PAVONI, LODOVICO, Venerable. — Founder of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception, born in Brescia on 17 Sept. 1784; died there on 10 Apr. 1849.
Of keen intellect, he combined literary studies with those of painting, architecture, mechanical arts, and the sciences, almost as if foreshadowing his future foundation. Ordained priest in 1807, he placed himself at the disposal of parish priests for any ministry required for three years, while at the same time devoting himself to the good of many oratories, in which he became either founder or director. In 1817 he was elected canon of the cathedral of Brescia, and in 1818 rector of the church of S. Barnaba. He then opened, adjacent to the church, a house to gather orphaned or abandoned boys and offer them a school of arts and crafts, so that through religion they might also learn how to earn a living. The work gradually expanded to the point that in 1836 it also took in orphans left by the plague; and in 1840, in a separate location, boys and young deaf-mutes. To consolidate and secure the work, he established a new congregation of priests and laymen, which he wished to call “Sons of the Immaculate Conception”; the former for the spiritual direction of the young, the latter to direct the workshops. He was their superior general until his death, broadening the scope of his zeal even into neighboring dioceses, and aiding preaching with good press. The reputation for holiness that he enjoyed in life and after death led to the introduction of his beatification process (1919).