When a particularly intense interpersonal relationship develops, the first meeting becomes an essential space for presence and listening. It is not only the initial exchange of feelings and thoughts, but above all a space where we recognize together the inner place from which the journey of mutual understanding can begin, one step at a time, in trust, respect, and expectation. The Impact of the First Encounter We have all experienced the power of a first meeting that becomes a stage where life and the future are at stake, transforming into a decisive turning point, an experience so intense that it becomes a foundational event in our lives. From this perspective, we can turn our gaze to Mercede Stefani (who would later be named Sister Irene), who retained in her memory and heart the permanent imprint of her first encounter with St Joseph Allamano. It was the period in which he had recently founded the Institute of the Consolata Missionary Sisters — founded on January 29, 1910, less than two years earlier. On June 19, 1911, “Mercede said goodbye forever to her beautiful lake, her mountains, the large and comfortable house where she had been so happy, the parish church, before whose tabernacle she had spent such delightful hours.” Accompanied by her father, John, and the parish priest, Fr. Francis Capitanio, she set out for Turin, ready to embark on the journey that would lead her to become a Consolata Missionary. In Turin, they were received by Joseph Allamano, a man of recognized sanctity and possessing exquisite human and spiritual qualities, which he had cultivated and developed over the years. He received them warmly, with openness, and with authority, knowing that this young woman, who had left everything to follow Jesus, was a new and precious gift that the Lord was offering to the Institute, and he would be its first custodian. That encounter did not end there. The dear father, with a humble and simple gesture, was the first to kneel before Allamano, offering a much-loved daughter and placing her in his hands so he could present her to God, a gesture that was a sublime offertory, like the offering of the most precious good. The daughter, filled with fear and hope, also knelt beside her father while Allamano, moved by the spontaneity of that act, blessed them both. Who knows what passed through the heart of young Mercede that day, and what she has treasured throughout her life from that first meeting, when her father entrusted her to a man of God who, in turn, became a father to her, the one entrusted with the task of forming her as an authentic Consolata Missionary Sister, of the highest quality, extraordinary in the little things of everyday life, a full-time missionary, and totally dedicated to the Lord, forever. This first meeting is filled with spiritual and human significance: the father, with trust and abandonment to God’s will, gives his daughter to God; Allamano, in turn, welcomes a new young woman for the Institute and the mission, assuming the role of father and guide. John, for his part, does not return home empty-handed: he brings with him the Consolata, an icon given to him by Allamano, a tangible symbol of the blessing he received on that occasion. On the back of the icon, remains a trace of that precious moment, with a note written by John Stefani himself: “Memory given to me by the Canon Rector of the Consolata in Turin on June 21, 1911, when I handed over my daughter Mercede to religious life at the Consolata Missionary Institute.” After that foundational encounter, the young Mercede began her journey of formation, a precious time during which her being was shaped by the spirit that animated the new family she had chosen to embrace with complete love. In every step, in every experience, in every encounter with the Founder, Joseph Allamano, she perceived God’s guidance leading her toward the fulfillment of a profound desire: to consecrate herself entirely to God and become a witness to His word as a missionary. The fruit of this initial experience clearly emerges in the life of Sr. Irene Stefani, during her years of formation in Italy and, above all, in her mission in Kenya. There, she revealed herself as a true and faithful daughter of Allamano, capable of embodying his spirit in the daily routine of her religious life and her missionary commitment. As a devoted daughter, she called him “Beloved Father,” because he showed her the path to authentic holiness, founded on a radical and total love for God and humanity. Her life can, in fact, be summed up as a constant commitment to live according to her fundamental program: “I will love charity more than myself.” By Postulation FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE PAGE
Novena to Saint Joseph Allamano – Nineth day
