On Thursday 11 June 2026, a study conference entitled San Gerardo Maiella, Witness of the Redeemer and Evangelizer of the Abandoned, in the wake of the Alphonsian charism, took place in the Conference Hall of the Sanctuary of San Gerardo in Materdomini.
The Tercentenary of St Gerard, which began on April 6, 2026, and is scheduled to run until April 4, 2027, needed a moment of reflection like this, along with many other celebrations and events of various kinds. Indeed, not since 1993 had anyone paused to reflect so meaningfully on the testimony and spiritual message that a saint as popular as Gerard Majella still manages to convey today: not only through popular piety and the expressions of affection so many still show him, but also on what he still has to say to us today, in times so distant from his own.
The title itself was eloquent, and lent itself to a reading of Gerard’s existential journey from multiple perspectives: from the simply spiritual to the biblical, and finally to the ecclesiological and moral.
The speakers who followed fully met expectations: Professor Filomena Sacco, reconstructing the historical context of the time in which Saint Gerard lived, succeeded in convincing everyone that our times, though so different, are neither better nor worse than the 18th century. Each generation is called to simply make planet Earth more human. The “abandoned,” those to whom Saint Alphonsus and Saint Gerard offered their generous response, are the true measure of their generous dedication. Today too, we need the “courage of the present,” allowing ourselves to be guided by the love of God that these saints embodied in mercy and missionary zeal.
Archbishop De Luca highlighted the spiritual journey undertaken by Saint Gerard, who, in a constant search for conformity to God’s will, increasingly became a true disciple of the Redeemer, making the Rule his book of life. It is remarkable that the only time Alphonsus and Gerard met was during the calumny, in which the latter was implicated, and it was Gerard himself who testified to his fidelity to the Rule in terms of silent obedience. Gerard’s spirituality also revealed itself on this occasion as fundamentally Christocentric, shaped by spiritual books that at that time helped to build an increasingly solid inner relationship between Jesus Christ and the disciple.
For his part, Fr. Antonio Di Masi addressed a seemingly difficult topic: the resonance of the Word of God in the life and spiritual writings of Saint Gerard. “Difficult” because, as we know, direct access to the Sacred Scriptures was practically impossible for someone like Gerard Majella. Only those with higher education had access to the Vulgate; others were forbidden from reading the Bible translated into modern languages. And yet, the resonance of the Word, mediated by the spiritual books popular in that century, consolidated by ascetic practices, ultimately shaped in Gerard that exact copy of the crucified Christ that the liturgy evokes in the Collect of his memory. And it inspired the decision that was the cornerstone of his existence: “I am going to become a saint!” A radically biblical resolution.
It was then up to Father Sabatino Majorano to present Saint Gerard as the protector of life in both birth and newborn life. He did so based on data most directly derived from the Sources of St Gerard, rather than the profile of the saint proposed more or less freely in certain biographies of the saint. And these data confirm Gerard’s ability to become the “womb” of life (to use an image from Pope Leo XIV in a letter addressed to the Lucanian Church on the occasion of this tercentenary), in its various manifestations of weakness and fragility. His was a style of closeness and friendship, which today needs to be rediscovered, so that our culture places motherhood at the center, becoming a culture of welcome and not of marginalization, giving women the respect and care so clearly embodied in Saint Gerard.
Finally, thanks go to His Excellency Archbishop Pasquale Cascio of Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi – Conza-Nusco-Bisaccia, who promoted the idea for the conference and oversaw its preparation, also serving as its moderator.
The event has already been rewarded with a large and beautiful turnout. We now eagerly await the publication of the Proceedings.
Fr. Serafino Fiore, CSsR.
