Sainte Madeleine de Canossa
Fondatrice des Filles et des Fils de la Charité (+ 1835)
Née à Vérone, elle renonça spontanément aux richesses de son patrimoine pour suivre le Christ. Elle essaya par deux fois d'entrer au carmel mais n'y put rester. Chassée jusqu'à Venise par les troubles de la guerre, elle visita les hôpitaux et découvrit sa vocation. Revenue à Vérone, elle y fonda, avec quelques compagnes, l'Institut des Filles de la Charité, destiné à l'enseignement du catéchisme et au soin des malades. Elle fonda également les Fils de la Charité, pour promouvoir l’éducation chrétienne des enfants. Elle mourut à Vérone en 1835.
Béatifiée en 1941 à Rome par Pie XII et canonisée le 2 octobre 1988 par Jean-Paul II.
"Efforcez-vous de conserver fidèlement le patrimoine spirituel qui vous a été transmis par votre fondatrice, sainte Madeleine de Canossa, qui aima intensément le Christ crucifié, et qui s'inspira toujours de Lui pour accomplir un apostolat courageux en faveur de ses frères dans le besoin. En utilisant toutes les énergies à sa disposition, elle alla en effet à la rencontre des formes de pauvreté propres à son époque: de la pauvreté économique et morale, à la pauvreté culturelle et au manque de moyens pour soigner les maladies. Suivez son exemple et poursuivez cette mission qui demeure encore valable aujourd'hui, bien que les conditions sociales dans lesquelles nous vivons aient changé.
Sainte Madeleine de Canossa vous a proposé, à vous ses filles spirituelles, un idéal de vie consacrée fondé sur l'humilité. Que le style missionnaire - aimait-elle répéter - soit 'humble, étranger aux moyens puissants et au savoir de l'homme' et que l'action apostolique n'ait qu'une seule finalité: 'pour Dieu seul et pour sa gloire'. Tout doit se dérouler également dans des conditions de coexistence 'totalement commune', alimentées par cette 'charité très parfaite' qui se traduit en 'amour universel et commun'."
(discours du pape Jean-Paul II aux membres du chapitre général de la congrégation des Filles de la charité canossiennes, le 16 février 2002)
- Site des Filles de la Charité Canossiennes - Servantes des Pauvres
À Vérone en Vénétie, l’an 1835, sainte Madeleine de Canossa, vierge, qui renonça spontanément aux richesses de son patrimoine pour suivre le Christ et fonda deux Instituts, des Filles et des Fils de la Charité, pour promouvoir l’éducation chrétienne des enfants.
Martyrologe romain
Sainte Madeleine CANOSSA
Nom: CANOSSA
Prénom: Madeleine de (Maddalena di)
Nom de religion: Madeleine de (Maddalena di)
Pays: Italie
Naissance: 01.03.1774 à Vérone
Mort: 10.04.1855 à Vérone
Etat: Fondatrice
Note: Fonde en 1808 les Filles de la Charité "Canossiennes" pour les pauvres, et un institut masculin, les Fils de la charité.
Béatification: 07.12.1941 à Rome par Pie
XII
Canonisation: 02.10.1988 à Rome par Jean Paul II
Fête: 10 avril
Réf. dans l’Osservatore Romano: 1988 n.41
Réf. dans la Documentation Catholique: 1988
p.1173
Notice brève
Née à Vérone en 1774, Madeleine de Canossa essaya par deux fois d'entrer au carmel mais n'y put rester. Chassée jusqu'à Venise par les troubles des guerres révolutionnaires, elle visita les hôpitaux avec toutes leurs misères, ce qui suscita sa vocation. Revenue à Vérone, elle y fonda, avec quelques compagnes, l'institut des Filles de la Charité, destiné à l'enseignement du catéchisme et au soin des malades. Elle établit également les Fils de la Charité et mourut en 1835.
Notice développée
Notre sainte est une descendante de la célèbre Mathilde de Canossa, toute dévouée à la cause du pape, qui reçut en son château de Canossa le futur empereur Henri IV allant…“à Canossa”, pour faire amende honorable devant le pape Grégoire VII (“querelle des investitures” - 1077).
Maddalena (Madeleine) de Canossa naît en 1774 à
Vérone. Dès son enfance les épreuves ne lui manquent pas: mort de son père,
remariage de sa mère, traitements rudes de la part d’une gouvernante française,
maladie. À partir de 17 ans, elle fait deux essais chez les Carmélites, mais ce
n’est pas sa vocation. De retour chez elle, elle se montre une excellente
administratrice de sa maison. Un jour, elle reçoit Napoléon en son palais de
Vérone. La pureté de sa vie comme la modestie de son allure font grande
impression sur celui-ci et il parle d’elle comme d’un ‘ange’. (Elle obtiendra
de lui la cession d’un ancien couvent pour son institut). La période
révolutionnaire et les troubles de l’époque engendrent bien des malheurs
sociaux ; elle-même, chassée de chez elle, aboutit à Venise. Elle y visite
les hôpitaux. De retour à Vérone, elle continue les mêmes visites et c’est pour
elle un choc. Dans l’homélie de canonisation, Jean-Paul II déclare :
«Lorsqu’elle se rendit compte des plaies effrayantes que la misère morale et
matérielle répandait parmi la population de sa ville, elle comprit qu’elle ne
pouvait aimer son prochain “en grande dame”, c’est-à-dire en continuant à jouir
des privilèges de son milieu social, se limitant à distribuer des biens, sans
se donner elle-même. La vision du crucifix l’en empêchait… Des choix
s’ensuivirent, paraissant à ses proches comme des “scandales” et des “folies”
(1Co 1,23). À qui se montrait surpris, elle répondait : “Le fait d’être née marquise
m’empêcherait-il d’avoir l’honneur de servir Jésus-Christ dans ses pauvres ?”»
Son activité caritative s’étend à toutes sortes de
pauvretés, économiques tout autant que morales, liées à la maladie ou à
l’ignorance. Poussée par la charité, cette jeune femme, avec toute son énergie
ainsi qu’avec tous ses biens, aide de nombreuses familles dans le besoin,
assiste des enfants abandonnés et de jeunes délinquants, reçoit les pauvres qui
frappent tous les jours à la porte de son palais, et rend visite à ceux qui
vivent dans des masures et des baraques. Cette fièvre de charité qui la dévore
est due à son amour brûlant pour Jésus et Jésus crucifié. Puis, avec quelques
compagnes, elle part de chez elle, malgré l’opposition de son milieu, pour
aller vivre dans les faubourgs les plus pauvres de Vérone. Le 8 mai
1808, elle fonde les Filles de la Charité. Leurs activités embrassent cinq
domaines : scolarisation gratuite des enfants pauvres, catéchèse, visite
des hôpitaux, spécialement des femmes malades, soutien du clergé (par exemple:
organisation de retraites), ‘exercices spirituels’ pour les dames de la
noblesse, afin de les inciter à la charité, et ensuite pour toutes celles qui
le désirent. Le 23 décembre 1828 elle obtient l'approbation pontificale de
l'Institut des Filles de la Charité, lesquelles étaient déjà présentes
également à Venise, Milan, Bergame et Trente. La fondatrice mène une vie très
mortifiée, exemple vivant pour ses sœurs. Pour compléter la famille
canossienne, l'Institut des Fils de la Charité commence le 23 mai 1831 à
Venise, car dès le début, elle avait conscience que cette branche masculine
était nécessaire. Elle prépare d’autres implantations de son institut, quand la
mort la surprend en 1835. Après elle, l’institut continuera de s’accroître et
de s’étendre. «En Madeleine de Canossa, la loi évangélique de la mort qui donne
la vie trouve ainsi une nouvelle et lumineuse réalisation» (Jean-Paul II).
