Carlo Cavina

As parish priest of Lugo, Carlo Cavina deployed intense pastoral and social activity to meet the needs of his community. He founded the Congregation of the Clergy of Lugo, the Pious Union of Saint Vincent de Paul (for men and women), the Catholic Youth Circle "San Francesco di Paola," and initiated a catechetical apostolate for prisoners. In 1854, during the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, he actively engaged in the renewal of Marian devotion. In 1868, concerned about the plight of young girls and women without housing and in search of employment, he founded the "Little House of Saint Joseph" (Piccola Casa di San Giuseppe, today Istituto San Giuseppe), the management of which he entrusted to the Sisters of Charity of Saint Jeanne-Antide Thouret. Faced with the secular policies of the time, notably the abolition of religious education in schools in 1871, Carlo Cavina decided to found an educational work for young women, inspired by the work of Saint John Bosco with boys. On August 23, 1872, in Lugo, he founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Francis de Sales (Figlie di San Francesco di Sales) with the collaboration of Teresa Fantoni (1822-1908), who became its co-founder. The institute is dedicated to the apostolate of prayer and the faith education of young girls.

Exhausted by his apostolic labors and confronted with the hostility of certain confreres and anticlerical circles, Carlo Cavina died on September 15, 1880, in Lugo. The cause for beatification and canonization was introduced in the Diocese of Imola. The decree of "nihil obstat" was granted on June 18, 1994, conferring upon him the status of Servant of God. The diocesan inquiry took place from October 15, 1994, to October 12, 1996, and its validity was recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on June 6, 1997.

Carlo Cavina is currently recognized as Venerable by the Catholic Church. On April 6, 2019, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing his heroic virtues.

For his beatification to be pronounced, the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession by the Holy See is required.

The spirituality of Carlo Cavina is based on a deep interior life and continuous prayer, balancing his immense pastoral activity. He spent many nights in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, where the sacristan frequently found him in the morning. His life was marked by the acceptance of suffering and trials, which he summarized with his famous spiritual maxim: "La Croce, dove tocca, feconda" ("The Cross, where it touches, makes fruitful"). He also nurtured a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary, as well as to the Virgin Mary under the title of Madonna del Molino.

Today, the legacy of Carlo Cavina continues through the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Francis de Sales. Since its foundation in Lugo, the institute has developed internationally, notably in India (1970), South Africa (1975), Brazil (1980), and the Philippines (1986). The sisters continue their mission of Christian education and aid to the most destitute, according to the spirit of gentleness and pastoral zeal of Saint Francis de Sales.