Ongoing - Cafasso


Ongoing - Cafasso



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Union with God amidst so much business. – June 2010
Ongoing Formation - St Joseph Cafasso
Newsletter as an aid for the animation of Communities and Confreres.
Feastday: June 23
This year the feast day of St Joseph Cafasso happens to be the
150th anniversary of his death. That means he died just six
months after the foundation of the Salesian Congregation. It
was an undertaking which Don Bosco must surely have
discussed at length with him, not only on the practicalities of
the project, but more importantly on discerning God’s will in
the foundation of a new Congregation.
It was Joseph Cafasso who was initially instrumental in
directing Don Bosco in working with youth in difficulty, who
continued to direct him in his weekly confession, who
advised him to take up lodgings with Don Borel at the Refuge,
who worked closely with him in the foundation of the
Oratory, giving him financial support and convincing others
to fund his charitable foundation and, when necessary, to
defend him from critics even from the clergy.
There is no doubt that the three years that Don Bosco
spent at the Convitto were crucial. As Don Ceria testifies, they
‘contributed powerfully to mould his spirit in a definitive
manner’. After six years of speculative theology isolated from
reality in a seminary, insertion into the active apostolate was
not easy. Cafasso exposed the young priests to the pastoral
realities of a city fast becoming industrialized, and then
helped them in their theological reflection on their
experience in a way that this becomes for them the crucial
element in their discernment. In reading the Memoirs one
can see the impact that Don Bosco’s visit to the prisons left
on him and the very important conclusion this led him to:
"Who knows?" I thought to myself, "if these youngsters had
a friend outside who would take care of them, help them,
teach them religion on feast days. Who knows but they
could be steered away from ruin?" With Fr Cafasso’s encour-
agement and inspiration I began to work out in my mind
how to put the idea into practice… This was the seed that
germinated into the Oratory and eventually into the
Congregation and Salesian Family.
Knowing the positive impact that the Convitto has had on
don Bosco, it does make one reflect on whether we offer a
similar opportunity to our young Salesians. Perhaps this is the
missing link in our formation process: a year specifically
designed for our Deacons and Young Priests in which they
have a practical pastoral experience on which they are helped
to reflect in the light of Pastoral Theology and the insights
gained from human sciences.
It would be worthwhile to invest in such an initiative.
Seminary director
Joseph Cafasso was born in Castelnuovo d'Asti in
1811. Son of small land owners, he was the third
of four children. From when he was very young he
was regarded him as a young saint. He completed
his theological studies at the seminary in Chieri
and in 1833 was ordained priest. Four months
later he went to the Convitto Ecclesiastico, a
residential Pastoral Institute for putting the
finishing touches to his priestly and pastoral
formation. He would remain involved there for the
rest of his life, eventually becoming its Rector.
Spiritual director
At the Convitto the spirituality of St. Ignatius
reigned supreme as well as the theological and
pastoral orientations of St. Alphonsus Maria
Liguori. Teaching was given much attention and
was aimed at forming good confessors and
capable preachers. Joseph studied and gained a
deeper understanding of the spirituality of St
Francis de Sales, which he then passed on to one
student in particular: John Bosco. Cafasso, his
spiritual director from 1841 to 1860, contributed
to forming and guiding Don Bosco's spirituality.
Typical of his teaching was his appreciation of daily
duty as a way to holiness. As the Founder of the
Salesian also testified: "the extraordinary virtue of
Cafasso was his marvelously faithful and
consistent practice of ordinary virtues"
Apostolate to the poor:
Having the poor at heart, he visited and also
financially supported those who were poorest,
bringing them the consolation that came from his
priestly ministry. His apostolate also consisted in
spiritual accompaniment of prisoners and those
condemned to death, to the point where he was
defined as the prisoners' priest. Prudent and

