Blessed Andrea Carlo Ferrari

Andrea Ferrari (13 August 1850 – 2 February 1921) – later adopting the middle name "Carlo" – was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as a cardinal and as the Archbishop of Milan from 1894 until his death. Ferrari was a well-regarded pastor and theologian who led two dioceses before being appointed to the prestigious Milanese archdiocese which he led until his death. But he was later accused of Modernism, which led to a strained relationship with Pope Pius X, who finally reconciled with Ferrari in 1912. The cause for his canonization opened after his death in 1963, and he was titled as a Servant of God. He was named Venerable in 1975, and Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1987. Andrea Ferrari was born on 13 August 1850 in Lalatta (now Palanzano) in the Parma province as the eldest of four children to the shoemaker Giuseppe Ferrari and Maddalena Longarini; his baptism was celebrated on 14 August. His two paternal uncles, Abbondio and Pietro, were priests serving in Parma. He received his First Communion in 1860 from Father Giovanni Agostini and received his Confirmation in 1866. He felt called to serve as a priest and was educated in Parma, where he was to obtain a doctorate in theological studies in 1883. Ferrari received the first two minor orders on 18 September 1869 and the other two on 23 September 1871. He received the subdiaconate on 21 September 1872 and the diaconate on 15 December 1872. He was ordained to the priesthood on 20 December 1873 for the Diocese of Parma, where he served from 1874 until 1890. He also served as the archpriest of Fornovo di Taro from 1874 until 1875, when he was made the vicar curate for the San Leonardo church. Ferrari served as the Vice-Rector for seminarians in Parma and served also as a professor of mathematics and natural sciences in 1875, and later became its rector in 1877.