Blessed Paolo Manna

Biography

Blessed Paolo Manna was born on 16 January 1872 in Avellino, Italy. He was the fifth of six children in his family. Blessed Manna received his education in Avellino and Naples, Italy. He then pursued his studies in philosophy at the Gregorian University in Rome.

In 1894, Blessed Manna was ordained as a priest on 19 May at Milan, after having completed his seminary training at the Theology Seminary of the Institute for Foreign Missions in Milan.

Following his ordination, he embarked on a missionary journey to Toungoo, Eastern Burma (modern Myanmar), departing on 27 September 1895. Blessed Manna dedicated a significant portion of his life to his missionary work in Burma. However, in 1907, his failing health forced him to return to Italy.

Although his poor health prevented him from continuing his overseas missionary work, Blessed Manna remained dedicated to the spread of the Gospel. He spent the rest of his life encouraging both clerical and lay missionaries through his writing, preaching, and various initiatives.

In 1909, Blessed Manna became the Director of Le Missioni Cattoliche. Under his guidance, the publication of Propaganda Missionaria, a popular broadsheet newspaper, began in 1914. This publication aimed to raise awareness and support for missionary activities.

In 1916, he founded the Missionary Union of the Clergy with the goal of instilling missionary zeal within the faithful. Three years later, in 1919, he established Italia Missionaria, a platform specifically designed to engage and inspire young people in missionary endeavors.

Blessed Manna's passion for fostering missionary vocations led him to establish the Sacred Heart Seminary at Ducenta, Caserta, Italy. This seminary aimed to nurture and cultivate missionary vocations, particularly in southern Italy.

His dedication and contributions to missionary work did not go unrecognized. In 1924, Blessed Manna was appointed Superior General of the Institute of Foreign Missions of Milan. Two years later, in collaboration with Pope Pius XI, he played a crucial role in merging the Institute of Foreign Missions with the Missionary Seminary of Rome, resulting in the formation of the Pontifical Institute for the Foreign Missions (P.I.M.E.).

In the 1930s, Blessed Manna worked on founding the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate, an offshoot of P.I.M.I., between 1934 and 1936. He also served as the Head of the International Secretariat for the Missionary Union of the Clergy from 1937 to 1941.

During the tumultuous years of World War II, Blessed Manna assumed the role of Superior of the Italian Southern Province of P.I.M.E. in 1943. In the same year, he started publishing the family missionary magazine, Venga il tuo regno (Thy Kingdom Come).

Blessed Paolo Manna dedicated his life to supporting missionaries and developing techniques that have since become standard in missionary work. Despite being confined to a desk in southern Italy due to his declining health, he continued to live out his missionary vocation until his death.

Blessed Paolo Manna passed away on 15 September 1952 in Naples, Italy, at the age of 80, from natural causes. He was buried at the seminary in Ducenta, Italy. His heroic virtues were officially recognized by Pope John Paul II on 18 February 1989. Subsequently, on 4 November 2001, Pope John Paul II beatified Blessed Paolo Manna.