GIUSEPPE BENEDETTO COTTOLENGO, saint. — Born at Bra in 1786, the first of twelve siblings. From childhood he revealed an arcane predilection for the sick. He donned the ecclesiastical habit in 1802, studied at the Seminary of Asti, and in 1811 was ordained a priest in Turin. At first he devoted himself to the care of souls among country people; but, desirous of a broader sacred culture, he resumed his theological studies in Turin, where he received his degree in 1816, and in 1818 was appointed canon of the church of Corpus Domini. Determined to imitate s. Vincenzo de' Paoli, in 1827 he began to devote himself to the destitute, the wanderers, the homeless, and especially the sick without assistance. Today (1950), the four beds that in Jan. 1828 marked the beginning of the work, which he named Piccola Casa della Divina Provvidenza, have increased to thousands.
With the help of the widow Marianna Nasi, he established the Figlie di s. Vincenzo — known as Cottolenghine — to care for the sick, including in their homes. In 1832, after a brief interruption caused by hostile intrigues, the Piccola Casa reopened in the locality known as Valdocco, where, within a decade, it developed rapidly, both through the growth of the wards intended for the feeble-minded, epileptics, the deaf-mute, foundlings, girls in moral danger, rachitic children, and reformed women; and through the multiplication of the internal religious families of active and contemplative life, with which the Saint endowed his institution.
Indeed, in addition to the Figlie di s. Vincenzo or Vincenzine, he subsequently established in the Piccola Casa the communities of the Orsoline, the Figlie della Madonna, del Suffragio, the Figlie della Pietà, known as Discalced Carmelites, the Taidine, and the Figlie della Divina Pastora, assigning each of them a particular rule and a specific goal to attain. Alongside the female religious families devoted to action and contemplation, which increased after his death, the Saint also established the male communities of the Fratelli di s. Vincenzo and the Preti della S.ma Trinità, as well as the youth section of the Tommasini, or aspirants to the priesthood, both for his works and for the needs of the dioceses. At the foundation of these varied enterprises, C. placed the most unbounded trust in the help of Providence, obtained solely through prayer and without any appeal to the generosity of good people. He therefore urged people to disregard the number of those housed, so as “not to wrong Providence,” which does not forget the needy; for his favorite maxim was that “to him who trusts extraordinarily, God provides extraordinarily.” For the same reason, the official and continual prayer which, at the saint’s desire, resounds in the Piccola Casa is: Deo gratias! With it, all continually give thanks for the provident goodness of God. The unfortunate persons gathered in the Piccola Casa numbered several thousand as early as the Saint’s lifetime. He died at Chieri in 1842; he was beatified by Benedict XV in 1917, and canonized by Pius XI in 1934. Feast day: 29 Apr.
Here are the most recent statistics:
In the outpatient clinics of C.’s hospital, an average of 200 consultations are held daily. The clinics provide general medicine and general surgery. In addition, the radiology and physical-therapy department and the bacteriological laboratory are in operation. The physicians who currently offer their services to the sick free of charge number 57, the oldest of whom began serving in 1891. By ministerial decree dated 10 June 1936, the establishment of the residential school for religious nurses was approved. From 1938 to 1949, 325 graduates completed the school; at present, across all its courses, it has 84 students, all religious. The school is entirely maintained by the Piccola Casa della Divina Provvidenza. The hospital has a capacity of 1,818 beds. The number of residents of both sexes—invalids, the mentally deficient, the deaf-mute, epileptics, orphans, etc., including the sick—is 3,650. The total number of Cottolenghine sisters engaged in caring for the sick is 2,607: of these, 590 are in the Mother House (Cottolengo — Turin), 392 in the 40 branch houses, and 1,625 scattered throughout Italy (abroad there is only one house, at Locarno), under the authority of the local administrations. Religious male nurses, numbering 50, also serve in the Turin hospital, distributed among the various men’s wards. The Cottolenghine Sisters serving in nurseries, orphanages, and schools number 1,740. — Vedi tav. LIX.