Saint Jean-Baptiste de Rossi
Prêtre (✝ 1764)
Prêtre originaire de Gênes, il exerça son ministère à Rome parmi les pauvres, les malades et les prisonniers auxquels il consacrait toutes ses ressources et le meilleur de son temps.
À Rome, en 1764, saint Jean-Baptiste de Rossi, prêtre. Humble et pauvre, il consacra sa vie à s'occuper des pauvres, des miséreux, des abandonnés de toute sorte, en les visitant, les accueillant, les imprégnant de la doctrine du salut.
Martyrologe romain
Saint Jean-Baptiste de Rossi
Confesseur
Giovanni Battista de Rossi naquit dans la petite ville de Voltaggio, au diocèse de Gênes, le 22 Février 1698.
Son père, Charles, était de condition modeste, mais d'une Foi profonde qui le fit veiller de près, tant qu'il vécut, à l'éducation religieuse de ses quatre enfants.
Deux nobles génois, Jean Scorza et Maria Cambiasi, sa femme, qui villégiaturaient à Voltaggio, furent charmés de ses qualités et le demandèrent à son père en qualité de page.
Trois ans après il les quittait, appelé à Rome par un cousin, Don Laurent de Rossi, chanoine de la Basilique de Sainte-Marie in Cosmedin.
Celui-ci, avec une générosité et une affection qui ne se démentirent jamais, le fit instruire au Collège romain.
Jean-Baptiste y suivit les cours avec un tel succès, que, tous les ans, il obtenait le titre de dictateur, réservé à l'élève le plus brillant de chaque classe.
En 1721, avec une dispense de près d'un an, il était ordonné Prêtre, et il commençait l'admirable vie d'apostolat des pécheurs et des pauvres qui l'ont fait comparer à Saint Philippe de Néri et à Saint Vincent de Paul.
Il évangélisa d'abord les pauvres bergers de la campagne romaine qui apportaient à la ville leurs denrées.
Il venait dès le lever de l'aurore, au coucher du soleil, les trouver sur les places où ils s'assemblaient, leur parlait avec affection, s'intéressait à leurs petites affaires, à leur commerce, gagnait leur confiance ; peu à peu il s'insinuait dans ces âmes frustes et grossières, peu soucieuses des choses éternelles; enfin il les touchait, les tournait vers Dieu, éveillait en elles le désir du Salut ; triomphant, il les guidait vers un confesseur, car lui-même ne se croyait pas assez instruit pour s'asseoir au tribunal de la Pénitence.
Bientôt ce travail ingrat et dur ne lui suffit pas. Les vagabonds, puis les prisonniers, les gens d'armes des tribunaux, - voire le bourreau lui-même, - attirèrent ses soins et profitèrent de son dévouement.
Son œuvre préférée fut pendant longtemps l'hospice de Santa-Galla, où un bon Prêtre, Don Vaselli, réunissait déjà des pauvres abandonnés qui avaient besoin d'instruction religieuse.
Jean-Baptiste s'était attaché à cette maison dès le temps où il fréquentait le Collège romain.
Prêtre, il s'y donna plus encore, jusqu'à ce qu'enfin il succéda à Don Vaselli dans la direction, moins imposée par une règle positive que bénévolement acceptée, des Prêtres qui se consacraient à ce Ministère.
Et puis il eut le désir de donner aux pauvres filles qui erraient sans domicile dans les rues de Rome un asile au moins pour la nuit.
Il fonda pour elles l'hospice Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, dirigé par une Prieure et une sous-Prieure.
Ce n'est qu'en 1739 que, triomphant des hésitations de son humilité, le vénérable Tenderini, Évêque d'Orte, l'orienta vers la direction des âmes.
Il s'y révéla immédiatement maître, et maître merveilleux. Dorénavant sa grande et constante occupation fut d'entendre les Confessions ; il y acquit une réputation que l'on peut dire mondiale, puisque, comme un siècle plus tard pour le Saint curé d'Ars, on vit des pénitents lui venir de Portugal, d'Espagne ou même d'Allemagne, attirés par la réputation de sa sainteté et de sa Miséricorde.
