ALBINI, CARLO DOMENICO

CARLO DOMENICO ALBINI. – Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate, born in Mentone on 26 Nov. 1790, died in Vico on 23 May 1839. While a priest (1815) and later professor at the seminary of Nice, he met Mgr 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 Alphonsus Liguori. An excellent orator, fluent in French and Provençal, he devoted himself to missions, especially in rural areas, and to the work of protecting Italians founded by Mazenod. Transferred to Corsica in 1834, he dedicated himself to combating the religious and moral decline of the island: he reformed the seminary, organised missions everywhere, fought immorality and the spirit of vendetta, promoted peace among families and between villages, and organised solemn penitential events. Acclaimed as the “apostle of Corsica,” he revived the traditions of St Alexander Sauli and St Leonard of Port Maurice, and died worn out by his labours at the residence in Vico, in a reputation for holiness.