Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother… The “seraph” of Mary

The lifetimes of Pio (Gigino) Campidelli and of Gabriel (Checchino) Possenti can be categorized as “brief”.  However, that of “Gigino” may be described as “linear” and also, “crescendo”, whereas that of “Checchino” can be divided into two periods:  the first, until 18 years of age, can be called “normal”; the second, “a path to sanctity”.  Francesco Possenti was born in Assisi (PG) on 01 March 1838, the eleventh of thirteen children.  His father, Sante, was the pontifical governor.  His mother, Agnese Frisciotti came from a family of nobility of Civitanova Marche, who unfortunately died at the age of 42, leaving behind the young Francesco.  The family was forced to change the location of their home numerous times due to the father’s work -- a situation which continually uprooted the family and which surely caused disruption.

In 1841, Sante was named assessor of Spoleto.  The family now found itself in the upper social level. They were devout and God fearing, and each night they prayed the rosary.  Still, they were not strangers to suffering.  Of the thirteen children, only eight survived.  However this did not dampen the vivacious and joyful nature of Francesco.  At the age of thirteen he began his secondary school studies with the Jesuits. He was a brilliant student; he excelled in all fields, especially in literature.  He won prizes and various commendations.  He dressed elegantly, was playful and spirited. He drew caricatures of his classmates.

            He loved parties and dancing, but was always respectable.  It is said that once he had threatened one of his friends, but the details of the incident are not known.  In order to seek healing from a serious throat condition he promised to enter religious life, something he actually attempted.  However, the appeal of the carefree life and the attractions of worldly delights prevailed.  Nevertheless, he apparently lived an exemplary life that successfully balanced the world and God. 

            But this was not the way it was meant to be.  He who does not gather with me, scatters, says the Lord, and talents cannot be hidden without consequence.  Frequently people say:  “I don’t need to go to church, or to belong to any group.  I don’t hurt anybody, I work conscientiously.” But holiness is not achieved without a plan of action, the fruit of a decision.  Francesco made his decision on 22 August 1856, when an image of Our Lady that was being carried in procession said to him:  “Francesco, what are you doing in the world?  Religious life is awaiting you.”

            Devotion to Virgin was cultivated in his family and it was she who would always accompany him.  He would be called “Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin”, in honor of Mary.  She would be the secret of his rapid, spiritual progress within merely six years, about which his novitiate companion, Blessed Bernard Silvestrelli would comment:  “This boy has surpassed us all.”  It is a teaching of Monfort Mariology that Mary is the quickest way to go to Jesus.

            St. Gabriel is known precisely because of his extraordinary love of the Sorrowful Mother, “his paradise.” That name that he received at his Vestition with the religious habit became his plan for life.  Gabriel learned to contemplate the Passion of Jesus in the sorrowful heart of Mary and to contemplate the sorrows of Mary in the wounded heart of Christ.  In the same way that he had made the vow to love and invite others love Jesus Crucified, so he would vow to love and bring others to love the Sorrowful Virgin.  The love of Gabriel for the Mother of Sorrows was a concrete love.  He had promised to never say no when a request was made of him for love of Mary.  In trials and temptations he would say repeatedly:  “Do you want to conquer it for love of Mary?” It was the weapon that enabled him to overcome every difficulty.

            Additionally, Gabriel undertook an intense prayer life and a fierce fight against every kind of sin.  An episode is often recounted in which Gabriel, filled with anxiety, approached the director of students, the Venerable Fr. Norberto Casinelli, and begged him to tell him if he was aware of any sin of which he, Gabriel, was guilty, and gesticulating emphatically, he added:  “At any cost, I want it torn out of me!” His steady progress toward sanctity was consistently marked by joy and serenity.  From Morovalle he wrote to his father:  “My life is always agreeable. It is difficult to describe the joy I experience in this house.”  Despite the trials of life, where there is love, even the cross becomes a source of joy.

            What was the secret of his holiness?  In light of the miracles that were attributed to him, his fellow religious would ask:  “What was extraordinary about him?”  His saintly director would respond:  “Gabriel ministered with his heart”.  He always said “yes” to God.  He was an “everyday saint”, a saint of small things.

            He calmly accepted his illness, tuberculosis, which ended his life at the age of 24.  Yearning for the ecstasy of heaven, he prayed:  “Mother, do it quickly.” He died on 27 February 1862, at the rising of the sun, comforted by a vision of the Madonna whom he had loved so much.  The rest is history worthy of study for all of us.

Francesco Valori