Mantua – A railway station in Mantua will be named after Giuseppe Sarto, Bishop of Mantua from 1884 to 1893 – later Pope Pius X. The inauguration will take place next October. Pope Pius X was among the first to take an interest in the fate of the many Mantuans, and later Italians, who at the time were emigrating in search of fortune. This concern of his originated from personal encounters with the hundreds of people who were passing through the city of Mantua to reach the train station on their way to the port of Genoa, from where they would later embark for America. Bishop Sarto’s first concrete act was to send to all the priests of his diocese a pastoral letter – on August 19, 1887 – in which he expressed concern for the fate of “so many of his sons” in the countries of destination, and invited the priests to have numerous attentions towards them, of a spiritual kind but also of concrete help, both before and after departure. As Pope, he founded the first office of the Roman Curia dedicated to emigration, at the same time calling on all bishops to protect the departing faithful, including by establishing a patronage for migrants in each diocese. His pastoral action was intertwined with that of Msgr. Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, now a saint, St. Francesca Saverio Cabrini and Msgr. Geremia Bonomelli, founders of works dedicated to assisting Italians who had emigrated abroad. The memory of this care and solicitude – as relevant as ever in a time of great migrations, such as the one we are experiencing – led Bishop Marco to support the request of the Association “Mantovani nel mondo,” also shared by the Migrantes Foundation of the CEI, to name the Mantua train station after Bishop Giuseppe Sarto, later Pope Pius X, as remembering his action “makes us reflect on the extensive phenomenon of emigration in our days, on the common feelings of charity and humanity toward migrants in a commitment aimed at integration and mutual understanding.” Among other things, this year also marks the 120th anniversary of the election of St. Pius X as Pontiff, so the event will be part of a calendar of events dedicated to him. (R.Iaria).
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