A Providential Retirement

Chapter 4

n May of 1902, Conforti was named Bishop of Ravenna by Pope Leo XIII.  It could have been a deadly blow to Conforti and his newly born congregation.  In his conversation with the Pope, Conforti shared his dream of going to China, and the Pope told him that his field of work was Ravenna, “the China of Italy.”  This assignment proved to be a Way of the Cross.  Conforti visited parishes, preached retreats, blessed and encouraged people who were involved in Catechism classes and Catholic movements.  He challenged priests and seminarians to lead deep spiritual lives.  It was a renewal movement for all.

But after two years in that diocese, Conforti's physical stamina weakened tremendously.  He resigned after the counsel of doctors.  He wrote to Cardinal Ferrari of Milan: "I just ask to retire in the solitude of my seminary, among the brothers of my missionary community.  I will commit the rest of my few days in life to these young students, who are longing for the victories of faith and of martyrdom.”

His return to Parma was not a welcomed sight.  Conforti took this retirement as a humbling experience.  Yet, he also saw in this failure the visible hand of God, who was providing him with time to get better, and the possibility to better establish his congregation.  He sent to China the first group of missionaries in 1904, and among them, Fr. Louis Calza, the future bishop of Cheng Chow.

In the ceremony of the giving of the Crucifix, Conforti said: “The Crucifix is the master-book from which saints were made, and from which we also must be formed.  All the teachings found in the Gospel are exemplified in the Crucifix.” He was talking from his personal life.  It seemed that no one in China wanted to accept his missionaries, unless they would join a different congregation.  Conforti suffered a lot because of this lack of trust in the energies of his new congregation. 

For Conforti, religious life would complement the missionary life.  “Faith and the Gospel assure us that the missionary life, joined to the profession of religious vows, represents the greatest calling found within the church.” Bishop Conforti could see that religious life was the most concrete and attracting way of witnessing the message of Christ to those who were called to found new Christian communities.