Let’s now go to the small village of Lu in northern Italy, a place with just a few thousand inhabitants, located in a rural region 90 km west of Turin. This small village would have remained unknown if, in 1881, some mothers hadn’t made a decision that would have "great repercussions".
Many of these mothers had in their hearts the desire to see one of their sons become a priest or one of their daughters dedicate herself entirely to the service of the Lord. They began to gather every Tuesday for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, under the guidance of their pastor, Monsignor Alessandro Canora, and prayed for vocations. Every first Sunday of the month, they received Communion with this intention. After Mass, all the mothers prayed together, asking for priestly vocations. Thanks to the confident prayers of these mothers and the open hearts of the fathers, the families lived in an atmosphere of peace, serenity, and joyful devotion that allowed the children to discern their callings with greater ease.
When the Lord said, “Many are called, 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 imagined that the Lord would answer the request of these mothers so generously. From this village emerged 323 vocations to the consecrated life (three hundred and twenty-three!): 152 priests (and religious) and 171 religious women belonging to 41 different congregations. In some families, there were even three or four vocations. The most well-known example is the Rinaldi family. The Lord called seven children from this family. Two daughters entered the Salesian Sisters and were sent to Santo Domingo, becoming pioneers and courageous missionaries. Among the men, five became Salesian priests. The most famous of the five brothers, Filippo Rinaldi, was the third successor of Don Bosco and was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 29, 1990. In fact, many young men entered the Salesians.
This was not by chance, since Don Bosco visited Lu four times during his life. The saint participated in the first Mass of Filippo Rinaldi, his spiritual son, in his hometown. Filippo often liked to recall the faith of the families of Lu: “A faith that made our parents say: The Lord gave us children, and if He calls them, we certainly cannot say no!” Luigi Borghina and Pietro Rota lived Don Bosco’s spirituality so faithfully that they were called "the Don Bosco of Brazil" and "the Don Bosco of Valtellina", respectively. Monsignor Evasio Colli, Archbishop of Parma, also came from Lu (Alessandria). Pope John XXIII once said about him: “He should have been the pope, not me. He had everything to be a great pope”.
Every 10 years, all the religious and priests still alive would gather in Lu, coming from all parts of the world. Dom Mario Meda, who was the pastor of the town for many years, recounted how this gathering was truly a grand celebration, a celebration of thanksgiving to God for the great things He had done in Lu.
The prayer that the mothers in Lu prayed was short, simple, and profound:
Lord, make one of my children become a priest! I myself want to live as a good Christian, and I want to guide my children to goodness so that I may obtain the grace to offer You, Lord, a holy priest. Amen.