Holiness and self-surrender in love Nineth Day Lord, give us that family spirit that St. Joseph Allamano taught us: a spirit made up of welcome, forgiveness, simplicity, and a mission lived together, never alone. Grant that our unity may become a living witness to your Gospel, that our joy may be full and that our every gesture may be a seed of consolation for the world. Amen. Gospel according to St Luke 10:20 – 22 We celebrate the First Centenary of the Birth into Heaven of St. Joseph Allamano! His death was a true birth into heaven, the epilogue of an earthly life lived solely and totally for the Lord he had always loved, and for the Consolata, the most tender Mother, by whom he felt loved. From these great loves of his sprang love for the person, for the “souls” to be saved, near and far, with a missionary impulse that exceeded all limits. The earthly life of St. Joseph Allamano ended at dawn on February 16, 1926: “From time to time the beloved Father’s wonderful eyes stare upwards, to one place, and he smiles… we wait for Our Lady, we are sure that She is close to her beloved Son, we feel her presence strongly, and… we nourish the childish hope of seeing her take his soul to heaven. And here she is, the Mother! At four minutes past five, some louder sobs let his beautiful and holy soul, … fly to Paradise, in the arms of Our Lady”. St. Joseph Allamano whispers until his last breath what was one of the foundations of his holiness: the Will of God. His life was a continuous surrender to God and a constant commitment to carry out His plan with unwavering fidelity. Invocations St. Joseph Allamano approaches the end of his life radiating great peace and serenity with great trust in God for having lived by seeking and fulfilling His Will. St. Joseph Allamano, the blessing father, promises to continue to guide and bless his sons and daughters: “When I am up there, I will bless you even more: I will always be at the balcony”. Today, as we celebrate his life and holiness, we ask you to send many blessings to all those who invoke him with confidence and to mankind thirsting for peace and consolation. “At the feet of our Most Holy Consolata I bless you with all my heart” Let us pray: St. Joseph Allamanocontinue to encourage us to walk the path of life.Walking along the roads of the world,we may be able to love, to alleviate, to assume, to refresh,to support, to revive, to console.Continue to bless us, instil in us your unwavering trust in Godso that we may remain united to Him, to bear much fruit. Amen.
A look towards…
Saint Joseph Allamano is remembered for his gentle, profound, and searching gaze. A gaze that met two others: that of Jesus in the Eucharist and that of the Consolata, in long hours of prayer and dialogue with them. And from there his gaze opens to near and distant reality.
Novena to Saint Joseph Allamano – Eighth day
Holiness and family spirit Eighth Day “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” Gospel according to St John 15:12-17 The family spirit is the heart of St. Joseph Allamano’s spirituality and the strength of the Institute do not come from individual zeal, but from the communion built day after day. He often recalled that the community is a family and that the first missionary task consists in living authentic fraternal relationships: “The Institute is a family; you should live as true brothers. … We should have esprit de corps to the point of giving your lives for each other.” (This I want you to be, chap. 7). The family spirit is nourished through simple gestures: welcome, forgiveness, collaboration, shared joy. Allamano insisted that unity is the foundation of all missionary work: “Walk together, always united, and the Lord will bless all your works” (Lettere ai Missionari, vol. II, p. 74). Living the family spirit therefore means building a common garden every day, where diversity becomes richness and mission becomes a visible witness to God’s love. Invocations Lord Jesus, You who revealed to us the heart of the Father and commanded us to love one another as You loved us, grant that the family spirit taught by St. Joseph Allamano may become our concrete way of living the Gospel: a love that does not seek itself. You who have chosen and sent us to bear fruit, make us instruments of your communion, so that we may form “one heart and soul” when we believe that Youare in our midst. You who gather us together as beloved children and call us to build your house together, give us a heart capable of welcoming and unity, so that our every word and every gesture may become a seed of fraternity. Let us pray: Lord, give us that family spiritthat St. Joseph Allamano taught us: a spirit made up of welcome, forgiveness, simplicity,and a mission lived together, never alone.Grant that our unity may become a living witness to your Gospel,that our joy may be fulland that our every gesturemay be a seed of consolation for the world. Amen.
