Antonio Rosmini-Serbati | |
---|---|
Born |
Rovereto, Tyrol, Holy Roman Empire |
March 24, 1797
Died | July 1, 1855 Stresa, Piedmont, Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia |
(aged 58)
Nationality | Italian |
Alma mater | University of Padua |
Era | 19th-century philosophy |
Region | Western Philosophy |
Main interests
|
Philosophy of Mind, Moral Philosophy, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Theodicy, Natural Theology, Political Philosophy, Education |
Blessed Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati (Italian pronunciation: [anˈtɔnjo rozˈmini serˈbati]; Rovereto, 25 March 1797 – Stresa, 1 July 1855) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or Societas a charitate nuncupata.
Antonio Rosmini Serbati was born 24 March 1797, at Rovereto, in the Austrian Tyrol. He studied at the University of Padua, and was ordained priest at Chioggia, 21 April 1821. In 1822 he received a Doctorate in Theology and Canon Law.
During this time Rosmini formulated his "Principle of Passivity". Rosmini felt compelled to ask himself: Do my plans spring more from my own subjective desire to do good than from a desire to do the will of God?”. Reflecting in this way, Rosmini articulated the principle in two parts: be ready to undertake any work of charity but only so long as it is God’s Providence that presents it; in the meantime, immerse oneself in the commitment to continual conversion, seeking the amendment of one’s own life.
In 1828 he founded at Monte Calvario near Domodossola, a new religious community, the Institute of Charity, known generally since as the Rosminians. In the autumn of 1830 he inaugurated the observance of the rule at Calvario, and from 1834 to 1835 had charge of a parish at Rovereto. Later foundations followed at Stresa and Domodossola. The Constitutions of the institute were approved by presented to Pope Gregory XVI on 20 December 1838. The institute spread rapidly in England and Italy, and requests for foundations came from various countries.
The members might be priests or laymen, who devoted themselves to preaching, the education of youth, and works of universal charity—material, spiritual and intellectual. They work in Italy, England, Ireland, France, Wales, New Zealand, Kenya, Tanzania, India, Venezuela, and the United States. In London they are attached to the historical Church of St Etheldreda, Ely Place, Holborn. In 1962, Rosmini College School for Boys was founded in Auckland, New Zealand by Father Catcheside.