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Gaetano Errico was born on October 19, 1791, in Secondigliano, Naples, Kingdom of Naples, second of nine children of Pasquale Errico and Maria Marseglia. Pasquale managed a small pasta warehouse, and Maria worked at loom weaving factory in addition to being a homemaker. Gaetano’s parents were noted to be devout Catholics and hardworking people. Two of Gaetano’s cousins were Franciscan Capuchin friars, and his nephew became a priest.
Once, when Gaetano’s mother took him to a Redemptorist church for a blessing, the priest told her, “This child will be a priest, a great preacher. He will be a saint. and he will do good work in Secondigliano.”
While growing up, Gaetano often helped his father in his warehouse, but sometimes his father would lose his temper under financial strain and slap Gaetano even when Gaetano had done nothing wrong.
When he was fourteen, Gaetano knew he wanted to be a priest, and his parents gave him permission to pursue his dream. He tried to join the Capuchins since two if his cousins were friars, but the Capuchins rejected him because of his age. The Redemptorists also rejected him for the same reason.
Gaetano was not daunted by the rejection. Instead, he began his studies for priesthood at a school in Naples to which he had to walk five miles each day because his family could not afford to board him at the school. In addition to his studies, Gaetano helped nurse the sick and encouraged other children to attend catechism classes.
Gaetano was ordained in the Naples Cathedral on September 23, 1815, by the cardinal. After ordination, he was assigned to teach until 1835 when he became a parish priest. Soon, Father Gaetano became noted for his dedication to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to his love for the sick.
In his priesthood, Father Gaetano engaged in a variety of practices that were seen as acceptable in those days, practices such as self-flagellation and consuming nothing but bread and water for various periods of time. But the priest also made annual retreats at a Redemptorist center in Pagani, Salerno. In 1818, during one of those retreats, Father Gaetano reported he had received a vision from Saint Alphonsus Liguori who told him that God wanted him to build a new church and found a new religious congregation.
Father Gaetano accomplished both goals by his clarity of vision, persistence, and ability to overcome obstacles not of his making. Among the obstacles that he had to overcome were impatience on the part of priests who were following him and the death of a pope who supported him.
On December 9, 1822, dedicated the new church he built, Madonna Addolarata (Our Lady of Sorrows). In time, the church became a popular pilgrimage site.
Father Gaetano also founded a new religious community of priests and brothers called the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (M.S.S.C.C.). Pope Pius IX gave full papal approval on August 7, 1946. Father Gaetano became the order’s first superior general.
Father Gaetano died in his hometown, Secondigliano, Naples, on October 29, 1860, and he was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on October 12, 2008. He is the patron saint of the order he founded.
The Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary are found in nations of Africa, Asia, Europe, Central America, North America, and South America.
