15 Facts About Eugenio Reffo

Eugenio Reffo, CSI was an Italian Catholic priest and the co-founder for the Congregation of Saint Joseph.

Eugenio Reffo went blind in his last two decades but would continue to dictate his articles until his death.

Eugenio Reffo was responsible for administration and expansion for the order and during his time helped expand the order on an international level.

Eugenio Reffo was born in Turin on 2 January 1843 as the last of five children to Pietro Reffo and Carolina Piana.

Eugenio Reffo had two brothers and two sisters who were all his seniors.

Eugenio Reffo first studied under the De La Salle Brothers in Turin.

Eugenio Reffo graduated and then from 2 November 1861 began teaching students though later set his sights on entering the priesthood which forced him to stop teaching so he could commence his ecclesial studies.

Eugenio Reffo did his theological studies until he was ordained to the priesthood on 26 May 1866.

Eugenio Reffo later met Leonardo Murialdo at some stage and the two co-founded the Congregation of Saint Joseph - or Murialdines - on 19 March 1873.

Eugenio Reffo began to develop retinal problems on 2 April 1895 which saw him start to lose his sight in his right eye.

Eugenio Reffo had an operation in the hopes of treating it though some months after went blind in that eye.

Eugenio Reffo became Superior General after Costantino later on 26 March 1912 and his term ended in 1919 after he went blind in his left eye in 1917 which saw him unable to manage his duties.

Eugenio Reffo continued to dictate articles for the newspaper he collaborated with following his going blind and would do this until his death just under a decade later.

Eugenio Reffo died in mid-1925 in the Artigianelli College in Turin; his remains were exhumed and relocated in 1965 to the Santuario di Nostra Signora della Salute in Turin.

Eugenio Reffo became titled as Venerable on 12 June 2014 after Pope Francis signed a decree acknowledging that Eugenio Reffo had lived a life of heroic virtue.