St Guido Maria Conforti - Our Founder
Date and place of birth
Guido Conforti was born on March 30 1865 at Casalora di Ravadese, in the midst of a fertile land of Parma, Italy. He was the eighth of ten children of Rinaldo Conforti and Antonia Adorni. All the educational efforts undertaken by his parents geared toward a specific goal, dreamed by his father: to have his son be the future administrator of the farm and its properties. Guido attended the school of the Christian Brothers in Parma, and he could have very well been a successful manager.
The Beginning
On the way to school, Guido developed the habit to stop in prayer in front of a huge Crucifix in the Church of Peace. There was an intense conversation among the two of them: ‘I looked at Him, and He looked at me, and it seemed he was telling me many things’ used to retell later Guido Conforti when he became bishop. In that meeting with the Crucifix, Guido felt called to the priesthood. We can just imagine the opposition of his father Rinaldo when Guido shared the news of entering the local seminary. But through the support he found in his mother, and the strength he received from his daily dialogues with the Crucifix, Guido seemed very determined.
Life in the Seminary
While in the Seminary, Guido lived an austere life, detached from his natural family, for seldom he received visits from his parents. But he was also experiencing some nervous related illness. He would pass out for a few hours, and he seemed out of breath. This almost precluded his priesthood ordination. His classmates would be ordained, but Guido was asked to wait, and get better. Guido made trips to the local shrine of Our Lady of Fontanellato, guided by the wisdom he received from Blessed Anna Maria Adorni, a holy religious woman who lived in Parma. Blessed Adorni was considered “the mother of the marginalized, exploited, of all who are subject to new forms of slavery and, in particular, of the incarcerated and women.”
The Foundation
Conforti was always fascinated by St. Francis Xavier, the Jesuit missionary who proclaimed the message of Christ throughout Asia up to Shangchuan, the gateway to China, where he died in 1552. Guido felt invited to continue the work that had remained unfinished. On December 3, 1895 he founded the Xaverian Missionaries Institute for foreign missions and chose St. Francis Xavier as their Saint Patron
A Good Shepherd
Conforti tried in many ways to make Jesus Christ to be known and loved. He spent most of his time for pastoral visits. He had a deep concern for the lack of catechism on spiritual life within the diocese. Jesus Christ became the center of his work and spiritual life. He encouraged the formation of diocesan priests, lay people and particularly the youth. He did all those tiring works while still giving assistance to the Missionary Institute he had founded.