Sa santé devenait de plus en plus précaire; les crises de sa maladie, plus fréquentes, secouaient son pauvre corps au point de le laisser pendant plusieurs jours dans une véritable agonie ; il ne se soutenait qu'avec peine sur ses jambes affaiblies, presque hors d'usage ; son estomac refusait à peu près toute nourriture ; il ne pouvait ni lire ni écrire.
Malgré tout il allait, et soit pour confesser, soit pour prêcher, soit pour consoler et encourager, il avait toujours des forces.
C'est qu'il les puisait dans un Amour de Jésus-Eucharistie qui s'épanouissait en un oubli absolu de lui-même.
Détaché de toute grandeur humaine et de toute richesse, il avait fallu un ordre exprès de son confesseur pour lui faire accepter la succession de son cousin, Don Laurent, à sa prébende de chanoine et à sa fortune.
Celle-là, il la garda, comme de force, jusqu'à ce que ses fonctions de confesseur lui eussent rendu impossible l'assistance au chœur.
Mais celle-ci, il ne tarda pas à la disperser tout entière aux mains des pauvres. Et quand il mourut, le 23 Mai 1764, non pas dans la belle maison dont il avait hérité, mais dans une humble chambre de l'hôpital de la Trinité des pèlerins, il ne possédait plus que trois ou quatre meubles, un pauvre bréviaire qu'il donna à des amis, et son lit, qu'il légua à une pauvresse, en réservant toutefois quelques planches pour son cercueil.
Pour un approfondissement biographique :
JEAN-BAPTISTE DE ROSSI
Prêtre italien, Saint
1698-1764
Giovanni-Battista de Rossi, en français Jean-Baptiste de Rossi, naquit le 22 février 1698, à Voltaggio, petite ville du diocèse de Gênes. Giovanni-Battista était le neuvième et dernier enfant d'une famille modeste. Son père, Charles de Rossi, qui avait une foi très profonde, veillait de près, tant qu'il vécut, à l'éducation religieuse de ses enfants.
Giovanni-Battista était un jeune adolescent quand deux nobles génois, Jean Scorza et Maria Cambiasi, sa femme, qui étaient de passage à Voltaggio, furent charmés par sa gentillesse. Et ils demandèrent à son père l'autorisation de l'emmener avec eux, à Gênes, comme page. Giovanni resta avec eux pendant trois ans. Au bout de trois ans, sur les conseils d'un de ses oncles, capucin à Rome et de son cousin Lorenzo de Rossi, chanoine de Sainte-Marie-in-Cosmedin, une belle église de Rome, Giovanni se rendit à Rome, et son oncle capucin l'inscrivit au Collège romain tenu par les pères Jésuites.
Au collège des Jésuites de Rome, Giovanni-Battista se montra immédiatement un brillant élève. De plus, il se faisait remarquer par sa piété active, son amabilité, sa gentillesse, et surtout une joie qui entraînait ses compagnons à prier et à visiter les pauvres malades. Très vite Giovanni-Battista comprit qu'il devait être prêtre. Mais souffrant de crises d'épilepsie, il ne put être ordonné, qu'après avoir obtenu une dispense, en 1721. Dès lors, commença son admirable vie d'apôtre des pécheurs, hommes et femmes, et des pauvres. Rapidement on le compara à saint Philippe Néri et à saint Vincent de Paul.
Giovanni-Battista voulait devenir très vite un grand saint; aussi multiplia-t-il les pénitences. Cependant ses excès de pénitence, en particulier sur l'alimentation, nuirent gravement à sa santé qui restera désormais fragile. Il ne pouvait plus poursuivre régulièrement ses études. Il comprendra plus tard que c'est l'amour qui transforme les cœurs et non les mortifications excessives. "Apprenez de mon exemple, conseillera-t-il à des séminaristes, à ne pas vous fier aveuglément à votre jugement propre mais à prendre conseil de votre confesseur avant d'embrasser un exercice."
