Luca Passi

On May 16, 1815, Don Luca joined the Apostolic College of Bergamo, a group of diocesan priests dedicated to an intense spiritual life and missionary action. Appointed "apostolic missionary" by Pope Gregory XVI, he traveled through numerous Italian parishes to preach popular missions and spiritual retreats inspired by the Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Deeply moved by the moral distress, illiteracy, and spiritual abandonment of young people after the revolutionary period, he conceived an innovative educational project. In 1815, with the help of his brother Marco, he founded the "Pia Opera di Santa Dorotea" (Pious Work of Saint Dorothy) for the Christian formation of young girls, as well as the "Società di San Raffaele" (Society of Saint Raphael) for boys. Encouraged by Pope Pius VII as early as 1820, the work spread rapidly. While the male branch (Saint Raphael) was slowed down by the revolutions of 1848-1849, the female branch experienced remarkable growth. To support, structure, and animate this lay work, Don Luca founded in Venice, on August 6, 1838, the Institute of the Sister Teachers of Saint Dorothy (Suore Maestre di Santa Dorotea). This religious congregation has the specific mission of promoting and directing the Work of Saint Dorothy, dedicating itself to the human, moral, and Christian education of young girls, particularly the poorest and most marginalized. Don Luca also collaborated with other figures of his time, notably Saint Paula Frassinetti in Genoa and Blessed Annunciata Cocchetti in Cemmo, who would draw inspiration from his educational intuition for their own foundations under the patronage of Saint Dorothy.

The cause for beatification of Father Luca Passi was introduced on March 6, 1981, with the obtaining of the Nihil obstat decree. The diocesan cognitive process took place in Venice from May 10, 1982, to November 9, 1983, and its validity was recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on April 10, 1986. After the examination of the Positio, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues on July 6, 2007, thus conferring upon him the title of Venerable. On June 28, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially approved a miracle attributed to his intercession, paving the way for his beatification. This miracle consists of a medically inexplicable healing, validated by the medical and theological commission of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Father Luca Passi was solemnly beatified on April 13, 2013, in St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. The ceremony was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis. The following day, April 14, 2013, during the Regina Caeli prayer, Pope Francis honored the memory of the new blessed in these terms: "Yesterday, in Venice, Father Luca Passi, a 19th-century priest from Bergamo, founder of the Saint Dorothy lay work and the Institute of the Teaching Sisters of Saint Dorothy, was proclaimed blessed. Let us give thanks to God for the witness of this blessed!" His liturgical memorial is set for April 18, the day of his birth into heaven.

The spirituality of Father Luca Passi is summarized by his famous maxim: "Chi non arde, non accende" ("He who does not burn, does not ignite"). For him, the Christian educator must himself be consumed by the love of God in order to be able to transmit this flame to the young. His pedagogical approach is based on proximity, friendship, personalized accompaniment (the "loving guide"), and fraternal correction. Rather than addressing anonymous masses, he favored individual contact and small groups to help each young person grow in faith and social dignity. Today, the Institute of the Sisters of Saint Dorothy continues his work throughout the world (Italy, Albania, Africa, Latin America), keeping alive the charism of Father Luca Passi in the service of the education and evangelization of youth.