Blessed Tommaso Maria Fusco Biography
Blessed Tommaso Maria Fusco Biography, Feast Day, Date of Birth, Country of Birth, Profession, Place of Work, Date of Death, Place of Death |
|
| Date of Birth | 1 December 1831 |
|---|---|
| Country of Birth | Italy in Europe |
| Matrimony/Holy Orders | Blesseds who were Priests |
| Profession | Missionary |
| Place of Work | Italy |
| Date of Death | 24 December 1891 |
| Place of Death | N/A |
| Feast Day | February 24 |
| Beatification | Beatified by Pope John Paul II on 7 October 2001 |
| Canonization | Canonized by N/A |
| Patron Saint of | N/A |
Blessed Tommaso Maria Fusco Biography
Blessed Tommaso Maria Fusco was a son of Dr. Antonio Fusco, a pharmacist, and Stella Giordano, an Italian noble being seventh of eight children in a religious family. His mother died of cholera in 1837 when he was six, his father in 1841 when the boy was ten, and he was educated by his fraternal uncle Giuseppe, a priest and school teacher. He entered the seminary at Nocera, Italy in 1847 the same year his uncle Giuseppe died. Ordained on 22 December 1855.
He opened a school for boys in his own home and organized prayer groups at night. Later, he joined the Congregation of the Missionaries of Nocera in 1857 and became a traveling missionary in southern Italy. Became a chaplain and spiritual director at the Shrine of Our Lady of Carmel in Pagani, Italy in 1860. In 1862, he opened a school of moral theology in his home and trained priests in the ministry of Confession.
Tommaso founded the Priestly Society of the Catholic Apostolate to support missions, a congregation that received the approval of Pope Blessed Pius IX in 1874. pHe further founded the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood on 6 January 1873, a congregation devoted to the care of orphans. He served as a Parish priest at San Felice e Corpo di Cristo at Pagani from 1874 to 1887. Tommaso was a confessor to cloistered nuns at Pagani and Nocera and wrote on a number of topics including moral theology. His works always expressed his devotion to the Precious Blood.
Late in life, he was the victim of slander when a brother priest became jealous of Tommaso’s good works and consequent notoriety. But Father Fusco prayed his way through the matter, continued his work, and was vindicated in the end.
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