Mais quelle fut ensuite la vie spirituelle de Giovanni? Son plus grand désir était de marcher sur le chemin de la sainteté et d'y entraîner les autres. Mais pour cela, il devait vivre une vie intense d'union à Dieu. En conséquence, chaque matin il passait une heure en méditation surtout de l'Évangile. Puis il recommandait à Dieu son travail et les besoins des âmes. Le soir, il prenait encore une demi-heure pour l'oraison mentale, principalement sur la vie des saints. Zélé pour la prière du bréviaire, il encourageait ses confrères à ne pas le remettre aux temps libres mais à réciter, autant que possible, les différents Offices aux heures qui leur correspondent. Quand il sera chanoine, il montrera une grande fidélité à la récitation chorale de l'Office divin.
En 1737, son cousin, don Lorenzo décéda, et Jean-Baptiste, sur l'ordre de son confesseur, devint chanoine à sa place. Héritier de don Lorenzo, il vendit la somptueuse maison de son cousin et en distribua le prix aux pauvres. Quant à lui, il s'installa à proximité de l'église dans une espèce de grenier appartenant à la communauté. Dans l'église se trouvait une image miraculeuse de la Sainte Vierge pour laquelle Jean-Baptiste avait une grande dévotion. Sous son influence, les chanoines ajoutèrent à leur Office le chant des litanies de la Sainte Vierge.
En 1739, l'évêque d'Orte, le vénérable Tenderini l'orienta vers la direction des âmes. Il s'y révéla un directeur et un confesseur exceptionnel. Mais Giovanni-Battista continuait à évangéliser les pauvres bergers de la campagne romaine qui venaient à Rome pour y vendre leurs produits. Dès l'aurore il était près d'eux et gagnait leur confiance, et il orientait vers Dieu ces âmes frustes peu soucieuses des choses éternelles. Pendant longtemps il visita l'hospice de Santa-Galla, fondé en 1650 et où don Vaselli, réunissait des pauvres abandonnés qui avaient besoin d'instruction religieuse. L'hospice de Sainta-Galla était animé par une pieuse union d'ecclésiastiques qui se vouaient à l'accueil des enfants abandonnés pour les instruire de la doctrine chrétienne. Après la mort de Don Vaselli, Giovanni-Battista lui succéda. Il s'y dévouera pendant tout le reste de sa vie. Enfin, il voulut donner aux pauvres filles qui erraient sans domicile dans les rues de Rome un asile au moins pour la nuit. Il fonda pour elles l'hospice Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, dirigé par une prieure et une sous-prieure.
En souvenir des peines que Notre-Seigneur avait endurées en prison lors de sa Passion, Giovanni-Battista visitait les détenus. Interrogé sur son assiduité, il répondait: "C'est pour les faire sortir de l'enfer intérieur où ils sont: une fois leur conscience soulagée, les peines de la détention deviennent plus faciles à accepter et ainsi ils en arrivent à les supporter pour l'expiation de leurs fautes." Il obtint pour les femmes prisonnières qu'un établissement leur soit réservé, administré par des femmes pieuses et charitables. Toutes ces preuves de la charité de Giovanni-Battista, il les puisait dans un amour de Jésus-Eucharistie qui s'épanouissait en un oubli absolu de lui-même.
Mais la santé de Giovanni devenait de plus en plus précaire. Malgré tout il continuait à confesser, à prêcher, et à consoler et à encourager ceux qui venaient le trouver. Enfin, le 23 mai 1764, Jean-Battista de Rossi décédait. Il avait 66 ans. Il fut béatifié par le pape Pie IX, le 13 mai 1860; et canonisé le 8 décembre 1881, par Léon XIII.
Voyons maintenant les orientations spirituelles vers lesquelles Giovanni-Battista de Rossi conduisait les personnes qui venaient à lui. Tout d'abord, il s'efforçait, quand cela était possible, de régulariser, les situations matrimoniales désordonnées. Ses exhortations au confessionnal, fortes et persuasives, obtenaient de beaux résultats: célébration du sacrement de mariage, ou bien, séparation définitive des concubins. Pourtant, pour le bien des pénitents, il refusait parfois l'absolution à ceux qui manquaient de contrition, refusaient de se retirer des occasions de pécher ou ne cherchaient pas à prendre les moyens indispensables pour sortir du péché. Il affirmait souvent: "Les prêtres ne devraient jamais se résigner à voir les confessionnaux désertés ni se contenter de constater la désaffection des fidèles pour ce sacrement."