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/hagiographie/fiches/f0017.htm
Pomnik św. Magdaleny z Canossy w Weronie
Monument of Saint Magdalene of Canossa in Verona
DISCOURS DU PAPE JEAN PAUL II
Samedi 16 février 2002
1. Je suis heureux de vous rencontrer, à l'occasion de votre XIVème Chapitre général, un événement de grâce qui constitue un appel puissant à revenir toujours davantage aux racines de votre Congrégation, afin d'en approfondir le charisme et de le concrétiser ensuite de la façon la plus adaptée au contexte socio-culturel actuel.
Je salue la Supérieure générale et les déléguées présentes à l'Assemblée capitulaire. J'étends mon salut cordial à toutes les Canossiennes, qui accomplissent leur apostolat généreux en Italie, en Europe et sur les autres continents. Au cours de ces intenses journées, vous désirez réfléchir sur le thème: "Raconter aux hommes et aux femmes de notre temps l'amour de Dieu qui a tant aimé les hommes". En fidélité à votre charisme, vous entendez proclamer et témoigner de l'Evangile de la charité, en vous engageant à être des signes éloquents de l'amour de Dieu et des instruments de paix dans chaque milieu. Que Dieu bénisse vos intentions! Pour votre part, efforcez-vous de conserver fidèlement le patrimoine spirituel qui vous a été transmis par votre Fondatrice, sainte Madeleine de Canossa, qui aima intensément le Christ crucifié, et qui s'inspira toujours de Lui pour accomplir un apostolat courageux en faveur de ses frères dans le besoin. En utilisant toutes les énergies à sa disposition, la Fondatrice alla en effet à la rencontre des formes de pauvreté propres à son époque: de la pauvreté économique et morale, à la pauvreté culturelle et au manque de moyens pour soigner les maladies. Suivez son exemple et poursuivez cette mission qui demeure encore valable aujourd'hui, bien que les conditions sociales dans lesquelles nous vivons aient changé.
2. Sainte Madeleine de Canossa vous a proposé, à vous ses filles spirituelles, un idéal de vie consacrée fondé sur l'humilité. Que le style missionnaire - aimait-elle répéter - soit "humble, étranger aux moyens puissants et au savoir de l'homme" et que l'action apostolique n'ait qu'une seule finalité: "pour Dieu seul et pour sa gloire". Tout doit se dérouler également dans des conditions de coexistence "totalement commune", alimentées par cette "charité très parfaite" qui se traduit en "amour universel et commun".
Sur la base de ces références spirituelles solides, s'est développé au cours des siècles le style missionnaire qui caractérise votre famille religieuse. Ces orientations essentielles du charisme de fondation sont devenues un témoignage concret, à travers l'exemple de nombreuses Filles de la Charité canossiennes, totalement consacrées à Dieu et à son Royaume. Parmi celles-ci je rappelle avec émotion vos consoeurs qui, au Timor oriental, ont récemment payé de leur vie leur fidélité au Christ Seigneur. Que leur sacrifice héroïque vous incite et vous encourage à aller de l'avant avec confiance et élan apostolique, conscientes que ce n'est qu'ainsi que l'on peut traduire de manière efficace ce que recommandait sainte Madeleine: "Surtout, faites connaître Jésus!". Laissez-vous envahir par ce désir intime de servir avec charité chaque être humain, sans distinction d'origine et de religion. Avec une liberté prophétique et un sage discernement, témoignez chaque jour de l'Évangile. Soyez des présences significatives partout où vous oeuvrez, en vous distinguant par une intense communion et une coopération active avec les Pasteurs de l'Eglise.
3. Le grand défi de l'inculturation vous demande aujourd'hui d'annoncer la Bonne Nouvelle à travers des langages et des façons d'agir compréhensibles par les hommes de notre temps, engagés dans des processus sociaux et culturels en rapide mutation. Le domaine de l'apostolat qui s'ouvre à vous est donc vaste! Comme votre Fondatrice, donnez votre existence aux pauvres, cultivez une véritable passion pour l'éducation, en particulier des plus jeunes, prodiguez-vous à travers une généreuse activité pastorale au sein de la population, en particulier en faveur des malades et des personnes qui souffrent.
De nombreuses personnes dans le monde attendent encore de connaître Jésus et son Evangile. Diverses situations d'injustice, de difficultés morales et matérielles frappent les populations dans de vastes régions de la terre. Une mission urgente attend les croyants partout dans le monde. Chères soeurs, chacune de vous sait cependant que pour pouvoir répondre à ces attentes, il faut tout d'abord tendre de toutes ses forces vers la sainteté, vers la mesure la plus élevée de la sainteté, en conservant un contact permanent avec le Christ à travers la prière incessante et fervente. Ce n'est qu'ainsi que l'on est en mesure d'indiquer aux autres le chemin pour rencontrer le Seigneur, chemin, vérité et vie (cf. Jn 14, 6). Ce n'est qu'ainsi que l'on peut collaborer avec le Christ à sauver les âmes, en allant à la rencontre des besoins de nos frères dans l'état d'esprit cher à votre fondatrice, celui des "Servantes des pauvres".
Que Marie vous protège et vous accompagne sur cet itinéraire missionnaire difficile et exaltant, en portant à terme tous vos projets de bien. Le Pape vous bénit et vous suit avec affection, en assurant de son souvenir dans la prière chacune de vous et les personnes que vous rencontrez dans votre apostolat quotidien.
© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Maddalena naît le Ier Mars 1774 à Vérone dans une noble et riche famille. Dès son enfance les épreuves ne lui manquent pas: mort de son père, remariage de sa mère, traitements rudes de la part d’une gouvernante française, maladie.
À partir de 17 ans, elle fait deux essais chez les Carmélites, mais ce n’est pas sa vocation. De retour chez elle, elle se montre une excellente administratrice de sa maison.
La période révolutionnaire et les troubles de l’époque engendrent bien des malheurs sociaux ; elle-même, chassée de chez elle, aboutit à Venise.
Son activité caritative s’étend à toutes sortes de pauvretés, économiques tout autant que morales, liées à la maladie ou à l’ignorance.
Le 8 Mai 1808, elle fonde les « Filles de la Charité ». Leurs activités embrassent cinq domaines : scolarisation gratuite des enfants pauvres, catéchèse, visite des hôpitaux, spécialement des femmes malades, soutien du clergé (par exemple: organisation de retraites), exercices spirituels pour les dames de la noblesse, afin de les inciter à la Charité, et ensuite pour toutes celles qui le désirent.
Le 23 Décembre 1828 elle obtient l'approbation pontificale de l'Institut des Filles de la Charité, lesquelles étaient déjà présentes également à Venise, Milan, Bergame et Trente. La Fondatrice mène une vie très mortifiée, exemple vivant pour ses Sœurs.
Pour compléter la famille Canossienne, l'Institut des Fils de la Charité commence le 23 Mai 1831 à Venise, car dès le début, elle avait conscience que cette branche masculine était nécessaire.
