Having gained his father’s consent, Pio Brunone Lanteri’s path to ordination began at the University of Turin in 1777. When he arrived, he found an environment contaminated by Jansenism1 and all the errors that eventually led to the French Revolution.
The Jansenian heresy penetrated Italy in the mid-eighteenth century. It quickly infiltrated the faithful, especially the educated among them. Gone was the brilliant epoch of elegant and literary French salons in which Jansenism first took root. These salons were genuine centers of elite public opinion and became famous for their glittering conversations and polite debates. Jansenism, repeatedly condemned by Rome, first concentrated in these mysterious centers from whence it spread its errors in a covert and tenacious campaign.
The Italian Jansenists appeared in this new phase. They made their influence felt mainly in intellectual centers, particularly universities. Later, their ideas spread into the upper reaches of Italian society. It was the time of the theologian and legal scholar Pietro Tamburini and Scipione de’ Ricci, Bishop of Pistoria e Prato. These two luminaries convoked the sadly famous Synod of Pistoia in 1786. In this endeavor, they enjoyed the support of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who became Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II in 1790. Although quickly condemned by Pope Pius VI in the Bull Auctorem Fidei, the synod tried to revive the Jansenist theses that severely harmed Italy.
One particularly unfortunate aspect of Jansenism was that it kept the faithful away from the sacraments. Corroded by the spread of these pernicious doctrines, Italian Catholic circles generally put up little resistance to revolutionary efforts and ideas. Jansenius’ errors prepared an assault against legitimate governments, helping to destroy the institutions of Catholic society more easily.
A single episode clearly shows the real confusion created in Piedmont, the Italian region that interests us most closely. In 1930, Pio Brunone Lanteri’s cause of beatification was introduced in the Congregation of Rites. As part of the process, the General Rapporteur of its Historical Section, Fr. Ferdinando Antonelli, OFM, showed the evils caused by Jansenism and the revolutionary process. He recalled that France forced King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia-Piedmint to resign in 1802. At that point, the Archbishop of Turin, Carlo Beronzo del Signore, ordered the revolutionary slogan “Liberty, Virtue, Equality” to be included in the Curia’s official acts. The Archbishop wrote a circular letter that promoted revolutionary ideas.
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“Behold, dearest brothers and children, we are solemnly declared free, equal, and republican. This work—which encountered obstacles and demanded prolonged unrest and bloodshed elsewhere—has been accomplished in Piedmont in a few hours with great peace, security, and concord. Blessed be the Most High a thousand times. We also thank the great victorious nation [France], which, with its forces respected and feared everywhere, hastened as a friend to unite with Piedmont to carry out this good work together.”2
The study habits that Pio Brunone Lanteri acquired from his father’s upbringing did not ‘vaccinate’ the 17-year-old against the veiled influence of Jansenism he encountered at the university. They might even have contributed to making him easy prey for his respected professors. However, Our Lady was watching over her son, providing him with many inspirations of grace. This grace and his docility allowed her to prevent severe risks for his faith.
As soon as he arrived in Turin, the young student began a three-step plan to maintain his spiritual life. In defiance of Jansenist ideas, he frequented the sacraments more assiduously. He also intensified his pious habits. Last, he increased the time he spent meditating on Catholic doctrine. These resolutions enabled him to live in the turbulent university environment without falling into the easy seductions characteristic of student life. Serious and careful meditation strengthened the formation he received at home and enabled him to distinguish truth from error in the lessons of his professors.
Along with these precautions, Our Lady’s hand clearly kept the young man away from the wrong path and prevented him from falling into heresy on two occasions.
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The first one occurred right at the beginning of the classes. Pio Brunone’s father, Dr. Pietro Lanteri, never renounced his desire to see his gifted and intelligent son embark on a brilliant career, leading him to a university professorship. At that time, the University of Pavia’s theology courses were renowned in Piedmont and throughout Italy. However, influenced by Tamburini, its most famous professor, it was also a veritable hotbed of Jansenism. Not realizing the danger, Dr. Lanteri did his best to convince Pio Brunone to complete his theological formation in Pavia. The reasons the young man refused his father’s insistent requests are unknown. At the same time, though, his health began to decline, and his impaired eyesight made it impossible for him to read or write for an extended time. These obstacles prevented him from making good use even of the courses he was taking. Most likely, these factors contributed to Dr. Lanteri renouncing his insistence on Pio Brunone’s studying in Pavia.
Since reading was difficult, Pio Brunone paid much attention to what he heard in class. He developed the ability to keep the essentials in his memory. Remembering this time of his life, he used to say that he learned theology much more with his ears than his eyes. This process had a great advantage. It led him to reflect more fully on the lessons he received. In those reflections, he confronted the professors’ ideas with the traditional doctrine he meditated on daily.
However, those circumstances also prompted the second grave danger that Pio Brunone faced. He could not study alone, and yet, he desired to know theology well in order to fulfill the necessities of his future ministry. Therefore, Pio Brunone sought the company of his colleagues who followed the coursework better than he could. This facilitated the exchange of ideas and helped him clarify the lessons’ obscure points. Sometimes, he even asked one of the others to read extracts from treatises; then, they would talk about them. This brought him closer to Luigi Pellegrino, a brilliant colleague with whom he studied often. Later, Luigi became a logic professor at the University of Turin.
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Soon after Father Pio Brunone Lanteri’s death in 1830, one of his disciples, Father Aloisi Craveri, wrote a brief biography. Father Craveri wrote about rumors that this friendship with Pellegrino had almost led Lanteri to Jansenism. The two young men, determined to make good use of their studies, gradually acknowledged some of the errors heard in class. When Pio Brunone realized they were on the wrong path, he did all he could to get Pellegrino back on track. However, his efforts were useless, and he had to leave his colleague for good.
Lanteri was saved from this danger by his acquaintance with Father Nicholas Joseph Albert von Diessbach. His new associate was a Swiss Jesuit who taught at the Society’s college in Turin. From the beginning, Father Nicholas became Pio Brunone’s lifelong guide and advisor, guiding this soul with a firm hand whose heroic virtues His Holiness Pope Paul VI proclaimed in 1965. Our Lady rewarded Pio Brunone Lanteri’s fidelity by giving him the friend he needed.