Angelo Fontanarosa

Father Generoso dedicated himself to the establishment of the Passionists in Sicily starting in 1915. On July 25, 1920, he opened the first house of the order in Mascalucia (San Rocco), on a property donated by Cardinal Giuseppe Francica Nava. In 1922, he promoted the coronation of the Madonna del Romitello in Borgetto, and in 1923 he founded the monthly magazine L'Addolorata. In 1928, he met the mystic Lucia Mangano, of whom he became the spiritual director in 1931. Supported by her visions, he undertook the construction of a new complex and the great sanctuary of the Madonna Addolorata in Mascalucia, the work for which began in 1954.

Nicknamed the "missionary of the countryside," Father Generoso led a life of intense prayer and apostolate, bearing with patience his partial paralysis on his right side. A sought-after confessor, he guided many souls, notably the Venerable Lucia Mangano, whose biography he wrote. He passed away piously on January 9, 1966, in Mascalucia, following a thrombosis. He is buried in the sanctuary of the Madonna Addolorata in Mascalucia, alongside his spiritual daughter.

The cause for beatification was introduced in the Archdiocese of Catania. After the nihil obstat was obtained in 1986, the diocesan inquiry was validated in 1992 by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and the Positio was published in 1993. On March 27, 2013, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, officially conferring upon him the title of Venerable.

Rooted in the Passionist charism, Father Generoso's spirituality unites the contemplation of the Passion of Jesus with compassion for Our Lady of Sorrows. His legacy endures through the sanctuary of the Madonna Addolorata in Mascalucia, which has become an important place of pilgrimage in Sicily, as well as through the magazine L'Addolorata and his role as a spiritual guide to the Venerable Lucia Mangano.