Elle prépare d’autres implantations de son institut, quand la mort la surprend le 10 Avril 1835.
Après elle, l’institut continuera de s’accroître et de s’étendre.
Maddalena de Canossa a été Béatifiée, le 07 Décembre 1941, par le Vénérable Pape Pie XII (Eugenio Pacelli, 1939-1958) et Canonisée, le 02 Octobre 1988, par le Bienheureux Pape Jean-Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła, 1978-2005).
Also known as
Magdalena Gabriela Canossa
Magdalen Canossa
formerly 14 May
8 May (Canossians)
Profile
One of five children born
to a wealthy and famous family, her father died and mother abandoned
them all to a governess when Maddalen was five years old. Nun,
studying in the Carmel of Trent, Italy and
then Conegliano, Italy.
Developed a ministery to the poor in Verona, Italy based
in the Canossa Castle of her family. Founder of the Canossian Daughters of
Charity and the Canossian Sons of Charity with a mission of
providing free education to poor children.
By the end of the 20th
century there were more than 2,600 Canossians working around the
world.
Born
10 April 1835 in Verona, Italy of
natural causes
6
January 1927 by Pope Pius
XI (decree of heroic
virtues)
7
December 1941 by Pope Pius
XII
2
October 1988 by Pope John
Paul II
Additional Information
Roman Martyrology
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
The
Holiness of the Church in the 19th Century
books
Book of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other sites in english
images
video
sitios en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti in italiano
strony w jezyku polskim
MLA Citation
“Saint Maddalena of Canossa“. CatholicSaints.Info.
9 June 2020. Web. 10 April 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-maddalena-of-canossa/>
Magdalen of Canossa,
Founder (RM)
Born in Verona, Italy,
March 1, 1774; died there on April 10, 1835; declared venerable on January 6,
1927; beatified December 7, 1941, by Pope Pius XII; canonized by Pope John Paul
II on October 2, 1988; feast day formerly on May 14.
Saint Magdalen was only
five years old when her father, the marquis of Canossa, died. Two years later
her mother remarried and abandoned her four children to the care of their
uncles. Although they treated the children well enough, their French governess
was harsh. Perhaps as a result of this ill-treatment, Magdalen suffered a
painful illness when she was fifteen. Upon her recovery, she was determined to
become a nun. In October 1791, she enter the Carmel for a short time before
returning home to manage her father's estate until she was 33.
During the Napoleonic
wars, her family took refuge in Venice. There she had a dream in which she saw
the Blessed Mother surrounded by six religious dressed in brown. Our Lady led
them two by two into a church filled with women and girls, into a hospital, and
into a hall filled with bedraggled children. She admonished the religious to
serve all three, but especially to help the poor children. Almost immediately
she began tending the sick in the city's hospitals and working with children..
The family returned to
Verona, where they were visited by Napoleon himself. Magdalen requested from
him the empty convent of Saint Joseph, which she intended to use for the poor.
Several women had already joined her in her charitable work and with the gift
of the convent, they opened the first house of her institute, the Daughters of
Charity. Its mission followed her vision: the education of poor girls, the
service of the sick in hospitals, and the teaching of the catechism in
parishes.
The doors of the house in
the San Zeno district was opened to poor girls on May 8, 1808. Thereafter,
community prospered and its fame spread. The Canossians were invited to open a
house in Venice, then in Milan, Bergamo, Trent, and elsewhere in northern
Italy. Since Saint Magdalen's death, well over 400 have been established
throughout the world.
Saint Magdalen drew up
the rule in Venice. The congregation received formal papal approval from Pope
Pius VII in 1816 and definitive approval from Pope Leo XII in an apostolic
brief dated December 23, 1828. When she was declared venerable by Pope Pius XI
in 1927, he wrote that "many are charitable enough to help and even to
serve the poor, but few are able deliberately to become poor with the
poor."
But that is exactly what
the marchioness did. She herself tended the poorest and dirtiest children.
Although the congregation's primary concern was poor and neglected children,
she also founded high schools and colleges, especially for the deaf and dumb.
Magdalen organized closed retreats for females. In Venice, she even launched a
small congregation of men to carry on similar work with boys. Following her
death, the Daughters of Charity entered the mission field.
Despite, or perhaps
because of, the hectic pace of her life, Saint Magdalen developed enormous
powers of recollection and prayer. She attained remarkable levels of
contemplation. On several occasions, witnesses observed her rapt in ecstasy,
and once she was seen levitating.
Towards the end of her
life, Magdalen was bent almost double and could sleep only in a sitting
position. She became seriously ill in Bergamo at the end of 1834 and was taken
back to the mother house in Verona. By Holy Week 1835, she knew she was dying,
though none of her doctors agree with her. She asked for the last rites, then
died suddenly (Benedictines, Walsh).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0508.shtml
Magdalena of Canossa (1774-1835)
Virgin, foundress of the Canossian Family of Daughters and Sons of Charity
MAGDALENA OF CANOSSA, was
a woman who believed in the love of the Lord Jesus and, sent by the Holy Spirit
among those most in need, she served them with a Mother's heart and an Apostle's
zeal.
Born in Verona on 1st March 1774, of a noble and wealthy family, she was the
third of six children.
By way of painful events such as her father's death, her mother's second
marriage, illness, misunderstanding, the Lord guided her towards unforeseen
paths on which Magdalene tentatively set out.
A CALL
Drawn by the love of God, at the age of seventeen she planned to consecrate her
life to God and twice tried her vocation at a Carmel.
However, the Holy Spirit urged her to follow a new path: to allow herself to be
loved by Jesus Crucified, to belong to Him alone, in order to dedicate herself
exclusively to those in greatest need.
She returned to her family and, being compelled by sad events and the tragic
political circumstances at the end of the 18th century, she nurtured her true
vocation in the depth of her heart and went on with life at Canossa Palace,
shouldering the burden of running her family's large estate.
A GIFT
With complete dedication Magdalene carried out her daily tasks and widened her
circle of friends while at the same time remaining open to the mysterious
action of the Holy Spirit who gradually moulded her heart and enabled her to
share in the love of the Father for mankind revealed by Jesus' complete and
supreme offering of Himself on the Cross, and by the example of Mary, the
Sorrowful Virgin Mother.
Moved by that love, Magdalene responded to the cry of the poor, hungry for
food, instruction, understanding and the Word of God. She discovered them in
the suburbs of Verona, where the echoes of the French Revolution, the
occupation by various foreign powers and the Verona uprising had left evident
signs of devastation and human suffering.
A PROJECT
Magdalene sought and found her first companions called to follow Christ, poor,
chaste, obedient and who were to be sent out as witnesses of His unconditional
Love towards all people.
In 1808, Magdalene overcame her family's opposition and left Canossa Palace
once and for all to begin in the poorest district of Verona what she knew in
her heart to be the Will of God: to serve the neediest persons with the heart
of Christ.
A PROPHECY
Charity is like a blazing fire! Magdalene opened her heart to the Holy Spirit
who guided her to the poor in other cities: Venice, Milan, Bergamo, Trent ...
In only a few decades the number of her houses increased, her religious family
grew in the service of the Kingdom of God.
The Love of the Crucified and Risen Lord burnt in Magdalene's heart who,
together with her companions, became a witness of that same love in five
specific areas:
Charity schools, providing an all-round formation geared to pupils status in
life. Catechesis, given to all classes of people, with special attention to
those most ignorant of the Faith.