En 1748, en raison de ses nombreuses difficultés de santé, le chanoine Giovanni-Battista de Rossi s'installa dans la communauté sacerdotale de la Trinité-des-Pèlerins, tout en continuant son ministère à Sainte-Marie-in-Cosmedin, en particulier les jours de marché où les paysans, qui avaient apporté leurs produits pour les vendre, profitaient de l'occasion pour se confesser.
Jean-Baptiste de Rossi s'efforçait aussi d'aider les prêtres dans leur vie spirituelle, et il s'efforçait d'entretenir les amitiés sacerdotales. Il avait toujours soin de ne pas parler mal des autres ecclésiastiques et des membres de la hiérarchie. Il demandait aux prêtres "une grande fidélité à leur vocation qui exige courage et confiance." Et il leur demandait d'être pleins de sollicitude les uns avec les autres. Il précisait: "Les moments de prière et d'étude en commun, le partage des exigences de la vie et du travail sacerdotal sont une part nécessaire de votre vie. Il est important que vous vous aidiez réciproquement par le moyen de la prière et par des conseils et des discernements utiles."
Durant les deux dernières années de sa vie, la fièvre ne quittait plus Giovanni-Battista. En août 1762, sa santé était tellement délabrée qu'il dut aller refaire ses forces dans la région du lac de Nemi. Là, l'épilepsie de sa jeunesse réapparut avec des crises violentes. Le 8 septembre 1763, il se fit conduire à Sainte-Marie-in-Cosmedin pour y célébrer la Nativité de Marie. Il affirme à ses confrères: "Priez pour moi. Je ne reviendrai plus ici: c'est l'ultime fête que je célèbre avec vous."
Paulette Leblanc
Saint Giovanni Battista Rossi
Also known as
- John Baptist de Rossi
- John Baptist Rossi
- John Baptist de Rubeis
Profile
One of four children born to Charles de Rossi and Frances Anfossi. Taken by a wealthy noble couple to Genoa, Italy for schooling. There he met some Capuchin friars who thought well of him, and helped him continue his education in Rome, Italy. Studied under the Jesuits at the Roman College at age 13. Member of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin and the Ristretto of the Twelve Apostles. Epileptic. His self-imposed acts of austerity nearly broke his health, and he never completely regained his strength. Studied philosophy and theology under the Dominicans. Ordained on 3 March 1721, assigned to Rome.
Helped start a hospice for homeless women near Saint Galla’s hospice in Rome. Canon of Santa Maria, Cosmedin in 1737; he used his compensation from the position to purchase an organ for the church. Missioner and catechist to the teamsters, farmers, herdsmen, homeless, sick, beggars, prostitutes, and prisoners of the Campagna region. For many years, John was avoided hearing confessions for fear he would have a seizure in the confessional, but the bishop of Civitá Castellana convinced him it was part of his vocation. John relented, and soon became a sought after confessorin Rome; he once said that the shortest road to heaven was to guide others there by the confessional. Sought after preacher. Assigned as catechist to many government and prison officials, including the public hangman. Miracle worker. Always had a special devotion to Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.
Born
- 22 February 1698 at Voltaggio, diocese of Genoa, Italy
- 23 May 1764 at Trinita dei Pellegrini, Italy of multiple strokes
- relics initially at Saints Trinita church
- relics translated to Saint John Baptist Rossi parish church in Rome, Italy in 1965
New Catholic Dictionary – Saint John Baptist de Rossi
Article
Confessor, born Voltaggio, Italy, 1698; died Rome, Italy, 1764. He was ordained in 1721, but having through indiscreet practises of mortification contracted spells of epilepsy, he fulfilled the duties of the sacred ministry by instructing and preaching to the poor of the Campagna, thus becoming known as the apostle of the abandoned, and winning many sinners to repentance. In 1731 he established near Saint Galla a house of refuge for the homeless. In 1735 he was compelled to accept a canonry at Saint Mary in Cosmedin, vacated by the death of a relative. He was subsequently induced to hear confessions and was given the unusual faculty to do so in any of the churches of Rome, in the exercise of which privilege he displayed extraordinary zeal. Canonized, 1881. Relics in Saints Trinita. Feast, 23 May.
