people-from-lombardy

"Antonio Possevinus represented the literary, scientific, and diplomatic type of Jesuit, performing important political missions, establishing schools of science and letters, and applying himself to diplomatic protocols and classical authors with equal assiduity. Had he not met with insurmountable difficulties in Sweden and Russia, and in negotiating the treaties between Poland and the empire, he would have left a still deeper trace on the political history of the Church and of Europe."

"God forgive you! What have you done?"

"A man of a spirit most pure and blameless. It was however remarked, half jestingly, that as he had come into the world too early — at seven months — and had pot been reared without difficulty, so there was upon the whole too little of the earthly element in his composition. Of the practices and intrigues of the Curia, he had never been able to comprehend anything."

"May the young learn from Savio how to sanctify themselves, even in the midst of dangers, how to join holiness with cheerfulness, frankness with reserve, dignity with modesty, the interior life and intimate union with Our Lord with the diligent exercise of external duties; let them learn of him to be beloved by God and men, and thus to leave a holy memory to succeeding generations."

"It will not be weapons that give us the future, and much less justice and peace, instead, it will be internally unarmed people who will stop violence in all its forms and its false or presumed reasons. Justice is not in the unstable balance of forces involved, but in the testimony of a truly new life in love without measure."

"Because of his prudence and his business-like methods, he was a favourite with the popes."

"“I don’t much like how she is portrayed. I love the normal woman. With her capacities, skills and professionalism that can and must emerge. One should not focus exclusively on beauty.”"

"“The best way to fight the mafia is knowledge.”"

"“It must no longer indulge in sensationalism and ‘TV of pain’.”"

"“Spreading the culture of quality is the first calling card of public service…”"

"“For Rai there is a risk of Big Brother via Google, YouTube, Facebook.”"

"“Public services are needed but must change.”"

"It is not a matter of religious beliefs. It is a natural reality that does not come from ideological or cultural tendencies, but from natural principals that proceed from the very nature of the human person. If we cut ourselves off from the common denominator of human nature...What universal reference would their be in humanity to guarantee our human rights?"

"I want to be a good religious so I can be a good missionary tomorrow."

"I saw the diocese grow thanks to the tireless efforts of Bishop Alessandro Assolari. It was difficult at the beginning."

"The personal experience of living with the Xirima people of Macúa and their living environment was a precious opportunity for me to deepen the meaning of the mission and the mission as a Consolata missionary. Happy and infected by the Macua perspective, I found myself enjoying and appreciating in a new way the feminine and maternal dimension inherent in our charism. The recognition, respect, hospitality and care for every seed of life present in people, peoples and history appeared to me more than ever as essential and specific characteristics of the missionary work of the Consolata Missionaries."

"Worship, pastoral, charity, ecclesiastic personnel: are the four constitutive ends of the possession and use of ecclesial resources as such. The Church may possess resources only for these reasons. She may not legitimately possess resources for any other ends which do not stem from these four fundamental fields."

"(From the homily during the Missa Pro eligendo Romano Pontifice) The liturgical texts of this Eucharistic celebration, then, invite us to fraternal love, to mutual help and to commitment to ecclesial communion and universal human fraternity."

"(Regarding the resignation of Benedict XVI) We must agree that the gesture made by the Holy Father is to be appreciated without but and without if. I say this by reminding everyone of the courage, the serenity shown towards such an important choice. A choice certainly matured in all conscience in silence and meditation. Only in this way, in a continuous and intense dialogue with God in prayer, did the Pope choose. And it must be appreciated for the high sense of responsibility shown, even in a circumstance such as this, which is undoubtedly extraordinary."

"Interviewer: What was Wojtyla's role in the defeat of communism?"

"I was on the terrace of the Secretariat of State, with colleagues and Archbishop Agostino Casaroli. His first line was: "Never would I have thought that the conclave would choose a cardinal from a diocese beyond the Iron Curtain!" We all asked him many questions, and Casaroli explained that he was a "man of vision". He concluded: he will bring novelty, but he will be a good Pope."

"Deprived for some time of the outward and, so to speak, "commercial" aspects, it is a time of special grace. Indeed, sins need God's forgiveness above all, but then also a purification, to be carried out here below, or, after death, in purgatory. Sacramental absolution in confession removes guilt and restores friendship with God, but there remains the duty of purification of the negative imprint left by the evil done and of reparation. This is the indulgence, through which we draw from the treasure of the Church, that is, from the merits acquired from Christ, Our Lady and the Saints. The indulgence can only be obtained once a day and can also be applied to our deceased loved ones by helping them in their purification process."

"(Visitng the Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei) The world expects much from the new pope, both in terms of a religious revival and because the world is troubled by a very serious problem, that of war in many countries. The war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation is having consequences throughout Europe. And then there is Gaza, the land where Christ was born and where the land itself cries out for peace, but peace is not there. We are going through a difficult time for humanity. And we hope that there will now be a recovery."

"I hope that when I return to Rome this evening, I will find white smoke. I am particularly pleased to be here at the beginning of the Conclave so that the Holy Spirit may blow strongly and the Pope that today's Church and today's world need may be elected. [The new pope] must first of all seek to strengthen faith in God in our world characterised by technological progress but, spiritually speaking, we have noticed a certain ‘forgetting of God’. There is a need for a reawakening."

"The lack of ideals is what leads to emptiness and boredom. That is why, dear young people, I encourage you not to postpone life's fundamental decisions. When the Lord calls us, He also gives us the strength and the grace necessary for responding to the responsibilities that will be placed on our path."

"I hope for white smoke this evening. (May 8, 2025 at 11:01 a.m.)"

