Gricigliano

A Hidden Paradise

Located just a few miles from Florence, our Seminary is situated in a beautiful mountain-fold in the heart of legendary and beautiful Tuscany. Surrounded by vineyards and olive groves that we cultivate ourselves, our Seminary provides us with a marvelous and peaceful place for study and prayer.

But what really makes our Seminary such a special place can be described at the light of our three patron saints: saint Francis the Sales, for the spirituality; saint Thomas Aquinas for the philosophy and theology, and St. Benedict for the love of the Liturgy, his ora et labora and rules of hospitality.

The spirituality of St. Francis de Sales is probably the source of what I mostly appreciate in our Seminary. It’s prudent, extremely realistic and “soaked” in Charity. It’s a humble spirituality that considers man as he is and not as some would want it to be. Projected into our formation program, it gives it a great balance to every detail of it. “Let all things be done by love, nothing by constrain” says one of his most famous adages.

Charity is the keyword. Charity towards oneself and towards others. For this reason alone, Gricigliano is a true paradise. There is no spirit of criticism, no gossip or nothing of the sort here. One will never hear within these walls, criticism of a fellow seminarian, of a superior or teacher, or of other institutions inside the Church or Church authorities.

Living according to Charity does not mean to be naïve. Our superiors clearly see (and intelligently, I would add) the modern crisis; it’s a moral crisis, and a crisis that unfortunately made its way into the ranks of Our Holy Mother the Church too. But, what is important here is the attitude towards this crisis. We say: “Yes, there is a crisis, so: let’s roll up our sleeves and work; let’s start helping. We are here to help, to serve, to obey, and not to judge or criticize, les yet to throw stones.” Believe me, dear reader: to realize this spirit, was what made me decide to join this Seminary. And the more I live here, the more I am in awe of how much this is not only a behavior or a norm, but it’s an engraved believe in the hearts of all. Gossipers and self-righteous people will never find Gricigliano to be a cozy home for them.

For this and other reasons, each one feels very much at ease here. Though striving towards the perfection that our state requires, each seminarian feels respected in what he is. One could say: Variety in the unity. You can see a slight reflex of this, for example, in the freedom with which each seminarian is allowed to choose the design and lace of his surplice. The general rule is: “For God’s service: the best and most beautiful!” (Therefore: proportion and aesthetics too). Obeying to the same higher rule, each one is free to be what God made him to be. As we know, grace works upon nature and elevates it. It does not unify it, less yet “massifies” it.

The Salesian spirituality comes hand-to-hand with the spirit of St. Benedict in so many aspects. Lets comment, as a taster, that regarding hospitality. We receive guests all year around. These go from every good soul that knocks on the door asking for shelter, to our dear Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, our former Cardinal Piovanelli, and many prelates from Italy and from all over the world that often visit Gricigliano.

Receiving guest all year, it’s just as much a joy as it is lots of work. However, as our superiors always repeats to us: “We future priests are made to serve and not to be served, and that training begins in the Seminary.” Therefore, besides the joy and honor of receiving our guest, they do us much good just by coming here. They help us be trained to serve.

Recently, two good friends of mine, newly ordained priest for a diocese in the US, were mentioning of how they had not been trained for the amount of work their apostolate requires. I just heard silently, but thought to myself: “If they had been trained at Gricigliano… they wouldn’t be complaining.”

For this same reason, we live the ora et labora of St. Benedict. We not only do almost all of the housework, but also the vine and olive yards. (This, by the way, allows us to have on our table, all year around, our own wine and the best of virgin olive oil. Not a bad deal!)

Our schedule is pretty intense. Our daily program counts seven hours of class and study, three of prayer (Holy Mass, Divine Office and meditation), some work and all the community life (meals, recreation etc.). In this Seminary you may find a few delicate souls or even refined personalities, but no wimps. There is no place for them here. Yes, Gricigliano is a “Hidden Paradise”, but for generous souls; or at least souls that wish most sincerely to be generous. Msgr. Wach, our Prior-General, often reminds us of this great truth: “If there is no generosity, there is no vocation.”

There are hundreds of other marvelous details I could still mention if space I had. One of them, for example, is the fact that our superiors will never “tell” us to do something. They kindly “ask”. But, no superior will “ask” you to do something that he himself will not do. The example of generosity and charity comes from above, contributing, in a moving way, in forming our souls in the love for obedience. Obedience in Gricigliano is always joyful. I don’t know if the reader realizes the “piece of Heaven” that this represents. You would have to be here to see. Our Seminary is like a big family where every superior is an older brother that truly cares for each one of us. We have an immense respect for them.

As to our teachers, they are the best one can find in our day and age in terms of quality and orthodoxy. Our Vice-Rector does a great job bringing in top quality teachers for our academic formation.

I have long gone beyond the space that was given me for this article. So, I close with an invitation for you, dear reader, to come visit us. Give us the pleasure of your presence, while enjoying the company of our sixteen new seminarians that joined this year, our beautiful liturgy, and why not: our marvelous Tuscany. This “hidden paradise” can be yours too.