MLA Citation
- “Saint John Baptist de Rossi”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info. 7 June 2017. Web. 22 May 2019. <http://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-john-baptist-de-rossi/>
Pictorial Lives of the Saints – Saint John Baptist de Rossi
Article
Saint John Baptist de Rossi is the first instance in modern times of the canonization as Confessor of a priest belonging to no religions Order or Congregation. He was born at Voltaggio, a little town about fifteen miles north of Genoa, February 22, 1698. From the first he was distinguished for his piety and purity. The parish church was his favorite resort, and thither he would hasten after the early morning class to serve as many Masses as he could. The gravity and modesty he showed in holy places struck all who saw him, and many declared he was like a little angel just come down from heaven and still full of the vision of God. When our Saint was ten years old, a wealthy couple of Genoa visited Voltaggio; attracted by the unaffected piety and winning ways of the boy, they obtained from his parents permission to adopt him, and took him to their palace, where he was treated as their son.
After a residence of three years in Genoa, he removed, with his mother’s consent, his father having died in the meanwhile, to Rome, where his cousin, Laurence de Rossi, was the Canon of S. Maria in Cosmedin. There he began at once to attend the lower classes of the Roman College, and there was no more industrious or saintly student to be found. At the age of eighteen he received the tonsure, and the following year minor orders. He was then selected for a lengthened course of scholastic theology; but in striving to purify his soul he overtaxed his strength, and one day, while devoutly hearing Mass, he fell on the floor of the church in a swoon. From that time out he was subject to epileptic fits, which rendered his projected studies impracticable. This being the case, our Saint looked elsewhere. A course of lectures on the text of Saint Thomas, then being delivered, was attracting no little attention, and a large number of students attended. As the labor of following the course was comparatively light, John Baptist joined the class. In spite of his feeble health he applied himself most industriously, and still practised such mortifications as were prudent. Walking along the streets, his eyes were never raised from the ground, and in the coldest weather he wore no gloves.
When he was twenty-three years old he was ordained a priest. The first shape his charity assumed was an active interest in the young students who flock to Rome from every part of the Catholic world. He organized special services for them, preached sermons specially suited to them, and gathered them about him in his visits to the hospitals, to assist him in soothing and relieving the sick and dying. This charitable work over, they would enter a church and recite the Rosary aloud, after which they would enjoy themselves at some innocent game.
Another charity which attracted our Saint was the spiritual care of the drovers and cattlemen who frequented the market-places. The most of these were ignorant and depraved, caring for no one and with no one to care for them. By visiting their haunts at early dawn, before their work began, John Baptist won them by his kind words, and at last led many to the confessional who had not been there in years, and some who had never been. Hitherto he had not heard confessions himself, but now, at the instance of his bishop, he applied for and received faculties for the administration of the Sacrament of Penance.
In February, 1735, John Baptist, much against his own inclination, was appointed assistant to his cousin, Laurence de Rossi, who was growing feeble; and when, two years after, that good man died, his property and canonry were left to our Saint. Within a fortnight the new Canon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin had got rid of a great part of the property. He entered upon the duties of his new office at once, and soon gathered round him crowds of devout worshippers. His confessional was besieged by eager penitents, but always the poorest and most ignorant. The rich and noble he managed to put off, saying they could find confessors in plenty. He would never permit the confessional to be a medium for almsgiving. He himself would not bestow an alms from that tribunal on a penitent, no matter how poor, nor would he there accept a present from the rich, as he feared it might deter him from speaking plainly and freely. His devotion to the poor and ignorant was remarkable. He sought out the most abject and abandoned people, and pursued this work of Christian charity with such zeal as to merit the title of “Venator Animarum,” the hunter of souls. In 1740, when Pope Benedict XIV. determined to institute catechism classes for the instruction of criminals serving short sentences, he found an able assistant in our Saint. He had no difficulty in winning the hearts of the convicts from the start, and there was a perceptible reformation wrought in a short time.
