Seminary

Corpus Christi at Gricigliano and the celebration of the 70th anniversary of priesthood of His Eminence Cardinal Simoni, friend of the Institute, now retired in Florence after 28 years spent in the atrocious prisons of the Albanian communist regime.

Solemn Mass, procession of the Most Blessed Sacrament through the gardens of the Seminary, Adoration and the reading of the Apostolic Blessing of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in honour of His Eminence.

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live for ever.”
(Gospel according to Saint John, VI)

“Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.”

(First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, XI)

“How sweet is Your Spirit, O Lord! To show Your tenderness to Your children You give them a delicious bread from heaven; You fill the hungry with good things, and the rich and weary You send away empty‑handed.”
(Antiphon of the Magnificat – First Vespers of the Office of the Feast of the Most Blessed Sacrament)

The seminarians and their Superiors recently recieved many graces by a visit to Lucca which is around 48 miles from Florence.

During the visit, the abode of Saint Gemma Galgani was visited. St Gemma Galgani (1878–1903) is honoured in the Catholic Church as a Daughter of the Passion, a young laywoman whose short life was marked by deep humility, intense suffering, and extraordinary mystical union with Christ. Orphaned early and afflicted with severe illnesses, she offered every trial for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of souls. After a miraculous healing in her teens, Gemma grew in contemplative prayer and, on 8 June 1899, received the stigmata, entering more profoundly into the mystery of the Lord’s Passion. Guided by her guardian angel and inspired by St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, she longed to join the Passionist nuns, a desire fulfilled only at her death when she was clothed in their habit. She died on Holy Saturday at the age of twenty‑five, leaving the Church a radiant example of sacrificial love, purity of heart, and unwavering devotion to Christ crucified.

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The seminarians have just come through an intense period of preparation and examinations. With that now behind them, they were able to pause and breathe, taking a reflective walk through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to pray and regain perspective after the busy weeks of study.

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Dear friends,

With great sadness, we commend to your prayers the repose of the soul of Charles Outtier, a French seminarian of the Institute of Christ the King in Gricigliano, who was killed on January 15 in a tractor accident on the seminary grounds while he was performing his duties. Charles Outtier was a deacon preparing for priestly ordination this coming July. His unexpected and tragic death has plunged the seminary into mourning.

Deacon Outtier edified the whole community with his joyful demeanour and his fervent devotion to his duties, his studies, and his Catholic faith. He was full of promise for his future priestly ministry. But the good Lord, who alone knows the day and hour, has called him on ahead of us. He was anointed and received the Apostolic Blessing at the moment of his death.

Please pray for Deacon Outtier’s soul, for the superiors of the Institute who must bear the loss of one of their spiritual sons, for all of his dear brothers at seminary, and for his family during their time of unspeakable grief.

Requiescat in pace

Canon Amaury Montjean

The Preparatory Novena

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First Solemn Vespers of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Renewal of the Consecration of the Institute to the Immaculate Conception and Solemn Mass celebrated by the Prior General

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Second Vespers of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Benediction

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Consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Solemn Mass celebrated by Canon Apple, Prefect of Studies

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