Saint Filippo Smaldone

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. 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 in 1995 he became titled as Venerable under Pope John Paul II who soon after beatified him in mid-1996. Pope Benedict XVI canonized him as a saint of the Catholic Church on 15 October 2006 in Saint Peter's Square. 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 almost failed the examination for minor orders because he did not want to abandon his apostolate for his studies. He returned to Naples in 1876 – with the permission of the Cardinal Archbishop of Naples Sisto Riario Sforza – after a period of education in the Archdiocese of Rossano-Cariati. He was made a subdeacon on 31 July 1870 and 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 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.