“Blessed Condardo Ferrini, O.F.S., was born on 5th April 1859 in Milan. After receiving his First Holy Communion at the age of 12, he joined the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament.
Contardo learned to speak several languages. He entered the University of Pavia at age 17 and, two years later, he was appointed Dean of Students. At the age of 21 he became a Doctor of Law. His thesis, which related Penal Law to Homeric poetry, was the basis of his being awarded a scholarship to the University of Berlin, where he specialised in Roman-Byzantine law, a field in which he became internationally recognised as an expert.
During Contardo’s stay in Berlin, he wrote of his excitement at receiving the Sacrament of Penance for the first time in a foreign land. Upon his return to Italy, he was a lecturer in the universities at Messina, Modena, and Pavia. He received his first professorship aged 26. Contardo attempted to discern a vocation as a secular priest, member of a religious order, or as an unmarried man. He vowed himself to God and became a member of the Third Order of St Francis in 1886.
In 1900, Contardo developed a heart problem. In the autumn of 1902 he went to his country home in order to rest. While there, he became ill with typhus. He died at age 43 on 17th October 1902. Contardo was declared Venerable by Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius XII beatified him on 13th April 1947.”
– This article, entitled “Heroes of the Faith” was published in “The Catholic Universe” on Sunday 19th May, 2013. For subscriptions please visit http://www.thecatholicuniverse.com (external link).
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