|
|
|
|
LUIGI BELTRAME QUATTROCCHI (1880-1951) and MARIA CORSINI (1884-1965)
On 21 October 2001, Pope
John Paul II fulfilled a desire he has expressed for many years: to beatify a
married couple in recognition of how many men and women lead holy lives through
the vocation of Christian marriage. On 7 July the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints issued separate decrees recognizing the holiness of Luigi and
Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi as well as a decree recognizing a miracle
attributed to their joint intercession. Three of their children were present for
the ceremony of 7 July. Luigi, a lawyer and civil
servant, died in 1951 at the age of 71. Maria, who dedicated herself to her
family and to several charitable and social Catholic movements, died in 1965 at
the age of 81. Stefania, their first daughter, now deceased, became a Benedictine nun with the name Sr. M. Cecilia. Both sons became priests; one is now 95 years old, the other, 91. Another daughter, Enrichetta, dedicated herself first to caring for her parents, then for her brother, a diocesan priest of Rome; she is now in her 80s. The Beltrame children recall that their parents led a simple life, like that of many married couples, but always characterized by a sense of the supernatural. Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, said that they “made a true domestic church of their family, which was open to life, to prayer, to the social apostolate, to solidarity with the poor and to friendship”. Luigi was born on 12
January 1880 in Catania and grew up in Urbino. Luigi’s uncle, Luigi Quattrocchi,
who was childless, asked Luigi Beltrame’s parents it he and his wife could raise the young Luigi
in their home. Though Luigi kept his ties with his parents and siblings, he
lived with his aunt and uncle, from whom he acquired his second surname name.
After his basic preparatory education, he enrolled in the Faculty of
Jurisprudence at “La Sapienza” University in Rome. He obtained a degree in Law,
which enabled him to enter the legal service of the Inland Revenue Department.
He went on to hold a number of posts on the boards of a variety of banks and
national reconstruction authorities like IRI and the Bank of Italy, retiring as
an honorary deputy attorney general of the Italian State. He was a friend of
many political figures, such as Fr Luigi Sturzo, Alcide de Gasperi and Luigi
Gedda, who worked for Italy’s rebirth after the Fascist period and World War
II. His meeting with Maria
Corsini in her family home in Florence was to shape his future, as they were
married on 25 November 1905 in the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome. Maria was born on 24 June
1884 in Florence to the noble Corsini family. She received a solid cultural
formation helped by her family’s involvement in the cultural life of the city of
Florence. She loved music and was a professor and writer on educational topics
as well as a member of several associations, including Women’s Catholic
Action. The couple had four
children. One year after their wedding, Luigi and Maria had their first son,
Filippo. Then, Stefania and Cesare were born. Filippo (today Don Tarcisio) is a
diocesan priest. Cesare (Fr. Paolino) left home in 1924 to become a Trappist
monk. Stefania, in 1927, entered the Benedictine cloister in Milan and took the
name Cecilia. At the end of 1913, Maria
was again expecting a child, her last, Enrichetta. Because of her difficult
pregnancy, the best gynecologists advised her to have an abortion in order to
“try to save at least the mother”. The possibility of survival then with that
diagnosis, was barely five per cent. Luigi and Maria refused to do it; they put
their whole trust in the Lord’s Providence. Maria’s pregnancy was one of
suffering and anguish. God responded beyond all human hope and thus Enrichetta
was born, both she and her mother were safe. This experience of faith
clearly shows how the relationship between husband and wife grew in Christian
virtue, certainly helped by attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion.
Before marriage, Luigi, though he was exceptionally virtuous, honest and
unselfish, did not have a strong faith. Family life was never
dull. There was always time for sports, holidays by the sea and in the
mountains. Their house was always open to their numerous friends and those who
knocked at their door asking for food. During the Second World War their
apartment in Via Depretis, near St Mary Major, was a shelter for refugees. Every
evening they prayed the Rosary together and the family was consecrated
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, solemnly placed on the mantelpiece of their
dining room. They also kept the family holy hour on the eve of the first
Friday of the month, and participated in the night vigil prayer, weekend
retreats organized by the Monastery of St Paul-Outside-the-Walls, as well as
graduate religious courses at the Pontifical Gregorian University,
etc. Maria, who took her
maternal and household duties seriously, also found time to pray and write,
besides keeping up her demanding apostolic activities, such as supporting the
establishment of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart with Armida Barelli
and Fr Agostino Gemelli and taking part in the General Council of the Italian
Catholic Women’s Association. She was a volunteer nurse for the Red Cross during
the war in Ethiopia and the Second World War, catechist, UNITALSI volunteer with
Luigi, and together with him and her children, started a scout group for youth
from the poor parts of Rome. They were involved in several forms of marriage and
family apostolate. In the midst of all of her
busy daily activities, the flourishing of the first three children’s vocations
took place, whose developments were followed with love and firmness for a
greater generosity and faithfulness to the call of God. In addition, she was
willing to offer her fourth child, Enrichetta, to the Lord, if this were asked
of her. Then Maria together with her husband, Luigi, undertook a program for
their total response to any call from God, which in the end was the “difficult
vow of the most perfect”, offered to the Lord in humble obedience to their
spiritual father. As is well-known, this vow means the renouncing of marital
relations, which the two decided together after 20 years of marriage, when Luigi
was 46 years old and Maria 41 (cf. Maria Corsini e Luigi Beltrame
Quattrocchi, by Mons. F. Di Felice in L’Osservatore Romano, Italian
edition, 24 August 2001). On 9 November 1951, Luigi
died of a heart attack in his home on Via Depretis. After 14 years as a widow,
Maria joined Luigi. On 26 August 1965, she died in Enrichetta’s arms at their
house in the mountains, at Serravalle. In 1993, their daughter, Sr. Maria
Cecilia, was united to her parents. They were a couple who
knew how to love and respect each other in the ups and downs of married and
family life. They found in the love of God the strength to begin again. They
never lost heart despite the negative part of family life: the tragedies of the
war, two sons as chaplains in the army, the German occupation of Rome, and lived
to see the reconstruction of Italy after the war as they moved forward with the
grace of God on the way of heroic sanctity in ordinary life. The cause for
Beatification for Maria and Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi was opened on 25 November
1994 and, on 21 October 2001, the Holy Father John Paul 11 raised the married
couple to the honor of the altars. On 28 October, the relics of Luigi and Maria
were transferred to their crypt in the Shrine of Divino Amore (Divine
Love) at Rome. Source: L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO  |
Copyright © 2001 [The
Hagiography Circle]. All rights reserved.
|