Novena to Saint Joseph Allamano – Seventh day
Holiness and spirit of prayer Seventh Day “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.’” Gospel according to St Luke 11:1-4 The spiritual life, according to the teaching of St. Joseph Allamano, is based on prayer, which is not a simple devout act, but the force that sustains every mission and every path to holiness. Our life must be continually nourished by prayer, so that our service does not become empty and does not lose vigour: “Yes, yes, work; but prayer is more necessary than anything else… First we must sanctify ourselves, first pray, then do good to others.” Prayer, therefore, is not one duty among many, but the source that allows the mission to flourish. Finally, Allamano invites everyone to strive for continuous prayer, which is not reduced to isolated moments, but becomes daily breathing: a constant dialogue with God that transforms our lives and makes us capable of living, like Saint Paul, saying: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Invocations You who prayed to the Father in silence and taught the disciples to say “Father”, give us a heart that desires prayer as a vital breath, so that all our actions are born from the encounter with You and find its strength in You. You who remind us that before our doing comes our being, and that mission flourishes only in those who allow themselves to be sanctified, Help us to seek your presence first and foremost, freeing ourselves from haste and activism, so that our interior life may sustain the good we are called to do. You who transform the lives of those who entrust themselves to You to the point of being able to say with St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me”, guide us towards a continuous, simple and faithful prayer, so that every moment becomes a dialogue with Youand every desire conforms to your heart. Let us pray: Give us, Lord, that spirit of prayerthat St. Joseph Allamano left us as a precious legacy:a simple and sincere prayer, capable of sustaining the missionand of making holiness sprout in everyday life.Make our hearts docile to your presence, so that our life may truly become a continuous dialogue with You,clear and faithful, capable of illuminating thoughts,purifying words and transforming our every actioninto an act of love. Amen.
Novena to Saint Joseph Allamano – Sixth day
Holiness and the Cross Sixth Day Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”.” Gospel according to St. Luke 14:25 – 27 “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Letter to the Galatians 6:14 Even more so as men and women missionaries, St. Joseph Allamano affirmed, we must know how to enter the mystery of the cross (cf. This I want you to be, n. 136). How can I immerse myself in the lives of our people, in the tangle of suffering that grips so many peoples in today’s world, and become a voice of hope and consolation, a proclamation of salvation, without following the same path as Jesus? In his suffering on the cross, Jesus becomes a figure of every human pain, of every rupture and division, of every illness and those pains that close us in on ourselves such as darkness, aridity, failure, loneliness. Jesus told us: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (Jn 13:34). As in a divine alchemy, the crucified Jesus is able to change all our pain into love, into communion. We need to recognize his face in every pain, to welcome it, to forget our pain and to begin to love the other. Invocations We thank you, O God, source of all good, for having given the church and the world St. Joseph Allamano, We ask you that, following his example of daily holiness, we too may collaborate in the proclamation of the Gospel so that all may have fullness of life. Attentive in the service of your people, he spent himself in humility and wisdom as a comforter of the afflicted and father and guide of families consecrated to the mission, through his intercession grant us too to be witnesses of Christ the Saviour everywhere and always. You who gave Mary Consolata to the Church, as Mother and Sister, grant that all the suffering and needy may find, in his intercession, peace and consolation. Let us pray: O Father, who wished to save mankind by the Cross of your only begotten Son,grant that all those who have known his mystery of love on earth may obtain in heaven the fruits of his redemption.He lives and reigns with you forever and ever. Amen.
Novena to Saint Joseph Allamano – Fifth day
Holiness and the Word of God Fifth Day But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. Second letter to Timothy 3:14 – 4:2 With great strength and deep conviction, Joseph Allamano exhorted the Missionaries to take the Word of God to heart. He said to them: “Consider the importance of the Sacred Scripture for us and for others! Everything is there; it is the Word of God, a living and warm word. – And he used to recall what St. Jerome said – ‘Never let the Holy Bible depart from your hands, so that sleep may always surprise us with the book in our hands.’ The Sacred Scripture! The more you read, the more you study and the more you love it and delight in it. This is a school that never ends. Let us love the Holy Scripture very much, especially the Gospels and the letters of St. Paul. I want you to become fond of the Holy Scripture!” (Cfr. This I want you to be, ns. 171-174). There is only one great reality: the Word-Person who is Jesus Christ. The words He said are Himself. To receive the word is to receive Christ. The book of the Bible is alive like Christ: it still acts today; it has perennial youth. It is alive because it contains the Spirit who gives it the breath of life. Invocations I believe, Lord, but grant that I may believe more firmly. I hope, Lord, but grant that I may hope with greater confidence. I love you, Lord, but let me love you with more ardent affection. Guide me with your wisdom, comfort me with your goodness, protect me with your power. Let my thoughts be yours, my words yours, my sufferings yours, my actions according to your law. Enlighten my intellect, inflame my will, purify my body, sanctify my soul. Make me prudent in counsel, courageous in dangers, patient in adversity, humble in prosperity, assiduous in prayer, sober in food, diligent in work, constant in my resolutions. Make me understand, O good God, how small is what is earthly, how great is what is divine; how short is what is temporary, and how certain is what is eternal. Let us pray: In your Word, O Father, you come to meet us with love, you overcome silence and distance and reveal yourself as the God who takes the initiative in dialogue.Forgive us if we do not always know how to rejoice in your Wordand if at times we have not listened to youand guide us to discover your love that you reveal to us in Scripture.Through Christ our Lord himself. Amen
Novena to Saint Joseph Allamano – Fourth day
Holiness and the Consolata, our most tender mother Fourth Day In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. Gospel according to St. Luke 1:26-39 Consolation is a gift of the Spirit, the Comforter, continually present in the heart of Mary, the true dwelling place of God. The Consolata, who knows God and knows God’s ways, is our sure guide on the path that leads to Him. Allamano said: “Is not the Blessed Virgin under the beautiful title of Consolata our Mother, and we her children? … We are children of the Consolata, and most beloved children, but do we practically always show ourselves to be such, by invoking Her often, by honouring Her in as many ways as possible, and by having recourse to Her with the confidence of the most tender children? Let us also try to listen to her desires, which are that we make ourselves good and holy.” (Conf. MC, Vol 1, p. 11) Mary, the woman of the YES to God, with unshakable fidelity and trust, renews her Fiat, always, in every circumstance, in happy and sad events. She invites us to open our hearts to God, to become fertile ground where he makes us capable of bearing abundant fruits of life. Women and men who live a process of transformation to become transparent witnesses of God’s love for humanity. Invocations Mary, the Mother, was in the midst of the community, gathered in prayer and waiting for the Spirit She who knows well his strength and his action from when, at the Annunciation, he had enveloped her in his shadow and made her Mother. Mary invites us to open our hearts to God, to become fertile ground where He makes us capable of bearing abundant fruits of life. Then we too will be sensitive and attentive to recognizing and carrying out God’s will for us in our lives. How many times did Joseph Allamano turn his gaze to the Consolata and how many times did he allow himself to be looked at by her! We too want to contemplate her face and let ourselves be looked at by her; here lies our strength. Let us pray: God the Father, who wants to gather all mankind into one family.You want every son and daughter to live safely in your home, and for this reason you reach us where we are, in the situation we live,to let us know your heart and your infinite love.May your gentle and tender touch reach humanitywounded by wars and violenceso that we may convert to peace and mutual acceptance.O Mary Consolata,watch over us with your tender and strong gazeand sustain our answer to your Christ even today. Amen
Novena to Saint Joseph Allamano – Third day
Holiness and love for Jesus in the Eucharist Third Day I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. Gospel according to St. John 6:51. 55 – 57 St. Joseph Allamano’s love for Jesus in the Eucharist found expression in the gift of self, tireless in acting without losing intimate communion with Jesus. His day revolved around Jesus, He was truly the centre, he left Him and returned to Him constantly. The day was divided into a time of preparation for the meeting in the Eucharistic celebration and then a time of thanksgiving. In this way, He extended Jesus’ presence throughout the day. The same love inspired his missionary commitment. On several occasions he expressed the joy of making Jesus present in places where he was not yet known and loved: “How pleased I am that through us God is multiplying the number of tabernacles in the world. So many new tabernacles! They are the focus of love for us and mercy for the people. How blessed we are to have already so many in our missions. I believe, nay I am convinced, that they bring down blessings on those lands.” (This I want you to be, n. 151). Invocations At the height of his life, Jesus breaks himself at the Passover meal with the disciples. In this way Jesus shows us that the goal of life lies in giving oneself, that the greatest thing is to serve. And today we find the greatness of God in a piece of bread, in a fragility that overflows with love, overflows with sharing. The experience of Jesus’ unconditional love warms the heart and moves it irresistibly to answer with the same love, and to become also broken bread for mankind loved by God. The Eucharist heals because it unites us to Jesus: it makes us in the likeness of His way of life, His ability to break and give ourselves to others, to answer evil with good. It gives us the courage to come out of ourselves and to bend down with love to the fragilities of others. As God does with us. Let us pray: Merciful Father, through the intercession of St. Joseph Allamano, we pray to you for the Church, so that, following the example of Jesus, “bread broken and wine poured out” for all, she may be a concrete sign in the world of God’s care and tenderness for every man and woman. Amen.
Novena to Saint Joseph Allamano – Second day
HOLINESS AND THE WILL OF GOD