Venerable Giovanni Ferro

Giovanni Ferro (13 November 1901 – 18 April 1992) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and professed member from the Somascans, who served as the Archbishop of Reggio Calabria from 1950 until his resignation in 1977. Ferro had served twice as the Bishop of Bova while managing his archdiocese, first from 1950 to 1960 and again from 1973 until 1977. Ferro commenced his ecclesial studies in his late childhood and studied in Milan and Turin before completing his education in Rome. He began teaching and serving as a pastor before ascending to some leadership positions within the Somascans. This continued until he was appointed as an archbishop where he became renowned for his charitable outreach to the poor and downtrodden and for his consistent efforts in evangelization; these efforts increased following the Second Vatican Council when he sought to introduce renewal into his episcopal see. Ferro likewise tended to victims of flooding on at least two occasions in 1951 and in 1953 and opened his episcopal residence to those who lost their homes. He opened new schools and sporting facilities in addition to helping rebuild a chapel within the archdiocesan cathedral. His work earned him praise in 1971 from both Pope Paul VI and the Italian President Giuseppe Saragat who awarded him with a silver goblet dating back to the 1700s as a sign of his esteem for the prelate. The beatification process launched in 2008 and he has become titled as a Servant of God. Pope Francis confirmed his heroic virtue and titled him as Venerable in mid-2019. Giovanni Ferro was born on 13 November 1901 to the shoemaker Giovanni Battista Ferro and Carlotta Borio. He was baptized on 24 November in the local parish church. His priest cousin Tagliaferri served as a model for Ferro in his childhood as did the local parish priest and the nun Matilde.