The Letters of St. Gaspar del Bufalo 1786 - 1837 !2 FORWORD In 1968 the Italian Province of the Society of Most Precious Blood published the first volume of the Lettere di S. Gaspare Del Bufalo. This represented the work of Father Luigi Contegiacomo, C.PP.S. Subsequently, Volumes II1 and II2 were published containing in all 484 letters of Saint Gaspar. The work of Father Luigi continues on the letters and other writings of our Founder still contained in the General Archives of the Society. The Parent Corporation of the American Provinces of the Society of the Precious Blood agreed to sponsor the translation into English and publication of the Italian work. A committee was formed consisting of Fathers Ralph Bushell, Lawrence Cyr and James Froelich. Father Raymond Cera agreed to undertake the translation of the Lettere into English. The work of translating the Italian volumes published to date is now finisheFr. Whereas the Italian publication presents the letters in groups according to the persons addressed, we have decided to present the letters according to their chronological origin. As a consequence of this decision the letters are being presented not in bound form but in a looseleaf format. Thus future translations of letters yet to be published can be inserted into the present binders according to the date of their origin. February 25, 1985 !3 Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood Italian Province Rome, Via Narni 29 Tel 727154 Hail to the Divine Blood Provincial Superior Dearly beloved in the Blood of Jesus, It is with a heart full of joy that I prepare to open the way for the publication of the letters and other writings of the Founder. A delicate undertaking of promise and of massive size, in view of the fact that it will comprise several volumes. Nevertheless, the anticipated difficulties have not dissuaded us from the arduous effort so lovingly conceived; at last, we will be able to hold in our hands the first volume of the letters of St. Gaspar. These writings, which for long years have remained unknown to the greater number of us, are finally placed at our complete disposal. Their publication is particularly opportune in this postconciliar period in which all Institutes are called upon to return to their original spirit in order to fathom more deeply their own character and function in the Church, according to the charism of their own Founder. I have no hesitation in asserting that the letters will cause us to discover a new Gaspar: more human, more apostolic, more saintly. They will afford us a new delight in his spirituality. We will be drawn closer to him. They will detail for us the daily burdens of a life that was totally "consumed" in the apostolic ministry. A life entirely expended in the establishment of the Missionary Work which had wisely been entrusted to him by Providence. A life completely dedicated to the glory of the Divine Blood. The letters will set up a direct colloquium between the Father and us, his children: for the writings of St. Gaspar are now brought to light principally for us, his heirs in the apostolic vocation. Not only as an historical testimony of his activity, but especially as a stimulus for us to immerse ourselves with renewed fervor in the ideal desired by the Founder. This is the greatest fruit that we expect from the publication of the writings of our Father. It is necessary, consequently, to read them, to meditate on them with love, to probe deeply into them. I thank all those who have contributed or are contributing to the accomplishment of this task: the V. Rev. Moderator General, Fr. Herbert Linenberger, for having put the Archives at our disposal; Fr. Luigi Contegiacomo who is in charge of the work; and all of you, my dear fellow members, who with your urgent requests have encouraged us in the enterprise. May the saintly Founder help us to bring to a happy completion the work that has been undertaken and, thanks to divine grace, stimulate within our hearts a generous response to the invitations which he will certainly extend to us in his loving encounters with us. !4 Rome, May 24, 1968 Feast of Mary, Help of Christians Affectionately yours in the Blood of Jesus, (Signed) Fr. Ernesto Guerrieri, Provincial Superior PREFACE This work on the Letters of St. Gaspar del Bufalo is the English traslation of the study by Father Luigi Contegiacomo, C.PP.S. entitled LETTERE DI S. GASPARE DEL BUFALO published in four volumes: Volume I [1968], Volume II (Part I [1970] and Part II [1972]) and Volume III [1982]. This work contained the letters and extensive background material. The letters had been arranged according to the addressee, subdivided according to the date the letter was (or was presumed to have been) written. The first three books (Volume I and Volume II) were translated into English by Father