In a Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio packed with faithful both inside and outside, the diocesan phase of the cause of beatification of the Servant of God ended on Thursday afternoon in Milan Luigi GiussaniAmbrosian priest who died in 2005 and founder of Communion and Liberation.
The ceremony opened with the celebration of Second Vespers on the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord and continued with the last public session of the canonical process “about the life, virtues and reputation for sanctity in particular and the extraordinary facts in general of the Servant of God Monsignor Luigi Giussani”.
In the presence of the Archbishop of Milan Mario Delpini, who wore Paul VI’s stole when he signed the Encyclical Populorum Progressioof the archbishop’s delegate for the Causes of Saints Monsignor Ennio Apecitiof the postulator, the professor Chiara Minelli, and the notaries in charge, the boxes containing all the documentation collected during the diocesan investigation were sealed with sealing wax and stamps, which will now be transmitted to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints of the Holy See.
Numerous authorities present including Anna Scavuzzodeputy mayor of Milan e Raffaele Cattaneoundersecretary to the presidency of the Lombardy Region, together with other councilors and representatives of local institutions, including Carlo Moscatelli, mayor of Desio (Monza Brianza), birthplace of Don Giussani. Also present Elena Beccalli, rector of the Catholic University (where Don Giussani taught Theology from 1964 to 1990), together with other deans and managers of the university. Several bishops concelebrated: Andrea Bellandiarchbishop of Salerno-Campagna-
Acerno, Massimo Camisascabishop emeritus of Reggio Emilia-Guastalla, Ivan Maffeisarchbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve and spiritual advisor of the CL Fraternity, Giovanni Paccosi, bishop of San Miniato, Corrado Sanguinetibishop of Pavia, Filippo Santoroarchbishop emeritus of Taranto. Also present Linda Ghisoni, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, as well as some representatives of other movements: Giuseppe Contaldo, President of the Renewal in the Spirit, Delfina Colombo, President of the Milanese ACLI, Erika
Floridi and Alessandro Capelli of AGESCI Lombardia, Aldo Molinari and Biancarosa Colombo representing the Neocatechumenal Way.
The case was opened in 2012
The lawsuit was initiated in 2012 by the then archbishop of Milan Angelo Scola. In recent years two theologians have examined Don Giussani’s published writings, attesting to the absence of errors in matters of faith and morals and delving deeper into his theological thought and spirituality. At the same time, a historical commission was established to collect documents and testimonies useful for reconstructing his life and work.
Two years ago, on 9 May 2024, again in the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, Archbishop Delpini opened the public testimonial phase of the trial. In one year, approximately eighty testimonies were collected on the spirituality, fame of holiness and ecclesial legacy of the founder of Comunione e Liberazione.
Now all the documents will be sent to the Dicastery which will examine the documentation in the subsequent stages provided for by canon law. If the Pope recognizes the heroic virtues of Don Giussani, the Ambrosian priest could be declared Venerable. For beatification it will then be necessary to recognize a miracle attributed to his intercession; a second miracle would finally pave the way for canonization.
Davide Prosperi: «Immense joy»
“It is an important step for the movement and for the whole Church, the two things coincide: the movement is a function of the Church, Don Giussani has always insisted on this point”, he declared Davide Prosperi, president of Comunione e Liberazione, on the sidelines of the celebration, expressing «the immense joy of all members of CL for this further and fundamental step in the path with which the Church recognizes the goodness of Don Giussani’s testimony of Christian life, for the Church itself and for the world. A joy”, added Prosperi, “also expressed by the large participation in the ceremony: thousands of people were present in the Basilica and in Piazza Sant’Ambrogio, and several thousand others followed the event connected remotely. These are people with very different personal stories, origins and ages, but with in common the experience of a life renewed by the meeting with Don Giussani and with the movement. My personal thanks also go to each of them. Now we intend to continue with even greater determination on the path traced by Don Giussani, in communion with the Pope and with the whole Church, with the desire that the conscience with which Don Giussani, a young 23-year-old Ambrosian priest, wrote to his friend Angelo Majo, becomes ever more ours: “Jesus has chosen us to shout out in the world his Love and the happiness of men: the great and unspeakable happiness that awaits us”.
«Don Giussani man of God but the movement avoids triumphalism and nostalgia»
In the homily, Archbishop Delpini indicated three reasons for joy that mark this ecclesial moment. The first is the recognition of Don Giussani as “a man of God”: «A man, a priest who with his life and with his words and with his charisma led us to meet Christ. This is the greatest gift that was given to Monsignor Giussani and that through him was given to all those who have followed this path.”
The second reason for joy, explained the archbishop, is “the joy of feeling with the Church, of feeling inside this Church» underlining the long work done to reach the conclusion of the diocesan investigation: «The Church of Milan has recognized that this cause of beatification can be handed over to supreme discernment».
The third reason instead concerns the history born from the charism of the founder of Comunione e Liberazione: «Through the charism of Don Giussani many people of all ages, from all countries they started a story, they recognized a word addressed to them, a message that struck deep within humanity, an opening of horizons that broadened the heart.”
Delpini then recalled how the meeting with Giussani was for many “a starting point” from which vocations, ecclesial responsibilities and commitment to society were born: «This story has a unitary origin», he stated, «and allows us to rejoice in a communion that is consolidated. Recognizing this unitary origin allows us to rejoice in a communion that is consolidated, to be of one heart and one soul that it almost becomes a verification of the truth of the journey that began with Don Giussani.”
However, the archbishop also warned the movement against three possible temptations. The first is to do Giussani «a screen», stopping at his figure without going further towards Christ: «The importance, the affection, the gratitude sometimes risk making Giussani the point of arrival, while he was an invitation to go towards God».
The second temptation is to consider the work of the priest and passionate educator as «a deposit», a mine of texts and quotes to use without allowing ourselves to be provoked by their vitality: «Giussani’s work must be a source, not artefacts to be recalled», said Delpini, «a freshness that continues to fertilize the earth and the heart and the movement and all those who encounter them».
Finally, the reference to the temptation of “triumphalism”: “The vocation of the movement is not to draw attention to itself, to its achievements or to its numbers, but to be a gift for the Church, for society, for the present and for the future because», the archbishop recalled, «Don Luigi Giussani was a man of God and a man of the Church and the Church recognizes him today as a Servant of God to make our history, the history of each of you, a history of grace».
