Saint Gregory Barbarigo, Bishop & Confessor
S. Gregorii Barbadici Episcopi et Confessoris
Saint Gregory Barbarigo, a Venetian nobleman who became Cardinal-Bishop of Padua, is honoured as a model shepherd, renowned for his tireless pastoral care, his learning, and his great mercy to the poor.
Saint Gregory Barbarigo was born at Venice in 1625, of an illustrious family. As a young man he took part, in the service of the Venetian republic, in the negotiations that led to the Peace of Westphalia, where he came under the influence of the papal envoy, the future Pope Alexander VII. Turning from a career in public affairs, he was ordained priest and devoted himself entirely to the service of the Church.
A model shepherd
Gregory was made Bishop of Bergamo and afterward Cardinal-Bishop of Padua, and in these offices he showed himself a true pastor after the heart of Saint Charles Borromeo, whom he took as his model. He carried out the reforms of the Council of Trent with diligence and love: visiting his parishes, instructing his people, raising the standard of the clergy, and founding a seminary and a college which he furnished with a fine library and a printing press for the spread of sound learning.
His charity to the poor was without measure. He gave away vast sums for the relief of the needy, and in times of hardship he held back nothing for himself, esteeming the goods of the Church as the patrimony of the poor. He laboured also for the reunion of the Eastern Christians with the See of Rome, and supported the printing of books in their languages. He died at Padua on the eighteenth of June, 1697, and was at length canonised by Pope John XXIII in 1960.
His witness today
The collect of his feast praises Saint Gregory as one whom God willed to be renowned for pastoral care and mercy toward the poor, and asks that we who celebrate his merits may imitate the example of his charity. In him the Church holds up a pattern of the bishop who spends himself for his flock — learned yet humble, generous to the point of poverty, and zealous for the salvation of souls.
The Collect
O God, who didst will that blessed Gregory thy Confessor and Bishop should be renowned for his pastoral care and his mercy toward the poor: mercifully grant; that we who celebrate his merits may imitate the example of his charity.
Deus, qui beátum Gregórium, Confessórem tuum atque Pontíficem, pastoráli sollicitúdine et páuperum miseratióne claréscere voluísti: concéde propítius; ut, cujus mérita celebrámus, caritátis imitémur exémpla.
Patronage
He is venerated as a model of bishops and seminary founders, and is honoured especially in the dioceses of Padua and Bergamo and in his native Venice.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar his memorial is observed on 18 June, the day of his death.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Gregory Barbarigo?
In the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal his feast is kept on 17 June as a Third Class feast. In the modern calendar his memorial is observed on 18 June.
Who was Saint Gregory Barbarigo?
He was a seventeenth-century Venetian nobleman who became Cardinal-Bishop of Bergamo and then of Padua. A zealous reformer in the spirit of the Council of Trent, he was renowned for his pastoral care, his learning, and his great generosity to the poor. He was canonised in 1960.
What is he especially remembered for?
He is remembered for his diligent care of his dioceses, his founding of a seminary and college with a notable library and printing press, his efforts toward unity with the Eastern Churches, and above all his boundless charity, which led him to give away his wealth for the relief of the poor.
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