Bl. Timothy Giaccardo

Today, kind of out of the blue, I remembered that it was the feast of our Founder's Vicar General, Blessed Timothy Giaccardo. Last year I was able to attend the feast day Mass in the church where his tomb is, in Rome. This year, there are only three of us home in Chicago, and we are rather blessed just to have remembered that our solemn novena in honor of Jesus, Way, Truth and Life began yesterday. I'm afraid Bl. Timothy gets forgotten a lot, because he isn't in the universal calendar. The feast is limited (for now!) to the Pauline Family, of which he was one of the first members.

Over the past month, I have actually been reading his spiritual journals, dating back to about 1915, which was while he was a seminarian, before joining Fr. Alberione at what was then the "printing school." Let me tell you, there is a reason the saints have wanted their journals destroyed upon their deaths. Bl. Timothy was a very "verbal" person in terms of multiple intelligence, and his journal is less a diary than his written prayers to Jesus and Mary. Including his preparation for confession. Well, now he's in heaven, and he knows that these intimate thoughts will only serve God's greater glory. I have already found things that are extremely helpful in seeing first-hand, so to speak, the development of our charism and spirituality, and above all our mission. There is also testimony to the way our Founder did things. For example, it was Alberione who first met Giaccardo, when the latter was eleven years old. (Alberione was sent to the boy's parish as an associate pastor right after ordination.) Alberione discerned that the little altar server would be an ideal candidate for the priesthood, and even helped the family with the tuition for the minor seminary. By the time Giaccardo reached the major seminary, Alberione was the spiritual director. Never did Alberione push Giaccardo to join his new mission. Not until 1917, when Giaccardo himself asked why Alberione was not inviting him to the mission--saying that he had always considered himself a member, and that anything that touched the printing school seemed to have a personal resonance with him--did Alberione admit that he had always hoped Giaccardo would feel that way but didn't want to pressure him in the least. (The "printing school" began in 1914.) From the diary, you can tell that this was a moment of intense joy for both men: a recognition of a deep spiritual kinship. Later, Giaccardo chastises himself for his "pride" in wanting to be Alberione's right-hand man, his vicar. But as his life proved, this was not a vain ambition: it was the truth of his vocation. In fact, Giaccardo WAS Alberione's right-hand man, and when he died, he was the Vicar General of the Society of St. Paul. There is also a wonderful reference to the mission, dating back to 1921. Giaccardo is citing a talk Alberione gave the little community, in which the Founder said that their purpose was to spread the Gospel with the "fastest and most effective means" available. At this time, the Founder said, that is the press. But who knows? Perhaps in the future there will be "telephone newspapers," and we will want to use that means. And here I am today, almost 100 years later, communicating to, well, at least several hundred readers each week, through an online "journal" (in Italian, "newspaper" is "giornale").

Alberione and Giaccardo would have loved this.

Bl. Timothy Giaccardo, pray for us!