Giuseppe Baldo

The major work of Father Giuseppe Baldo is the foundation of the congregation of the Little Daughters of Saint Joseph (Piccole Figlie di San Giuseppe). The inspiration for this foundation was born on a freezing, rainy winter night. Called to the bedside of an old man dying in extreme poverty, Father Baldo discovered a ruined cottage where the rain was coming through the straw roof. Obliged to open an umbrella to shelter the dying man while administering the sacraments, the priest was deeply shaken and decided to act to relieve the misery of the most destitute. In 1882, he gathered a group of women to provide free home nursing care, creating the "Pious Union of the Handmaids of Saint Mary of Succor" (Pia Unione delle Ancelle di Santa Maria del Soccorso). Clementina Ippolita Forante (1864-1928) was one of the first to join this movement. On May 1, 1888, Father Baldo opened a small hospital-hospice which he named "Casa Ippolita" in honor of his mother, intended to care for the poor sick and to welcome abandoned elderly people. To perpetuate and structure this work of assistance, he decided to found a religious congregation. On November 21, 1894, the congregation of the Little Daughters of Saint Joseph was officially established in Ronco all'Adige. Clementina Forante (who became Sister and then Mother Ippolita) was its co-founder and first superior general. On June 24, 1896, the first ten postulants received the religious habit from the hands of Cardinal Luigi di Canossa. On June 25, 1897, the first religious sisters pronounced their vows. The institute was approved as a congregation of diocesan right on May 3, 1895, received the pontifical decree of praise on February 10, 1913, and its constitutions were definitively approved by the Holy See on April 3, 1940. Parallel to this foundation, Father Baldo deployed intense social and pastoral activity in Ronco all'Adige: He created a free kindergarten (infant asylum) and a canteen for undernourished children or those suffering from pellagra. He opened a work school for young girls, a parish gymnasium, and a circulating library. In 1884, he founded the Workers' Mutual Aid Society (Società Operaia di Mutuo Soccorso) to protect workers from usury. In 1893, he opened a hospice for the poor elderly. In 1894, he created the Catholic Rural Bank (Cassa Rurale Cattolica) to offer loans at advantageous rates. Faced with the scourge of emigration that was then hitting the Veneto region hard, he wrote and distributed a "Decalogue of the Emigrant" (Decalogo dell'emigrante) in order to accompany spiritually and materially those who had to go into exile.

The beatification process for Father Giuseppe Baldo officially opened on June 11, 1977, conferring upon him the title of Servant of God. On January 26, 1987, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, proclaiming him Venerable. Following the recognition by the Holy See of a miracle attributed to his intercession, the path to his beatification was officially opened.

Father Giuseppe Baldo was beatified on October 31, 1989, by Pope John Paul II during a solemn celebration in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. In his beatification homily, Pope John Paul II hailed him as an "untiring witness of convinced and radiant faith, of constant service to the Church and to souls, of human and Christian charity." The Sovereign Pontiff also highlighted his ability to engage fully in the social and political challenges of his time without ever becoming their prisoner, reacting firmly to irreligious trends through concrete works of social justice.

The spirituality of Don Giuseppe Baldo is rooted in the search for the essential, the rejection of artifice, and an absolute trust in Providence. His personal motto summarizes his inner life: "God in the mind and in the heart, Jesus Christ as model, Mary as help." He transmitted to his spiritual daughters the spirit of the Holy Family of Nazareth, characterized by humility, silence, hidden work, joyful poverty, and fraternal charity. The very name of "Little Daughters" expresses this desire for evangelical smallness and humble service to those who suffer most. Today, the Little Daughters of Saint Joseph continue their mission of assisting the elderly and the sick, as well as educating the youth. In addition to Italy, the congregation has expanded internationally and is now present in Brazil, Georgia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. The general house of the institute is established in Verona.