The endless labor and the severe penances which the Saint imposed on himself finally told on his delicate frame, and on May 23, 1764, a stroke of apoplexy ended his mortal life, and brought him the endless bliss of the presence of God, for which his soul had so long yearned.
After the death of the holy man many miracles bore witness to his sanctity. Among others was the case of Sister Mary Theresa Leonori, of the Convent of Saint Cecilia at Rome, who in 1859 suffered from a throat disease which the best medical authorities pronounced incurable. Wasted and enfeebled by her sickness, entirely deprived of speech, suffering great pain, and unable to partake of any nourishment, her death was momentarily looked for. Human aid failing her, the pious Sister besought the help of Saint John Baptist, and Our Lord, to show His love for His faithful servant, deigned to work a miracle at the Saint’s intercession. Sister Mary Theresa was instantly cured and rose from her bed of suffering a well woman.
MLA Citation
- John Dawson Gilmary Shea. “Saint John Baptist de Rossi”. Pictorial Lives of the Saints, 1922. CatholicSaints.Info. 15 December 2018. Web. 22 May 2019. <http://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-john-baptist-de-rossi/>
St. John Baptist de Rossi
(De Rubeis).
Born at Voltaggio in the Diocese of Genoa, 22 February, 1698; died at Rome, 23 May, 1764; feast on 23 May. His parents, Charles de Rossi and Frances Anfossi, were not rich in earthly goods, but had solid piety and the esteem of their fellow-citizens. Of their four children, John excelled in gentleness and piety. At the age of ten he was taken to Genoa by friends for his education. There he received news of the death of his father. After three years he was called to Rome by a relative, Lorenzo de Rossi, who was canon at St. Mary in Cosmedin. He pursued his studies at the Collegium Romanum under the direction of the Jesuits, and soon became a model by his talents, application to study, and virtue. As a member of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin and of the Ristretto of the Twelve Apostles established at the college, he led the members in the meetings and pious exercises, in visits to the sick in the hospitals and in other works of mercy, and merited even then the name of apostle. At the age of sixteen he entered the clerical state. Owing to indiscreet practices of mortification he contracted spells of epilepsy, notwithstanding which he made his course of scholastic philosophy and theology, in the college of the Dominicans, and, with dispensation, was ordained priest on 8 March, 1721. Having reached the desired goal, he bound himself by vow to accept no ecclesiastical benefice unless commanded by obedience. He fulfilled the duties of the sacred ministry by devoting himself to the labourers, herds, and teamsters of the Campagna, preaching to them early in the morning, or late in the evening, at the old Forum Romanum (Campo Vaccino), and by visiting, instructing, and assisting the poor at the hospital of St. Galla. In 1731 he established near St. Galla another hospital as a home of refuge for the unfortunates who wander the city by night ("Rom. Brev.", tr. Bute, Summer, 573). In 1735 he became titular canon at St. Mary in Cosmedin, and, on the death of Lorenzo two years later, obedience forced him to accept the canonry. The house belonging to it, however, he would not use, but employed the rent for good purposes.
For a number of years John was afraid, on account of his sickness, to enter the confessional, and it was his custom to send to other priests the sinners whom he had brought to repentance by his instructions and sermons. In 1738 a dangerous sickness befell him, and to regain his health he went to Cività Castellana, a day's journey from Rome. The bishop of the place induced him to hear confessions, and after reviewing his moral theology he received the unusual faculty of hearing confessions in any of the churches of Rome. He showed extraordinary zeal in the exercise of this privilege, and spent many hours every day in hearing the confessions of the illiterate and the poor whom he sought in the hospitals and in their homes. He preached to such five and six times a day in churches, chapels, convents, hospitals, barracks, and prison cells, so that he became the apostle of the abandoned, a second Philip Neri, a hunter of souls. In 1763, worn out by such labours and continued ill-health, his strength began to ebb away, and after several attacks of paralysis he died at his quarters in Trinità de' Pellegrini. He was buried in that church under a marble slab at the altar of the Blessed Virgin. God honoured his servant by miracles, and only seventeen years after his death the process of beatification was begun, but the troubled state of Europe during the succeeding years prevented progress in the cause until it was resumed by Pius IX, who on 13 May, 1860, solemnly pronounced his beatification. As new signs still distinguished him, Leo XIII, on 8 December, 1881, enrolled him among the saints.
