RUA, MICHELE. - Salesian, first successor of St. John Bosco, b. in Turin on 9 June 1837, d. there on 6 Apr. 1910.

Having met Don Bosco in 1845, he began to frequent the oratory directed by him in 1847 and gave himself entirely to him in 1855, thus becoming the first Salesian of the future society. Ordained a priest in 1860, he immediately received positions of importance, which he knew how to discharge with the approval of all who knew him: director of the schools and of the oratory at Vanchiglia and of the first College in Turin, prefect of the Salesian Society, first visitor of the houses; in 1884 vicar general, in 1888 successor of Don Bosco in the government of the Congregation.

He wished to be in all things like him and set himself the program of sustaining and developing the works begun by the founder, of faithfully following the methods taught by him, of imitating him as a model. The Society under his vigilant and paternal guidance grew greatly and developed extensively, not only in Europe but also in the distant missions. Such was the common fame of sanctity that he enjoyed among all, that on 15 Jan. 1936 the cause of his beatification was introduced (AAS 28 [1936], pp. 237-40).

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: A. Amadei, Il servo di Dio M. R., successore di s. Giov. Bosco, 3 voll., Turin 1931-34; A. Auffray, D. M. R., Italian version, ibid. 1933; A. Amadei, Un altro d. Bosco. Il servo di Dio M. R., ibid. 1934.

Celestino Testore

@incollection{ec10_rua_michele, author = {Testore, Celestino}, title = {Rua, michele}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {X}, pages = {1420}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/rua-michele} }

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Rua, Michele

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