St. Filippo Smaldone
Posted on June 4, 2019 by admin No comments
Born: 27 July 1848 Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Died: 4 June 1923 (aged 74) Lecce, Kingdom of Italy
Venerated: in Roman Catholic Church
Beatified: 12 May 1996, Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City by John Paul II
Canonized: 15 October 2006, Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast: 4 June
Patronage: Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Hearts, Deaf people, Mute people
Saint Filippo Smaldone (27 July 1848 – 4 June 1923) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Hearts. Smaldone is best known for his extensive work with the deaf during his lifetime. Father Smaldone was a gifted preacher known for his commitment to proper catechesis and to the care of orphans and the mute, which earned him civic recognition.
Smaldone’s sainthood cause commenced in 1964 and he later became titled as Venerable under Pope John Paul II in 1995 who soon after beatified him in mid-1996. Pope Benedict XVI canonized him as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 15 October 2006 in Saint Peter’s Square.
Life
Filippo Smaldone was born in Naples in 1848 as the first of seven children to Antonio Smaldone and Maria Concetta De Luca. He made his First Communion in 1858 and received his Confirmation in 1862.
He passed the examination for the minor orders but almost failed it because he did not want to abandon his apostolate, which took time away from his studies. He returned to Naples in 1876 – with the permission of the Cardinal Archbishop of Naples Venerable Sisto Riario Sforza – after a period of education in the Archdiocese of Rossano-Cariati. He was made a subdeacon on 31 July 1870 and was ordained a deacon on 27 March 1871.
Smaldone was ordained to the priesthood on 23 September 1871. During his studies he began efforts to help the deaf of Naples and also did work with the sick. But at one stage he grew depressed, being frustrated over his mute students. He asked to give up teaching in favor of going to the foreign missions. But his spiritual director convinced him to remain and to continue his work. Smaldone almost died of cholera when it struck the area in 1884, and he credited his survival to the Madonna.
In 1885 he founded an institution for the deaf and for the mute at Lecce on 25 March 1855 with the assistance of Father Lorenzo Apicella and several nuns that he had under his care. He opened several other branches of his order in 1897 in both Rome and Bari while his order was later aggregated to the Order of Friars Minor on 18 December 1912. The congregation went on to receive the decree of praise from Pope Benedict XV on 30 November 1915 and full papal approval from Pope Pius XI after Smaldone’s death on 21 June 1925.
The priest founded both the Eucharistic League of Priest Adorers and the Eucharistic League of Women Adorers to promote the Eucharist and he also served for a brief period of time as the superior of the Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales. The civic authorities commended and recognized him for his work as did religious authorities who made him a canon of the Lecce Cathedral. In 1880 he was sent to Milan as an expert at a conference of teachers for the deaf.
He died on 4 June 1923 at 9:00pm from diabetes-related complications combined with heart difficulties. His remains were later relocated in 1942 to the order’s mother house. In 2005 there was a total of 40 houses with 398 religious in nations such as Rwanda and Moldova.
Sainthood
The canonization cause commenced in an informative process that opened in 1964 under Pope Paul VI and concluded its business sometime after this. The introduction to this process titled him as a Servant of God. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated this process in Rome on 23 May 1989 and received the Positio in 1989 which allowed for theologians to approve it on 3 February 1995 and the C.C.S. to likewise approve the cause on 16 May 1995. Pope John Paul II declared Smaldone to be Venerable on 11 July 1995 after the pope confirmed that the priest had indeed lived a model Christian life of heroic virtue.
The miracle needed for beatification was investigated and then validated on
7 May 1993 while a medical board later approved it on 1 June 1995.
Theologians also assented to this miracle on 27 October 1995 as did the C.C.S. on 12 December 1995. John Paul II issued formal assent needed and deemed that the healing was a miracle attributed to Smaldone’s intercession on 12 January 1996 while later presiding over Smaldone’s beatification on 12 May 1996. The process for a second miracle spanned from 2000 to 2002 at which point it received validation on 4 April 2003 before receiving the assent of the medical board on 3 February 2005; theologians assented to it on 17 May 2005 as did the C.C.S. on 17 January 2006. Pope Benedict XVI approved this on 28 April 2006 and canonized Smaldone in Saint Peter’s Square on 15 October 2006.
Prayer to St. Filippo Smaldone
O holy and charitable St. Filippo Smaldone, patron saint of the deaf and those with ear ailments, I come to you seeking your intercession for (name person) and all who suffer with ear problems.
I know you spent your life dedicated to those who could not hear – to their needs and their welfare.
Confident in your advocacy I place (name person) in your loving arms and ask you to present him/her to the Holy Trinity.
Beg that if it is God’s will that (name person) be healed completely.If ear problems are to remain I ask you to continue to pray that (name person) be profoundly blessed by God with every gift and grace needed to live his/her life to the fullest. Amen.
Beg that if it is God’s will that (name person) be healed completely.If ear problems are to remain I ask you to continue to pray that (name person) be profoundly blessed by God with every gift and grace needed to live his/her life to the fullest. Amen.
Prayer to St. Filippo Smaldone
St. Filippo, you were born in Naples and discerned the priesthood as a young adult. While in the seminary, you started an apostolate for the deaf and mute within the city. This absorbed so much of your time and attention you barely passed your exams. After your ordination you continued your work with the deaf and mute people of Naples, but at one point grew depressed and discouraged about your mission. You were going to change your focus to foreign missions, but your spiritual director convinced you to continue your current work. You opened an institute for the deaf and staffed it with several sisters. This order became known as the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Heart. The order expanded and grew, and today it has over forty houses in several countries around the world.
St. Filippo, you had a tender devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and also founded the Eucharistic League of Priest Adorers and the Eucharistic League of Women Adorers. Pray that we may also hold the Blessed Sacrament in reverence and pray often to Jesus truly Present in the Host. St. Filippo, at one point you grew weary and disheartened in your mission; pray for us whenever we become discouraged or disillusioned about fulfilling God’s will for our lives. St. Filippo, you accomplished many things for the deaf/mute community; continue to pray and intercede for them this day in all their needs. Amen.
St. Filippo Smaldone, pray for us!
Novena to St. Filippo Smaldone
(Please recite this novena for for 9 days.)
Dear St. Smaldone, in your earthly life you were a model of charity. Your love for those with disabilities especially the deaf brought you the beloved name “Apostle of the Deaf”. In your heavenly home please intercede for us here on earth that we may see Jesus in those hardest for us to love. Take our hand and gently guide us on the surest way to salvation. We humbly ask that you place our petitions before the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
[Mention your needs here…]. AmenOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Hail, Mary! Full of grace, The Lord is with thee; Blessed are thou among women, And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners, Now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.