Today, March 12, is the commemoration of Saint Luigi Orione.
Founder of the Little Missionaries of Charity, the Hermits of Divine Providence, and the Ladies of Divine Providence.
Luigi, born in 1872 in Alessandria, Italy, came from a poor family. At the start of his teenage years, Luigi joined the Franciscans. He went out after a year because of his poor health.
He continued studying, even becoming a student of St. John Bosco. As Luigi wanted to become a priest, he entered the seminary. Since being inspired by the ministry of the Don Bosco’s followers, the student Luigi started educating the poor and taking care of the destitute. When he was ordained priest, he kicked his ministry into high gear.
He founded the Hermits of Divine Providence congregation, the Ladies of Divine Providence, and an orphanage in Rome, Italy in 1899. Under the patronage of Pope Saint Pius X, he founded the Little Missionaries of Charity.
He had the Marian shrine at Tortona built. In times of political unrest that shrine would be a rallying center. As his congregations grew, Luigi personally checked up on the communities around the world.
At 67, Don Orione died in 1940 of natural causes. Pope St. John Paul beatified Luigi in 1980 and then canonized him in 2004.