Support given to women patients in hospital.
Residential seminars, to train young teachers for rural areas and valuable
helpers for parish priests in their pastoral activities.
Yearly courses of Spiritual Exercises for Ladies of the nobility, with the aim
of deepening their spiritual life and involving them in various charitable
works.
Later on, this last activity was offered to all those who had a desire for it.
Contemporary to Magdalene and her apostolic work, flourished other witnesses of
Charity: Leopoldina Naudet, Antonio Rosmini, Antonio Provolo, Carlo Steeb,
Gaspare Bertoni, Teodora Campostrini, T. Eustochio Verzeri, Elisabetta Renzi,
Cavanis brothers, Pietro Leonardi, all of whom founded Religious Institutes.
A FAMILY
The Institute of the Daughters of Charity, between 1819 and 1820, received its
ecclesiastical approval in the various dioceses where the communities were
present.
His Holiness Pope Leo XII approved the Rule of the Institute with the Brief Si
Nobis, of 23rd December 1828.
Towards the end of her life, after unsuccessful attempts with A. Rosmini and A.
Provolo, Magdalene was able to start the male branch of the Institute which she
had planned to set up from the very beginning.
On 23th May 1831 in Venice, she began the first Oratory of the Sons of Charity
for the Christian formation of boys and men. She entrusted it to the Venetian
priest Don Francesco Luzzo, helped by two laymen from Bergamo: Giuseppe Carsana
and Benedetto Belloni.
Magdalene's active and fruitful life ended when she was 61 years of age. She
died in Verona surrounded by her Daughters on 10th April 1835. It was the
Friday of Passion Week.
A MISSION
Above all make Jesus Christ known! This heartfelt concern of Magdalene's was
the great inheritance that the Daughters and Sons of Charity are called to
live, a life of complete availability to God and service towards others,
willing to go to the most distant countries for the sake of this holy work.
(MAGDALENE, Ep. II/I, p. 266).
The Daughters of Charity traveled for the Far East in 1860. Today there are
about 4000 sisters throughout the world, grouped into 24 provinces.
The Sons of Charity number about 200. They work in various cities in Italy,
Latin America and the Philippines.
Canossian Religious, called to a missionary vocation, "ad gentes",
make themselves receptive to those basic Christian values, "the seeds of
the Word", present in every culture while giving witness to and
proclaiming what the "have seen, heard, contemplated...": the Love of
the Father who, in Christ, reaches out to every person so that they may have
life. Through this giving and receiving, the charism is enriched and bears
fruit for God's Kingdom.
The charism which the Holy Spirit brought to life in Magdalene did not exhaust
itself in the vitality of the two Institutes.
Consequently, various groups of lay people have found in Magdalene and in her
ideals, their special way of living the faith, of witnessing charity, in all
walks of Christian life.
A SONG OF THANKSGIVING
The Church draws our attention, especially that of her Sons and Daughters, to
Magdalene, a Witness of the constant and freely given love of God.
We give thanks to Him for the gift of this Mother and Sister of ours and
through her intercession we ask that we may love Him, as she did, above all
other things, and make Him known to our fellow men by living our specific
vocation.
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_19881002_maddalena_di_canossa_en.html
Magdalene of
Canossa was born on March 1, 1774 into the nobility of the Canossa family
in their palace overlooking the River Adige in Verona, northern Italy. She was
the second of five children and a few years after her birth, the family suffered
the tragedy of the premature death of Marquis Ottavio, her father in an
accident in the mountains. A few years after this tragic event, Magdalene’s
mother and young widow, Countess Teresa Szluha, sadly left the Palace and her
children. She would later re-marry the Marquis Zenetti of Mantova.
The story of an Encounter
: Saint Magdalene of Canossa
Magdalene of Canossa was
a woman of the eighteenth century Italian aristocracy, who had courage and
daring to step outside the luxury of the palace she lived in and to take a path
that would lead her to the poverty and squalor of a rundown district in the
city. She would change her name and status. No longer the Marchioness of
Canossa, she would be known as Daughter of Charity and servant of the Poor. Her
life forever and completely changed.
Even today, Magdalene of Canossa is recognized as a woman who was capable of
opening up new paths of hope and a more secure future for all those looking for
God’s help but especially those were most in need. Her vision is being lived
out today by the Canossian Daughters and Sons of Charity who serve the poor all
over the world, trying to live with that spirit that filled Magdalene and her
desire to make God’s love, shown fully in Jesus Crucified known so that he may
be loved.
In discernment
Magdalene’s outlook on
life and her future decisions were marked by a life threatening illness she had
when she was 14 years old. Fortunately, she managed to survive this terrible
experience and from that moment decided to dedicate her life to God and she
entered the Carmelite monastery. She felt happy in consecrating her life to the
Lord in this way, but she missed being close to the poor. As a result she left
the convent to return to her family.
During this period of her life, Magdalene was guided by wise priest, don Luigi
Libera. He managed to help her to discover her vocation as an apostle and start
a life completely consecrated to the Lord but without the constraints of the
cloistered convent. Her first venture into the world of poverty took place in
San Zeno, a poor neighbourhood of Verona, where she began to help young
abandoned girls. She started to educate them, also involving the help of other
young women. These were later to become the first community of the Canossian Sisters.
It was in the early 1800s that this work developed into full bloom with the
first foundations of the Canossian Communities. Not satisfied with what she had
done thus far, Magdalene was concerned about also getting help for the boys,
who were wandering the streets and had no one to take care of them. Almost by a
miracle, she went on to found the equivalent male congregation of the ‘Sons of
Charity’ dedicated to education and formation of the young boys. She found ways
and means to get lay people involved in her project of spreading the Kingdom of
God through her works of charity.
On 10 April 1835 Magdalene died in the first house she founded. In the last
letter addressed to all her sisters she left a clear and moving message:
“ God has given you a
great gift…see to it that the Spirit of the Institute is handed down in all its
entirety…I entrust to you my beloved poor…..Do not be frightened at seeing the
greatness of the aim proposed…those who love do not feel the burden…Good bye!
We will meet each other again in heaven.”
Christ Crucified
Magdalene loved Jesus
Crucified, and saw in Him, par excellence, the great model, whose total gift of
Self is still able to touch our minds and hearts and to move our consciences.
In contemplating Him on the cross she discovers his freedom to love without
measure, to the point, in fact, of being “stripped of everything except his
love” and “breathing nothing but charity”.
Mary, Mother of Sorrows
Magdalene contemplates
Mary as the Mother of the Greatest Love, for at the foot of the cross, she
participates in the sufferings of her Son for the salvation of humanity. With
courage, she stands at the side of her Son, the most innocent of victims. Today
she continues to stand with those who are disenfranchised, the innocent
victims, all who suffer, welcoming each one into her heart. It is Mary whom
Magdalene claims is “our real Foundress and Mother”.
Her beloved Poor
As a woman of great
influence in the city of Verona, she had various possibilities before her to
help people. She made a preferential choice, however, to channel her energy
towards uplifting those who were totally neglected and even abandoned. For
Magdalene, the only real way to share the love that God had so lavishly poured
out on her, was to return His love by loving those most in need. Magdalene
entrusted to all who would follow in her footsteps: “I recommend to you as much
as I can, my beloved poor”.
