Biography of Luisa Piccaretta
Luisa Piccarreta (1865-1947) was a mystic known for her private revelations on the Divine Will. St. Hannibal was her confessor for seventeen years. The local bishop asked him to review her writings in order to give them the Nihil Ostat and Imprimatur. St. Hannibal put aside all his works and gave priority to preparing her writings for publication.
St. Hannibal had a very balanced and orthodox outlook on private revelations, and he called Luisa "A fit instrument for a sublime mission of the triumph of the Divine Will in the universe, as prayed in the Our Father: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In 1912, he asked Luisa to write reflections on the Passion of the Lord, to which he himself gave the title of The Hours of the Passion. Fr. Hannibal called the revelations "sublime, with examples worthy of the Divine Creator..."
At the news of the death of Fr. Hannibal, Luisa would write, "He was the only one left to me to whom I could open my poor soul. How well he could understand me, it was to a saint that I would entrust myself. He comprehended all the value of what Jesus had told me about the Divine Will. He took so much interest in it that he was always taking my writings in order to review them so they could be published."
Luisa's message about the Kingdom of the Divine Will is very much alive also in the United States and Latin America.
Biography of St. Hannibal Mary Di Francia
Hannibal Mary Di Francia was born in Messina, Italy on July 5th, 1851. His father Francis was a knight, the Marquises of St. Catherine of Jonio, Papal Vice-Consul and and honorary Captain of the Navy. His mother, Anna Toscano, also belonged to an aristocratic family. The third of four children, he lost his father when he was only fifteen months old. The sad experience of losing a parent made him deeply sensitive to the plight of children bereft of parents. This influenced his life and his educational system.
In childhood he developed such love for the Eucharist that he was allowed to receive Communion daily. This was something quite exceptional in those days. He was only seventeen when, at prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, he was given the "Revelation of Rogate", that is, he deeply felt that vocations in the Church come only through prayer. Subsequently he found that such prayer is commanded by Jesus in the Gospel when He says: "Ask [Rogate] the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to gather his harvest" Matthew 9:38; Luke 10:2).
His funeral, according to the chronicles and pictures in the newspapers of that time, became a triumph. Civil authorities promptly granted permission for his burial in the shrine of the "Evangelical Rogation" which Fr. Hannibal himself had built in Messina and wanted to be dedicated to the command of the Gospel: "Ask, therefore, the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into the harvest...".
The religious families founded by St. Hannibal are currently present on all the continents. According to the ideals of their founder, they dedicate themselves to spreading the prayer for vocations through centers for vocations, publishing houses and printing presses, institutions for orphans and abandoned children, schools for deaf and mute, nutritional centers, homes for aged, homes for single mothers, and professional and vocational schools.
The sancity and mission of Fr. Hannibal as an "outstanding Apostle of the prayer for vocations" are deeply felt in our time by all who are concerned with the need for vocations in the Church. Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed Fr. Hannibal a Blessed on October 7th, 1990 and defined him as the "authentic forerunner and zealous master of the modern pastoral care for vocations.
For more information on St. Hannibal Mary Di Francia - go to: St. Hannibal Mary Di Francia
Relationship between St. Hannibal Di Francia and
Luisa Piccarreta
The relationship between Saint Hannibal Di Francia and the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta is well known. Besides being her extraordinary confessor in 1926, Father Hannibal was commissioned directly by the Archbishop Mgr Giuseppe M. Leo through regular order, as the Ecclesiastical Censor for the publications of the three dioceses Trani, Barletta and Bisceglie; particularly, the review of all the writings that Luisa had written up to that date. Fr. Di Francia began publishing them after having obtained the Imprimatur of the Archbishop.
In a letter to Louisa, Father Hannibal recalled her that the archbishop had given him, “in order, jurisdiction over you, your writings, and the publication of them, i.e. to handle and dispose of the said publication, as I see fit” (his own words). Fr. Hannibal enjoys unlimited confidence by Archbishop Leo, as evidenced by extensive documentation.
This occupation took him steadily, to almost distract him from his commitments of founder: "I want you to know that since I have totally dedicated myself to the great work of the Divine Will, I practically don’t concern myself at all with my institutes. I talk about it with spiritual people, I keep to this point with those who are able to listen and I promote it as much as I can, even in my institutes…” (Letter to Luisa Piccarreta - Messina. Feb 14, 1927)
Let us pray on this special occasion to San Hannibal Maria Di Francia that he: Who reviewed and gave Nulla Obstat to the Writings of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, inspires and guides those who now read her writings. Who published and disseminated "The Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" and all her other writings helps in this sacred task all those whom God inspires the timely publication of them. Who overflowed with the divine light of the doctrine of the Divine Will intercedes for us so that we, by constantly dying to our will, can continually live in the Divine Will. We entrust ourselves to St. Hannibal Maria Di Francia to obtain for us the spiritual graces needed to know, understand and fully live in the Kingdom of the Divine Will.
Let us pray also for the General Chapter of the Rogationist Fathers whose realization occurs on the same date.
All the information is from the publication of the Superior Generals for the religious communities of the Daughters of Divine Zeal and the Rogationist Fathers of the Heart of Jesus (May 4, 2010).
Luisa Piccaretta
Servant of God
St. Hannibal Mary Di Francia
Monument to Saint Hannibal Maria Di Fracia in the Vatican
A monument to the apostle of prayer for priestly vocations and apostle of the Kingdom of the Divine Will, has been placed in the center of Catholicism: the Saint Peter Basilica at the Vatican. The Holy Father Benedict XVI blessed the statue right before his usual Wednesday audience.
On June 24, 2010, in the morning hours, the enormous statue of Saint Hannibal Di Francia was placed in its niche at Plaza of Roman Protomartyrs, at the Arch of the Bells of the Saint Peter Basilica at the Vatican. He was known as the apostle of prayer for priestly vocations and apostle of the Kingdom of the Divine Will. The statue, carved in Carrara marble, weights nearly 10 tons and is 5.3 meters high and was placed in the center of Catholicism: the Saint Peter Bascilica at the Vatican. The Holy Father Benedict XVI blessed the statue right before his usual Wednesday audience.
The request to place a monument of St. Hannibal outside the St. Peter Basilica was made to the Holy See for religious congregations founded by St. Father Di Francia, as a tribute to its founder in an effort to spread his holiness and charisma, especially after his canonization.
Master José Ducrot sculpted this work from a single block of Carrara marble. The statue of Father Hannibal is holding the book of the Gospels opened in the Rogate passage, “The harvest indeed is abundant, but the laborers are few. Pray (Rogate) therefore the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into his harvest).” (Mt 9: 37-38: Lk 10: 2).