RIVA, GIUSEPPE. – Priest and ascetical writer, born in Milan in 1803, died there on 7 February 1876.
Major Penitentiary of the Metropolitan Cathedral, highly versed in the ecclesiastical sciences and hagiography, he was a beneficent promoter of ecclesiastical and missionary vocations and a much sought-after popular preacher.
His fame is linked to the composition of the Manuale di Filotea (Milan 1834), of which he printed 22 editions during his lifetime, continually expanding and reorganizing the extensive material in order to provide greater nourishment for spiritual formation and devotion. Other works: Esposizione della dottrina cristiana. Le grandezze di Gesù Cristo, Conferenze sui doveri degli ecclesiastici, Il devoto di Maria. At his death he left his library and the ownership of his works to the Seminario di S. Calogero per le Missioni Estere in Milan.