Passion for God
We discover, in our
reading of the events in Magdalene’s life that the contemporary style and
insight behind her social commitment to the poor, the sick and women, was the
conviction that they themselves were the real protagonists in the human, social
and moral life of the family. It was her engagement as a lay woman that led her
to boldly undertake this foundational enterprise.
“ This view of Christ’s
love for men and women not only grieved me, for I saw that He is not loved, but
it also gave me a great longing to make Him known and loved; so much so that
nothing mattered, not even my country nor my relatives”.
(Memoirs, Chapter III , 49)
Joy in believing:
Universal openness
Faith is a word to be
shared, a mission, an experience which crisscrosses the world and generations.
Magdalene welcomed the challenge with courage and enthusiasm, not putting
limits on time or space. The fields of evangelization as well as education and
the care of the sick and suffering became for her the central focus of her
undertakings: These three areas and concerns are authentic spheres of mission
for us today.
“… I thought that God
wanted to prepare me for a long journey in order to perform some works in a
remote corner of the world, where I would have to practice a special
detachment”.
(Memoirs XV, 11)
And what about you?
History, like life, is
made up of repetition…your own personal experience may be reflected in that of
Magdalene: she was a woman gifted with a practical intelligence and a deep
spirituality, not a heroine of the will, but firm in following her goals with creativity
and a great trust in the surprises of the Spirit.
Her invitation?
It is to believe that
life will take on newness and enthusiasm if, in the small things of everyday,
we seek the joy that springs from the depths of our heart, peace that makes us
grow in goodness and trust, self- control which always starts with ourselves
and from LOVE which becomes our true home.
With us still.
Magdalene of Canossa was
declared Blessed by Pope Pius XII in 1941 and John Paul II proclaimed her Saint
in 1988.
“ Try and see that one
day all will go to meet the Lord….”
This is only a preview…
If you would like to know more please contact Sr Josephine:
• E-mail: economato1@canossian.org
• Tel. + 39 06 30 8280 641
SOURCE : http://www.canossian.org/en/s-magdalena/
St Magdalen of
Canossa (1774-1835)
After trying out her
vocation with the Carmelites, she realised she really wanted to serve the needy
without restriction.
Canossa is an
historical town near Modena in northern Italy associated with the influential
Countess Matilda. It was also the place where the emperor Henry IV submitted to
Pope St Gregory VII. But in the last two centuries it has become associated
with the Canossian family of Daughters and Sons of Charity founded by St
Magdalen of Canossa. Patrick Duffy tells her story.
Early life
St Magdalene of Canossa was born the third of six children of a noble
family in Verona, Italy, on 2 March 1774. Her father died when she was five and
her mother remarried soon after, so Magdalene was brought up by an uncle and
given a good education. At age 15 she announced she wished to become a nun, but
after trying out her vocation with the Carmelites, she realised she really
wanted to serve the needy without restriction.
Canossa
The name “Canossa” has been connected with the history of Italy since the 11th
Century AD when the famous Countess Matilda (1045-1115) exercised a strong
political influence for nearly half a century. It was there too that the German
Emperor Henry IV submitted to Pope St Gregory VII during the dispute over lay
investiture.
Napoleon at Canossa
Magdalen was 15 years old when the French revolution broke out and shook the
whole of Europe. In Verona the real consequences were felt about seven years
later, when, on June 10, 1796, General Napoleon entered the city as a
conqueror. The following year Napoleon was a guest at Canossa Palace and
Magdalen, being the lady of the house, received the General. He returned in
1805 and 1807 as Emperor and was a guest at Canossa Palace. By then
Magdalen had already undertaken the work she had long wanted to do.
A charitable organisation
Magdalen began a charitable organisation to help the wounded and the sick,
but gave special attention to girls living in poverty and those who had been
abandoned. Aware of the contrasts between the very rich and very poor, she
moved more to care for children, youth and women beset by economic as well as
moral, spiritual, intellectual and family poverty.
Daughters of Charity
In 1808 she left the Canossa Palace indefinitely and with some companions,
established herself in a poor district of San Zeno. This small group of women
were contemplatives, not of the cloister but on the street. Magdalen called
them “Daughters of Charity” because their task was to reveal God’s love to
humanity.
Full of missionary spirit
Magdalen’s vision was full of a missionary spirit and she often said she was
prepared to go anywhere and do anything so that Jesus would be known and loved.
Although she did not herself fulfil that dream, over time, houses were opened
throughout Italy.
Death 1835
At the time of her death on 10 April 1835, there were five houses of Canossian
Sisters. Today the congregation has almost 4,000 members in 395 houses in 35
countries around the world and the “Canossian family” includes the Canossian
Sons of Charity (priests and brothers – founded 1821) as well
as Canossian lay helpers.
Canonisation
On October 2, 1988 Pope John Paul II canonised St Magdalen of
Canossa, a prophet of charity.
SOURCE : http://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-magdalen-of-canossa-1774-1835/
The
Holiness of the Church in the Nineteenth Century – Venerable Maddalena of
Canossa
The Venerable Maddalena
of Canossa shed new splendor on the lineage of the Margraves of
Canossa. When the Margravine Maddalena, along with some other ladies,
began a life of poverty and devoted herself altogether to works of charity, her
relatives were much distressed, fearing that it would bring disgrace to the
name of Canossa. But of all who have borne the name in the nineteenth century
none has brought more renown to that ancient family than the same Margravine
Maddalena by her life and labors as foundress of the Daughters of Charity. She
was born on 1 March 1774, at Verona, and after the early death of her father
went to live in the castle of her uncle, Jerome of Canossa. At an early age she
felt called to the religious life and was received among the Carmelites, but she
soon found that the contemplative life was not her particular vocation and
returned from the novitiate. In her own family circle she possessed the highest
reputation and the administration of the whole household was placed in her
hands. She greatly impressed all by her sincere piety, and her abhorrence of
everything that could in the least endanger her chastity. When Napoleon was on
his Italian campaign he lodged at the castle of the Margrave of Canossa.
Eye-witnesses relate that the dignity and grace of Maddalena greatly impressed
him. On one occasion she had the misfortune of falling down some steps while he
was present. An officer hastened at once to lift her up, but she refused his
assistance, and it is said that Napoleon cried out, “Leave her alone. Do not
dare to touch her; she is an angel.”
The Revolution forced the
Margrave to seek refuge in Venice. According to the acts of the process of
beatification it was here that her future vocation was first made manifest to
the young Margravine by the Blessed Virgin in a vision at Saint Mark’s. After
her return to her home in Verona she rented a house and with a few companions
began to lead a religious life. The object of the young Society was the
instruction of girls, especially of the lower classes, and the practice of
works of charity. The special protection of God was evident. The Daughters of
Charity, or of Canossa, as they were called after their foundress, soon spread
through the principal cities of Italy in spite of the unfavorable circumstances
of the times. Frequently there were great difficulties to be encountered. But
when a woman endowed with extraordinary prudence and sanctity is the superior,
such difficulties serve only to give internal strength to the Congregation.
This was the case with Maddalena of Canossa. Men knew what she had left in the
world, they knew the innocence of her life and saw the noble example of her
humility and extreme poverty. God granted her extraordinary graces and we can
not be surprised that even during her lifetime she was revered as a saint. Her
process is already far advanced.
