Father Andrea Cecchin and Maria Valtorta
In his report of February 2, 1949, Mgr Giovanni Pepe presents Father Andrea M. Cecchin (1914-1995) as a proselyte of Maria Valtorta[1]. No written position is known from him regarding the work of Maria Valtorta. It is only known that he accompanied Fathers Berti and Migliorini to the papal audience on February 26, 1948, during which Pius XII encouraged the publication of the work[2], notably encouraging the three interlocutors to seek an imprimatur[1].
Who was the Servant of God Andrea M. Cecchin[edit | edit source]
From 1947 to 1950, therefore at the time of the events, this Servite of Mary, then 33 years old, was Master of novices and Prior of the Community of the College of S. Alessio Falconieri in Rome.
In 1958, he was elected Prior of the Province of Veneto, a position he held without interruption until 1967. He participated in the founding of the Conference of Provincial Priors of Italy (CONPRIS) as President, tasked with drafting its Statutes. He also participated in the preparation of the Extraordinary General Chapter of 1968 as President of the Commission for the Common Life.
After this General Chapter, as President of the Commission for the Missions of the Order, he traveled to the different jurisdictions. In 1971, he presented the results of his work and that of the commissioners at the General Chapter of Opatija (Yugoslavia). He then held other positions within the secular institute of Regnum Mariae. He spent the last years of his life at Monte Berico, famous for its Marian sanctuary (Vicenza), devoting himself mainly to the accompaniment of Souls[3].
The cause for the beatification of Father Andrea M. Cecchin was opened by the diocese of Vicenza and the Order of the Servants on March 23, 2002. For Don Giuseppe Busato, who wrote his monograph on saints and blessed, "His memory remains blessed as that of a saint"[4].
International College of S. Alexis Falconieri[edit | edit source]
This college is named after one of the seven holy founders of the Order of the Servites of Mary. In 1950, this school became a Theological Faculty (Father Corrado M. Berti taught there); it was definitively approved in 1955 under the title "Marianum" and was promoted to pontifical theological faculty in 1971. This is why Mgr Giovanni Pepe gives it the title of "Rector".
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Holy Office, Brief Notices, (02/02/1949): "But here [in Rome], he [Father Romualdo Migliorini] made proselytes among his confreres: Father Andrea M. CECCHIN, Rector of the International College of S. Alexis Falconieri" (Page 2 of the original document).
- ↑ GELSOMINO DEL GUERCIO - Why did the Church hinder the revelations of the mystic Maria Valtorta? Meeting with Pius XII - Aleteia, September 16, 2019.
- ↑ Titus SARTORI - Biographical notice on the site of the Servites of Mary.
- ↑ Santi e Beati, September 24, 2010.