Every June 18, the Church celebrates Saint Gregory Barbarigo, Italian bishop and cardinal of the 17th century, who stood out as a careful and concerned pastor, as well as for his refined education and great academic level.
He was part of the diplomatic corps of his native Venice and later of the Holy See. Later, as bishop, he supported important pastoral initiatives – first in Bergamo and then in Padua – and made pastoral visits part of his personal hallmark. Because of his ability to work, his contemporaries used to say: “(Barbarigo) … a merciful man with everyone, but severe with himself.”
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Pope Saint John XXIII, a native of Bergamo like Barbarigo, found in this saint a model to follow and a source of constant apostolic inspiration.
From diplomatic service to the service of God
Gregorio Giovanni Gasparo Barbarigo was born in the Republic of Venice (today part of Italy), on September 16, 1625, into a prestigious family of that kingdom. He received a rigorous Catholic and professional training.
At the age of 20 he was summoned by the Venetian government to accompany the ambassador Luigi Contarini to the famous Congress of Munster, in which the ‘Treaty of Westphalia’ (1648) would be signed, which put an end to the Thirty Years’ War (1618). -1648). On that occasion he met the apostolic nuncio Fabio Chigi, who would become his friend and spiritual director, accompanying him on the path of discernment that led him to the priesthood. At the age of 30, in 1655, Gregory was ordained a priest, while Chigi – who had been created a cardinal – would be elected Pope under the name Alexander VII.
Thus, his lifelong friend and advisor, who had become head of the Church, appointed Barbarigo canon of Padua and later, in 1657, bishop of Bergamo. In 1660 the saint was created cardinal and four years later he was transferred to the bishopric of Padua. Between 1664 and 1697, Gregory would hold the position of bishop of that diocese.
Spreader of Catholic culture through his texts
As a pastor, Gregory conducted himself with holy zeal, seeking the well-being of his flock, while making efforts to strengthen and expand Catholic culture. He was convinced that a life according to the Gospel was the best contribution that can be made to society. To do this, for example, he acquired a couple of printing presses, which he put at the service of his diocese. Saint Gregory wanted Catholic literature, which often lagged behind secular or anticlerical publications, to be published and disseminated more. “For the soul, many readings are necessary and they must be very spiritual,” he used to say. It was clear, then, that one had to make use of the tools available in his time – the printing press, the book, the library – if one wanted to produce greater good for souls.
Along the same lines, Barbarigo took care of the training of his seminarians: he obtained competent trainers and ensured financing for the seminaries in Padua and Bergamo.
In Padua the saint opened a library and a polyglot school – which would become one of the best in Italy. He promoted the construction of popular and catechetical schools, concerned not only with the education of young people but also with the training of parents and educators in general.
A Church that is renewed in dedication
With a benign and merciful personality, Gregory was solicitous with his spiritual children, concerned for those who suffered or had fallen from grace. During the great plague in Rome he supported the work of caring for the sick, directly caring for many of them.
Saint Gregory, also interested in strengthening the Counter-Reformation movement, founded the ‘Congregation of the Oblates of Saints Prosdócimo and Antonio’, inspired by the example of another great saint, Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), archbishop of Milan and promoter of the Tridentine Reformation.
Saint Gregory Barbarigo died a holy death on June 15, 1697. He was beatified in 1761 and canonized two centuries later by Pope Saint John XXIII, on May 26, 1960.
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