At Padua in the Veneto, Saint Gregory Barbarigo, bishop, who established a seminary for clerics, taught catechism to children in their own language, held a synod and conferences with his clergy, and opened very many schools; generous toward all, but severe toward himself.
Lifespan: 1625–1697
Beatified: 6 July 1761 by Pope Clement XIII
Canonized: 26 May 1960 by Pope John XXIII, San Giovanni in Laterano
Memoria liturgica: 18 June
“He eats with the servants and never fails to teach Christian doctrine, to conduct missions and assist the dying.”
Gregorio Giovanni Gaspare Barbarigo was born in Venice on 16 September 1625 into a noble family. Gregory’s acquaintance with suffering came early: at only two years of age he lost his mother to the plague. His father, a senator of the Republic of Venice, sent him in 1643 together with the Venetian ambassador Alvise Contarini to Münster in Germany, where the Peace of Westphalia was being negotiated to bring the bloody Thirty Years’ War to an end. There he encountered the man who would prove decisive in his life: Cardinal Fabio Chigi, the future Pope Alexander VII.
Having completed his studies at Padua, Gregory was ordained a priest at the age of thirty. Alexander VII summoned him to Rome, and upon the outbreak of plague entrusted him with coordinating relief for the sick — a charge that Gregory Barbarigo carried out with great love and dedication. Alexander VII’s confidence in him was renewed when he placed him at the head of the Diocese of Bergamo in 1657; years later, in 1664, he would be entrusted with the Diocese of Padua.
In both sees his manner of governance was inspired by Saint Charles Borromeo, his model, and his first act was to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. He visited the parishes of his dioceses far and wide, attended the dying, promoted the spread of Catholic print among the people, and lodged in the homes of the poor. By day he taught catechism to children; by night he prayed.
Central to his heart, too, was the formation of priests, for which he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Seminary of Padua, which came to be regarded as one of the finest in Europe. Another significant dimension of his commitment was his work for reunion with the Eastern Churches. Between his episcopate at Bergamo and his ministry at Padua he spent a further period in Rome; in 1658 Alexander VII created him a cardinal. These were the years in which he took part in several conclaves. Innocent XI chose him as his counsellor, and Gregory laboured for reunion with the Eastern Churches.
Esteemed by Popes and beloved by the people, Barbarigo died at Padua in 1697.