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Humble priest, courageous and bold, he devoted most of his life in favor of the sick, the poor and youth The ven. Ignazio Eustachio Capizzi
 Ignazio Eustachio Capizzi was born in Bronte on September 20th, 1708, son of a shepherd and a wool
spinner. Of humble origins, he became orphan of father and, when he was only eight
years old, was looking after some sheep and lambs for his uncle's herd. At 11 years, still illiterate, began the first studies in Bronte, in
the Oratory of S Filippo Neri, annexed to the Catena church, under
the guidance of two priests and, with extreme sacrifices, continued them
first in Caltagirone and then at Lipari. When he was eighteen, to continue the studies of philosophy and theology in
the Eolean islands, he worked as a servant
(room chierico), for the Bishop Of Lipari. Then, in 1732 moved to Palermo and worked as a scullery boy and a nurse in the
Grand and New Hospital, and started to study medicine and, in 1734,
embraces the medical profession but his dream is to become a priest. He continues in Palermo the religious studies and, after years of privations,
humiliations and sacrifices, in 1735 in the Maximum College Of Palermo he
gets the degree in Theology, on December 17 is ordered deacon and,
at 28 year of age, in May 1736, finally he reaches
priesthood. He was a truly virtuous man, charitable, devoted to poverty, always humble
and showing a multiform apostolic zeal. Tireless, cultured preacher and writer, he dedicated big part of his life to help
the sick and poor people and the neglected youth ignorant and guideless. Many Sicilian country towns and especially Palermo and Bronte, were
witnesses of his fecund, apostolic activity and bold social
initiatives as the building of public advantage works (colleges, boarding
schools, institutes).
In few decades he becomes the tireless Palermo's
apostle:
in 1747 he builds the college of the virgins of Holy Maria Of The Carmine
(destined to kindergarten the "unsafe girls"); builds an
analogous college in Vicari; buys the oratory in the Teatini
house and restores it; director of the Sapienza College (one of
Maria's two risen colleges in Palermo), he enlarges it and restores it;
enlarges and improves the girls' Reclusorio of the Hospital In Palermo; he organizes help to the dying and the convicts.
In 45 years of fecund apostolate, he left memories of holinesses and
prodigies also in Monreale, Nicosia,
Castelvetrano, Messina, Leonforte, Alimena, Resuttana,
and many
other centers of Sicily.
At Palermo, while in contact with colleges and scholastic institutes gets
the idea to found a school for the
formations of secular boys, but also new priests, in his native country
town, with no
schools and in nearly in total illiteracy.
In Bronte whoever wanted to get an education had to leave his country
town.
His idea, few years later, was followed by Donna Maria Scafiti with the institution of the
Collegio di Maria
(1780) for girls and by
Pietro
Graziano Calanna who founded the
"Royal Public Schools for maidens of Bronte" (1823).
Ignazio Capizzi, poor, humble but
highly cultured and a great organizer, conceived
and built the majestic "Capizzi College" during few years.
Ignazio Capizzi, poor, humble but cultured and great organizer, conceived
and built the majestic "Capizzi College" during few years.
The 25/6/1771 he selects the space where to build
it, right in the center of town (San Rocco), and two years later he buys the land.
Then sends the priest
Marvuglia, architect of the Palermo Council to prepare the project and the
1st of May 1774 he
blesses and puts the first stone.
The construction activity lasted till 1778 and
then finally on the 15th of October was celebrated the solemn opening of
the school that eventually acquired so much importance and fame especially
in Sicily and Southern Italy.
In Bronte, the country town in which he was born and that he had left to get
an education, he and built the majestic college, for the formation of
secular boys but also new priests.
To realize the work he had to overcome ironies and a great deal of difficulties,
ostracisms, contrasts and calumnies of every kind; he went
begging for the necessary resources everywhere.
"Many gentlemen of Palermo, who admired him very much, gave him large
sums,
..."
"the wealthy in Bronte and in the near country towns
contributed generously to the construction. The priests, the nobles, all the people, when requested, helped to carry,
stones and every other material on their shoulders". (G.
De Luca, History of the town of Bronte).
A testimony of the priest De Albo (Eulogy of the sac
I.Capizzi, Palermo, 1786) reported in the Benedetto Radice
"Historical Memories of Bronte", reminds us of the enthusiasm and
the sacrifices of Ignazio Capizzi and the admiration of the
people of Bronte seeing:
"The good old man, with sledgehammer in hand, break very hard boulders,
or, with hoes take off earth, or help to carry beams or take out
rubble and sometimes sweep the corridors sprinkling them with water
that he had been drawing from the cistern, and that was not happening
only sometimes, but fairly often, making him sweat profusely".
Ignazio Capizzi did not limit himself to the constriction of the
college.
He disciplined the studies, the director's election, the teachers'
salaries, the duties and the obligations of teachers', of boarding
school members and of all the students in general.
Such rules governed the college for about a century
and a half. |