"Cardinal Re: I had been in the Secretariat of State for eight years. With us was a Polish priest, Monsignor Jozef Kowalczyk. Four days after he was elected, he brought me the first homily written in Polish by John Paul II and translated into Italian by Poles, asking me to review it. I read and reread that text'."

"Only by following Christ and accepting his teaching can we find adequate ways and criteria for building a future of unity and justice, the civilisation of love and peace."

"Convinced that the great need of her times was a better instruction of young girls in the rudiments of the Christian religion, she converted her home into a school where at stated intervals she daily gathered all the little girls of Desenzano and taught them the elements of Christianity. It is related that one day, while in an ecstasy, she had a vision in which it was revealed to her that she was to found an association of virgins who were to devote their lives to the religious training of young girls. The school she had established at Desenzano soon bore abundant fruit."

"We often forget this network of good health agents that can be of great help to families in difficulty."

"Modernity has identified the theme of conscience as one of its most emblematic frontiers. [...] Too often, in culture as in life, the concept of conscience, that is, the ability of a person to recognise the truth and the decision to follow it, is confused with the ultimate peremptory nature of subjective opinion."

"The silence of conscience, through neglect and abandonment, can cause instinctiveness to be mistaken for spontaneity, wishful thinking for relevance, injustice for justice, death for life, selfishness for love. [...] However, at the very moment when the Magisterium is eradicated from conscience, without realising it, it is already being replaced by a substitute."

"The Church is not a political republic. It is a spiritual reality incarnated in time, and does not respond to purely human criteria. The important thing is always to find someone capable of guiding God's people at a given moment in history. I have known Pope Leo XIV for a short time, through a few personal encounters. He is always kind, attentive to issues, and thoughtful. My overall and immediate impression is of a serene man, that is, reconciled with himself because he is centred on Christ. I believe this is the best prerequisite for living such a great responsibility."

"Work is a special part of those indispensable conditions that a truly human society must guarantee so that everyone can not only survive and live, but even more so, fulfil themselves according to God's plan."

"(About Italy) The unity of the country remains an indispensable achievement and anchor. Any desirable reform, starting with federalism, must take into account the historical roots of unity and consistently evolve it for the good of all in order to be beneficial."

"It is clear that the state itself needs a people, but the people are not such by virtue of the state; they precede it in that they are not a sum of individuals but a community of persons, and a true and reliable community is always spiritual and ethical in nature; it has a soul. This is its backbone. But if the soul becomes corrupt, then the unity of the people becomes fragile, and the state weakens and loses its shape. When can this happen? When the awareness of common values and cultural identity is obscured. Talking about cultural identity does not mean withdrawing or closing oneself off, but rather not disfiguring one's own face: without a face, it is impossible to meet, to get to know each other, to respect each other, to correct each other, to walk together, to work towards the same goals, to be a “people”. The state cannot create this unity, which is pre-institutional and pre-political, but at the same time it must be careful to preserve it and not damage it. It would be short-sighted and irresponsible to attack what unites us in the name of any perspective."

"God surpasses our measurement unit and surprises it, not in an abstract way, but in the Child laid in a manger."

"Immigration is a reality. We need to combine the principle of welcoming others, which has always been at the heart of our country, with another principle that is just as important: legality, which everyone knows is needed for society to work."

"The Church does not promote itself, but serves humanity with God's love."

"Italy is heading towards a slow demographic suicide because "over fifty per cent of families today are childless, and among those that do have children, almost half have only one, the rest have two, and only 5.1 per cent of families have three or more children. There is an urgent need for a child-oriented policy that immediately takes responsibility for a balanced generational change."

"There are no dogmas of faith and there are no dogmas of any kind when it comes to social practices. This issue must also be addressed with a single intention, a single objective: we must evaluate this question in a proactive manner because any decision, any way of dealing with Article 18, must aim to create jobs, otherwise it is useless."

"Too often, in culture as in life, the concept of consciousness, that is, a person's ability to recognise the truth and decide to follow it, is confused with the ultimate peremptory nature of subjective demands. [...] It is the confusion surrounding the false concept of autonomy that causes such profound confusion in today's culture, according to which a person is considered happier the closer they feel to doing what they want. [...] There is a reason for being that is stronger and more resistant than any human construct. Recognising this reality in itself and bowing gratefully to it is the most moral act we can perform."

"The problem of our cultural identity, which for us clearly has religious and Christian roots, is certainly a very important question today. And we are seeing so increasingly."

"The full happiness of the Church, which comes from Christ, does not fail even in the face of our betrayals."

"When you have faith, you can endure suffering. There are some sufferings that have no name, that you can't describe or justify, but when you believe in God, you no longer ask why me and not someone else. And that is a great achievement."

"In our economy, it would seem that everything is done in connection with being able to pay the external debt, of satisfying foreign creditors, without thinking of those who are in the country, who are the ones who suffer the consequences."

"“In most cultures in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, dancing groups in traditional costume is used in the most important celebrations of the people’s life. These dances can also express the joy, happiness and unity of the people during Mass. There is no better way to build Christian community through the Holy Eucharist, the center of the Church.”"

"The most beautiful note, harmony, symphony of the pentagram is that of charity, because it's everywhere and always touches the chords of each heart, of whoever makes them feel it and whoever hears it."

"There is a lack of fundamental ethical formation, therefore, we must be concerned with forming the conscience of Europeans before coming to this sort of voting, otherwise, there will be a gradual disintegration of the legacy of values that have characterized life for almost 2,000 years."

"Francesco Filippini gave the first landscape conclusions to Lombard painting, derived from the romantic impressionism of Tranquillo Cremona. His paintings, all meticulously executed from nature, with precise representation of objects achieved through an exact sense of muted tones, are summarized by a deep overall harmony. They reveal a sense of panoramic grandeur and a contained poetic sentiment, showcasing the artist’s originality."