Blessed Mosè Tovini (27 December 1877 – 28 January 1930) was an Italian Roman Catholic

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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and was both the nephew and godson of

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

Giuseppe Antonio Tovini. He was beatified on 17 September 2006 in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

Biography

Mosè Tovini was the eldest of eight children to Eugenio Tovini and Domenica Malaguzzi. His childhood education was spent in Breno and he would later move in with his uncle Giuseppe Antonio Tovini in

at the age of nine in order to continue his studies. He had 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 Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communi ...

on 14 November 1886 and felt a religious call to the priesthood at this time. His father opposed his desire to become a priest and enrolled him in high school in

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

where he was often bullied. He returned home and his father at last allowed him to follow his religious vocation. He moved back to his uncle and began his studies as a priest in Brescia. After the death of his uncle in 1897 he left his studies and enlisted in the Italian military where his personal piety had a profound effect on his fellow soldiers. He became a sergeant and was discharged from his duties on 31 October 1898. After this, he returned home and resumed his studies for the priesthood. This led to - at the age of 22 - his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

on 9 June 1900. Tovini was sent to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to continue his studies and had degrees in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

by 1904. He returned to Brescia after this where he started teaching at the seminary, and later jointed the Congregation of Oblate Priests. Tovini later travelled to Rome, where he attained a degree in

dogmatic theology Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Ch ...

. He received an exemption from the draft of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and he continued to teach in Brescia. He ministered to the sick during the

Spanish flu epidemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

and assisted veterans after the war who cut short their studies for the priesthood. He was also made the rector of the seminary in 1926, holding that post for the rest of his life. He continually emphasized a devotion to the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

, the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

and the pontiff as the pillars of a priestly life.

Beatification

Tovini was praised for his holiness and it resulted in calls for his beatification. The formal introduction of his cause for sainthood came on 15 October 1981 and commenced on a diocesan level that spanned from 1981 to 1982. The Positio was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 1995.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

recognized that he had lived a life of heroic virtue and named him to be

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

on 12 April 2003. The miracle required for his beatification was investigated on a local level before it was submitted to Rome.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

approved the miracle on 19 December 2005 and it led to the beatification on 17 September 2006. One final miracle is required for his canonization.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tovini, Mose 1877 births 1930 deaths Italian beatified people Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI 20th-century venerated Christians Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II