Remembering a protector of the sick and the mutilated
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| Carlo Gnocchi as a young priest |
Carlo Gnocchi, a brave priest who was chaplain to Italy’s
alpine troops during the Second World War, was born on this day in 1902 in San
Colombano al Lambro, near Lodi in Lombardy.
In recognition of his marvellous life, which was dedicated
to easing the wounds of suffering and misery created by war, his birthday was
made into his feast day when he was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on October 25, 2009 in Milan.
Gnocchi was the youngest of three boys born to Henry and
Clementine Gnocchi. His father died when he was five years old and his two
brothers died of tuberculosis before he was 13.
He was ordained a priest in 1925 in the archdiocese of Milan
and afterwards worked as a teacher.
When war broke out he joined up as a voluntary priest and
departed first for the front line between Greece and Albania and then for the
tragic campaign in Russia, which he miraculously survived, despite suffering
from frostbite.
While he was chaplain to alpine troops in the war he helped
Jews and Allied prisoners of war escape to Switzerland. During this time he was
imprisoned for writing against Fascism.
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| Gnocchi (left) pictured with General Luigi Reverberi at the Russian Front |
As he assisted the wounding and dying soldiers and listened
to their last wishes the idea came to him to create a charity that was to
become a reality after the war.
Gnocchi founded the Fondazione Pro Juventute after the war
and worked to provide care for those orphaned or disabled during the conflict.
The Foundation gradually expanded its operations to care for children suffering
from polio.
Today the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation also cares for
children or young people with disabilities or diseases and for patients of any
age with debilitating diseases. In 2003 the president of the Italian Republic
awarded it a gold medal for service to public health.
Gnocchi died of cancer in 1956 in Milan and on his deathbed
donated his corneas, which returned sight to two, blind young people.
After his death many people invoked his name when in danger
and claimed Gnocchi had saved their lives. An electrician from Villa d’Adda
said he had survived a serious accident at work after praying to him in 1979.
He was venerated in December 2002 by Pope John Paul II and in 2009 his beatification was celebrated in Piazza del Duomo in Milan on October 25,
the date of his birth 107 years before.
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| A panoramic view over San Colombano al Lambro |
Travel tip:
San Colombano al Lambro, where Gnocchi was born, has the
distinction of being the only wine producing town in the province of Milan.
An area of 100 hectares (250 acres) grows the grapes to produce the acclaimed
red wine San Colombano DOC. San Colombano is an exclave of the province of
Milan, as it is completely surrounded by the territory of the provinces of Lodi
and Pavia. When the province of Lodi was carved out of Milanese territory, the
people in San Colombano voted in a referendum to stay part of Milan.
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| The Santuario del Beato Don Gnocchi is next door to the Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi in the San Siro district |
Travel tip:
Gnocchi’s remains were transferred in 1960 from the Cimitero
Monumentale in Milan to the Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, which is close to Via
Don Carlo Gnocchi in the San Siro district of Milan. The foundation stone for
the building was laid in September 1955 but Carlo Gnocchi did not live long
enough to see the construction completed. Named after him, the organisation was
originally set up to provide care, rehabilitation and social integration for
children who had lost limbs during wars but has expanded over the years to
provide treatment for adult patients as well.
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