Master Camillo Corsanego and Maria Valtorta
Born on March 20, 1891, and died on October 9, 1963, Camillo Corsanego was a lawyer with a degree in canon law, a professor of criminal law at the Pontifical Lateran University, Prosecutor at the Vatican State Tribunal, Dean of consistorial counselors responsible for pleading and promoting causes of beatification or canonization. As such, he was the only lay member to attend the inaugural sessions of the Second Vatican Council for which he had worked. He was also one of the founding members of the Italian Christian Democracy party. A street in Rome bears his name.
In January 1952, he stated in a document headed by the "Pontificum Athenaeum Lateranese (= Pontifical Lateran University)"[1]:In my now quite long life, I have read many apologetic, hagiographic, theological, and biblical exegetical works; but I have never found such a combination of science, art, piety, and adherence to the traditional teachings of the Church as in the Work regarding the Gospels by Mrs. Maria Valtorta. After careful and repeated reading of these numerous pages, I must declare in Conscience that one can make two hypotheses about the person who wrote them: a) either the author possesses a genius similar to that of Manzoni[2] or Shakespeare as well as a scriptural, theological culture accompanied by a perfect knowledge of the Holy Places, in any case superior to that of any living individual today in Italy; or “the finger of God is there[3]” [...] Whoever reads even a limited number of these wonderful pages, perfect from a literary point of view, can only reap Fruits of Christian elevation, if at least their Soul is free from all prejudice.
On April 8, 1957, he sent to Don Luigi Sturzo, a priest and prominent figure of the Italian Popular Party, the end of Maria Valtorta’s works. These works are intended, according to what he wrote, to "leave their mark in the history of Christianity[1]." The beatification process of Don Luigi Sturzo was opened on May 3, 2002.
Master Camillo Corsanego made a special journey to attend the funeral of Maria Valtorta on October 14, 1961, in Viareggio.
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maria Valtorta - What to Think? Elements of Discernment, CEV 2025, pp.68-71.
- ↑ Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873) is considered one of the most important Italian writers of the Romantic period.
- ↑ This expression is taken from the Bible where it is used to designate an evident divine intervention in history. For example: Exodus 8,15 | Exodus 31,18 | Daniel 5,5-31 | Luke 11,20.