On 23 October, the Vincentian Family remembers Father Giovanni Battista Manzella, priest of the Congregation of the Mission, a man of evangelical fervour and infinite tenderness, known to all as the trumpeter of Christ.
Born in Soncino (Cremona) in 1855, Giovanni Battista soon learned the hard work and dignity of labour: he helped his father, a mattress maker, learning the value of hard work and sacrifice. In Lecco, he discovered the spirituality of St. Vincent de Paul and, after years of discernment, entered the Congregation of the Mission in Turin. Ordained a priest in 1893, at the age of 38, he lived each day as a call to serve God in the poor and humble.
In 1900, he was sent to Sardinia, where he spent almost forty years on mission. He was spiritual director of the seminary in Sassari, superior of the Vincentian house and a tireless preacher of popular missions. Wherever he went, his message left its mark: confessions, conversions, works of charity, new confraternities and Conferences of St Vincent.
His preaching was simple, lively and popular. To attract people, he used a small trumpet, like the town criers of the time. From then on, they called him “the trumpeter of Christ”: one who never kept the good news silent, who made the Gospel resound even in the most forgotten squares, in the homes of the poor, in the most distant hearts.
Father Manzella was also the founder, in 1927, of the Sisters of Gethsemane, together with Mother Angela Marongiu. He conceived a dual vocation for them, apostolic and contemplative: an apostolate among poor girls and a spirituality centred on the Eucharist and the Passion of the Lord.
In his time, marked by strong social tensions and anti-clericalism, Fr. Manzella knew how to respond with meekness and the power of goodness. He never tired of repeating that ‘to evangelise means to serve with love’. He was a father to the poor, a friend to workers, a comforter to the sick. He gave away everything he had: more than once, on the street, he offered his own shoes to those who had none.
He died in Arzachena on 23 October 1937, while preaching a mission. He suffered a cerebral haemorrhage during his sermon; he remained blind, but serene, until the end. Everyone already called him ‘the saint Manzella’, and so he continued to live in the memory of the Sardinian people.
Today, he remains a beacon for those who wish to proclaim Christ with the joy and simplicity of a poor heart, reminding us that true mission always springs from concrete love and closeness to the least among us.
O God,
who promised to exalt the humble
and make those who teach justice shine like stars,
glorify your faithful servant Giovanni Battista Manzella.
May his example teach us to love the poor,
to serve with joy,
and to live every day the charity that transforms the world.
Amen.
