Luigi Monza was born at Cislago (Varese) on June 22nd 1898, in a simple rural family whose only wealth were work, courage and faith.
\nAt the age of 18, after experimenting the country hard work, long sleepless nights to catch up with his studies and the everyday efforts of poor people struggling to keep body and soul together, Luigi Monza entered the catholic Seminary where he was ordained priest on September 19th, 1925.
\nHis first pastoral assignment was with the Vedano Olona Parish, where he provided spiritual assistance and education to adolescents and young people.
\nFather Luigi Monza first years as a priest were marked by severe trials including the harshness and unjust jail of the fascists.
\nIn 1928 he was assigned to the Blessed Virgin of Miracles Sanctuary in Saronno where he soon became the promoter of a number of activities involving young people. Here, his eyes \u2013 sharpened by the trials of life and seized by God\u2019s gaze \u2013 had learnt to look very faraway, over the whole world; a world marked by solitude, sadness and selfishness, in urgent need to be brought back to God\u2019s love. It was a great intuition, but it was necessary to wait for the Lord to tell the way to implement it. In particular, looking at this \u201cpagan world\u201d, as he used to call it, he got the intuition that the charity uniting the early Christians was the most appropriate means to be neighbour to the man of today and announce the good news of the Lord. Christians from within the society, sharing their daily life experience and in one\u2019s own professional task, were to be the witnesses and the living presence of God\u2019s love for men.
\nIn 1936 Father Luigi Monza was appointed Pastor of Saint John Parish in Lecco, where he acted in unity with God\u2019s heart.
\nIn 1937 the way the Lord had prepared for him became clear. The Secular Institute of the Little Apostles of Charity, conceived by his fatherly heart, was to act as a gift of the Spirit, offering mankind the fullness of lives consecrated to Christ\u2019s love \u201cwith the apostolic fervor of the early Christian community\u201d.
\nThe Association La Nostra Famiglia is the expression of his charity and that of the Little Apostles. He recommended that the Institution be the place to witness his prophetical intuition: \u201c to our world, morally upset, by the examples of your lives, go out and tell how wonderful it is to leave in one another\u2019s love\u201d. The Institution developed gradually; like a seed that contains in its extremely small shape the whole dimension of a great purpose: to thake care of children with disability.
\nOn the 29th of September 1954, Father Luigi silently stepped apart and disappeared, like the grain rotting to produce the ear, honestly conscious that he had accomplished his duty and had given the community the good indications from where to depart and where to arrive: the road ascending to God. All the rest was to follow.
\nFather Luigi was proclaimed blessed on 30th April 2006 in the Cathedral of Milan.<\/p>\n
Father Luigi Monza perceived Christians in today\u2019s society as witnesses and living presences of love in everyday life. He reached this profound intuition looking at the secularization process in which a society based on values was being replaced by a hard competitive society no longer respecting the man and his essence, but only appreciating him as a rough catcher and a winner. His message is extremely up-to-date and asks the Christian not to run away from the \u201cnew paganism\u201d but rather to share \u2013 in the name of charity \u2013 mankind life \u201cpenetrating\u201d our society \u201cwith the same spirit of the Apostles, to relish the spirituality of the Gospel of the Lord and enjoy altogether the happiness to live as brothers in Christ\u201d.
\nFather Luigi\u2019s message is for us all, men and women, called to live our lives in our own families or in consecration, in our professions, duties and in our spare time \u2026. telling the words to accompany us every day. All his teaching turns on this: charity pushes us to take care of our brothers and the human community; it becomes explicit in all our interpersonal relationships and projects us in missionary and evangelization activities. This is the heart of our living together and helps us to build a new model of society ruled by the law of love. Our ideal is the early Christian community, living one in heart and soul, where charity was the dimension to live close to one another in the way Christ had told us and committed to announce his Gospel. Christians find the meaning and strength for an intense life of action and hope through a personal and profound relationship with God and an unceasing prayer experience.
\nThe blessed Luigi Monza invites us all, today as he did in the past, saying : \u201dTell this world of today, morally devastated, with the examples of your lives: look how marvelous it is to live in one another\u2019s love
\n3. For whom did blessed Luigi Monza write his message?
\nHis message fascinates today like yesterday. Many groups and experiences have been inspired by his charisma. Father Luigi Monza\u2019s life is like the parable of the grain in the Gospel: from his life consumed in the charity were born the Little Apostles of Charity (men and women), groups for priests, children, young people, couples, families, workers of \u201cLa Nostra Famiglia\u201d, widows, volunteers. All of them choose to live their daily life according to his message.<\/p>\n
Father Luigi thought about consecrated persons who could witness the charity and \u201cgladness of living brethren in Christ\u201d, living in the world with the people of their time. The Secular Institute of Little Apostles of Charity was born In this way, even if the Church recognized this particular modality of consecration just in 1947.<\/p>\n
Father Luigi Monza founded \u201cLa Nostra Famiglia\u201d whose name explains the goal of this Association to shape in the world a big family in which people are joined in solidarity and fraternity. Everybody can belong to this family if witnesses the charity of first Christians. The charity towards poor has taken a particular place in the service of \u201cLa Nostra Famiglia\u201d which concentrates its attention on disabled persons.
\nOn 28th May 1946 the two first children, Vera and Umberto, were welcomed in the house in Vedano Olona while Father Luigi was still alive. In 1954 the Ministry of Health recognized one of the Centers of \u201cLa Nostra Famiglia\u201d as the first Extra Hospital Rehabilitation Centre. Since then, \u201cLa Nostra Famiglia\u201d has never stopped growing. Nowadays the Association counts 35 centers in Italy and 4 centers abroad. It is right to remember that Father Luigi considered poor all the people in any kind of need, either the ones who asked a material or a spiritual help or the ones not able to ask this. To him the poor were the ones named in the Gospel: sick, disabled, workless or moneyless people, people in any kind of difficulties. Father Luigi Monza showed through his life how it is necessary to be attentive to the present world to find out the most needful people asking help. When he met someone in need, he didn\u2019t judge: somebody was in need and it was necessary to do something.
\nThe mission of \u201cLa Nostra Famiglia\u201d is \u201cto translate\u201d the teaching of Blessed Luigi Monza in a modern language: \u201cto protect and to improve the quality of life for disabled persons through rehabilitation\u201d. \u201cLa Nostra Famiglia\u201d doesn\u2019t take care just of the disability itself, but pays attention to personal and familiar suffering too.
\nOthers tasks of the Association are in the field of scientific research about development pathologies and in formation programs for the ones who work in social and health services.
\n\u201cLa Nostra Famiglia\u201d continues its growth, according to the prophecy of his Founder: \u201c Our work will spread until the utmost boundaries of the world\u201d. He said so when this reality was still small.<\/p>\n
Booklet of prayers<\/p>\n
Blessed Luigi Monza is buried in the chapel of \u201cla Nostra Famiglia\u201d in Ponte Lambro (North of Italy).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1. Who is blessed Luigi Monza? Luigi Monza was born at Cislago (Varese) on June 22nd 1898, in a simple rural family whose only wealth were work, courage and faith. At the age of 18, after experimenting the country hard work, long sleepless nights to catch up with his studies and the everyday efforts of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biography","category-his-life"],"yoast_head":"\n