had freed from slavery; besides this he composed a grammar of the Galla language which was published at Marseilles in 1867. During his thirty-five years as a missionary he was exiled seven times, but he always returned to his labours with renewed vigour. However, in 1880 he was compelled by ill-health to resign his mission. In recognition of his merit, Leo XIII raised him to the titular Archbishopric of Stauropolis, and on 10 November, 1884, to the dignity of Cardinal of the title of S. Vitalis. At the command of the pope he wrote an account of his missionary labours, under the title, "I miei trentacinque anni di missione nell' alta Etiopia", the first volume of which was published simultaneously at Rome and Milan in 1883, and the last in 1895. In this work he deals not only with the progress of the mission, but with the political and economic conditions of Abyssinia as he knew them.
    MASSAIA, I miei trentacinque anni etc.; Analecta Ordinis FF. Min. Capp., V, 291 seq.
    FATHER CUTHBERT
    Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


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  • Guglielmo Massaia — Guglielmo Massaia, gelegentlich auch Massaja, Taufname Lorenzo Antonio Massaia (* 8. Juni 1809 in Piovà Massaia, Piemont; † 6. August 1889 in San Giorgio a Cremano) war ein italienischer, katholischer Missionar, Kapuziner und Kardinal …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Guglielmo Massaia — (born 9 June 1809, at Piovà in Piedmont, Italy; died at San Giorgio a Cremano, 6 August 1889) was an Italian Catholic missionary, Capuchin and Cardinal. His baptismal name was Lorenzo; he took Guglielmo as religious name. Life He was first educ …   Wikipedia

  • Guglielmo Massaia — (9 juin 1809 6 août 1889) est un missionnaire catholique, capucin et cardinal italien. Biographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Guglielmo — may refer to:People with the given name Guglielmo:* Carlo Giuseppe Guglielmo Botta (1766 1837), Italian historian * Guglielmo I Gonzaga (1538 1587), Duke of Mantua and Montferrat * Guglielmo Achille Cavellini (1914 1990), influential Italian art… …   Wikipedia

  • Massaia, Guglielmo — • A Cardinal, born 9 June, 1809, at Piova in Piedmont, Italy; died at Cremona, 6 August, 1889 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

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  • Menelik II d'Éthiopie — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Ménélik. ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ Menelik II Negusse Negest d Éthiopie Règne …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Yohannes IV d'Éthiopie — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Yohannès. ዮሐንስ አራተኛ Yohannes IV Yohannes IV Negusse Negest d Éthiopie Règne …   Wikipédia en Français

  • San Giorgio a Cremano — Infobox CityIT official name = Comune di San Giorgio a Cremano img coa = San Giorgio a Cremano Stemma.png img coa small = image caption = region = RegioneIT|sigla=CAM province = ProvinciaIT (short form)|sigla=NA (NA) mayor = Domenico Giorgiano… …   Wikipedia

  • Galla — • Vicariate Apostolic embracing the territory of the Galla or Oromo tribes in Abyssinia Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Galla     Galla      …   Catholic encyclopedia

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