Sources
HERBERT, St. John B. de Rossi (New York, 1906), Roman Breviary; SEEBÖCK, Herrlichkeit der kath. Kirche (Innsbruck 1900), 1; BELLESHEIM, Der hl. Joh. B, de Rossi (Mainz, 1882): CORMIER (Rome, 1901); Theol. prakt. Quartal-Schrift, XXV, 752.
Mershman, Francis. "St. John Baptist de Rossi." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 22 May 2019 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08449a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Tom Burgoyne. In memory of Father Baker, founder of Our Lady of Victory Homes.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
St. John Baptist de Rossi (Feast: May 23)
Giovanni Battista de Rossi was born in the Piedmontese village of Voltaggio, in the diocese of Genoa, and was one of four children. His parents, of modest means, were devout and well esteemed.
A nobleman and his wife vacationing in Voltaggio, and impressed with the ten-year-old John Baptist, obtained permission from his parents to take him to live with them and be trained in their house in Genoa.
After three years, hearing of his virtues, John’s cousin, Lorenzo Rossi, Canon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, invited him to join him in Rome. Thus John Baptist entered the Roman Jesuit College at thirteen. Despite episodes of epilepsy, brought on by excessive zeal in imposing harsh penances upon himself, he was granted a dispensation and was ordained at the age of twenty-three.
From his student days he loved visiting hospitals. Now, as a priest there was much more he could offer suffering souls. He particularly loved the Hospice of St. Galla, a night shelter for paupers. There he labored for forty years.
He also worked at the hospital of Trinita dei Pellegrini and extended his assistance to other poor such as cattlemen who came to market at the Roman forum. He had a great pity for homeless women and girls and from the little that he made in Mass stipends, and the 400 scudi sent to him by the Pope, he rented a refuge for them.
John Baptist was also selected by Pope Benedict XIV to deliver courses of instruction to prison officials and other state servants. Among his penitents was the public hangman.
In 1731 Canon Rossi obtained for his cousin a post of assistant priest at St. Maria in Cosmedin. He was a great confessor to whom penitents flocked, and as a preacher, the saint was also in demand for missions and retreats.
On the death of Canon Rossi, Fr. John inherited his canonry, but applied the money attached to the post to buy an organ, and hire an organist. As to the house, he gave it to the chapter and went to live in the attic.
In 1763 St. John Baptist’s health began to fail, and he was obliged to take up residence in the hospital of Trinita dei Pellegrini. He expired after a couple of strokes on May 23, 1764 at sixty- six years of age. He died so poor that the hospital prepared to pay for his burial. But the Church took over and he was given a triumphant funeral with numerous clergy and religious, and the Papal choir, in attendance.
San Giovanni Battista de' Rossi Sacerdote
Voltaggio, Genova, 22 febbraio 1698 - 23 maggio 1764
Nacque nel 1698 a Voltaggio, in provincia di Genova ma a 13 anni, per motivi di studio, si trasferì a Roma nella casa di uno zio sacerdote, canonico a Santa Maria in Cosmedin. A Roma frequentò il liceo presso i gesuiti del Collegio Romano avviandosi agli ordini sacri. In quel periodo fu colto dai primi attacchi di epilessia, malattia che lo avrebbe fatto soffrire per tutta la vita. Venne ordinato sacerdote l'8 marzo 1721 e da allora diede ancora più slancio al suo apostolato, avviato in precedenza, tra gli studenti, i poveri e gli emarginati. Sulla scia di quell'impegno nacque la Pia Unione dei sacerdoti secolari di Santa Galla dal nome di un ospizio maschile da lui diretto. Giovanni ne volle uno anche per donne e lo dedicò a Luigi Gonzaga santo cui era devotissimo. Eletto canonico di Santa Maria in Cosmedin, venne dispensato dall'obbligo del coro per potersi dedicare con maggiore libertà ai suoi impegni apostolici. Negli ultimi mesi di vita l'epilessia si aggravò costringendolo a un vero e proprio calvario. Morì il 23 maggio 1764. Fu canonizzato da Leone XIII l'8 dicembre 1881. (Avvenire)
Etimologia: Giovanni = il Signore è benefico, dono del Signore, dall'ebraico
Martirologio Romano: A Roma, san Giovanni Battista de Rossi, sacerdote, che accolse i poveri e i più emarginati, insegnando loro la sacra dottrina.