– this text is taken
from The Holiness of the Church in the Nineteenth
Century: Saintly Men and Women of Our Own Times, by Father
Constantine Kempf, SJ; translated from the German by Father Francis Breymann,
SJ; Impimatur by + Cardinal John Farley, Archbishop of New York, 25 September
1916
Santa Maddalena di
Canossa Vergine, Fondatrice
Verona, 1 marzo 1774 - 10
aprile 1835
Nata a Verona nel 1774,
appartiene a una delle famiglie più illustri nell'Italia del tempo. Orfana di
padre e abbandonata dalla madre, a 7 anni viene affidata a un'istitutrice. A 17
si trova nel Carmelo di Trento e poi in quello di Conegliano (Tv). Tornata a
casa, nel 1801 ospita nel palazzo di famiglia due povere ragazze, raccolte da
lei stessa. Nel 1808 inizia con altre ragazze in difficoltà un'esperienza di
vita in comune presso l'ex convento delle Agostiniane veronesi: nascono le
Figlie della Carità, suore educatrici dei poveri. È la stessa Maddalena a
scriverne le regole nel 1812, a Venezia, chiamata da Antonangelo e Marcantonio
Cavanis (due fratelli patrizi, entrambi sacerdoti) per fondare un'altra casa
d'istruzione per ragazze, mentre loro hanno creato le scuole gratuite
maschili. Maddalena ottiene l'assenso pontificio da Pio VII; in seguito si
reca a Venezia, a Milano e poi a Bergamo e a Trento, per fondare nuove sedi e
scuole. La sua stessa residenza patrizia veronese accoglie ragazze povere,
strappate alla miseria per renderle protagoniste della loro vita. Mentre
prepara l'apertura di altre sedi a Brescia e a Cremona nel 1835 la morte la
coglie a Verona. (Avvenire)
Etimologia: Maddalena =
di Magdala, villaggio della Galilea
Emblema: Giglio
Martirologio Romano: A
Verona, santa Maddalena di Canossa, vergine, che di sua volontà rigettò tutte
le ricchezze del suo patrimonio per seguire Cristo e fondò i due Istituti dei
Figli e delle Figlie della Carità per promuovere la formazione cristiana della
gioventù.
Aveva nelle vene il sangue della Grancontessa Matilde di Canossa, una delle figure più importanti del Medioevo italiano, e seppe esserne degna per l’amore che seppe dare alla Chiesa, raggiungendo anche la santità. È Maddalena Gabriella dei marchiesi di Canossa, fondatrice delle Figlie e dei Figli della Carità. Nata terzogenita dal marchese Ottavio di Canossa e dalla contessa Teresa Szluha, nella città di Verona il 1° marzo 1774, perde il padre cinque anni dopo a causa di un’escursione sui monti Lessini finita tragicamente. Nel 1781 la madre si risposa con il marchese Edoardo Zenetti di Mantova. L’educazione dei cinque figli verrà affidata a dei precettori.
Dopo una grave malattia, confida al pedagogo Don Pietro Rossi la decisione di consacrarsi al Signore e inizia a leggere ed esaminare alcune Regole di ordini religiosi. Si sofferma, in particolare, su quelle delle Carmelitane scalze e il 2 maggio 1791 si ritira per circa dieci mesi nel monastero di Santa Teresa a Verona. In questo tempo ha modo di ammirare la spiritualità delle Carmelitane, tuttavia sente che la vita claustrale non le appartiene. Dopo un anno si ritirerà ancora nel monastero di Conegliano, ma soltanto per tre giorni perché la sua vocazione è un’altra. Nel tempo della ricerca dove poter realizzare le sue aspirazioni di carità, incontra don Luigi Libera, il quale diventa suo direttore spirituale e grazie al carteggio che si instaura fra il sacerdote e Maddalena, dal luglio 1792 al dicembre 1799, si può ricostruire il suo impegnativo cammino di discernimento interiore. Proprio nel 1799 incontra il Vicario generale della Diocesi di Verona e successivamente il Vescovo Andrea Avogadro e ad ambedue Maddalena presenta un programma di azione caritativa, che non viene, però, preso in debita considerazione.
Mentre vive con sofferenza questa situazione si ritrova, a causa di problematiche familiari, a caricarsi della responsabilità di amministrare i beni del suo casato, compreso Palazzo Canossa; ma ciò non le impedisce di iniziare l’opera per cui si sente chiamata: raccogliere le ragazze dalla strada e visitare gli ammalati negli ospedali.
La sua spola quotidiana diventa così da Palazzo Canossa alla contrada San Martino Aquario, alla contrada dei Filippini, alla contrada di San Zeno in Oratorio. La sua Fede e la sua determinazione le faranno superare prove ed ostacoli, anche familiari, e riuscirà ad ottenere dalla Prefettura di Verona, proprio a San Zeno, il monastero dei Santi Giuseppe e Fidenzio, quale sede per ospitare le sue ragazze povere ed abbandonate. Il trasferimento avviene l’8 maggio 1808, data di inizio dell’Istituto delle Figlie della Carità.
Le attività della nuova realtà religiosa erano concentrate sulla catechesi, sulla scuola, sulla visita agli ammalati negli ospedali e sulla formazione della maestre atte ad andare ad istruire nelle campagne: oltre all’alfabetizzazione occorreva combattere l’ignoranza religiosa, la stessa contro la quale lottava Don Giuseppe Sarto fin da quando era parroco a Salzano e, divenuto Pontefice nel 1903, evidenziò l’esistenza dell’eresia del Modernismo (la corruzione teologica e dottrinale degli insegnamenti della Chiesa) grazie alla memorabile Enciclica Pascendi Dominici Gregis del 1907, che continua ad essere attuale e benefica per coloro che la leggono ancora oggi.
L’attività di fondazione di Suor Maddalena sarà rigogliosa, aprirà case canossiane a Venezia (1812), a Milano (1816), a Bergamo (1820), a Trento (1828). Nel 1819 la sua Congregazione ottiene il riconoscimento ecclesiastico e Papa Leone XII approva la Regola con il Breve Si nobis del 23 dicembre 1828. Nel 1831 aprirà l’Oratorio dei Figli della Carità a Venezia, dove la chiesa di Santa Lucia, un progetto a cui aveva aspirato fin dal 1799.
Il suo epistolario è ricco di 3000 lettere e i suoi scritti autobiografici
aiutano a comprendere di quale ardore fossero imbevute la sua Fede e la sua
Carità, di quale spessore fosse il suo amore per Cristo e la sua dedizione per
il prossimo, per il quale spenderà la sua fortuna economica e tutte le sue
energie.
Madre Maddalena muore il 10 aprile 1835, sarà beatificata da Pio XII il 7
dicembre 1941 e canonizzata da Giovanni Paolo II il 2 ottobre 1988, il quale di
lei ebbe a dire: «Aveva capito che la pietà vera, che commuove il cuore di Dio,
consiste nello “sciogliere le catene inique, togliere i legami del giogo,
rimandare liberi gli oppressi e spezzare ogni giogo”. Per questo si impegnò con
ogni sua energia, oltre che con tutte le sue sostanze, per venire incontro ad
ogni forma di povertà: quella economica non meno di quella morale, quella della
malattia non meno che quella dell’ignoranza».
Autore: Cristina Siccardi
1988 plaque on the facade of the Chapel of "Santissima Annunziata" at the Università Statale (State University) in Milan, Italy. It commemorates Saint Magdalene of Canossa (1774–1835), who prayed here. Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, February 22 2008.
