Cesare Maria Barzaghi

In 1890, Father Cesare Maria Barzaghi was assigned to the San Francesco College in Lodi, an institution run by his congregation. He would spend the rest of his life there, more than fifty years, dedicating himself fully to the teaching of literary subjects and religion. Having become vice-rector of the college between 1903 and 1904, he established himself as an essential figure in the education of the youth of Lodi. His pastoral work with young people unfolded through several major foundations: - On March 31, 1900, he opened a school of religion for students. - Given the growing success of this initiative, the work was transferred in 1902 to the Barbetta theater and took the name of the student youth circle "Carlo Pallavicino" (in homage to the 15th-century Bishop of Lodi). - In 1924, he founded a "Casa dello studente" (Student House) to house secondary school students and to install the headquarters of the Pallavicino circle. Alongside his role as an educator, Father Barzaghi distinguished himself by his boundless charity toward the most destitute, which earned him the nickname "Apostle of Lodi" or "Apostle of Charity." He founded and supported numerous social assistance works: - The Croce Bianca (White Cross), a relief association. - The work of the Pane dei poveri (Bread of the Poor) to feed the needy. - Summer camps (seaside and mountain) to offer respite to children from disadvantaged families. He tirelessly visited the sick, prisoners, and families in distress, not hesitating to beg for them or to distribute his own clothes and personal effects to them. A writer and historian of his order, he also published textbooks for the Vita publishing house, biographies of former students, and, during the First World War, a spiritual liaison bulletin titled Mentre si combatte (While Fighting).

Father Cesare Maria Barzaghi celebrated his last mass on March 19, 1941, on the feast of Saint Joseph, before being forced by illness to take to his bed permanently. He passed away in Lodi during the night of May 3 to 4, 1941 (at 12:05 AM on May 4), at the age of 78. His death caused immense popular emotion throughout the city of Lodi. For two days, more than twenty thousand people came to pay their respects before his remains. The municipality of Lodi decreed a municipal mourning and took charge of the solemn funeral, celebrated on May 6, 1941. The funeral procession, which lasted nearly four hours through the streets of the city crowded with the faithful, resembled a true popular triumph. Father Barzaghi's reputation for holiness quickly led to the opening of his beatification process. The diocesan informative process opened in 1949. The decree on his writings was promulgated on May 4, 1954, and the official introduction of his cause was approved on May 14, 1966. The apostolic process took place in Lodi between April 22, 1968, and June 30, 1969.

After the meticulous examination of the Positio by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues on July 6, 1993. Cesare Maria Barzaghi was then proclaimed "Venerable".

For his beatification to be pronounced, the cause now requires the official recognition of a miracle obtained through his intercession.

The spirituality of the Venerable Cesare Maria Barzaghi rests on active charity and a total abandonment to Divine Providence. His model of Christian education placed attention to the person at the center of pedagogy, seeking to form solid characters capable of witnessing to their faith in society. His detachment from material goods was legendary: his confreres reported that he always left the convent with his pockets full of alms and that he returned with his pockets absolutely empty, having distributed everything to the poor he encountered on his way.

Today, Father Barzaghi's legacy remains alive in Lodi. A public primary school in the city bears his name, as does a public square (Piazzale Padre Cesare Maria Barzaghi). The San Francesco College continues to perpetuate his memory and to draw inspiration from his educational methods.