To all the faithful of the Ambrosian Diocese and to all people of good will

Dearly beloved,

Next Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 5 p.m (CEST) in the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, I will preside over the first Session of the Diocesan Inquest for the Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God, Msgr. Luigi Giussani, Ambrosian priest.

Born in Desio on October 15, 1922, he was ordained a priest on May 26, 1945 by the Blessed Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, who tasked him with the teaching of Theology in our Archdiocesan Seminary in Venegono Inferiore.

A passionate and enthusiastic priest, along with teaching in the Seminary, he devoted himself to pastoral animation and to the young people of Azione Cattolica Italiana, especially those of Gioventù Studentesca. To them he brought fresh initiatives and new insights, which involved him more and more, so much so that he asked to leave teaching in the Seminary in order to devote himself fully to youth formation, beginning to teach religion at the Liceo Berchet in Milan, where he immediately aroused the enthusiastic response of the students. New initiatives, new insights, new proposals followed, involving more and more young people and adults, giving birth to the Movement of Communion and Liberation, which has marked the history of the Ambrosian and Italian Church, in the years of particular turmoil and disagreement. The Movement yielded diverse and rich fruits and has now spread throughout the Church, always preserving the heart of the original proposal, which brings us back to the words of our greatest Patron, St. Ambrose: "Christ is everything for us."

READ THE OFFICIAL DOCUMENT OF THE EDICT (in Italian)

He died on February 22, 2005 surrounded by an authentic reputation for holiness, which has not faded over time, but which has grown, and on which we must now reflect before God.

Therefore, in accordance with the instructions of the Holy See, contained in Article 43 of the Instruction Sanctorum Mater, I invite anyone who wishes to do so to provide me with documented and truthful news that is useful for the better understanding of the Servant of God, his life, his acts, his spirituality, and his fruits.

Such news can be sent to me directly or to my collaborators in the Service of the Causes of Saints of our Diocese, at the Diocesan Curia: Piazza Fontana 2, Milan.

May the Lord help us all to listen to His voice and His will and grant us – if He so wishes – to enrich the ranks of Ambrosian holy priests, counting Fr. Luigi Giussani among them, for the good of our Church and of the Movement of Communion and Liberation.