YOUTH HOLINESS

by Pascual Chávez Villanueva

PREVENTIVE SYSTEM

JAMES

AND BARTHOLOMEW

Here are two further splendid examples of everyday holiness as lived by two salesian past-pupils, James Maffei (9/11/1914-24/7/1935) who attended the Valsalice salesian sixth form college and Bartholomew Blanco (25/12/1914-2/10/1936) past-pupil of the oratory.

JAmes’s parents were very fervent Catholics. This is Fr Ricaldone’s comment: “I always remember that little boy: modest and self-possessed, always cheerful and pleasant, exemplary but without the slightest ostentation, with a deep devotion to the blessed sacrament, the love in his heart making him a ready apostle, a patient conqueror of souls with his open candid smile. Dear James, like Dominic Savio, will be a model for the salesian student and the ideal of the young member of Catholic Action.” He lived at home until he was 15, exemplary for study and piety. In the Fifth Form his maths tripped him up and he failed! It was a hard blow; so his father sent him as a boarder to the Salesians at “San Giovannino” in Turin. It was his salvation, for there he met Fr Pietro Zerbino who became his “spiritual director” and friend. His outgoing character and his physical development that made him seem older than his 16 years, the family atmosphere of the College all fostered a close friendly relationship with his companions and trust and confidence in his superiors. In this intensely spiritual atmosphere, his natural goodness matured into solid virtue which flowered in the Retreats. In these he immersed himself in the supernatural, and on 19 /4/1931 they also gave rise to his beginning a “Diary” in which week by week he describes his upward spiritual journey. As an exception - given his age, he was accepted as a boarder, and he overcame all fears and reservations, to his superiors and companions singing the praises of the life of affection and understanding he found there. Having finished the fifth year he went to the sixth form at Valsalice, where he found ample scope for a variety of apostolic activities: from the traditional “Sodalities” to Catholic Action, and the “St. Vincent de Paul Society”. On Sundays during the usual time for a walk the young sixth formers flocked to visit the humblest cottages and the poorest garrets, and in the evening felt themselves better men and better Christians for it. In the three years he spent at Valsalice he developed a deep piety and sincere apostolic zeal. In him could be clearly identified the lay Catholic who in the footsteps of Pier Giorgio Frassati would give to the Church and to the world a new form of holiness. Success in his final examinations, (including maths!) opened the way to university. He chose medicine because the doctor’s vocation is that closest to the priest’s, and at Bologna because it was very close to home. There he discovered the Jesuits’ “Our Lady’s Sodality” an ideal continuation of the group apostolate at Valsalice. He found his feet there so quickly and easily that he was at once elected secretary. The meetings were no mere formality: in their free time on Sundays he and his companions went out visiting the slums, taking with them not only bread but also the encouraging word and the support that opens the door to hope and to action. His “Diary” was to be the constant up-to-date record of his trials and his many various activities.. He only lived a year at Bologna, but he made many friends. Death came suddenly at twenty years of age. Even today one asks oneself, why that cruel peritonitis? Perhaps, the young needed a saint. What was the secret of James’ conquests? The purity of heart that gave his life integrity and led him to write: “Like Dominic Savio I too say: Death rather than sin!”

Bartholomew came from Pozoblanco, in Spain. His mother died before he was four and with his father he went to live with relatives. At school, on account of his diligence the teacher called him “Captain”. When he was twelve he also lost his father and had to leave school and start work as a chair-maker in his cousin’s small workshop. When the Salesians arrived (September 1930), Bartholomew started going to the oratory and helping out as a catechist. In Fr Antonio do Muiño he found a director who encouraged him to continue his intellectual, cultural and spiritual formation. Later he joined Catholic Action, where he became secretary and gave the very best of himself. Moving to Madrid to become more involved in the apostolate with the workers at the Workers Social Institute, he shone as an eloquent speaker and specialist in social questions and the social teaching of the Church. Having obtained a scholarship he was able to familiarise himself with Catholic Workers’ Organisations in France, Belgium and Holland. In his political activities Bartholomew followed his convictions. Appointed delegate of the Catholic Trades Unionists he set up eight sections in the province of Cordoba. He was a committed Christian and gave an example of interior life and a generous dedication to the social apostolate, a Christian who fought for the values of the Gospel, even in those activities that might be considered politics. This indeed was taken as an excuse to kill him, though in fact he died because he was a Catholic. After the revolution broke out, Bartholomew returned to Pozoblanco on 30 June 1936, and placed himself at the disposal of the “Civil Guard” for the defence of the city which after a month surrendered to the Reds. He gave himself up on 18 August. Accused of being a rebel he was put in prison, where he continued to behave in an exemplary manner: “To merit martyrdom, you have to offer yourselves to God as martyrs!”. He was tried and condemned to death at Jaén. He said: “You think you are doing me harm, but in fact you are doing me a favour because you are polishing a crown for me.” He was shot on 2 October 1936. 