Raymond Cera, C.PP.S. and printed on loose-leaf paper (8"” x 11") and placed into three-ring binders. The first binder contained introductory and general materials. The second binder contained the letters of 1808 to 1826; the third had those of 1827 to 1831, and the fourth contained the letters of 1832 to 1837. The letters were placed in these binders so that additional letters could be incorporated into these volumes, if and when the letters would be made available. In 1986 Father Beniamino Conti, C.PP.S. began publishing all of the letters of St. Gaspar. They were arranged according to date and numbered consecutively. The first volume was published in 1985 and contained the eleven Circular Letters, called Chi e il Missionario? Lettere per gli Esercizi Spirituali. Then the publication continued with the name Epistolario: Years Numbers I - 1808 - 1820 [1986] (1 - 385) II - 1821 - 1823 [1986] (386 - 821) III - 1824 - 1825 [1987] (822 - 1289) IV - 1826 - 1827 [1987] (1290 - 1693) V - 1828 - 1830 [1988] (1694 - 2112) VI - 1831 - 1833 [1989] (2113 - 2647) VII - 1834 - 1835 [1991] (2648 - 3035) VIII - 1836 -1837 [1991] (3036 - 3607) IX - miscellanous [1992] (3608 - 3785) X - various. [1993] (3786 - 3959) Indici Generali I [1992] !5 As the Epistolario was published, the supplements also were gradually published. The work of translation was finally completed by Father Cera with the translation of the tenth volume of the Epistolario. The ninth and last supplement was distributed in December of 1994. This present CD edition has been prepared by Father Milton A. Ballor, C.PP.S. It contains some of the introductory material (Introduction, Preliminary Note and Biographical Data) by Father Luigi Contegiacomo and distributed in the first binder. The Gaspar’s Correspondents was prepared by Father John Klopke, C.PP. S. in 1994, but it was never published or widely distributed. September 14, 1999 PART ONE I N T R O D U C T I O N (Italian Edition) I. THE WRITINGS OF THE FOUNDER Anyone who enters the General Archives of our Congregation is suddenly attracted to a long series of huge, tall volumes, bound in old yellowing parchment, having data penwritten on the back in ancient printed style. They are the original manuscripts of St. Gaspar del Bufalo. They were diligently collected by his first disciples and by others,1 either because of their affection and veneration for the Founder, or their obedience to the laws of the Church which, in view of the Cause for Beatification and Canonization of a Servant of God, prescribe the examination of all his available writings. The work of research must not have been easy. It involved the interrogation of very many individuals, the visiting of diverse and distant places, the exploration of archives, since the Saint, in his very busy life, rich in human and social contacts, had disseminated everywhere letters, memories and personal writings of every kinFr. The work of collecting extended over many years. Begun by Fr. Giovanni Merlini shortly after the death of Gaspar, it continued privately throughout the duration of the Ordinary and Apostolic Processes, bearing as its fruit fourteen 1 The most praiseworthy of this type of work was, without doubt, that of the Venerable Fr. Giovanni Merlini. In his capacity as Secretary General and later as Superior General of the Institute, he personally gathered and directed the gathering, over the course of many years, of the writings of St. Gaspar, setting them in order and cataloguing them for the archives. In his own handwriting he appended to them various notations to clarify a topic, explain certain circumstances, establish dates that were missing, etc. Thus he acquired a profound and detailed knowledge of these writings, which proved to be of marvelous value because of his outstanding testimony in the Cause of the Founder's Beatification. !6 huge packages, which later were bound into as many volumes, so as to assure their preservation. Another four volumes of much smaller size (containing scholastic materials) were added to these 2. Then, in the year 1867, on the tenth of February, Cardinal Constantino Patrizi, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, issued the "Edict for the research of the Writings of the Venerable Servant of God, Gaspar del Bufalo." As a result both in Rome as well as in the other thirtynine dioceses where opportune little Processes (Processicula diligentiarum) had been instituted, an effort was made to trace and to gather those writings which up to then had escaped the diligence of Merlini. Thus to those already in existence another four packets were added 3 which, for the same reason as expressed above, were organized into bound volumes. All this material was presented to the Sacred Congregation of Rites which appointed two Theologians as Censors to review the matter.