Also known as
- Aloisius Variara
Profile
Son of Peter Variara, who had been brought to a deep devotion to the Church following a mission conducted by Saint John Bosco. A student in a Salesian school, Luigi met John Bosco as a young man. The boy joined the Salesians in August 1891, making his vows in 1892.
In 1894 he joined a Salesian mission to leper colonies in Colombia. Ordained in Colombia. Founded a small town to raise the children of the outcast lepers. Spiritual director of the Sodality of the Children of Mary. Founded the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Colombia in 1905, a congregation that included the daughters of lepers, girls who were drawn to religious life, but had trouble being accepted by other orders; it received official recognition on 24 December 1983.
After a brief visit to his family in home town, he returned to work in Bogota, Agua de Dios, and Caribbean Barranquilla. Toward the end of his life his health began to give way, and the only thing that kept him going were the hours he spent in Eucharistic devotion and prayer.
Born
- 15 January 1875 at Viarigi (Asti), Italy
- 1 February 1923 in Colombia of natural causes
- 2 April 1993 by Pope John Paul II (decree of heroic virtues)
- if you have information relevant to the canonization of Blessed Luigi, contact
Rev. Enrico Dal Covolo, SDB
Hijas de los Sagrados Corazones de Jesús y María
Cra. 15 No. 45-33
Ap. Aéreo 50113, Bogotá, COLOMBIA
Additional Information
MLA Citation
- “Blessed Luigi Variara”. Saints.SQPN.com. 30 January 2010. Web. 18 May 2013. <http://saints.sqpn.com/blessed-luigi-variara/>