Non è nato per essere capo: a lui basta ubbidire e lavorare sodo, sia da laico come poi da sacerdote. Giovanni Battista de’ Rossi è uno dei pochi sopravvissuti di una famiglia segnata da troppi lutti: il papà muore prematuramente, e la maggior parte dei fratellini se ne va prima di raggiungere l’adolescenza. E’ nato nel 1698 a Voltaggio, nell’alessandrino, ma frequenta il genovese per le scuole che una famiglia benestante gli fa frequentare, perché chi lo avvicina resta incantato dalla sua intelligenza ma soprattutto dalla sua pietà e dalla dolcezza del suo carattere. Alla morte di papà alcuni sacerdoti, parenti o amici di famiglia, lo accolgono per carità e gli fanno proseguire gli studi e, di trasferimento in trasferimento, togliendo così alla famiglia il peso di una bocca in più da sfamare. arriva fino a Roma. Dove, com’è naturale, si prepara al sacerdozio, assecondando una vocazione che nutre fin da bambino, aiutato anche da un’intelligenza non comune che gli permette di completare in anticipo gli studi per cui è necessario ottenere dal papa la dispensa per l’ordinazione sacerdotale. Non aspetta però il sacerdozio per buttarsi nell’apostolato: gli oratori romani e i gruppi studenteschi lo vedono protagonista attivo: mai con ruolo dirigenziale, solo e sempre come semplice gregario. E sono proprio i giovani a fargli corona alla prima messa, che celebra all’altare di San Luigi, nella chiesa di Sant’Ignazio, a marzo del 1721. Ormai la sua strada è tracciata: precedenza assoluta ai giovani, alla catechesi, alle fasce più deboli della Roma del suo tempo, ai malati che visita a domicilio per portare conforto cristiano e sostegno materiale. Un occhio di riguardo lo vuole avere anche per i confratelli sacerdoti, per i quali fonda la Pia Unione dei Sacerdoti Secolari: sostegno, arricchimento spirituale, aggiornamento culturale per un clero che a metà Settecento non brillava per cultura e preparazione teologica. Il resto della sua vita lo trascorre in confessionale: chiede ed ottiene la facoltà di confessare solo a 40 anni, ma da quel momento sarà questo il suo apostolato specifico, che porta i romani ad assediarlo nel confessionale per lunghissime ore ogni giorno ed a renderlo ricercatissimo per la direzione spirituale. C’è chi si domanda come faccia a reggere ad un così intenso ritmo di lavoro apostolico per le strade del quartiere del Campidoglio, sui pulpiti, nei confessionali, nei tuguri della povera gente, al letto degli ammalati. Tanto più che lui stesso non è la salute fatta persona, soggetto com’è a frequenti crisi epilettiche e tormentato da una fastidiosa malattia agli occhi: la sua vita vorticosa e la sua inarrestabile carità rappresentano il trionfo della volontà sulla fragilità fisica, dell’impegno apostolico sui limiti imposti dalla malattia. Nato da famiglia umile e povera, tale sceglie di restare fino alla morte, che sopraggiunge il 23 maggio 1764, ad appena 66 anni. Beatificato da Pio IX nel 1860, sarà proclamato santo da Leone XIII nel 1881.
Autore: Gianpiero Pettiti