Cuneo is a small town in the southern part of Piedmont, a province in northern Italy near the modern border with France . It is very jealous of its glorious Catholic and warrior traditions. It was founded as an independent “commune” in the twelfth century. During the wars raging in the neighboring regions, it surrendered to the House of Savoy in 1382 and swore allegiance to Amadeus VI.
Cuneo became a much-coveted fortress whenever the Count of Savoy was fighting France. Its location on a plateau of the Maritime Alps was very close to the French border. The city rightfully boasts that to remain faithful to its sworn precepts, it withstood seven undefeated sieges (including famous sieges in 1557 and 1744).
The city’s fidelity, a constant virtue in its history, results from the Catholic formation its children received from the beginning. The town was born in the shadow of the Church. In times of peace, the Church encouraged its harmonious and beneficial progress. In war, she sustained its manly spirit that spared no sacrifice to fulfill its duty. To this day, Cuneo preserves the old churches where its ancient inhabitants learned to love and cultivate the virtue that distinguished them, which they passed on to their children.
After the battle of Marengo (June 14, 1800), Napoleon ordered the destruction of the city walls surrounding Cuneo. This transformed the places where the walls had stood into streets and parks. The Revolution thus closed a glorious epic. Even the material vestiges of its glory were demolished. At the same time, the local churches continued to remind townspeople and visitors of that fidelity that had illuminated the history of the little mountain village for centuries through many struggles and sacrifices.
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Pio Brunone Lanteri was born in this city on May 12, 1759, and baptized on the same day in the parish of Santa Maria della Pieve. His father, Dr. Pietro Lanteri, a renowned physician, was well known for his charity in helping the needy. Locally, he was known as the “Father of the Poor.” Margherita Fenoglio, his wife, was a model Catholic mother. She cooperated with God’s grace so her children would grow in the love and service of God.
Born before the revolutionary gale, Pio Brunone spent his childhood in an environment that retained all the fragrance of its glorious traditions. This peace greatly helped him to enjoy his excellent Catholic education.
Pio Brunone’s mother died when he was only four years old—a decisive event in his life. Five of his ten siblings had also died at early ages. Widowed, with five children to raise, and keenly aware of the difficulties he would face, Dr. Pietro Lanteri asked Our Lady to replace his children’s mother. Pio Brunone was grateful to his father for bringing him to Our Lady’s feet throughout his life. He used to repeat his father’s words: “From now on, in place of your deceased mother, you will have Our Lady, the Heavenly Mother. She will be even better and grant you every good thing.”
From that moment on, Our Lady was the Servant of God’s only mother. She guided his life, struggles and labors while preventing him from falling into the errors abounding in those troubled times.
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When he reached school age, his father enrolled Pio Brunone in Cuneo’s public elementary school. However, Dr. Pietro Lanteri did not leave the boy’s intellectual formation solely to his teachers. The doctor studied with the boy, clarified his doubts, and prevented secular culture from damaging his soul. “My father and I studied even during meals,” Pio Brunone used to tell those around him when describing episodes from his early life. The father dispensed the same care to his other children and only withdrew when his profession or duties of piety required it. Unsurprisingly, that genuine Catholic education led the three sons to the priesthood. It was the crowning achievement of Dr. Lanteri’s zeal and the sacrifices he made to raise them.
Nevertheless, Dr. Pietro Lanteri suffered the influence of the dominant tastes of the eighteenth century. The scientific movement, which Napoleon later favored and encouraged, affected all of Europe. Although not attached to scientism,1 he thought of himself as a scientist. He even published well-received works on medicine. Seeing Pio Brunone’s marked inclination for mathematics, Dr. Lanteri tried to encourage him in that study, maybe seeing a future for his son as a chaired professor at a university. The young man, however, felt called to surrender to God entirely. He was greatly embarrassed by the conflict between his inclination and respect for his father’s wishes. When one of his sisters died at the age of 24, he finally decided to enter Religion. After obtaining (not without difficulty) his father’s consent, he joined the Charterhouse of Chiusa Pesio, near Cuneo.
Pio Brunone was then 17 years old. Much to his chagrin, the monastery’s austere quickly ruined his health. His delicate health forced him to return to the world. However, this first failure did not discourage him. He remained sure of his priestly vocation.
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After returning home, he communicated his desire to become a priest to the Bishop of Mondovi (on whom Cuneo depended). Upon receiving the bishop’s authorization, Lanteri took the ecclesiastical habit on September 17, 1777.
After completing his philosophical studies in his home city, he was sent to the University of Turin. Providence paved the way for Pio Brunone Lanteri’s apostolic vocation to be revealed in that city, profoundly affected by Jansenism 2 and revolutionary ideas.
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