The Sign of the Cross

Chapter 2

uido Conforti was the eighth of ten children of Rinaldo Conforti and Antonia Adorni.  He was born on March 30th 1865 at Casalora di Ravadese, in the midst of a fertile land.  All the educational efforts undertaken by his parents geared toward a specific goal, dreamed by his father: to have his son be the future administrator of the farm and its properties.

The house where Guido Conforti grew up

Guido attended the school of the Christian Brothers in Parma, and he could have very well been a successful manager.  Yet, God started to ask him a few questions about his life.  On the way to school, Guido developed the habit to stop in prayer in front of a huge Crucifix in the Church of Peace.  There was an intense conversation among the two of them: “I looked at Him, and He looked at me, and it seemed he was telling me many things” used to retell later Guido Conforti when he became bishop.  In that meeting with the Crucifix, Guido felt called to the priesthood.  We can just imagine the opposition of his father Rinaldo when Guido shared the news of entering the local seminary.  But through the support he found in his mother, and the strength he received from his daily dialogues with the Crucifix, Guido seemed very determined.

While in the Seminary, Guido lived an austere life, detached from his natural family, for seldom he received visits from his parents.  But he found in his rector Blessed Andrew Ferrari, a great teacher and father.  Fr. Ferrari later became Cardinal of Milan.  Still, Christ was not done with Conforti, for as Guido was preparing himself for priesthood, he felt the vocation to missionary life, too.  The spark came from reading a biography of St. Francis Xavier This great Jesuit worked tirelessly in India and Japan as a missionary, and died in Sancian in 1552, a small island facing China.  Millions upon millions of Chinese were waiting the hear Christ’s message, and it seemed evident for Guido that he should continue the work begun by St. Francis Xavier.  With this in mind, the young seminarian Guido approached both Jesuits and Salesians, sharing through letters his willingness to go overseas.  These inquiries turned out to be a great disappointment for Guido.  The Jesuits answered back, saying that they could not assure Guido that he would leave for missionary work.  And Don Bosco, the founder of the Salesians, asked one of them to send a Thank You note for the offering received, but no answer came about Guido’s request to join them.

As Guido was struggling alone with his missionary dream, he was also experiencing some nervous related illness.  He would pass out for a few hours, and he seemed out of breath.  This almost precluded his priesthood ordination.  His classmates would be ordained, but Guido was asked to wait, and get better.  Guido made trips to the local shrine of Our Lady and to the Shrine in Bologna.  Our Lady gave him the strength to endure those difficult months, and he finally received the grace of Ordination to the Priesthood.  His first Mass was at the Shrine of Our Lady at Fontanellato, on September 22nd, 1888.

This 23 year old priest, who knocked at the door of missionary congregations, was becoming aware of a new call in life: the founding of a community totally dedicated to the mission of Christ.

He asked the bishop of Parma to be sent into a parish, but instead he was told to follow the young students at the Seminary.  But his project of founding a community of missionaries never waver, even in the midst of social turmoil in Italy, and the shortage of priests in the diocese.  In a Christmas letter (1889) to a priest friend, he shares: “But please, keep this absolutely to yourself, for it could be bad for me, as young as I am, to be even thinking and harboring such daring plans.”