Tornata a casa, stupisce tutti per il suo talento di amministratrice. Ma di nozze non si parla. E nel 1801 compaiono a palazzo Canossa due povere ragazze, che lei raccoglie: questa è la novità rivelatrice della sua vocazione. Non “regnerà” nel palazzo di famiglia, che ospita Napoleone e Alessandro I di Russia. La sua vocazione sono i poveri. L’accoglienza alle due ragazze era solo pronto soccorso, ma lei non vuole tenerle lì estranee, sempre inferiori. Devono avere casa propria (loro due e tantissime altre come loro) dove sentirsi padrone, istruirsi e realizzarsi al fianco delle maestre; e accanto a lei, la fondatrice, che nel 1808 otterrà da Napoleone l’ex convento delle Agostiniane veronesi, iniziandovi la vita comune.
Nascono le Figlie della Carità: le suore educatrici dei poveri. Maddalena ne scrive le regole nel 1812, a Venezia: ve l’hanno chiamata Antonangelo e Marcantonio Cavanis (due fratelli patrizi, entrambi sacerdoti) per fondare un’altra casa d’istruzione per ragazze, mentre loro hanno creato le scuole gratuite maschili. Maddalena ottiene l’iniziale assenso pontificio per la sua opera da Pio VII, poco dopo la caduta di Napoleone. Ora sul Lombardo-Veneto regna l’imperatore Francesco I d’Asburgo, che nel 1816 visita Verona con la terza moglie, Maria Ludovica d’Este. Proprio a Verona la sovrana si ammala e muore: la sua camera ardente sarà apprestata in una sala di palazzo Canossa. Nel palazzo, però, Maddalena non compare più tanto spesso. Passa da Venezia a Milano e poi a Bergamo e a Trento, per fondare nuove sedi e scuole. La sua residenza patrizia in Verona ha accolto una sovrana, e le case che lei va creando accolgono le figlie dei sudditi più poveri, strappate alla miseria per renderle protagoniste della loro vita.
Lei intanto lavora all’annoso iter per l’approvazione definitiva del suo istituto, e prepara l’apertura di altre sedi a Brescia e a Cremona. Ma la morte la coglie nella sua Verona a 61 anni: già "in concetto di santità", così dicono le cronache del tempo, definendo Maddalena "beneficientissima fino alla prodigalità". Ma soprattutto ha dato tutta sé stessa, consumandosi per l’opera, che crescerà ancora dopo la sua morte. Alla fine del XX secolo avrà oltre 2.600 religiose, operanti in tutto il mondo.
Giovanni Paolo II l'ha proclamata santa il 2 ottobre 1988.
La data del culto per la Chiesa Universale è il 10 aprile, mentre l'8 maggio viene ricordata dall'Istituto delle Figlie della Carità - dette Canossiane - dai Figli della Carità e dai Laici Canossiani, perchè l'8 maggio 1808 è la data ufficiale dell'inizio dell'Istituto Canossiano. All'8 maggio si celebra la sua memoria anche nella diocesi di Bergamo, mentre quella di Milano la ricorda il 9 maggio.
Autore: Domenico Agasso
CANOSSA, Maddalena Gabriella
di Mirella Giansante - Dizionario Biografico degli
Italiani - Volume 18 (1975)
CANOSSA, Maddalena Gabriella. - Nacque a Verona
il 1º marzo 1774, secondogenita dei cinque figli del marchese Ottavio,
ciambellano imperiale, e di Teresa dei conti Szluha, di origine ungherese. La
fanciullezza della C. fu turbata prima, nell'ottobre 1779, dall'improvvisa
morte del padre, quindi, nel 1781, dall'abbandono della madre, che lasciò la
famiglia per andare sposa al marchese Edoardo Zenetti di Mantova. La sua
educazione, affidata alla tutela dello zio paterno Girolamo, fu curata dal 1782
al 1789 dall'istitutrice francese F. Marianne Capron, la quale, pur
riconoscendone la pronta intelligenza, non sempre seppe comprendere l'indole
complessa della C. e il suo delicato equilibrio emotivo. Cosicché questa,
affinata dalle incomprensioni e dalle malattie (soffrì prima di vaiolo, poi di
una tenace e dolorosa forma di artrite, che venne religiosamente sublimata in
"malattia d'amore" per Dio), finì per rinchiudersi in se stessa. Tesa
nella ricerca della via migliore per dedicarsi a Dio, nel 1791 decise di
intraprendere la vita monastica ritirandosi nel Carmelo di Verona, ma incapace
di accettare la dura clausura tornò in famiglia dopo dieci mesi per consiglio
del suo padre spirituale Ildefonso Gasperi. Fece un altro tentativo nel 1792
nel convento delle carmelitane scalze di Conegliano Veneto, ma, pur attirata
dalle regole incentrate sull'amore di carità, comprese di non essere portata
per una vita di contemplazione. Dal 1793 ritornata in famiglia, si dedicò al
governo della casa e alla cura dei fratelli.
Nel 1796, ancor prima che Verona fosse occupata dalle
truppe francesi, la C. riparò a Venezia con i suoi familiari, ritornando nella
città natale soltanto dopo le Pasque veronesi, allorché il generale Augereau
dopo una dura repressione volle costituire una municipalità composta dai più ragguardevoli
cittadini. Questo recupero della nobiltà locale operato dai Francesi dovette
interessare anche i Canossa (benché di tradizioni clericali), se è vero che tra
coloro che andarono incontro a Napoleone Bonaparte nel suo ingresso in città il
13 ag. 1797 c'era anche il fratello della C., Bonifacio. In questa occasione, e
in seguito più volte ancora, il Bonaparte fu anche ospite a palazzo Canossa.
Spinta dalla difficile situazione sociale creata dalla
guerra, la C. cominciò a dedicarsi all'azione caritatevole, assistendo dapprima
le inferme povere dell'ospedale. Ma del 1800 è il primo vero tentativo di
conciliare la vita religiosa con l'attivo intervento in favore dei bisognosi:
essa infatti cominciò a raccogliere le fanciulle abbandonate, che successivamente
(1802) vennero ospitate nel "ritiro Canossa", una casa acquistata
nella popolare parrocchia di S. Zeno e posta sotto la direzione di una fedele
maestra, Matilde Bunioli. Qui nel 1803 fondò la prima "scuola di
carità"; frattanto, si interessava all'opera di don Pietro Leonardi per i
sordomuti e collaborava alla fondazione della Fratellanza dei preti
ospedalieri. Parallelamente cercava di dare un ordinamento teorico alla propria
azione caritatevole, studiando le regole di s. Carlo Borromeo e le opere del
Bossuet, di s. Vincenzo de' Paoli, di s. Giovanna di Chantal; si procurò anche
la prima stesura delle regole delle salesiane, in cui si propugnava una vita
operosa accanto al ritiro della clausura.
Nel 1808 la C., lasciando definitivamente la famiglia,
si trasferì con la sua fondazione nel monastero dei SS. Giuseppe e Fidenzio,
che le era stato assegnato per volontà di Napoleone (ancora ospite dei Canossa
nel 1805, 1806 e 1807). L'istituto della C., che va inquadrato nella fioritura
di iniziative religiose a scopo sociale tipiche della restaurazione cattolica,
veniva favorito allora dalla politica del governo del Regno italico, tesa a
trovare appoggio anche tra la nobiltà e i tradizionalisti cattolici in quanto
uomini d'ordine (non per nulla in quegli anni Bonifacio Canossa fu nominato
cavaliere della Corona di ferro, ciambellano di corte, conte del Regno e
consigliere di prefettura).
