ALBINI, CARLO DOMENICO

ALBINI, CARLO DOMENICO. - Oblate missionary of Mary Immaculate, b. at Mentone on 26 Nov. 1790, d. at Vico on 23 May 1839. At the seminary of Nice, first as a priest (1815) and then as a professor, he met Msgr. De Mazenod, founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and joined him, subsequently holding the chair of moral theology at the seminary of Marseilles. In his teaching he was an advocate of St. Alfonso dei Liguori. An excellent preacher, also in French and Provençal, he devoted himself to missions, especially rural ones, and to the work for the protection of Italians founded by Mazenod. Transferred to Corsica (1834), he dedicated himself to combating the religious and moral decline of the island: he reformed the seminary, organized missions everywhere, combating immorality and the spirit of vengeance, promoting peace among families and towns, and organizing solemn demonstrations of penance. Acclaimed as the “apostle of Corsica,” he revived the traditions of St. Alessandro Sauli and St. Leonardo da Porto Maurizio, and died worn out by his labors at the residence of Vico, with a reputation for sanctity.