By Natasha Marsh
In a homily given on Friday, 4 April 2014, Pope Francis referred to a persecuted man – ‘a true prophet’ – who had several of his works placed on the Index of Prohibited Books by his enemies.
This man was Antonio Rosmini (1797- 885), Italian patriot, priest, philosopher and founder of the Rosminians, officially known as the Institute of Charity.
In this thoroughly researched book, Rosminian priest Fr John Michael Hill IC takes a closer look at the life and times of this fascinating man.
Much like Australia’s first saint, Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Rosmini was distinguished by his strength and zeal and possessed a mind and heart for God and His poor. Also like Mary MacKillop, he made himself some powerful enemies.
Throughout his life, Rosmini encountered a mixture of blessings, and setbacks. He enjoyed close friendships with Popes Gregory XVI and Pius IX, and was made cardinal in 1848.
However, he soon endured a series of scathing attacks on his person by several high-profile theologians and churchmen.
In 1849, two of his works were placed on the Index of Prohibited books, which severely hampered the growth of his fledgling order, the Institute of Charity.
His life reads as one would expect of a leader caught in the political and religious turmoil of the emerging Italian nation.
After his death, Rosmini’s writings were eventually removed from suspicion. Some of these were even influential in the discussion at the Second Vatican Council. His regeneration was complete on 18 November 2007, when he was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI.
Despite its hard beginnings, the Institute of Charity spread from a mountainside retreat in Monte Calvario in Basilicata, Italy, across the world. Rosminian priests, sisters and laymen can now be found in every corner of the globe. Fr Hill summarises the Rosminian spirituality beautifully: it looks to ‘St Ignatius for structure and organisation, St Augustine for his emphasis on love, and St Francis de Sales for the gentleness of spirit with which Rosmini imbues his whole vision’.
Educated at Cambridge University and a Rosminian priest since 1964, Fr Hill pays a wonderful tribute to the Institute of Charity’s founder.
He also gives keen insight to the tumultuous political situation in Italy in the 19th century, as it struggled to become a nation in its own right.
The book also gives a nod to the role of the Rosminians in re-establishing Catholicism in England as they were one of the first orders allowed back into the country since the Reformation.
Rosmini was a contemporary of John Henry Newman, and Fr Hill records that each was aware of and respected the other, although they never met in person.
One of the great strengths of the book is that it does not read as hagiography. Rosmini is a human person, complete with faults and failings.
However, it is the way that he pushes past his limitations to become a saint of God that is truly inspiring.
Fr Hill traces with honesty the hard road that many of God’s saints have to walk. – Kairos Journal