A Prayer That Gave Rise to 323 Vocations

Let us go now to the small village of Lu Monferrato in northern Italy, a place of a few thousand inhabitants, set in a rural area 90 km west of Turin. This small village would have remained unknown if, in 1881, a few mothers had not made a decision that was to have "great repercussions."

Many of these mothers carried in their hearts the desire to see one of their sons become a priest, or one of their daughters give herself entirely to the service of the Lord. So they began to gather every Tuesday for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, under the guidance of their parish priest, Monsignor Alessandro Canora, and to pray for vocations. On the first Sunday of every month they received Communion for this intention. After Mass all the mothers prayed together to ask for priestly vocations. Thanks to the trusting prayer of these mothers and the openness of heart of these fathers, the families lived in a climate of peace, serenity and joyful devotion that allowed the children to discern their callings more easily.

When the Lord said, "Many are invited, but few are chosen" (Mt 22:14), we should understand it in this way: many will be called, but few will respond. No one could have thought that the Lord would answer these mothers' request so abundantly. From this village there emerged 323 vocations to the consecrated life (three hundred and twenty-three!): 152 priests (and religious brothers) and 171 women religious belonging to 41 different congregations. In some families there were as many as three or four vocations. The best-known example is that of the Rinaldi family. The Lord called seven children of this family. Two daughters entered the Salesian Sisters and, sent to Santo Domingo, became pioneers and courageous missionaries. Among the men, five became Salesian priests. The best known of the five brothers, Filippo Rinaldi, was the third successor of Don Bosco, beatified by John Paul II on 29 April 1990. Indeed, many young people entered the Salesians.

This was no coincidence, since Don Bosco visited Lu four times during his lifetime. The saint took part in the first Mass of Filippo Rinaldi, his spiritual son, in his home town. Filippo was very fond of recalling the faith of the families of Lu: "A faith that made our parents say: The Lord gave us our children, and if He calls them we certainly cannot say no!" Luigi Borghina and Pietro Rota lived Don Bosco's spirituality so faithfully that one was called "the Don Bosco of Brazil" and the other "the Don Bosco of the Valtellina." Monsignor Evasio Colli, Archbishop of Parma, also came from Lu (Alessandria). Of him John XXIII said: "He was the one who should have been pope, not I. He had everything it takes to be a great pope."

Every 10 years, all the women religious and the priests still living would gather in Lu, coming from every part of the world. Don Mario Meda, for many years the parish priest of the town, recounted how this gathering was in fact a great celebration, a celebration of thanksgiving to God for having done great things in Lu.

The prayer that the mothers of Lu prayed was brief, simple and profound:

Lord, grant that one of my sons may become a priest! I myself want to live as a good Christian and to lead my children to what is good, so as to obtain the grace of being able to offer to You, Lord, a holy priest. Amen.