Nel 1810 i fratelli Cavanis, che già nel 1802 avevano
fondato le scuole di carità per l'assistenza maschile, invitarono la C. a
Venezia perché organizzasse un'analoga istituzione per le fanciulle, ed ella
nello spazio di due anni portò a termine l'incarico, formando le maestre per la
nuova scuola, ma, soprattutto, mostrando valenti e disinteressate doti di
organizzatrice di cui si valsero in seguito Leopoldina Naudet (già sua
collaboratrice e prima madre superiora), fondatrice delle religiose della Sacra
Famiglia, Matilde Campostrini, fondatrice delle sorelle minime dell'Addolorata,
Antonio Rosmini e Antonio Provolo. A Venezia la C. era riuscita a fondare anche
una società di dame ospedaliere e aveva iniziato la stesura delle regole delle
canossiane, condotte a termine nel 1814.
Queste erano incentrate sui due cardini della carità e
della povertà completa, e se da un lato si rifacevano a s. Vincenzo de' Paoli,
dall'altro (soprattutto nelle prescrizioni devozionali) alle regole dei
gesuiti. Gli scopi dell'istituto erano individuati nell'istruzione ed
educazione delle fanciulle povere e abbandonate (scuole di carità);
nell'istruzione e assistenza delle donne dei ceti più bassi; spiegazione della
dottrina cristiana nelle parrocchie; istruzione di fanciulle del contado in
collegi a retta minima ove ottenevano il diploma di "maestre di
campagna"; visite e assistenza alle inferme degli ospedali. Le regole,
lodate da un breve di Pio VII del 20 nov. 1816, furono approvate
ufficialmente da Leone XII il 23 dic. 1828.
Con la Restaurazione il nuovo istituto si rafforzò e
affermò definitivamente: oltre ai due conventi di S. Lucia e della S. Croce a
Verona sorsero le case di Milano (1816), Bergamo (1820), Trento (1828), Brescia
e Cremona (1835). Tra le innovazioni introdotte dalla C. va ricordata anzitutto
l'organizzazione di ritiri annuali per le ragazze del popolo e per le maestre e
poi per le dame dell'aristocrazia: a questo scopo nacque una Pia Unione dei
Sacri Cuori di Gesù e Maria che ricordava analoghe istituzioni gesuitiche; in
seguito fu fondato anche un terz'ordine canossiano, dopo un primo avvio di un
istituto maschile di religiosi.
Un episodio importante per la comprensione della
spiritualità della C. è rappresentato dal suo incontro con il Rosmini. Questi
la incontrò per la prima volta a Verona nel febbraio 1820 accompagnando la
sorella Margherita (che divenne suora canossiana) e ne ricevette un'impressione
profonda, traendo l'ispirazione per comporre la Storia dell'amore, Cremona
1834. Da parte sua la C. giudicò subito il Rosmini l'uomo adatto per attuare in
campo maschile un'azione analoga a quella delle canossiane e già nel 1821 gli
inviò un Piano per i figli della carità, che però destò qualche
perplessità nell'abate di Rovereto. In un primo tempo, infatti, questi non
credeva possibile la costituzione di una comunità di ecclesiastici, come voleva
la C., ed avrebbe preferito dar vita a un gruppo composto di laici diretti da
un ecclesiastico: egli pensava a "una società d'uomini dedicati allo
spirito" (Epistolario ascetico…, I, p. 72), di cristiani amanti degli
antichi tempi apostolici, come chiariva nel manoscritto dell'opera Educazione
cristiana che inviò alla C. il 9 genn. 1824. Inoltre dissentiva dalla C.
circa le devozioni che avrebbero dovuto adottare e promuovere i figli della
carità; il Rosmini era favorevole alle devozioni "pubbliche della santa
Chiesa" (in particolare la messa) e riteneva "un bene minore"
quelle devozioni "popolari" tanto care ai gesuiti, cui inclinava la
C., e tanto diffuse nell'epoca della Restaurazione: esse, secondo il Rosmini,
"sviano alquanto, per la umana limitazione, i cristiani dalla pubblica,
completa, ed esterna unione che nasce nella Chiesa, quando il popolo prega allo
stesso modo, cogli stessi sensi, e colle parole stesse de' sacerdoti" (Epistolario
ascetico..., I, pp. 75 ss.). In seguito, accettata l'idea che i figli della
carità fossero dei sacerdoti (1825), giunse alla conclusione, dissentendo anche
in questo dalla C., che loro compito dovesse essere pure quello della cura pastorale;
accettò, invece, le regole basilari stabilite dalla C.: "spirito di
carità, carità di Dio e del prossimo: santificazione interiore e propria,
esteriore ed altrui: contemplazione ed azione: i due perni della cristiana
virtù" (ibid., pp. 91-94). Ma le divergenze circa i doveri
devozionali e pastorali, che traevano origine da una profonda diversità di
concepire la vita religiosa, furono più che sufficienti a far sì che i figli
della carità, finalmente fondati dal Rosmini nel 1828, non rimanessero nell'ambito
canossiano. Un istituto canossiano maschile sorse, invece, a Milano tra il 1829
e il 1831.
La C. morì a Verona il 10 apr. 1835.
La causa di beatificazione fu introdotta da Pio IX nel
1877; il 7 genn. 1927 Pio XI dichiarò l'eroicità della C. e infine il 7 dic.
1941 Pio XII la proclamò beata.
Fonti e Bibl.: A. Rosmini-Serbati, Epistolario
completo, I-V, Casale Monferrato 1887, ad Indices; Id., Epistolario
ascetico, I, Roma 1911, pp. 51-53, 60 s., 70-72, 74-76, 91-102, 236-238,
595; G. M. Quattrini-F. Andreu, Lettere ined. del padre Ventura, in Regnum
Dei, XIX (1963), p. 85; C. C. Bresciani, Orazione funebre in morte
della reverenda M. marchesa di C., Verona 1835; Id., Vita di M.
marchesa di C., Verona 1849; Beatificationis et canonizationis...
Magdalenae marchionissae de C. fundatricis Instituti filiarum a Caritate…, Roma
1873-1940; F. S. Zanon, Compendio della vita dei servi di Dio P.
Anton'Angelo e P. Marcantonio Conti Cavanis..., Venezia s.d., pp. 143 s.,
174; M. di C. Primo centenario della sua morte, Milano 1936; G. De
Battisti, Beata M. di C., Isola del Liri 1941; I. Giordani, M .di
C. la marchesa serva dei poveri, Roma 1942; G. Stoffella, Note per
servire alla storia del ven. G. Bertoni: le relazioni del servo di Dio con la
beata M. di C., Isola del Liri 1943; F. De Vivo, Chiesa e spiritualità
nell'Ottocento veronese, in Chiesa e spiritualità nell'Ottocento
italiano, Verona 1971, pp. 311-319; Encicl. catt., III, coll.
610 s.; Dict. de spiritualité, II, Paris 1953, https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/maddalena-gabriella-canossa_(Dizionario-Biografico)coll.
85 s.
SOURCE : https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/maddalena-gabriella-canossa_(Dizionario-Biografico)
