Gaspar del Bufalo

The masterpiece of Gaspar del Bufalo is the foundation, on August 15, 1815, of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, whose first house was opened at the Abbey of San Felice in Giano dell'Umbria. A society of priests and brothers living in community without solemn vows, its purpose was the preaching of popular missions and retreats, as well as the spread of devotion to the Precious Blood of Christ. Encouraged by Pope Pius VII, Gaspar traveled tirelessly throughout the Papal States and central Italy, preaching to revive the faith of rural populations. Under the pontificate of Leo XII, he was entrusted with a delicate mission in the provinces of the Marittima and the Campagna, which were ravaged by banditry: armed only with a crucifix, he and his companions obtained the conversion and pacification of many bandits through preaching and mercy. In 1819, he published a "Method of Holy Missions" setting out his apostolic pedagogy. In 1834, with Saint Maria De Mattias, he fostered the birth of a female branch, the Adorers of the Precious Blood, extending his charism.

The spirituality of Gaspar del Bufalo is entirely rooted in the contemplation of the Blood shed by Christ for the salvation of mankind. Nicknamed the "Apostle of the Precious Blood," he invited the faithful to meditate upon and adore this mystery of Redemption, which he placed at the center of missionary preaching. His refusal of the Napoleonic oath and the years of imprisonment that followed manifested a heroic fidelity to the Apostolic See, lastingly marking his reputation for holiness. His contemporaries highlighted his tireless zeal, his charity toward the humblest, and his confidence in the redemptive power of the Blood of Christ even in the most hostile regions. According to tradition, Saint Vincent Pallotti, his friend, assisted him on his deathbed and bore witness to his holiness. The fervor of his apostolate is summarized in the vow attributed to him of wishing for "a thousand tongues" to soften all hearts toward the Precious Blood of Jesus.

Gaspar del Bufalo was beatified by Pope Pius X on December 18, 1904. His canonization was pronounced by Pope Pius XII on June 12, 1954, in Saint Peter's Square, during a ceremony that raised several other figures to the honors of the altar on that same day, including Peter Chanel, Joseph Pignatelli, Dominic Savio, and Mary Crucified Di Rosa. According to hagiographic sources, the healings accepted for his canonization concerned Francesco Campagna, a young man suffering from bronchopneumonia and meningitis who was declared cured in 1929 after invoking the blessed, and Orsola Bono, who was suffering from a tumor deemed inoperable and recovered in 1934. His liturgical feast, long fixed on December 28, the day of his death (dies natalis), was moved to October 21 in the Roman calendar; it is on this date that the saint is commemorated today, notably by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

The legacy of Gaspar del Bufalo is perpetuated first through the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, which he founded and which remains present today on several continents, faithful to missionary preaching and devotion to the Blood of Christ. His spiritual family expanded with the Adorers of the Precious Blood, a female branch born in 1834 from his collaboration with Saint Maria De Mattias. The saint remained closely linked to the city of Rome, where he was born and died, as well as to Umbria, where the first house was established in Giano dell'Umbria. His name remains associated with the region of Sonnino and the Lepini Mountains, the theater of his missions against banditry. Through the central place he gave to the meditation of the Precious Blood, he contributed to widely spreading this devotion in the 19th-century Catholic Church, of which he remains one of the great promoters.