Alfonso Maria Fusco (23 March 1839 – 6 February 1910) was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and the founder of the Sisters of Saint John the Baptist – also known as the Baptistine Sisters. Their mission was to evangelize and educate as well as to promote the faith amongst adolescents with a particular emphasis on those who were poor or abandoned. He received beatification from

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 2001 and

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

approved his canonization on 26 April 2016 – a date was determined on 20 June 2016 for sainthood and it was celebrated on 16 October 2016.

Life

Alfonso Maria Fusco was born as the first of five children to Aniello Fusco (a farmer) and Giuseppina Schianova at

Angri Angri is a town and ''comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have ...

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

on 23 March 1839; his parents married on 31 January 1834. Alfonso's birth was attributed to the intercession of Alphonsus de Ligouri whose tomb the couple had visited. A

Redemptorist The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...

named Saverio Pecorelli assured them that: "You will have a son; you will name him Alfonso; he will become a priest and will live the life of Blessed Alfonso". It was two months after the infant's birth that Alphonsus de Ligouri was canonized as a saint of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Childhood and education

His parents sent him to a church school where he was entrusted to the priests."Founder", Sisters of Saint John the Baptist
/ref> This made Alfonso dream of becoming a priest. Fusco built an altar so he could pretend to perform Mass. From his childhood, his parents noticed his compassion for children who were in need, as told in the book ''Operaio di Dio'' ('Alfonso Is His Name'), by

Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

Salvatore Garofalo. Fusco was a mild and gentle character who was responsive to the plight of the poor. He received his

First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion (ot ...

and

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

at the age of seven.

Studies and priesthood

Fusco – at the age of eleven – informed his parents that he wanted to become a priest and entered the Seminary of Nocera dei Pagani on 5 November 1850. According to Eliodoro Tedesco's ''Biographic Profile of the Venerable Don Alfonso Maria Fusco, Founder of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist,'' the presence of the army in 1860 during battles related to unification caused the dispersion of the seminary's archives containing mention of Fusco's coursework. But Giuseppe Nappi recalled that Fusco was always respectful towards his professors. During these days, Fusco had a dream that

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

ordered him to found a religious institute for

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

as well as an orphanage for boys and girls. Antonio Salomon, Archbishop of Salerno, ordained Fusco in his private oratory in

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

on 29 May 1863 (

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

Sunday). He was assigned to the collegiate Church of f St. John the Baptist in

Baptistine Sisters

In a meeting with Maddalena Caputo of Angri he realized this strong-willed woman who wanted to enter religious life was the motivator for him to create a religious institute. On 25 September 1878 three women and Caputo met in Angri and wanted to dedicate themselves to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

and His service. It was with them that the Sisters of Saint John the Baptist was established. Postulants entered as well as orphans though it proved too much for the new sisters and their founder. Fusco accepted this as a trial God sent to him. Bishop Saverio Vitagliano attempted to remove him as the head of the institute based on false accusations; and his own sisters refused to open the door for him of the house on Via Germanico in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

because of their desire for a division. Cardinal

Pietro Respighi Pietro Respighi S.T.D. JUD (22 September 1843 – 22 March 1913) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran and vicar general of Rome. He was made a cardinal in 1899. Biography H ...

– the Vicar of Rome – said: "You have founded this community of good sisters who are doing their best. Now withdraw!"

Death

Fusco – during the night of 5 February 1910 – felt quite unwell. He requested and received the sacraments on the following morning and after he blessed his own religious daughters exclaimed: "Lord, I thank You, I have been a useless servant". To the sisters he said: "From heaven I will not forget you. I will pray for you always".

Sainthood

The beatification process commenced with an informative process that began on 27 July 1930 and concluded on 22 November 1940. Formal approval of the cause from the Congregation of Rites was issued under

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

on 22 June 1951 and bestowed Fusco with the posthumous title of

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. Following this a second process (apostolic process) commenced on 30 July 1952 to continue the work of the previous process and concluded its work on 26 July 1954. All previous processes received formal ratification from Rome on 28 February 1958 and allowed for the C.O.R. to commence their own investigation into the cause. On 12 February 1976 he was proclaimed to be

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

after

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

acknowledged the fact that Fusco had lived a model life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

Beatification

The formal process for the investigation of a miracle commenced on 3 March 1999 and closed not long after on the following 17 March. The medical testimonies and documentation was submitted to the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

who ratified the process on 24 September 1999 so that officials could initiate their own evaluation of the alleged miracle. The medical board advising the C.C.S. approved the healing on 20 October 1999 while theologians followed suit on 3 March 2000. The C.C.S. approved it on 11 April 2000 and passed it on to

who granted papal approval to the miracle on 1 July 2000. John Paul II beatified Fusco on 7 October 2001.

Canonization

The

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

for the cause at the time of canonization was Sister Immacolata Maria Vicidomini. The second miracle needed for his canonization occurred in 2009. It was investigated in the diocese of its origin and was sent to Rome for further assessment. On 25 February 2016 the medical board advising the C.C.S. approved it while the consulting theologians also voiced their approval on the following 22 March. The C.C.S. gave their final approval on the following 19 April and as a result could pass this to the pope for his approval. On 26 April 2016 a second miracle attributed to his intercession received the papal approval of

. His canonization date was confirmed after it was formalized at a gathering of cardinals on 20 June 2016. Pope Francis canonized Fusco as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 16 October 2016."Founder of sisters of St. John the Baptist canonized in Rome", SI Live, November 05, 2016
/ref>

Feast

His liturgical feast is celebrated on February 7, as proclaimed by Pope Francis in Rome on October 16, 2016

References

Bibliography

* Translated into English by Sr. Christine Labate.

External links

Saints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fusco, Alfonso Maria 1839 births 1910 deaths 19th-century venerated Christians 19th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Canonizations by Pope Francis Founders of Catholic religious communities Italian Roman Catholic saints People from Salerno