Calasanz recalls in the Report of 1622:
“Abbot Glicerio Landriani, Milanese, later, on July 2, 1617, wore the habit in the Congregation of the Pious Schools, dying on February 15, 1618, at 6 o’clock in the evening, in concept of sanctity”. (Saint Joseph Calasanz, Report of Pious Schools to 1622. EpCal 132a; O.O. X, 318).
In this way, the saint records the date of Landriani’s incorporation to the group of first companions (May 31, 1612), and that of his death (February 15, 1618), together with the date of the beginning of his religious life, with the taking of the habit, which for so many years marked the beginning of the novitiate in the Order. The young Glicerio received the Piarist habit in Rome on July 2, 406 years ago.
More than four centuries later, the day in which we remember the “official” beginning of the Piarist life of the novice Landriani, is a good opportunity to continue deepening in his figure and the path of virtue followed in the Pious Schools, renewing the desire to go confidently to his intercession, waiting for the desired miracle.
The Calasanzian question “What dwells in the heart of Glicerio?” invites us to penetrate into the space of feelings, desires, yearnings and projects that bubbled inside the young man, nourishing an ever more generous and conscious dedication to children, young people and the poor. For all this, his way of living in the Calasanz style appears as a prototype of Piarist life… and as a pro-vocation for those of us who are part of the Calasanzian Family:
- By the uninterrupted exercise of the Piarist ministry, in the classroom and in catechesis, encouraging Continuous Prayer and going out to meet, without hesitation, the material, personal and interior needs discovered in every situation. Glicerio is someone who is ready to respond wholeheartedly and without hesitation to the needs of each person.
- By his decision to act immediately and in depth when facing complex situations. The practice of the Rows, or the methodological structuring of the catechesis are two good examples of the efficient and diligent way that characterizes Glicerio’s behavior.
- For his grateful and pleasant attitude, noted by those who shared life and ministry with him. The face of Glicerio “beautified in his dealings with the Lord” revealed his generous and joyful interior, concentrated in the heart that Calasanz wanted to keep close to him as his most precious possession.
The heart of Landriani, intimately guarded in the Order, symbolizes today the way of living dedicated, diligent and joyful with which religious and laity of the Calasanzian Family wish to educate in Piety and Letters, animated by the example of Glicerio of Christ.
Ángel Ayala Guijarro Sch.P.
General Postulator of the Pious Schools