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reserved, a spiritual master, he was spiritual director of priests, lay people,
politicians, founders.
Pearl of the Italian clergy
Pio XI called him the pearl of the Italian clergy. Fr Cafasso also supported
Don Bosco and the Salesian Congregation in material ways from its very
beginnings. After a short illness he died at just 49 years of age on 23 June
1860. He was beatified in 1925 and canonised by Pius XII in 1947, who
recognised him as a "model of priestly life, father of the poor, consoler of
the sick, support for prisoners, saviour of the condemned". The same Pope,
in his encyclical Menti Nostrae proposed him as a model for priests.
At the School of Cafasso
This extract from the book of Don Ceria Don Bosco Con Dio,
[Chapters 4&7] shows the crucial role that Don Cafasso played in
the discernment of Don Bosco’s vocation and in recognizing the true
spiritual dimension of his initiatives.
Don Bosco could not have had a better preparation for his
mission as a zealous apostle of the young. The three years
that he spent there contributed powerfully to mould his spirit in
a definitive manner. Providence placed him in the hands of that
saintly teacher of priestly souls, and the graces he received
there bore much fruit.
At the school of Cafasso he eagerly imbibed that spirit
of prayer which he had already acquired intuitively in spite of
the prevailing fashion of the times he lived in, prayer based on
“unlimited trust in the goodness and loving-kindness of God
towards us”. From Cafasso’s conferences on theology and his
spiritual direction, he learnt how to hear confessions “with
prayerfulness, knowledge and prudence”. In the lessons on
sacred eloquence he heard emphasized that a priest does not
go into the pulpit to show off, but “to preach on observance of
the divine commandments, prayer, devotion to Our Lady,
frequent reception of the sacraments, avoidance of idleness,
fleeing from bad companions and occasions of sin, charity
towards one’s neighbour, patience in affliction, and he learned
never to end a sermon without reference to the eternal truths.”
He accompanied Cafasso in offering religious
assistance to prisoners and took part with him in retreats,
growing in fervour as he prepared for his apostolic work. Even
in their daily conversations, he heard and took on board wise
recommendations on “how to live in society, to deal with the
world without becoming a slave of the world, to become true
priests armed with the necessary virtues, ministers capable of
giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what
belongs to God.”
…We have a statement made by Don Cafasso in 1853 to
clarify things for some learned clerics who were a bit hesitant
in regard to Don Bosco, but its value goes far beyond the petty
scope for which it was first given. In it Don Cafasso said:
“ How well do you know Don Bosco? For me, the
more I study him, the less I understand him. I see
him as both simple and extraordinary, humble and
great, poor and yet undertaking huge projects that
seem impossible. I have seen obstacles in his way
and his situation impossible, and yet he succeeds
splendidly in whatever he undertakes. For me, Don
Bosco is a mystery! I am certain, however, that he is
working for the glory of God, that God alone is his
guide, that God alone is the motive for all his
actions.”
A Pope’s Appreciation
68. Satisfaction with Spiritual
Directors We desire likewise, in
this paternal exhortation of Ours,
to give special mention to those
priests who, in humility and
burning charity, labor prudently
for the sanctification of their
brother-priests as counselors,
confessors, or spiritual directors.
The incalculable good they render
the Church remains hidden for the
greater part, but it will one day be
revealed in the glory of God's
kingdom.
69. The Example of St.
Giuseppe Cafasso Not many
years ago, with great satisfaction,
We decreed the honors of the
altar to the Turinese priest,
Giuseppe Cafasso who, as you
know, in a most difficult period,
was the wise and holy spiritual
guide of not a few priests whom
he helped to progress in virtue
and whose sacred ministry he
rendered particularly fruitful. We
are fully confident that, through
his powerful patronage, our Divine
Redeemer will raise up many
priests of like sanctity who will
bring themselves and their
brethren in the ministry to such a
height of perfection in their lives
that the faithful, admiring their
example, will feel themselves
moved spontaneously to imitate it.
Menti Nostrae – Pius XII - 1950