Our Lady Immaculate
Guelph, Ontario
Blessed Contardo Ferrini
1859-1902
Feast – October 27
From his father, a teacher in Milan, Italy, Contardo inherited a love of learning. He studied law at Pavia’s Borromeo College and won a scholarship to the University of Berlin. A daily communicant from age 14, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and in 1881 made a private vow of celibacy. He mastered ancient and modern languages, and became the world’s leading expert on Roman law, teaching it in Pavia. His spiritual life in the Third Order of St. Francis focused on eucharistic devotion, prayer and meditation. He died of typhoid fever.
