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Tommaso Reggio was born on January 9, 1818, in Genoa, Kingdom of Sardinia (now Italy). His father was Marquis Giovanni Giacomo Reggio, and his mother was Angela Maria Pareto.
The day after he was born, little Tommaso was baptized in Genoa’s Cathedral of San Lorenzo. Little did anyone suspect that one day, Tommaso would be the archbishop of Genoa and have the cathedral as his church.
Because his family was wealthy, Tommaso had a solid educational foundation thanks to a private tutor at his home, and then high school with the Somaschi Fathers. In 1838, Tommaso received a Bachelor of Laws degree from Genoa. With his background, Tommaso was destined for a very successful life in the secular world.
At the age of 20, however, Tommaso decided study for the priesthood, and on September 18, 1841, he was ordained to the priesthood. At the time of his ordination, Tommaso said, “I want to become a saint, cost what it may, living my life in accordance with the two cornerstones of Christianity: prayer and ascesis.” In 1843, Father Tommaso received a doctorate in theology from Genoa College.
Because of his sterling academic preparation, Tommaso seemed destined to serve the Church in academia. And that is exactly what happened in the beginning of his priesthood. He served as a vice-rector and rector in seminaries from 1843 to 1851.
In 1851, Tommaso was one of the founders of a newspaper called The Catholic Standard on July 26, 1849. Like other Catholic newspaper leaders of the time, Tommaso hoped that one day, their papers could support a list of Catholic officials for various civil offices, the beginning of a Catholic political party. However, because of the highly delicate and intricate political intrigue of the time, in 1874 the Vatican issued a Non expedit that said it would be wise for Catholics in that time and place not to vote. So, the newspaper folded in 1874.
In 1877, Father Tommaso was made Bishop of Ventimiglia, a very poor diocese. Over the next 15 years, Bishop Tommaso visited all the parishes, even the most remote ones, by mule. He also held 5 synods, opened new parishes, and revived liturgical practices. He also set up educational programs throughout the diocese.
Knowing that he could not be everything to everyone in need, he founded the Sisters of Saint Martha whose charism was to “meet the requirements of every age.” Their first target was to serve the “poorest of the poor,” using Martha’s model of serving others.
In 1887, the Diocese of Ventimiglia was hit with an earthquake, and the bishop threw himself into serving those suffering. He encouraged all the priests to do the same. But his primary focus was helping the children who became orphaned because of the earthquake. For his part, the bishop founded orphanages in Ventimiglia and San Remo. The orphanages, however, did more than just house the youth. In addition, they taught the youth skills they could use to make a living one day. Any money the youths made while apprenticing in their trades was saved for them, so that when the time came for them to enter to world of work on their own, they would have some money to get started.
At the age of 74, after 15 years of hard work in his poor diocese, Tommaso asked the pope to relieve him of his duties. Instead of giving the bishop his wish, he made him the Archbishop of Genoa.
Archbishop Tommaso continued his activist role. One of his most important roles was championing workers’ rights. With the help of two other bishops, Geremia Bonomelli and Giovanni Battista Scalabrini (now a saint), Archbishop Tommaso set up a network to help immigrants by providing them with documents to prevent exploitation. Catholic associations were established to fight for workers by encouraging reduced work hours, weekends off, and decent pay.
Throughout his priesthood, Tommaso made it a point to always have a cheerful presentation of self, regardless of the problems he might have.
On November 22, 1901, Archbishop Tommaso Reggio died. Only after his death did people learn that he had a practice of praying, in solitude, from 3-6 a.m. each night. Pope John Paul II beatified Tommaso on September 3, 2000. Blessed Tommaso’s feast day is January 9.
